The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)

For the revival series, see The Outer Limits (1995 TV series).

The Outer Limits
Genre	Science fiction Horror Fantasy
Created by	Leslie Stevens
Narrated by	Vic Perrin (Control Voice)
Opening theme	Dominic Frontiere (1963–64) Harry Lubin (1964–65)
Country of origin	USA
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	49 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Leslie Stevens
Producers	Joseph Stefano (1963–64) Ben Brady (1964–65)
Cinematography	Conrad Hall, John M. Nickolaus, Kenneth Peach
Running time	51 minutes
Production companies	Daystar Productions Villa DiStefano United Artists Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 16, 1963 – January 16, 1965

The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is often compared to The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction (rather than simply bizarre or supernatural) stories. The Outer Limits is an anthology of self-contained episodes, sometimes with a plot twist at the end.

The series was revived in 1995, airing on Showtime from 1995 to 1999, then on Sci-Fi Channel from 1999 until its cancellation in 2002. In 1997, the episode "The Zanti Misfits" was ranked #98 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.

Series overview

Introduction

Each show would begin with either a cold open or a preview clip, followed by a "Control Voice" narration that was played over visuals of an oscilloscope. The earlier and longer version of the narration ran as follows, using an Orwellian theme of taking over your television.

First lines of each episode: There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to – The Outer Limits.

Last lines of each episode: We now return control of your television set to you. Until next week at the same time, when the control voice will take you to – The Outer Limits.

Later episodes used one of two shortened versions of this introduction. The first few episodes began simply with the title screen followed by the narration and no cold open or preview clip.

Production information

The Outer Limits originally was broadcast from 1963 to 1965 on the U.S. television broadcasting network ABC; in total, 49 episodes. It was one of many series influenced by The Twilight Zone and Science Fiction Theatre, though it ultimately proved influential in its own right. In the un-aired pilot, the series was called Please Stand By, but ABC rejected that title. Series creator Leslie Stevens retitled it The Outer Limits. With a few changes, the pilot aired as the premiere episode, "The Galaxy Being".

Writers for The Outer Limits included creator Stevens and Joseph Stefano (screenwriter of Hitchcock's Psycho), who was the series' first-season producer and creative guiding force. Stefano wrote more episodes than any other writer for the show. Future Oscar winning screenwriter Robert Towne (Chinatown) would write "The Chameleon", which was also the final episode filmed for the first season. Two especially notable second-season episodes "Demon with a Glass Hand" and "Soldier" were written by Harlan Ellison, with the latter episode winning a Writers' Guild Award. The former was for several years the only episode of The Outer Limits available on laser-disc.

The first season combined science-fiction and horror, while the second season was more focused on 'hard' science-fiction stories, dropping the recurring "scary monster" motif of the first season. Each show in the first season was to have a monster or creature as a critical part of the story line. First-season writer and producer Joseph Stefano believed that this element was necessary to provide fear, suspense, or at least a center for plot development. This kind of story element became known as "the bear". This device was, however, mostly dropped in the second season when Stefano left. (Two first-season episodes without a "bear" are "The Forms of Things Unknown" and "Controlled Experiment" the first of which was shot in a dual format as science-fiction for The Outer Limits and as a Thriller for a pilot for an unmade series The Unknown. Actor Barry Morse who starred in "Controlled Experiment" states that this episode also was made as a pilot for an unrealized science-fiction comedy series. It is the only comic episode of The Outer Limits. Earlier Season 1 episodes with no "bear" were "The Hundred Days of the Dragon" and "The Borderland" made before the "bear" convention was established. Second season episodes with a "bear" are "Keeper of the Purple Twilight", "The Duplicate Man", and "The Probe". Bears appear near the conclusion of second season episodes "Counterweight", "The Invisible Enemy", and "Cold Hands, Warm Heart".)

The "bear" in "The Architects of Fear", the monstrously-altered Allen Leighton, was judged by some of ABC's local affiliate stations to be so frightening that they broadcast a black screen during the "Thetan's" appearances, effectively censoring most of the show's last act. In other parts of the United States the "Thetan" footage was tape delayed until after the 11 o'clock evening news. In still others, it was not shown at all. (Unlike today where all film series are transferred to videotape for transmission, from the 1950s to about the mid-1980s all film series were broadcast directly off the film print via telecine.)

The show's first season had distinctive music by Dominic Frontiere, who doubled as Production Executive; the second season featured music by Harry Lubin, with a variation of his Fear theme for One Step Beyond being heard over the end titles. Another tangible that marked the series was good talent that played different characters and aliens on the show: Among the actors who performed in the original shows were stars like David McCallum, Jill Haworth, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Martin Sheen, Adam West, Bruce Dern, Robert Culp, Sally Kellerman, and future Oscar winner Robert Duvall.

