 | Same old Same old
rating: 1
This is merely another repackaging of the same double-sided discs foisted on us twice before. Read their press release. In "honor of the 45th anniversary" they're releasing a single box of seven double-sided discs with NO new bonus materials for a list price of $59.99. Hell, I just bought all three boxes of the last "new release" from the dust bin at Best Buy for $12 each!
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The Outer Limits Complete Series Box Set
rating: 4
This short-lived anthology series ran from 1963 to 1965 and featured many memorable episodes. Martin Landau stars in the sixth episode, titled "The Man Who Was Never Born", it tells an imaginative tale of an astronaut who goes through a time warp into the year 2148 and finds Earth a barren desert. He soon discovers that Mankind had been mutated by an alien microbe that had been released into the world centuries before by a scientist named Butram Cabot, Jr. In order to prevent future disaster, the astronaut brings with him one of the mutated survivors(Landau)and travels back to 1963. One of them doesn't make it through the time barrier and its up to the sole survivor to alter the future.
"Nightmare" is one of the strangest episodes of The Outer Limits. It's also one of the best, with many fine character performances by the likes of John Anderson(starred in several "Twilight Zone" episodes), James Shigeta, and Martin Sheen. The tone of "Nightmare" is dark and spellbinding. Its atmosphere sparks the imagination with silohuetted imagery and shadows that seem to stretch to infinity. The prosthetic make-up of the gargoylian Ebonites was unsurpassed by any other episode of the original Outer Limits. Joseph Stefano, the screenwriter of the Hitchcock classic Psycho, wrote and produced this terrific episode. The weird music by Dominic Frontiere and the strange sound effects help convey the other worldly "feel" of the episode.
"The Forms of Things Unknown" is the last episode written and produced by Stefano and the last episode of the first season. Soon the quality of the series would begin to slip. "The Forms of Things Unknown" is one of the best episodes of The Outer Limits. It's also the most unique. There are no aliens or mutated creatures in this one. Instead, it is a dark, psychological thriller with a film noir atmosphere. It's a definite must-see for "Alfred Hitchcock Presents/Hour" fans. Originally, it was intended to be a pilot episode for a series called "The Unknown". Unfortunately, "The Unknown" never sold. The music was later featured in The Invaders.
The second season was not as strong, but still featured some quality episodes. Adam West stars in "The Invisible Enemy." Astronauts sent to Mars mysteriously disappear and a rescue team is sent to investigate. They soon discover to their horror that grotesque sand "sharks" dwell within the sands of Mars. The bloodthirsty creatures live right under their feet. Though entertaining, "The Invisible Enemy" lacks the subtle thoughtfulness of the first season. It stays away from thought-provoking ideas, but maintains a good entertainment stride that never slows down.
"Keeper of the Purple Twilight" tells the story of an ambitious scientist's deadly pact with an alien being from a distant galaxy. The creature promises to give the scientist the two missing equations that he desperately needs to finish his powerful and quite destructive invention. But there's a catch. He must allow the alien to take away all of his human emotions. The alien soon begins to regret the deal as he is unable to understand the emotions that he inherited.
"Wolf 359" has an interesting premise. It concerns a scientist who reproduces a miniature planet. But its development unleashes a sinister, ghost-like creature that suffocates its victims. This is an OK episode that is below average, but still interesting.
"Demon With A Glass Hand" has a great script and a sophisticated plot. Robert Culp makes his third and final appearance in an "Outer Limits" episode, playing the part of Trent, a man with a strange, computer hand. "Demon With A Glass Hand" is much like a Twilight Zone episode in that it explores Man's tendency to make war on his neighboring brother. It tells a tanalizing tale of time travel that inspired James Cameron to make The Terminator films. "Demon With A Glass Hand" is filled with dark, silohuetted camerawork that won a well-deserved Hugo award - dancing shadows and dim lighting to establish a suspenceful mood that gave it a "film noir" appearance.
Alien invaders from the planet Kyban attack Earth in the year 2964. But something goes wrong. Over night, every man, woman, and child of Earth vanishes. They link the global disappearance to Trent who holds the key to the whereabouts of billions of earthmen. Trent finds himself in the year 1964. The bloodthirsty Kyban pursue him through a "time mirror". Their mission: capture Trent, learn where the future people of Earth are hiding, destroy them and Trent as well. Is Trent actually the only survivor?
The only flaw of "Demon With A Glass Hand" is the cheap make-up of the Kyban. Their head gear were in fact rubber shower caps! But this is a minor flaw when compared to the magnificent directing by Haskin.
Hopefully, this complete series box set of The Outer Limits will be a vast improvement over what fans have been offered before.
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