"The Outer Limits" (1963) TV series 1963-1965

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

16 September 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

There is nothing wrong with your television. Do not attempt to adjust the picture.

Plot:

Anthology type science fiction program with a different cast each week. Tending toward the hard science...

Plot Keywords:

Anthology | Cult Favorite | Psychotronic | Alien | Supernatural

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Vic Perrin	...	Control Voice / ... (28 episodes, 1963-1965)
Bob Johnson	...	Anthean / ... (11 episodes, 1963-1964)

Also Known As:

Beyond Control (USA) (working title)
Please Stand By (USA) (working title)
Rumbo a lo desconocido (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Au-delà du réel (France) (dubbed version) [fr]
No Limiar da Realidade (Portugal) [pt]
Quinta Dimensão (Brazil) (cable TV title) [pt]

Runtime:

51 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | USA:TV-PG | UK:PG | Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Bradbury Building - 304 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Villa Di Stefano

Trivia:

The final episode of the first season, "The Forms of Things Unknown" (starring David McCallum, Vera Miles, Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Barbara Rush), was supposed to be a series pilot that series creator Joseph Stefano presented to network executives. When it was rejected, he used it as an episode of this series.

Quotes:

The Control Voice: 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 can reduce the focus to a soft blur...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Science Fiction: A Journey Into the Unknown (1994) (TV)

This Black and White series is the Love of my Sci-Fi Life!

I don't care what anyone says, this is THE series that changed television and ushered in Sci-Fi and human frailty with excellent, excellent scripts.

Okay, I'll admit, I was three, four and five years old respectively when this series had its first run. And again I will write the words parents don't want to hear or read about: "I remember". Not all, but most. Many of them I caught on re-runs in syndication when I was in my 20's and said, "Oh yeah, this is the one."

But let me tell you about the ones I remember. I remember -- "The Architects of Fear", "The Sixth Finger", "Keeper of the Purple Twilight", "The Zanti Misfits", "Fun and Games", "Demon With a Glass Hand", "The Man Who was Never Born", "It Came from the Woodwork", "Children of Spider County", "I, Robot", "The Invisibles" and the wonderful, wonderful two parter, "The Inheritors".

Those would be the "classics", but there are so many more. What do I remember about those? The Monsters and/or special effects. I didn't quite grasp how well written these were until much, much later. Make no mistake, they are very well written and thought provoking, alot of lessons to be learned/things to ponder even in 2003.

A few notes from me though -- when ABC executive Ben Brady took over, (I guess around 1965?) some of the stories went more "soap opera" than the ones before it. They were still excellent stories but now with Ben Brady leading the helm, you knew his breakthrough night time series "Peyton Place" was rolling around in his mind. Again, this is something I noticed, way later upon syndication views.

I've always had a secret wish, and that was to take a few of these classic Outer Limits series and develop a feature film out of each them. Some are so well written and hit right to the center of your brain to make you take a moment and wonder, seriously, about your world around you and those who are in charge of it.

I am in love with this series. It is classic television, classic Sci-Fi, classic story writing and even though these folks had a nickel and a dime for a special effects budget, they did very, very, well for its time.

Along with the writers, the creators of this 60's series, The Outer Limits, I also have to add that the music was to die for. It added so much to each installment. That and the main Cinematographer, the late, great, Conrad Hall. Wanta see the beginning of excellent work in cinnematography on a less than shoestring budget? Watch these. A must for all film students. You'll be so overwhelmed and wonder how could they do this for the money they had in the 60's no less.

A must for everyone's library. I own every single one of the issues on VHS and started collecting on DVD. A genius of a series. A wonderful collaboration of Producers, Directors, Writers, Network, Actors, Actresses everyone to make a series that will be immortal. This series is beyond excellent.