Comparison to The Twilight Zone

Like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits had an opening and closing narration in almost every episode, by the "Control Voice" (Vic Perrin). Both shows were unusually philosophical for science-fiction anthology series, but differed in style. The Twilight Zone stories were often like parables, employing whimsy (such as the Buster Keaton time-travel episode "Once Upon a Time") or irony, or extraordinary problem-solving situations (such as the episode "The Arrival"). The Outer Limits was usually a straight action-and-suspense show which often had the human spirit in confrontation with dark existential forces from within or without, such as in the alien abduction episode "A Feasibility Study" or the alien possession story "The Invisibles". As well, The Outer Limits was known for its moody, textured look in many episodes (especially those directed by Byron Haskin or Gerd Oswald, or photographed by Conrad Hall) whereas The Twilight Zone tended to be shot more conventionally – although there are, of course, notable exceptions to these rules of thumb on both series.

However, there is some common ground between certain episodes of the two shows. As Schow & Frentzen, the authors of The Outer Limits: The Official Companion, have noted, several Outer Limits episodes are often misremembered by casual fans as having been Twilight Zone episodes, notably such "problem solving" episodes as "Fun and Games" or "The Premonition".

Cinematography

The program sometimes made use of techniques (lighting, camerawork, even make-up) associated with film noir or German Expressionism (see for example, "Corpus Earthling"), and a number of episodes were noteworthy for their sheer eeriness. Credit for this is often given to the cinematographer Conrad Hall, who went on to win three Academy Awards (and many more nominations) for his work in motion pictures. However, Hall worked only on alternate episodes of this TV series during the first two-thirds of the first season. The program's other cinematographers included John M. Nickolaus and Kenneth Peach.

Special effects

The various monsters and creatures from the first season and most props were developed by a loose-knit group organized under the name Project Unlimited. Members of the group included Wah Chang, Gene Warren and Jim Danforth. Makeup was executed by Fred B. Phillips along with John Chambers.

Characters and models

Many creatures that appeared on 1960s Outer Limits episodes have in the 1990s or 2000s been sold as models or action figures. A variety in limited editions have been as model kits to be assembled and painted by the purchaser issued by Dimensional Designs, and a smaller set of out-of-the-box action figures sold in larger quantity by Sideshow Toys. The former produced a model kit of The Megasoid from "The Duplicate Man", and both created a figure of Gwyllm as an evolved man from "The Sixth Finger".

Influence on Star Trek

A few of the monsters reappeared in Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek series later in the 1960s. A prop head from "Fun and Games" was used in Star Trek to make a Talosian appear as a vicious creature. The moving microbe beast in "The Probe" later was used as the 'Horta' in "The Devil in the Dark", and operated by the same actor, Janos Prohaska. The process used to make pointed ears for David McCallum in "The Sixth Finger" was reused in Star Trek as well. The "ion storm" seen in "The Mutant" (a projector beam shining through a container containing glitter in liquid suspension) became the transporter effect in Star Trek. The black mask from "The Duplicate Man", is used by the character Dr. Leighton in "The Conscience of the King". The Megazoid, from "The Duplicate Man" and the Empyrean from "Second Chance" (1964) were seen briefly near Captain Christopher Pike in other cages in the first Star Trek pilot "The Cage".

Lead actors who would later appear in the regular cast of Star Trek included Leonard Nimoy, who appeared in two episodes ("Production and Decay of Strange Particles" and "I, Robot") and William Shatner who appeared (in the episode "Cold Hands, Warm Heart") as an astronaut working on a Project Vulcan (the name "Vulcan" itself was later used as the name of the planet of Spock's origin.) Actors who subsequently appeared in the regular supporting cast of Star Trek were James Doohan in a supporting role as a policeman in "Expanding Human", and Grace Lee Whitney in the episode "Controlled Experiment".

In single-episode roles, actress Arlene Martel who played Spock's Vulcan Bride T'Pring, starred in "Demon With A Glass Hand" with actor Robert Culp as Trent. Also Lawrence Montaigne, who played T'Pring's suitor Stonn in the same Star Trek episode "Amok Time", also was briefly seen with Shatner in "Cold Hands, Warm Heart". (Montaigne also portrayed the Romulan Decius in the Star Trek episode "Balance of Terror".) Sally Kellerman, who appeared in "The Human Factor" and "The Bellero Shield" also guest-starred in the Star Trek episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Actor Harry Townes appeared as Dr. Scott in TOL episode "O.B.I.T." and also in "The Return of the Archons". Michael Forest starred in "It Crawled Out of the Woodwork" and was also Apollo in the Star Trek episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?". That same episode also featured Barbara Luna who also acted the part of the captain's mate Marlena in "Mirror Mirror". In "Cold Hands Warm Heart", which featured William Shatner as lead character, actor Malachi Throne played the personal doctor to Shatner's character. Throne played Commodore Mendez in Star Trek's "The Menagerie".

