Take Home The Outer Limits, Vol. 1: Original Series on DVD!

MovieWeb

By Evan Jacobs

Published Jun 4, 2007

There is nothing wrong with your television set...

On June 5, The Outer Limits, Vol. 1: Original Series tunes in on DVD! In honor of one of TV's greatest shows ever we are giving away copies of it.

Winner's Receive:

- The Outer Limits, Vol. 1: Original Series DVD Set

CLICK HERE to enter our contest!

Synopsis:

The Outer Limits originally ran from 1963 to 1965 on the U.S. broadcast network ABC, and a total of 49 episodes. It was created by Leslie Stevens and was one of the many series ostensibly influenced by Twilight Zone, though it was ultimately influential in its own right. Writers included creator Stevens and Joseph Stefano (screenwriter for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho), the series' first-season producer and energetic guiding force. Harlan Ellison wrote two episodes ('Soldier' and the award-winning "Demon with a Glass Hand") for the show's more cautious second season; Ellison later argued that both episodes were the inspiration for The Terminator film series, and indeed in the closing credits of the first movie the creators "wish to acknowledge the works of Harlan Ellison."

Like Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits had an opening and closing narration to almost every episode -- known as the "Control Voice" (vocal artist Vic Perrin) -- and distinctive music, in this case by Dominic Frontiere. The pacing of the two shows, however, was completely different. Twilight Zone was based on a surprise ending built up to in half an hour, while The Outer Limits was an hour long and dealt with ordinary people's reactions to the situation. The basis of each episode was a monster, referred to colloquially by the producers of the show as the bear. Usually there was an actor in a rubber mask and gloves, and wearing special alien clothing. Occasionally it was a prop or puppet, and in one episode the monster was created by stop-motion animation.

The Outer Limits was an anthology show and episodes are unrelated; they have no direct "sequels" or consistent characters. However, subtle recurring entities, such as the notable alien creatures seen in most episodes provided a thread of continuity. So did the fictional United Space Agency (a mix of experimental scientists, psychiatrists, and G-men), whose space suits, equipment and other props, set pieces, and models were reused from "Men Into Space," a program paid for by the United States Air Force.

A few of the monsters reappeared in Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek show. A feathered creature was modified to appear as a zoo animal in the background of the first pilot of Star Trek. The moving carpet beast in "The Probe" later was used as the "Horta", and operated by the same actor. The process used to make pointed ears for David McCallum in one episode was reused in Star Trek as well.

Disc 1 Side A:

- Galaxy Being

- Hundred Days of the Dragon

- The Architects of Fear

- The Man with the Power

Disc 1 Side B:

- Sixth Finger

- The Man Who Was Never Born

- O.B.I.T.

- Human Factor

Disc 2 Side A:

- Corpus Earthling