If The Twilight Zone was television's great collection of moral fables, The Outer Limits -- which premiered on this date in 963 -- was its darker, more anxious cousin: Cold War-inflected cautionary tales about humanity repeatedly confronted with alien intelligence, technological catastrophe, and its own capacity for self-destruction. The series reflected the fears of the atomic age, the space race, and a growing suspicion that science might solve humanity's problems only by creating even worse ones.
Unlike Rod Serling's personable host on The Twilight Zone, Vic Perrin's "Control Voice" sounded like an impersonal machine seizing control of the viewer's television.
The series also assembled an extraordinary roster of talent. Creator Leslie Stevens and producer/screenwriter Joseph Stefano (best known for Psycho) established its tone, while notable contributors included Harlan Ellison, whose "Soldier" and especially "Demon with a Glass Hand" are often regarded as among the finest hours of television science fiction ever produced. Future Chinatown screenwriter Robert Towne also contributed scripts. While The Twilight Zone tended toward allegory, irony, and moral parables, The Outer Limits leaned harder into pure science fiction, often pitting human beings against vast existential forces.
If you're looking for the best of the best from the series, I can recommend the aforementioned "Demon with a Glass Hand" , "The Zanti Misfits" (with its unforgettable alien creatures and xenophobia themes, a clip of which is today's featured video), and "The Architects of Fear" (a tragic Cold War allegory about manufacturing a common enemy to unite humanity).
Joe. My. God.: Senate Democrats Block Pro-Crypto Scam Industry Bill.
First Draft: You Made Me Do This.
Left Jabs: Putin is Still the Best Explanation for Everything.
Attention space nerds! Why do bars form in some spiral galaxies, but not in others? [Hint: It's not because of local zoning regs or WCTU protests]
Round Up by driftglass of the Professional Left Podcast and Science Fiction University
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