THE OUTER LIMITS SEASON 2 - TOP 5 EPISODES FROM SEASON 2 - PART 2.

So here we are at the end. The outer limit's of The Outer Limits. The final few stories that make up this classic series. You'll remember last time that I was struggling with the second series, that I was finding it difficult to get through as there had been an overall drop in quality with the advent of a (then) new production team. Well, I'm pleased to say that the second half of season 2 is way better than the first, the "new" production team seem to have found thier feet and the series feels fresh, varied and interesting again. Granted, there are still a few clunkers here and there but thats par for the course with any anthology series. Overall, the batting average of good episodes far outweighs the bad. So sit back and prepare to enter the Outer Limits for the final time as we take a look at the top 5 episodes of the second half of season 2...

5 - THE INHERITORS (parts 1 & 2)

I must say that I wasn't looking forward to this one at all. The prospect of a two part, two hour season two episode daunted me and filled me with dread. I knew that it was either going to be painfully slow and plodding or somewhat OK. In the end I just decided to treat it as a two hour movie and sat down to watch it on a Friday night with a few beers to keep me company/dull the pain if it turned out to be slow and awful.

Initially my fears seemed to be bourne out, the first half of episode one is very slow and talky, almost painfully so, and yet despite myself the story's central premise and mystery started to grab my attention and by the time I got to episode two I was fully invested in the characters and the plot. So much in fact, that by the end of the story I felt emotionally moved by it.

The Inheritors tells the story of a group of soldiers who all got shot in the head with bullets made from meteorite fragments, they all miraculously survive only to find that an alien intelligence has imprinted itself into thier minds. Now they are being forced to build something for the aliens and they know not what it is. All this leads to a massive moral dilemma for the story's central protaganist, FBI agent Adam Ballard (Robert Duvall) which provides the story with its moving climax. It really is one of those stories where you find yourself asking yourself "what would I do in this situation ?" and for that its great.

4 - I, ROBOT

This story is not based upon the classic Isaac Asimov novel of the same name but it does share certain thematic aspects with it. The tale deals with a robot, Adam Link, who is charged with murdering his creator and is placed on trial in a court of law.

Normally I hate court room dramas with a passion. It's just a genre of fiction that I can't get along with, it's all dry legal jargon, smug lawyers in suits and overwrought emotions. Hate it, hate it, HATE IT !!! However, in this case, the central premise is so fascinating that the story rises above the trappings of its subgenre. The character of Adam Link is compelling and you'll find yourself rooting for him to prove his obvious innocence. Unsurprisingly he turns out to be more human and humane than the human beings who are placing him on trial for his life. I always enjoy stories that expose what a bunch of shits human beings really are (let's face it we ARE bloody horrible) and this episode hammers that point home nicely. Also, Adam Link has got to be the best name for a robot (or "Rowb't" as some characters pronounce it) ever.

3 - COUNTERWEIGHT 

Counterweight tells the story of six civilian astronauts being placed in a training simulation of a voyage to the far off planet Antheon. As the story progresses it becomes obvious that something is on board the ship with them, manipulating and taunting them. One by one the travellers begin to mentally break down and crumble...

It's the claustrophobic atmosphere that really sells this one. All the characters are shut in, the only way out is by pressing a panic button that will end the simulation and for various reasons none of them want to do that. There's also a great alien design in this episode. I've noticed that if you go online and look up aliens from The Outer Limits you are mainly only ever shown creatures from the first season. The aliens in season one seem to have become iconic, whilst thier season two cousins have fallen by the wayside into obscurity. I'd say the Antheon creature deserves to be up there in the higher echelons of Outer Limits alienhood. I'm claiming him back.

2 - THE DUPLICATE MAN

Another cracking monster design features in this story. Meet the Megasoid, the galaxy's deadliest killer (apparently). To be truthful the Megasoid doesn't really do much. He lumbers around in his monkey suit and gets shot, he seems pretty inefficient as "deadly killers" go. (You've got to wonder at the term "deadly killer" haven't you.  A "deadly killer" as opposed to what, a "harmless killer" ?). The Megasoid is really just a plot device to get to the main crux and theme of the story. The theme being that of a man who is too cowardly to hunt the creature down cloning himself so that the clone can do all the dirty work and potentially get killed in his stead.

The fear of cloning science was probably more of an issue in the 60's than it is now. These days it's pretty much accepted as being unethical and a step too far. This story explores that theme and pretty much comes to the same conclusion - cloning is bad. Like I, Robot this is a character piece and it's the clone rather than the original that you find yourself sympathising with, although in this instance the human being does redeem himself by the story's close.

1 - THE PREMONITION

The Premonition is a very different type of Outer Limits story. There are no monsters, aliens or villains. There are no moral or philosophical dilemmas and there are no insights into human nature. Rather it's a straight sci-fi story of a USAF test pilot and his wife who find themselves flung a few moments into the future. All around them time has frozen as it waits to catch up with them and as they explore this on-pause world they can see a tragedy heading towards thier small daughter. The little girl is unknowingly about to ride her bike into the path of an oncoming truck. The parents have to be in the exact place they where when time catches up with them or they'll cease to exist and become trapped in a limbo state forever. Can they avert tragedy AND be where they are supposed to be when time catches up with them ?

I like these type of "time twister" stories. The Premonition feels more like the type of story you'd get on rival show The Twilight Zone,  and its this sheer untypicalness that makes it special. 

The Premonition was the penultimate episode of the original run of The Outer Limits. The final episode was The Probe which was another stinker (you know where you can shove that probe right ?) and as such was a poor end and an anti-climax to the entire show. The Premonition should have been the Outer Limit's final episode because if it was, the series would have gone out on a high.

CONCLUSION - So thats it. I'm done with the Outer Limits. It's largely been an interesting journey.  A few missteps here and there but by and large it's an enjoyable TV show that easily deserves it's classic status. The Outer Limits did return in the 1990's and the then "new" series was good also. The 90's Outer Limits very much rode on the coat tails of The X-Files and had a similar look and feel to that show. I have a lot of nostalgia for the 90's version, in the UK it was first broadcast on BBC2 in the summer months of 1995. At the time I was getting ready to go off to University and me and my then girlfriend used to watch it every week without fail. I hope to cover the 90's series one day but for now I don't have any episodes on DVD and there doesn't appear to be a full run of it on any streaming services. Ah well...maybe someday we'll return to the Outer Limits... but don't hold your breath.