Customer Reviews

The Outer Limits - The Original Series, Season 2

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I grew up with this show, as many of you have I suspect. It would be easy to review this in a nostalgic haze and give it 5 stars "just because". However, I have taken a step back and have reviewed each episode rationally, based on budget, cast, writers, etc. Along the way, it may appear as though I am overly concerned with the "not-so-special-effects" of the series but trust me, it is a point of minor contension. Still, since great effect based movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Apes are barely three years away, I can't shake the notion that if the purse-strings were relaxed a little and it would have paid off big for a show that seemed doomed from the start. Often, the show could rise above it all, with superb acting, like in the first seasons "The Mutant", but why make a show work harder than necessary and potentially leave an accomplished actor looking foolish and silly?

Picture/sound/packaging: 4/5 Dissappointing yet predictable lack of 5.1 DD remastered sound. Original Star Trek seems to have proven to be the exception and not the rule in so far as sound. The picture is often nice, but varies from scene to scene on certain eps. I have no problem with the way the packaging is put together. So many complaints about the two sided discs? None here. And I think the packaging color scheme is an excellant compliment to Season One. My only real complaint is the cancellation of this series in the middle of season two, gosh, at least let the season finish!

--Episodes--Season 2--

(I consider 3 and above good, 2 or below poor.)

Soldier: 5/5
Cold Hands, Warm Heart: 2.5/5
Behold Eck!: 1/5
Expanding Human: 2.5/5
Cry of Silence: 3.5/5
Demon With a Glass Hand: 3/5
Wolf 359: 4/5
I, Robot: 4/5
The Invisible Enemy: 1/5
The Inheritors 1&2: 5/5
Keeper of the Purple Twilight: 3.5/5
Counterweight: 2/5
The Brain of Col. Barham: 1.5/5
The Premonition: 2.5/5
The Duplicate Man: 3.5/5
The Probe: 2.5/5

Wrap-up:
Still, in spite of all the hokey props, there lurks delicious camera angles, glorious sound, odd lighting, and most importantly, a fun sense of adventure that has all but since evaporated from the airwaves. In spite of the 3 stars, I cannot reccommend this set enough. Not because I'm caught like "the enemy" in the never-never, but because I'm trapped in a time period that uses "effects" to convey awe and mystery instead of imagination. The Outer Limits is a welcome look back at a future gone by.

When I first saw the Outer Limits series, I was young enough that I'm sure much of the story line went directly into the subliminal mind. So when the DVD sets came out I wanted to review each episode to see exactly what was going into my subconscious mind at such an young and tender age. Much to my surprise I found my self highly challenged by both seasons. Having lived at least half a life time, I did not expect to find myself so challenged. Now I know how much dramatic media can indeed influence the subconscious mind.

In fact, if I had been a little bit older when I first watched the series, I think my life might have been different. I was too young at the time to really be able to hold onto the dramatic impact and theme of each episode. What truly amazes me is how much the story and theme carry the episode, and how minimal the special effects. This realization has made me rethink my whole experience with contemporary science fiction cinema. Once all the computer graphic, virtual reality special effects, all the senseless, sensationalistic violence and sex are stripped away, how much does contemporary science fiction really tell a story?

I can hardly think of any contemporary science fiction movie that can stand on the story line alone, without the aid of special effects. Yet the creators of Outer Limits were able to accomplish amazing dramatic effects with light and shadow, playhouse sets, and black and white photography. Better yet, with a constantly changing cast, the acting comes across far superior to so much of today's stock, formula performances by Hollywood stock performers. Today, make a science fiction and chances are that you've got to cast Kenau Reeves, Tom Kruse, or the Star Trek/Wars crew to even get into production.

In summary, I think there is a great deal to be learned from the original Outer Limits series. The original series constitutes a whole cinimagraphic course in how much can be accomplished with so little - provided you have performers who can really act and cinematographers who really understand light, shadows and camera angles. In the end, the question arises: how much has all the high tech film making actually bought us?

