Customer Reviews

The Outer Limits: The Architects of Fear [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Architects of Fear is one of the classic episodes which made the first season of The Outer Limits so unique, and might be considered THE definitive example of what this great series could produce. Robert Culp plays an American physicist chosen to be the "scarecrow" used to frighten the world powers away from war between themselves. Through an agonizing series of operations he is gradually transformed into a hideous version of an alien and sent up in orbit to pretend to be arriving from outer space. The combination of script, acting, terrific lighting and direction, and the really wonderful musical score make this episode an unforgetable emotional experience. This is science fiction television at its best.

This was the episode used for T.V. advertisements when OL first aired, and it was a good choice. The commercial showed two hunters out with their dog, getting the scare of their life when the reeds part first to reveal an alien hand with a ray-gun that destroys their station wagon, and then the hideous face of the thing that fired it, all accompanied by OL's eeriest music.

Of course, by today's standards, the "alien" is pretty obviously Janos Prohaska in a papier mache monster suit on stilts. It gets seen far too much in the episode to be believable. But, as papier mache monsters on stilts go, it's actually not that bad.

What makes this episode work are the story and the characters. Robert Culp, in the first of his three appearances in the series, draws short straw at the government think-tank on the day they're deciding who gets to play Evil E.T. - for real. Unfortunate, for him. He has a solid marriage, and a baby on the way. (You'd think a bunch of guys trying to make a monster to scare the world into unity might've taken that into account, before deciding who would even draw the straws.) Wife Geraldine Brooks has a strong psychic connection with Culp, and can't believe he's really dead after said government goons fake his death in order to keep Culp out of public view. The best-laid plans of mice and men gang oft agley, however, and rather than make a hostile world a better place, the government goons instead only destroy one of the few beautiful things in it.

Astute viewers will recognize this plot hinted at by Ronald Reagan twenty years later, when he stated in one of his speeches how much easier his and Gorbachev's roles in the world would be if only Earth were threatened by an outer space menace.

Keep telling yourself, "It's only a cheap 1960s T.V. show..."

Outer Limits may not appeal to "post-modern" tastes, and to each their own--I support dissenting opinions...Geraldine Brooks' puts in an excellent dramatic performance here, and Joan Crawford was a great actress. Apart from idiosyncrasies of personal taste, its hard to see how such a comparison could constitute a criticism, even if one agreed with it. Also, why would her being pregnant make her character's nurturing side "funny"? This well-conceived subplot sets up some of the most dramatically gripping moments in the show, like Culp's discovery of her pregnancy when he sees where she's been shopping, and his desperate effort to phone her at the end of his "schizophrenic episode"--a difficult scene expertly handled by Culp, not at all "over-acted". And please: the fact we're given no clear, whole-suit view of the alienized Culp is an absolute strength, a master stroke, not a weakness. The viewer's imagination runs riot at the brief, partial glimpses we get, a la Ridley Scott's "Alien". Usually, showing the whole get-up too clearly tends to diminish the effect of any monster ("Wolfman" 1941 could have understood that better). Nothing can match the imagination, as Val Lewton realized. This show appeals to a mature imaginative audience, not to jaded boredom. Its like an iced tea spoon that goes way down deep to a core level, and then starts stirring..."Architects" is the original Outer Limits at its bold, brilliant best, and its a lamentable pity we can't have movies like this made anymore. But lets allow the to audience decide, shall we?

this episode more than any other sticks out in my mind when i think of the outer limits. its a moving story, one that gets you caught up in feelings for the main character and is very memorable. if you want to experience what this show was about, the limits that is, this episode is the epitome in my opinion. but really, how can you go wrong with ANY of them??

The most memorable, disturbing thing I saw on television as a child. My mother watched it with me when I was eight years old, and she named the monster "Turkey Legs." She hated that episode and I was forbidden to ever watch it again. That made me want to see it again even more. The best thing Robert Culp ever did, by far.

No single episode can match the sheer emotional wallop of this one, basically a love story with a science fiction background. Culp, who would be featured in several of the series' best episodes, is outstanding as the guinea pig for a top-secret plan by peace-loving scientists. Geraldine Brooks shines as his wife who begins to realize that all is not as it appears. Leonard Stone, as Culp's friend and fellow scientist, does well in his supporting role.

But, the fourth star of the show is the brilliant and memorable score from Dominic Frontiere. His work on the anthology was never more poignant than it is here with its obvious love themes and dramatic "chase" music during the last "act."

His is the most obvious element missing from "Limits" current cable/syndicated incarnation.

This is the third and is one of the best episodes in the series, because while keeping the strange atmosphere of the series, it also managed to incorporate a love story into it.

A group of people in a secret organization decide that mankind is on the verge of another World War. They feel that a good way of uniting everyone would be to introduce a common enemy that all of mankind will fear. In this way, they feel that men will work together when they are scared and will get used to it even after they destroy the enemy. So the group members select a volunteer, Allen Leighton (played by Robert Culp), to transform him into the alien creature. Leighton agrees, putting his life and his family values aside. Even though he loves his wife Yvette (Geraldine Brooks), he does not speak to her about the matter. One day she hears about his `death', and is heartbroken with the news, but she still feels that he is alive. Meanwhile, the members of the organization perform tests on Allen to transform him into the creature, which is successful. However, their plans go amiss when the alien is transported to the wrong destination.

Even though this episode starts off in an eerie way, you can't help but feel sorry for Allen and Yvette in the end. It just goes to show you that you cannot make something better by doing something worse. Robert Culp and the gorgeous Geraldine Brooks acted flawlessly and stole the show in this episode.

To quote Vic Perrin (The Control Voice): "Scarecrows and magic and other fatal fears do not bring people closer together. There is no magic substitute for soft caring and hard work, for self respect and mutual love."

The most memorable, disturbing thing I saw on television as a child. My mother watched it with me when I was eight years old, and she named the monster "Turkey Legs." She hated that episode and I was forbidden to ever watch it again. That made me want to see it again even more. The best thing Robert Culp ever did, by far.

Where do I start?

This has got to be one of the strangest, creepiest TV episodes I have ever seen. Robert Culp is the lead actor. He plays a government scientist that has been chosen by lot to be transformed surgically into an alien. Why? Well, the goodguys decide that a nuclear war is eminent and believe that if an alien would land from space at the UN, the world's nations would come together to fight a common cause and put their animosity against each other on the back burner, thus saying everyone from war. The process of being turned into an alien and all types of operations procedures take up more then half of the episode. The 1st half is the strongest part of the 52 minutes. The plot actually kept your interest (even though it was moronic) and just the concept of going through an operation to become an alien is very bizarre/creepy. Then...it all falls apart, or shall I say, "it all unravels" at the end. Alien Culp (after being shot up into space) does not land at the UN, but at the same place he started!!! Then his annoying wife (a Joan Crawford wannabe) gets a hot flash and runs back to the "top secret" base because she just has that premonition that her hubby is still alive and is there. The end is a big letdown. What started out as possibly the best Outer Limits episode ends with a THUD. The show would get 1 star from me if it wasn't for the 1st half hour. The plot is moronic and the plot holes are MASSIVE (such as, why not use the real alien that Culp was made of a copy of or where the [heck] did they get the alien?).

thank you for your time, David

Believe me guys, I am a fanatic of Classic Outer Limits, I remember when my Mother would not allow my brother and I to watch because we couldn't sleep later that night...anyway, the story was very original, but it just crumpled to nothing, it started with a bang, but why would a man with a beautiful wife do that to himself, and he did it all for nothing, I mean it's like the writers got tired of writing because the second half was very disappointing, and the ending...please, a waste of human life..