The Outer Limits

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The Outer Limits is a television series from the United States. Similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits is an anthology science fiction show in which each episode is a self-contained story with a plot twist. In its original incarnation the show ran for two seasons from 1963 to 1965 in black-and-white. It was revived in 1995 and ran for seven seasons until 2002.

1 1963-1965
2 1995-2002
3 DVD releases
- 3.1 The original series
- 3.2 The modern series
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

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1963-1965

The Outer Limits originally ran from 1963 to 1965 on the U.S. broadcast network ABC, and a total of 49 episodes. It was created by Leslie Stevens and was one of the many series ostensibly influenced by The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) and Science Fiction Theatre (1955-1957), though it was ultimately influential in its own right.

Writers included creator Stevens and Joseph Stefano (screenwriter for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho), the series' first-season producer and energetic guiding force. Harlan Ellison wrote two episodes ("Soldier" and the award-winning "Demon with a Glass Hand") for the show's more cautious second season; Ellison later argued in the courts that both episodes were the inspiration for the Terminator film series; he was awarded several hundred thousand dollars of damages and the closing credits of the first movie the creators "wish to acknowledge the works of Harlan Ellison". He also won the right to have a notice acknowledging his work added to all versions of the film going forward. Template:QuoteSidebar Like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits had an opening and closing narration to almost every episode -- known as the "Control Voice" (vocal artist Vic Perrin) -- and distinctive music, in this case by Dominic Frontiere. The pacing of the two shows, however, was completely different. The Twilight Zone was based on a surprise ending built up to in half an hour, while The Outer Limits was an hour long and dealt with ordinary people's reactions to the situation. The basis of each episode was a monster, referred to colloquially by the producers of the show as the bear. Usually there was an actor in a rubber mask and gloves, and wearing special "alien" clothing. Occasionally it was a prop or puppet, and in one episode the monster was created by stop-motion animation.

The Outer Limits was an anthology show and episodes are unrelated; they have no direct "sequels" or consistent characters. However, subtle recurring entities, such as the notable alien creatures seen in most episodes provided a thread of continuity. So did the fictional United Space Agency (a mix of experimental scientists, psychiatrists, and G-men), whose space suits, equipment and other props, set pieces, and models were reused from Men Into Space, a program paid for by the United States Air Force.

A few of the monsters reappeared in Gene Roddenberry's 1960s Star Trek show. A feathered creature was modified to appear as a zoo animal in the background of the first pilot of Star Trek. The moving carpet beast in "The Probe" later was used as the "Horta", and operated by the same actor (Janos Prohaska). The process used to make pointed ears for David McCallum in one episode was reused in Star Trek as well.

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1995-2002

After an aborted attempt to bring back The Outer Limits during the early eighties, it was finally reborn in 1995. The success of television science fiction such as Star Trek sequels and Babylon 5 and anthology shows such as Tales from the Crypt convinced the rights-holders, MGM, to revive it. A deal was made with Trilogy Productions, the company behind such cinema hits as Backdraft and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and the show would run on the pay-tv channel Showtime. It continued on Showtime until 2001, when the U.S. Sci Fi channel quietly took over production. It remained in production until 2002 before finally being cancelled, after a total of 154 episodes — far more than the original incarnation of the show. In the revived show, the Control Voice was supplied by Kevin Conway.

Image:TheOuterLimits (2005).jpg

The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Many Canadian actors featured in the show are familiar faces from other successful science fiction TV series shot in the Vancouver area.

In every season there is a clip show that connects the plots of several of the season's episodes (see "The Voice of Reason" for an example). The revived series contained more adult content than the original.

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DVD releases

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The original series

The Outer Limits - The Original Series, Volume 1, comprising all 32 episodes of the first season, was released on September 3, 2002. The Outer Limits - The Original Series, Volume 2, containing the 17 episodes of the shortened second season, was released the following year.

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The modern series

Several DVD anthologies have been released: Sex & Science Fiction, Aliens Among Us, Death and Beyond, Fantastic Androids and Robots, Mutation and Transformation, Time Travel and Infinity.

On November 1, 2005, MGM released Season One of the New Outer Limits on DVD.

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