The Outer Limits was a landmark series worth remembering. I recently purchased the 2nd season series after viewing the 1st season. Although the 2nd season was only considered "half" a season, it is well worth mentioning. OUTER LIMITS is the baby brother of THE TWILIGHT ZONE but deserves recognition in its own right.
The only criticism I had with volume 1 is that it was copied on double sided disks and I had problems with them. But after three tries, I finally got a set of disks with no problems. I hope the second season will be just as good.
I would like to thank MGM for keeping this original series alive by selling it on DVD.
I have four children at home who have seen the original series and still find them enjoyable to watch even though the special effects are truly substandard. Its the STORIES that count. Yes, some stories are not up to par, but the same holds for any series. THE ORIGINAL OUTER LIMITS was a great attempt at bringing sciencefiction to television by standards of the 1960s.
The second season of OL was cancelled mid-season because of its being scheduled against THE JACKIE GLEASON SHOW (which I really enjoy) but that was a network decision. It should not be the deciding factor about the quality of the show itself.
OL was a series that brought something new to television and suceeded in a spectacular way. If not, people would not even have remembered its name after all these years.
I will always treasure this series and think of it as one of the all-time best series that came out for television.

As a child I watched this series and was mesmerized. It and Twilight Zone were the key reasons I became a fan of Science Fiction. Like the original Star Trek series that came a few years later, in it's last season it was weak. Both series however had good episodes in their last season. This set is not worth the same as the first season if for no other reason than it has half the episodes.

I find it appalling the studio got everyone into buying the first season with a reasonable price, then figured they will all pay just to finish their set. Well at least in my case guess again. As much as I would like to have the complete series I refuse to pay any studio a price that is unjustified for what they are giving us. I too would have given four or five stars if this had a price comparable to the product.

After the release of the first seasons episodes on DVD, like many fans, I was anxiously awaiting the release of the second season. Well here it is. What a value! Just over half the number of episodes (17 vs. 32) for about 95 percent of the price! I assumed there would at least be some extras to make up for the fact that the second season was so short (and frankly contained so many stinkers) but there were not. Nothing. Zip. Nada. Just the unadorned episodes themselves. Another review here makes a confusing reference to a comment made about including the original pilot "Please Stand By" so let's set the record straight. YES that WOULD have been nice, but NO they didn't do it. There is nothing on these disks but the seventeen second season episodes - period. This was clearly NOT a labor of love. To give you an idea just how little they gave a dam about the material, some idiot split "The Inheritors Part 1" and "The Inheritors Part 2" so that it ended up on two sides of a `flipy' disk. Now that was really stupid. If they cared at all, they would have given this special two-part episode the special treatment it deserved with a "play part 1", "play part 2", "play both parts" special sub-menu. Ok, let's take it as a given that MGM was too greedy and/or lazy to spend even the miniscule amount of time and money on the project that this minor change would have required. But, how much would it have cost to rearrange the ordering so that, at least, these two episodes ended up on the same side of a disk? THERE ARE FOUR EPISODES ON THE SIDE OF THE DISK WHICH CONTAINS "The Inheritors Part 1", SO PLACING PART 2 THERE AS WELL WOULD HAVE COST THEM NOTHING. It would have only required that the individual laying out the disks have the tinniest shred of consideration for the material and the intelligence that god gave dirt. The only two episodes I cared about in this set was "the Inheritors" (ruined for me by this totally unnecessary stupidity) and "Demon with a Glass Hand" which sadly ends up being the episode with just about the worst video quality in the set. Thanks a lot MGM I'll think about this next time I see you logo on a DVD. My advise is, if you MUST have this material, wait a while, my guess is that it'll be on clearance for 29 bucks (or less) real soon.

--Episodes--Season 2--

(I consider 3 and above good, 2 or below poor.)

Soldier: 5/5 Off and running in Season 2. Despite how cheesy the outfit looks, this episode has a sort of undefined magic. Micheal Ansara should have won something for his portrayal of the soldier, I honestly believed he was a soldier from the future. Although, I never have understood the effect of "the enemy" being trapped, it looks odd even today. I often wished this script could have been reworked in which the Soldier never comes home with Kagen, I think it loses some of its believeability once he does. However, even here it has brightspots like Quarlo's interest in the cat Mcbeth, and the reason for the interest. Think-speak? Odd.

Cold Hands, Warm Heart: 2.5/5 This ep. has elements that make it watchable, particularly, Shats insistance on the keeping warm. I think this is a decent ep. that could have been better, barring better effects. I always laugh at the term "Project Vulcan"... a precursor of things to come? This ep. is a great example of why Shat refers to himself as the Ham-o-saurus.

