Just reading some of the descriptions of two episodes that H. Ellison wrote and James Cameron put into the Terminator and I was thinking to myself; why the hell have I never watched this show (heck I've probably seen two dozen episodes via The Simpsons over the years). I do remember seeing some episodes of the new show and liking them (one dealt with a priest and some demon/alien faking an angel, the other with the time travel and the presidential candidate, and something with the CIA using scanner like people). I feel like its something I really should be watching and am missing out on a show that most likely inspired so many things I like. So can I ask for some peoples opinion of the show (both versions) and if I would probably like the older version.


Also can anyone tell me which episodes of the new version I saw?

I put both in my BB queue. Since I just returned my previous rentals, with my luck I'll get three different things I didn't even want, sine it takes awhile for the queue to update. So it looks like a trip to the video store anyway to at least rent one disc to tide me over.

Harlan Ellison wrote two noteworthy episodes. The one that TERMINATOR most closely resembles is SOLDIER, but the one I really like is THE DEMON WITH A GLASS HAND which was shot in the Bradbury building in LA [famously used as Sebastian's residence in BLADE RUNNER].

Not sure about the new ones you saw. I can think of two involving time travel but I don't remember a presidential angle. One stars Amanda Plummer as a scientist who invents a time machine to go back and undo the acts of a serial killer. That one was pretty interesting as I recall because it dealt with the consequences of one person having to carry the memories of multiple alternate histories. The other one involved a man going back to Nazi Germany and winding up in a concentration camp. I think I saw the priest/alien one but I can't remember the details.

The original series is great. Even some of the lesser episodes are still fun because of the moody b/w photography or monsters. The show takes time with the stories and characters and can deliver quite a punch. I prefer it 100% over TWILIGHT ZONE which seemed to focus more on the twist endings instead of the drama. Just my preference, though.

As far as Showtime's OUTER LIMITS goes, there were a few scattered episodes that I thought were decent, but overall, I really disliked the show. It looked cheap and a lot of the stories got repetitive. The overuse of badly done CGI also hurt it during effects sequences. They remade a couple of episodes from the original series as well, and in all instances, the original show was way more effective than the Showtime remake. I know there are fans of the show so to each their own, I guess.

Some stand-out episodes from the original series include: THE ARCHITECTS OF FEAR, THE MAN WHO WAS NEVER BORN, THE SIXTH FINGER, NIGHTMARE, THE ZANTI MISFITS, A FEASIBILITY STUDY, SOLDIER, DEMON WITH A GLASS HAND, I ROBOT, THE PREMONITION, and my all-time favorite WOLF 359. Many others are good, too - this is just a sampling.

I only saw the Showtime series a couple of times, but wasn't thrilled with it. One interesting segment was a remake of the original's "I, Robot" episode with Leonard Nimoy, who played a supporting role in the original, moving into the star part and his son Adam Nimoy directing.

Speaking of the original, there are very few clunkers, since even the not-so-great episodes usually have interesting guest stars, and a fairly high number of aces. Both Robert Culp shows, "Architects of Fear" and "Demon with a Glass Hand," are excellent. Martin Landau is amazing in "The Man Who Was Never Born." "Soldier" with Lloyd Nolan and Michael Ansara is a good one. "Nightmare" is psychological horror far above the maturity level you'd find in today's TV SF. "Zanti Misfits" is a veritable horror classic.

But even the dumber shows, like Eddie Albert and the killer tumbleweeds or "The Invisible Enemy" with Adam West fighting a sand monster on a distant planet, can be fun. I'm a Shatner fan, which is really the only reason to watch his episode, which isn't very good.

I have never gotten around to watching mine, but I understand MGM's original OUTER LIMITS box sets had some major artifacting problems. I noticed while sampling the Nick Adams episode that the image broke up several times. I assume this problem has been fixed in the current reissue.

I'll second all those episodes already mentioned and add my all time favorite -- FORMS OF THINGS UNKNOWN. In fact, it's not just my favorite OUTER LIMITS episode, but really one of my favorite pieces of cinema ever. It starts out like a highly stylized rehash of Clouzot's DIABOLIQUE, but then veers off into a stranger, sadder, and more beautiful direction. It's the best Cocteau film that Cocteau never made. Written by PSYCHO screenwriter Joseph Stefano, directed by Gerd Oswald, who helmed many of the finest episodes of THE OUTER LIMITS and STAR TREK, with cinematography by the legendary Conrad Hall.

