The Outer Limits – The Original Series, Volume One (MGM)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Episodes: B-

 

 

Though it only lasted two seasons, The Outer Limits is still considered one of the best and greatest of all anthology TV series, though this critic could argue in favor of The Twilight Zone if the shows were not a little different.  While Rod Serling’s classic was more abstract, profound and groundbreaking, Outer Limits was a Science Fiction show with doses of Horror in parts.  MGM is reissuing the hit TV series in new DVD volumes instead of releasing them by season.  The shows are in broadcast order as follows from the 1963 – 1964 season:

 

 

Disc 1 Side A:

 

The Galaxy Being offers a private radio operator (Cliff Robertson) in this fairly good show about his attempts to contact extra-terrestrial beings and nets a visitor he and his wife will never forget.

 

Hundred Days Of The Dragon involves a serum from China that can remold human flesh, but when the intent is to do a super plastic surgery job to replace the then-U.S. president with a Manchurian Candidate, his daughter may just ruin their secret plans to overthrow the free world.  Not so hot, Byron Haskins directs and the cast seems a bit lost.  Look for Bert Remsen.

 

The Architects Of Fear has Robert Culp co-staring in this poor anti-nuclear episode where they decide to scare people out of nuclear holocaust (though no citizen will have their hands on a nuclear armament) by permanently deforming a living person who will be declared dead.  Byron Haskins directs again.

 

The Man With The Power stars Donald Pleasance as a college professor who has tapped into all kinds of wavelengths via a linkgate which he has installed in his brain!  Of course, his control will be pitted against his character flaws and the results will not be what he expects.  John Marley (Deathdream) also stars in this fairly good show.

 

 

Disc 1 Side B:

 

The Sixth Finger wastes David McCallum and Edward Mulhare in a mixed-up story about a man who has invented a machine that can speed up human evolution, though the title shows you how things go wrong.  James Goldstone’s directing is not bad.

 

The Man Who Was Never Born includes Martin Landau, John Constantine and Shirley Knight in a story about an astronaut who falls though a wormhole of some kind to find a world of mutants.

 

O.B.I.T. is about a machine that can measure various radio waves and produce pictures, but when one is a monster that only one man has seen that leads to his removal from the secret project, those left behind may pay a fatal price.  Jeff Corey and Lindsay Workman star.

 

The Human Factor has a fine cast including Harry Guardino, Sally Kellerman, Ivan Dixon, James B. Sikking and Gary Merrill in a story about a paranoid man and arctic creature in this attempt to do a variant of The Thing, but it never pans out.

 

 

Disc 2 Side A:

 

Corpus Earthling – recently discovered black rocks come to life, turn out to be aliens from outer space and enter the body of the scientist (Barry Atwater) who found them.  A fellow doctor (Robert Culp) has a metal plate in his head and can actually hear them and when they find out, they intend to kill him before he can stop them.  Salome Jens plays Culp’s wife.

 

Nightmare is penned by producer Joseph Stefano and stars Martin Sheen as one of several prisoners of war in outer space in a better than expected show about war and politics.  Sheen seems most appropriate for this one, though it is not slanted or predictable.

 

It Crawled Out Of The Woodwork has a lady janitor sweeping up with a vacuum cleaner when one of the items she catches jolts the electric source and grows into a monster!  Another Joseph Stefano script that does not add up, Scott Marlowe, Michael Forest, Kent Smith, Ed Asner and Barbara Luna star.

 

The Borderland is an ambitious show about the matter/anti-matter barrier being breached and the results thereof.  Does not go anywhere interesting, but does co-star Mark Richman, Nina Foch, Barry Jones and Gladys Cooper.

 

 

Disc 2 Side B:

 

Tourist Attraction has Ralph Meeker, Henry Silva and Jay Novello in a silly episode with a very silly sea creature, but despite its ambitions, it never adds up.  What makes it worth watching is the interesting underwater footage made for the episode.

 

The Zanti Misfits is the best episode in this set and one of the true classics of the series as a powerful alien world sends their criminals to earth.  The public is unaware of this, including a criminal (Bruce Dern) who makes the mistake of invading an off limits area and meeting the title creatures face to face.  A solid Joseph Stefano script, killer alien insects and a military battle are all classic.

 

The Mice has a doctor (Michael Higgins) is another doctor with a radio making contact with alien beings who want to visit earth.  They are friendly, but invasion is on their minds.  Henry Silva and Dabney Coleman also star in one of the better shows in this set.

 

Controlled Experiment is a very good episode from writer/director Leslie Stevens has two Martians coming to earth to examine the human phenomenon known as homicide.  To do this, they bring a device that can stop and reverse time, with wacky complications.  Carroll O’Connor, Barry Morse and Grace Lee Whitney star.

 

 

The older MGM logo opens the DVD screaming that these are the same 1.33 X 1 black and white transfers used for the season sets a few years ago.  They look good except for some very minor aliasing here ands there, with decent grey scale and hopefully some cleaning of the digital masters.  Wonder how these will look in Blu-ray?  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is also fine for its age and some of these shows have fine sound design for their time.  Sadly, there are no extras, making no sense considering the legacy and importance the show.  How about a stills section with novels and other tie-ins or some interviews and audio commentaries?

 

This original version of the show is not shown as much as the sad revival, the entire set of which we have covered at the following link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2500/The+Outer+Limits+-+The+New+Series

 

 

Even with its age and flaws, the revival could not touch the spirit or innovation of the original, even when they remade classic shows.  If you have never seen vintage Outer Limits, you should start with this set.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo