Customer Reviews

The Outer Limits: Behold, Eck! [VHS]

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

 

 

When I first saw "Behold Eck" back in the 60's, I thought the special effects were better than on many of the more respected episodes. The notion of a two-dimensional being is cool, and you actually come to care for the soft-spoken scientist from another geometry.

In David Schow's book, 'The Outer Limits Companion', he says this episode was basically a failed comedy (e.g. Eck has four eyes - supposedly a sight gag referring to the tag "foureyes" given to people wearing glasses. Eck's vision problem is the central problem of the story). This comedy aspect easily goes unnoticed, as it did with me. The episode was also filmed at a time when all at the studio knew the series was being shut down, hence a supposed lack of effort. Films that became objects of shame or regret for their creators often are loved by the viewing public - and I would nominate 'Behold Eck' for this status.

Much of my respect for this episode comes from the Control Voice epilogue at the end. The events of the story gel into time well spent as you contemplate it, and it could well be taken as the Epilogue of the Outer Limits Series itself.

This oddly-titled second-season "Limits" episode is mostly a missed opportunity, though the effective moments make it worth watching. The idea is great--a two-dimensional being (Eck, who else?) ends up in our three-dimensional world by accident and seeks the help of a scientist who happens to have a special pair of glasses that render the otherwise invisible being viewable. Unfortunately, the episode can't decide whether it wants to be a comedy or a drama, and it ends up not being much of either. Still, the special effects are great, if you can accept the cartoonish appearance of Eck, and the lab scenes have some of the first-season mysterioso. The director, believe it or not, is Byron Haskin, best-known for "War of the Worlds," "Robinson Crusoe on Mars," and the Disney "Treasure Island." Haskin despised this episode, claiming that it harmed his TV directoral career.

In the classic mathematical/satirical novel "Flatland" by Edwin Abbott, the fundamental properties of two-dimensional creatures is explored. The limits of their perception and how they would perceive any interaction with three-dimensional creatures is also explained. A three-dimensional creature visits Flatland and the two-dimensional creatures are astounded at the sudden appearance, how what they see changes as the three-dimensional creature passes through their universe and how it then mysteriously vanishes.
The situation is reversed in this episode; a two-dimensional creature called Eck uses a time portal to travel from his universe to ours. Humans can only see Eck when they are wearing glasses made from meteoric crystal and a brilliant optometrist made those glasses. His brother is a scientist involved in national security operations so the optometrist consults him.
While this episode has some of the traditional, "the alien is a monster and must be destroyed" aspects, there are people that keep a level head. The scientist and the associated authorities take the position that Eck must be destroyed, but the optometrist and his secretary do not. They strive to help Eck get back to his universe by making him a pair of special glasses. Eck can see things in the three-dimensional world, but not well enough to find the time portal so that he can return.
One excellent aspect of this episode is that the female is not depicted as being hysterical, screaming and prone to fainting. She is very intelligent and resourceful, she does not get frightened when she sees Eck and she often speaks to the optometrist as an equal and he responds in kind.
Although this is not one of the greatest episodes of the series, the fact that the woman is a strong personality alone is enough to make it a good one. Abbott wrote "Flatland" as a satire against the perception of women as being inherently weak and unintelligent, so it is ironic that a show based on his book would depict a woman as a strong personality.

Hard to defend this one. About all it has going for it are some interesting visuals, but even those are pretty cartoonish. The production team knew the series was dead in the water and wasn't going to be revived, and more or less tossed this one off. It comes off overall like a children's theater piece, that would have been happier on an Irwin Allen show than OL.

The saddest thing about "Eck" is comparing it to the series premiere, "The Galaxy Being," which shows how far OL had degenerated from its original inception. Both "Being" and "Eck" have essentially the same plot - a benign but extremely dangerous alien comes to Earth, receiving help from a sympathetic human - but oh, my, how very differently the two episodes come off...

One of the best television series ever produced and certainly the best sci-fi ever produced. Behold the greatest TV show on this side of the galaxy.