"It Crawled Out of the Woodwork" (another Stefano/Oswald/Hall collaboration) is another flat out great episode not yet mentioned. Really the entire first season is required viewing for science-fiction fans, and so is at least half of the somewhat spotty second season.

I thought that the Showtime remake was awful. I watched the first season consistently, but every episode was a dud, so I was a very infrequent viewer from then on. I finally encountered one episode I did enjoy - the third season remake of the original series episode "A Feasibility Study." It's markedly inferior to the original, but the Joseph Stefano script is solid enough that it still works in lesser hands, and it stars the wonderful David McCallum.

My favorite eps from the original OUTER LIMITS are "The Bellero Shield" and "Corpus Earthling". I love the latter's title too. It's a creepy tale of intelligent 'rocks' who take over human minds. Several scenes have a noirish atmosphere and the climax of the film (which recalls INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS but has a creepiness all its own) is a highlight of the series.

On the whole, though, I find this series to be pretty weak. I watched it with great anticipation when it first ran on ABC-TV. Back then, it had a great impact on the small screen. But 40+ years later, most episodes seem labored and overwrought to me. Still, there are enough pretty good episodes to make it worth a look. I certainly don't prefer it to THE TWILIGHT ZONE, which I consider one of TV's greatest triumphs.

Years ago (mid-'90's) when my family still had cable, I finally got the chance to watch the original OUTER LIMITS show when I taped at least 3 or 4 episodes back to back for my stepdad--he said he remembered watching both that and the TWILIGHT ZONE at night time. I was really impressed with all of the 4 episodes I saw--including the NIGHTMARE episode--even more so because I've seen very few T.V. shows from the early '60's that featured both an Asian-American and an African-American in the cast playing pivotal roles (the two astronauts played by James Shigeta and the late Bill Gunn, respectively). That was quite an eye-opener,and it was also interesting to see a young Martin Sheen acting up a storm at the start of his career. Also liked DEMON WITH A GLASS HAND---I thought the show (at least from the little I saw) came off as more sophisticated, mature and thoughtful than any other sci-fi show I've seen from that era (even the TWILIGHT ZONE, which is saying a lot,considering it's an all-time favorite of mine)---seemed almost ahead of its time a little bit.


I loved the new OUTER LIMITS series--it actually seemed better made and some were genuinely scary--at least to me. One memorable episode was about 3 women who find a 4th woman lying injured in the forest--after recieving their help,she grants each of them a wish---the catch is that they can only use it to help someone else. Naturally,2 of the women use it for themselves and end up dealing with the consequences---I liked the ending, which brought the whole stroy full circle in a most unexpected way. There was also an impressive 2-part show called THE SANDKINGS, about a scientist who discovers/captures some weird and amazing crab-like creatures that are mysteriously able to do his bidding---with disastrous results. Anyway, I thought it managed to hold up with the original series to some extent--unlike the third incarnation of the TWILIGHT ZONE. I think it's worth checking out myself.

An episode of the original called ZZZZZZ was some surprisingly steamy stuff for the era it was broadcast. The story wasn't all that much (Queen bee takes human form to seduce scientist), but the actress was something else.

Oh, yeah, that was Joanna Frank, who looked to me like a sultrier Cher. She later played the sexy female lead in THE SAVAGE SEVEN, but her film appearances are few and far between. She's Steven Bochco's sister and later appeared as real-life husband Alan Rachins' wife on L.A. LAW.

Frank and Rachins were also in Henry Jaglom's ALWAYS, as a frustrated husband and wife. Her bath in Swiss Miss somehow stays in the memory.

"ZZZZZ" was one of the more impressive OL episodes for this –– what? eight-year-old? As with Julie Newmar in "My Living Doll", my young mind knew it wanted to do things with her but had not yet the idea exactly what.

Has there been a recall over defective copies of season 2 of the original series? I went through 3 copies which all breakup 'Behold, Eck!'. The third one still breaks up but not as bad.

I love the original THE OUTER LIMITS. Period. :)

No recall. Unless you bought the set when it was first released (which I thankfully did), you'll probably end up with a defective set. It appears only the first printing run were fine. All later pressings apparently suffer from defects. Only hope is to maybe find a used set from someone who remembers buying it when it first came out. Or maybe the new split-set releases will be OK, but those simply appear to be the same exact discs as in the original sets, but at a higher price.

By the way, the mastering on these sets was never that great. The episodes were not restored and also have tinny sound. The VHS releases looked sharper and had better sound.