Behold Eck!: 1/5 Despite Eck! being a memorable character, well outside the usual gloom and doom of sci-fi, I find the story to be proposterous (um, a spectacle), yes, even for sci-fi. The "building effect" on the news looked neat-o though:) A glaring problem with this ep. stems from Season One's "Galaxy Being", that is similar to this but much, much better. Just watch that instead.

Expanding Human: 2.5/5 Not a bad ep. but considering the cast it should have probably been better. It's nice to see James Doohans suspicious wit and sarcasm formulating in this. I think this ep. was fair but not one I'd watch over and over, middle of the road. I wish James had a larger role, he is quite good.

Cry of Silence: 3.5/5 I really like this one. It has a forboding quality to it that still is effective today. And oddly enough this ep. opens with city-boy Eddie Albert wanting to give it all up to become a farmer... sound familiar? His wife in this gives a fine performance as a frightened woman just wishing it would all end, convincing but not overdone.

Demon With a Glass Hand: 3/5 I like Robert Culp in this quite a bit, unfortunately, the story, even though it's Ellison isn't very good. I am probably in the minority here, but I think this ep. is average at best. This always seems to come off like a "pilot" for a new series, similar to how Assignment Earth for Star Trek does, probably because Culp is so darn good. Tell it to the hand!

Wolf 359: 4/5 Great Sci-fi. This is a finely balanced episode that is interesting and yet doesn't try too hard. The effects are of coarse primitive, but the point is made. I like the cast, they are also well balanced and believeable. The subject matter is interesting but this show loses a point for slow pacing. Looking through the scope at the created world was quite effective.

I, Robot: 4/5 Even though I give this show a pretty high rating, I think the cast is primarily strained and wooden. The high rating is given in large part to the character Adam Link. The odd tone in his voice and the look of sentimentality may be all robot, but to me Adam is more human than most of the actors. Nimoy is fair in this, but nothing terribly memorable, a bit overzelous.

The Invisible Enemy: 1/5 There are few Outer Limits with no redeeming qualities, IMO, this is close to being one of them. Typical, predictable, and stale are words that come to mind. Adam West heads a cast of astronaughts that refer to women as "dames and broads". The rocket effects appear to be 50's quality and even though there is some tension near the end, it's far too little, too late.

The Inheritors 1&2: 5/5 I struggle with this dual episode despite the score. I think it is superbly acted, wonderfully directed, but what worries me is the conclusion one draws from the ending. Are we to understand that people can only truly be happy if they are "normal"? Even though I ponder the conclusion, I marvel at the great acting along the way, probably the best. Great story, also. MGM should have seen fit to put these on the same side of a disc however!

Keeper of the Purple Twilight: 3.5/5 In terms of dialogue, there's quite a bit to like here. Some meaningful exchanges about the meaning of love and life seem heartfelt. The acting is more than adequate although I must say the rubber suit costumes are again, just not very good. Even in '65 they were probably barely passable, and now they seem silly and are a bit distracting. Certainly, not the worst ever, but the immobile eyes and mouth take away from the reality of fantasy greatly.

Counterweight: 2/5 A show of this nature lives and dies depending on how well defined the individual characters are drawn up ( as in 5 Characters in Search of an Exit 5/5), in this case, it's a true failure. I think a redeeming factor is the soaring "vocal" score that gives it a dreamy essence, the odd ending of the reintroducing of characters, and a few other small factors, but this show just lacks any insight or punch.

The Brain of Col. Barham: 1.5/5 Some of the Outer Limits fail because of one simple reason; they are attempting to perform concepts 40 years ago that couldn't even be attempted now, when that unravels, the jig is up. They should have at least draped the set in a futuristic aura in hopes of pulling this off. On top of that the actors never seem to deliver lines with any sort of spontenaity. The sets aren't even half bad, but the concept is ridiculous, and the characters are hollow and vague.