The Outer Limits episode "Keeper of the Purple Twilight" presents some curiosities. It stars Warren Stevens, who later played Rojan in the Star Trek episode "By Any Other Name", the leader of an alien race devoid of emotion and bent on taking over the galaxy. In the Outer Limits episode, Stevens plays a scientist who, through manipulation by an aggressive alien race, makes him devoid of emotion so that he will collaborate in their Earth take-over. The alien, just as with Rojan, becomes "humanlike" (emotional) and thus becomes unable to attack Earth. What is curious is are the plot parallels and with the same actor. In the Star Trek episode, it is the crew who works to turn Rojan and his alien colleagues into emotional creatures, thus ending their quest for galactic domination.

Gene Roddenberry was often present in the Outer Limits' studios, and hired several of its staff, among them Robert Justman and Wah Chang for the production of Star Trek.

Lawsuit on behalf of Harlan Ellison

Harlan Ellison contended that inspiration for James Cameron's Terminator had come in part from Ellison's work on The Outer Limits. Cameron conceded the influence. Ellison was awarded money and an end-credits mention in The Terminator (1984), stating the creators' wish "to acknowledge the works of Harlan Ellison". Cameron was against Orion's decision and was told that if he did not agree with the settlement, they would have Cameron pay for any damages if Orion lost Ellison's suit. Cameron replied that he "had no choice but to agree with the settlement. There was a gag order as well."

Reception

In the first year the series earned a very loyal cult audience so devoted some were reported to actually take a TV set with them if they had to be out of their home so they would not miss the episode (this was in the days before DVRs & other recording devices). However the series fared rather poorly in the Nielsen ratings at the time of initial broadcast after moving from Monday Night, to Saturday Night going against Jackie Gleason at the start of the 2nd season. This was the main reason that producer Joseph Stefano chose to leave the show after the first year because he realized that competing against the more popular Gleason Show would kill his show, (as reflected in its cancellation after only 1 and 1/2 seasons) in comparison to the more popular Twilight Zone series. However, the series retained a cult following for many years after its original broadcast. Many decades later, revered horror writer Stephen King called it "the best program of its type ever to run on network TV."

In a 2002 Salon.com review of the original series, Mark Holcomb wrote that The Twilight Zone and Star Trek were more popular in part because they played things more safely than The Outer Limits, choosing to "never stray far from the rationalism that drives most American entertainment". Holcomb writes:

Their [referring to The Twilight Zone and Star Trek] human characters are fallible, impulsive creatures uniquely adept at screwing up, but every emotion, relationship and deeply held conviction they display remains in place at the end of virtually every episode. However comforting this may have been, it tended to refute the everyday experience of the viewing audience.
The Outer Limits wouldn't, or couldn't, cater to such needs. Stevens and Stefano had something much less conciliatory in mind for their show, and thus set it squarely in a universe ruled by labyrinthine pressures and transient pleasures, where meaning and morality were in constant flux and human beings fought desperately – sometimes heroically – to keep pace. This starkly recognizable yet distinctly off-kilter milieu made The Outer Limits television's most unabashedly modernist work.

DVD releases

MGM Home Entertainment has released both seasons of The Outer Limits on DVD in Region 1. In 2007, they re-released the series in three separate sets. In October 2008, MGM released a 7-disc box set featuring all 49 episodes of the series. The re-releases of Season 2 correctly claim three discs in the set on the outer packaging, whereas the individual slim cases with the DVDs inside rather confusingly claim only two.

DVD name	Episodes	R1 Release date	R2 Release date
Season 1	32	September 3, 2002	July 11, 2005
Season 2	17	September 2, 2003	July 25, 2005
The Complete Series	49	October 21, 2008	–

• The DVDs include a revised version of the original intro, heard over the episode menus:

There is nothing wrong with your DVD player. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling your DVD player. We already control the horizontal and the vertical. We now control the digital. We can change the focus from a soft blur to crystal clarity. Sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to – The Outer Limits.

• The episodes "The Invisible Enemy" and "Wolf 359" are erroneously listed on one DVD case ("The Outer Limits Volume Three The Original Series Disc 1 Episodes 33–40") in "The Outer Limits The Complete Original Series Volumes 1–3". Both episodes are actually only on Disc 2 included in the case for "The Outer Limits Volume Three The Original Series Discs 2–3 Episodes 39–49".

VHS releases

A "platinum" version of the MGM/UA Library brand product of the video series was released.

See also

• List of The Outer Limits (1963–1965) episodes
• The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)
• Science fiction on television

Similar series

• Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond
• Amazing Stories
• Fear Itself
• Night Gallery
• Masters of Horror
• Masters of Science Fiction
• Monsters
• Science Fiction Theatre
• Tales from the Crypt
• Tales from the Darkside
• Tales of Tomorrow
• The Ray Bradbury Theater
• The Twilight Zone
• Thriller (U.S. TV series)
• Way Out

External links

• The Outer Limits (1963) at IMDb