The Premonition: 2.5/5 Ahhh... the obligatory "freeze frame" episode, which actually exceeds expectations in so far as the effect. Some really clever uses of the technique actually one ups the mighty TZ uses (not the picture stills though). However, having said that, this story has many, many holes. Far more than I could expound on here. And I never have understood why the title was used. The term "premonition" really doesn't apply in this case. Fair acting abounds, but doesn't cover the huge plot holes. Ok, I can't resist, why not tie the childs feet around the bike? Tying the bike in some way would have been far easier. Too easy? :)

The Duplicate Man: 3.5/5 There's quite a bit to like about this one. The sets, props, and feel are just right for the subject matter. The acting is quite good, the plot is interesting, and the payoff is rewarding. Had this been a typical monster hunt it wouldn't have worked. The Megasoid is as amusing as it is menacing and for a creature that is so "evolved" it isn't very bright. I would have liked to see this ep. as a two parter like The Inheritors, but as it stands, it's well crafted. For a series that had to cut corners on costumes, I'm surprised an attempt wasn't made to show the creatures as little as possible, it would have helped.

The Probe: 2.5/5 Not really out with a whimper or a bang. Nice cast, nice acting jobs all around, but the mood is quite sterile and ineffective. The concept of this last episode is interesting but the direction never rises above ordinary The "germs" design seems to be a pre-Horta from Star Trek.

Wrap-up:
Still, in spite of all the hokey props, there lurks delicious camera angles, glorious sound, odd lighting, and most importantly, a fun sense of adventure that has all but since evaporated from the airwaves. In spite of the 3 stars, I cannot reccommend this set enough. Not because I'm caught like "the enemy" in the never-never, but because I'm trapped in a time period that uses "effects" to convey awe and mystery instead of imagination. The Outer Limits is a welcome look back at a future gone by.

Soldier - **** (Four stars out of five.) Michael Ansara plays a soldier from the future, Lloyd Nolan a linguist who tries to communicate with him. Pretty strong opening salvo, with an intelligent script from Harlan Ellison.

Cold Hands, Warm Heart - ***. The inimitable William Shatner stars as an astronaut returned from Mars with a bad case of the shakes, nightmares involving a giant Martian carrot, an extreme need for heat, and ultimately a `whole blood transfusion.' Something is amiss when Shatner's acting salvages anything, but this one rides his back - just barely - over the line.

Behold Eck! - *. Behold the trough this series seemed magnetically drawn to. Louie Elias plays a brainy eye doctor with some specially ground lenses that allow him to see Eck, or `the unnamed monster,' from what I assume is the 2nd dimension. Question - If a creature is of only two dimensions, how is it that he grows a three dimensional eye? And wouldn't popping your eye out of your skull hurt, no matter how many dimensions you pop it out of?

The Expanding Human - *. Hog-ties an updated Jekyll & Hyde theme to `consciousness expanding' experimentation. Way more silly than thought provoking.

Demon with a Glass Hand - *****. The second Harlan Ellison script is one of my favorites, and the reason I sought out this disk in the first place. I remember watching this episode years ago, before I was 10, and it stuck with me. Robert Culp plays a warring visitor from the future - future warriors traveling in time must have been a favorite theme of Ellison's - who has a glass hand that's missing three fingers. The glass hand is a computer, and the missing digits are needed to tell Culp what happened to the 70 billion people on future Earth who vanished. Naturally, there's a clutch of baddies after him. Well done and thought provoking.

Cry of Silence - *. An embarrassment. Eddie Albert, June Havoc, and Arthur Hunnicutt battle a desert full of Russian thistle, salt wort, and various other murderous tumbleweeds, as well as a barrel full of frogs. The best line, uttered by an exasperated Eddie Albert at one point - `Anyone with six drink in him could write this kind of junk.' So true.

The Invisible Enemy - **. War hero Adam West and crew travel to Mars to find out what, or who, killed the last clutch of Mars' explorers. For a sci-fi series, this one doesn't get the basics right. West and crew walk around helmet-less, in shirtsleeves. Colonization, after we clear out the invisible enemy, is going to be a snap.

Wolf 359 - ***. Scientist Patrick O'Neal uses a chunk of interstellar rock to create his own world in the lab, with predictably eerie results. As often happens, a great premise steadily loses steam and by the end of the show you're wondering what the heck happened.

No comment on I, Robot. The scratch-free, smudge-free, glistening disc 2/side A refused two play the last two title tracks, although the first two tracks played fine.

The Inheritors, Part II - ****. Missed part one. Federal agent Robert Duvall and men are chasing a super-intelligent vet who's assembling the fixin's for a spacecraft and showing unseemly interest in some selected young people. Even though I'd missed the first part I caught on pretty quick. Most of these shows are heavily padded, and The Inheritors is no exception. Although I should have figured it out, the end surprised me a bit. Has kind of a nice, Day-the-Earth-Stood-Still feel to it.

Keepers of the Purple Twilight - ***. Robert Webber plays a gilly alien scouting out the Earth for nefarious purposes. Never a good thing, as Ikar (Webber) can attest, for an alien to drain a human of his emotions and take them on as their own.

The Duplicate Man - **. A megasoid, an alien with a chicken's head, a yeti's body and a kangaroo's tail, wreaks havoc in the semi-distant (1986) future.

Counterweight - *. A group of experts, anthropologists and the like, find their worst nightmares coming true during a mock inter-planetary space flight.

Brain of Colonel Barham - **. Typical `brain-in-a-jar' story. Brilliant young army officer with a bad attitude and failing body is de-brained. Brain is put in a jar, hooked up to a computer, ignores its job as adjunct to the Mars colonization exploration team. Instead wreaks general havoc, concentrating its evil on the colonel's pretty ex-wife and her new, handsome psychologist friend.

The Premonition - **. Time stops for a married couple moments before a near-fatal crash occurs.

The Probe - **. After flying through the eye of a hurricane, plane crash survivors find themselves in a strange, sterile, hostile place. Last episode of the series.

Falling somewhere between the original The Twilight Zone and cheesy 50s-era science fiction movies - the cheap ones - The Outer Limits, at least the second season episodes, fails miserably in comparison. When the material is good, for instance in the Harlan Ellison scripted `Soldier' and `Demon with a Glass Hand,' they're something special. Unfortunately, there's too many monsters in silly costumes, too many stories that go nowhere, too much of Eddie Albert death match wrestling a hunk of sagebrush. Good science and speculative fiction is supposed to fill us with awe and wonder. Rod Serling did it right, with numbing regularity, with The Twilight Zone. The only wonder this set left me with was wondering how The Outer Limits made it through eighteen episodes. A grudging three stars for this set, mainly because nostalgia counts for something and a few, a precious few, of the episodes are keepers.

Has anyone ever bought the second season that doesn't have a defective 2nd disk. I am on my 3rd second season set and all have had the defective disk. I can't get it to play in my Pioneer DVD player but it will play in our el cheapo Apex player. It plays the first 2 episodes fine, but the I, Robot and The Inheritors Part 1 keep freezing up or are jumpy. I know I'm not the only one who has this problem. I would just like to know where I can get the second season that works. Thanks.

I enjoy the old sci-fi shows like Outer Limits. In many cases, these shows contain some of the earliest instances of certain ideas ever seen on TV. (Naturally, they appeared in written fiction years earlier, but this is TV, which is usually 20 years behind written science fiction. So one makes allowances. :^)

For example, the episode "The Invisible Enemy" has what is probably one of the first appearances (if not THE first appearance) of a "sand monster" on TV. Sand monsters now show up regularly in skiffy and fantasy shows.

Sadly, the production quality of this DVD set is just not up to par. Disc 2 of my first set had major problems. "I, Robot" and "The Inheritors Part 1" pixellated and froze. Fair enough, I thought. Snail mail had not been kind to the set, and it had arrived with 2 discs loose and scuffed pretty severely. I exchanged the set.

Now I'm on my second set, and "I, Robot" and "The Inheritors Part 1" once again pixellate and freeze, even worse than the first time! I did a little research, and discovered that lots of people have trouble with these episodes. This set is also going back. This time I'm getting a refund.

Whoever is handling quality control on these discs is obviously not doing their job. I'll give it a few months (or maybe a year) and try again. Maybe I'll get lucky next time and receive a functional set of discs.

Let's see - almost the same price for 32 of the best Season One episodes as they are charging for just 17 of the Season Two shows, which everyone knows are generally not up to par with the first. I half expected SOME sort of extras for the high price. Maybe the pilot episode, 'cause it wouldn't have fit on the first package. Maybe some interviews or behind-the-scenes stuff. Nothing - but the high price! Some of my favorite episodes are in this season (Demon with a glass hand, The Inheritors - damn, I even love the Eddie Albert vehicle Cry of Silence), but this was an out-and-out rip compared to the value of the first season. Shame on MGM!