The Outer Limits is turning 50.... (1 Viewer)

[Neil Brock]

I'd love to see the recently unearthed Stefano/Landau collaboration as a bonus, as long as we are making our dream set.

I assume you are talking about The Haunted pilot (or the feature version, Ghost of Sierra De Cobre). Rights are unclear between MGM, CBS and the Stefano estate as to who has ownership so for the foreseeable future it remains in limbo.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Another Outer Limits memory... Collecting the Topps Outer Limits cards back in my childhood. I didn't collect the entire set, and I have no idea what ever became of them as I know they did not survive my childhood, but I remember being creeped out by the monsters on the cards.

- Walter.

Hopefully, this PDF works. Here are the cards. Yup, still got 'em.

View attachment Outer Limits card collection.pdf

 

[Walter Kittel]

Here are the cards. Yup, still got 'em.

Wow, that brings back some memories. Thanks!


When I was a kid, I think the episode that might have made the most impact on my impressionable mind was Fun and Games. I remember trying to get my head around the concept that people (PEOPLE!) were being hunted. The Calco alien mask was one of the more memorable masks for me during the initial viewings. Finally, the notion that one of the aliens would kill its partner as a strategic move was disturbing and yet strangely logical.

- Walter.

 

[JeffT.]

A blu ray with not only great mastering, but with audio commentaries as David Schow did for The Twilight Zone blu ray sets. Martin Landau would be great to have to hear his experiences. Robert Culp and Arlene Martel, Grace Lee Whitney and as many of the actors as possible. But this is just a dream of course.

The DVD's don't look too bad, even a minor effort would be great.

Unfortunately Robert Culp (one of the series' most devout supporters) passed away a few years ago not to mention the recent passing of Michael Ansara ("Soldier") but (possibly) David McCallum ("The Sixth Finger" and "The Forms of Things Unknown") could be persuaded to participate.

50 years makes a big difference to be sure. How many of these guest performers are still around?

Mark Richman, Henry Silva, Sally Kellerman, Jacqueline Scott, Shirley Knight, John Considine, Tim O'Connor, Jason Wingreen, Bruce Dern, Martin Sheen, Ed Nelson, James Shigeta, Salome Jens, Michael Forest, Barbara Luna, Don Gordon, Joanna Frank, Buck Taylor, Chita Rivera, Larry Pennell, Nancy Malone, Flip Mark, Marion Ross, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Duvall, William O'Connell, William Shatner, Lawrence Montaigne, Adam West.

The first season (1963-64) composer Dominic Frontiere (most identified with the series scoring) is still with us!

It took an independent outfit like Image Entertainment to make classic 1960s genre tv series like THE TWILIGHT ZONE (CBS 1959-64) and BORIS KARLOFF'S THRILLER (NBC 1960-62) a reality to the extent that fans would expect and (realistically speaking) the same is (likely) applicable to THE OUTER LIMITS (ABC 1963-65).

The proof is that September 16th, 2013 marks the 50th anniversary debut of "The Galaxy Being" (16/09/1963) and nothing has arisen.

In Toronto for its first season (1963-64) THE OUTER LIMITS aired Monday nights at 7:30 p.m. E.T. on our local ABC Television Network affiliate WKBW-TV, Channel 7, Buffalo, N.Y. and Thursday nights at 7:30 p.m. E.T. on our own local Toronto-based CFTO-TV, Channel 9 (the latter where it remained for its second season as well).

There are three related pilots PLEASE STAND BY (ABC 1962), THE UNKNOWN (ABC 1964) and THE HAUNTED (CBS 1964) that could-should be included as bonus extra material.

What are the chances? THE OUTER LIMITS has been marketed (presumably successfully) several times before so there is that much in its favour.

Jeff T.

 

[Ockeghem]

Another Outer Limits memory... Collecting the Topps Outer Limits cards back in my childhood. I didn't collect the entire set, and I have no idea what ever became of them as I know they did not survive my childhood, but I remember being creeped out by the monsters on the cards.

- Walter.

Hopefully, this PDF works. Here are the cards. Yup, still got 'em.

Outer Limits card collection.pdf

Hollywood,

Thanks for posting those great images. Along with hundreds of sports cards, I too owned this series (and other series) in card sets. I also recall that when I was attending elementary school and played card games during recess, The Outer Limits card sets were off limits (meaning I would not risk losing them in a game of 'farsies,' 'leanies,' or 'topsies'). I also owned hundreds of Batman and Lost In Space cards, as well as other series.

Incidentally, in case anyone is interested in purchasing the single-sided DVDs (they are excellent and in my opinion the packaging is quite good) from Amazon.co.uk, here is the link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/277-7645517-0566426?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+outer+limits

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Hollywood,Thanks for posting those great images. Along with hundreds of sports cards, I too owned this series (and other series) in card sets. I also recall that when I was attending elementary school and played card games during recess, The Outer Limits card sets were off limits (meaning I would not risk losing them in a game of 'farsies,' 'leanies,' or 'topsies'). I also owned hundreds of Batman and Lost In Space cards, as well as other series.

Incidentally, in case anyone is interested in purchasing the single-sided DVDs (they are excellent and in my opinion the packaging is quite good) from Amazon.co.uk, here is the link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/277-7645517-0566426?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+outer+limits

You're talking about the complete set, right? And that's Region-free, right? Because the season 1 and Season 2 sets there are Region B. And is there any noticeable difference in PQ from the double-sided U.S. sets? Less compression? Without a Blu, I may have to go there.

 

[Ockeghem]

Hollywood,

Yes, the complete series in two volumes. And yes, it's not Region 1. I have a multi-regional DVD player. To me the picture quality is the same. I bought the UK sets because I had freezing problems with two prior sets of TOL distributed in North America (i.e., the double-sided discs). I had to have this series on single-sided discs, and thus far have had no problems at all with the UK release.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

For some reason, perhaps copyright infringement, the stories on the back of the trading cards had absolutely nothing to do with the episodes the pictures were taken from. They were really lame and simplistic children's book versions, perhaps deliberately for consumption of the underage public. But they in no way corresponded with how scary some of the images could actually be. This card was called "Destruction of the Clay Man." A far cry from the really disturbing actual episode story about a mutated human maintaining a library on a post-apocalyptic Earth who goes through a time warp to the past to kill the child that grew up to ultimately cause Earth's destruction. Right... a little heavy for an eight-year old. But perfect for a certain director to cop the story from for his blockbuster sci-fi debut about 20 years later.

 

[John Sparks]

Great show, have it on DVD, so, double dipping is out of the question. What I really liked about the show was the anticipation that viewers were given about the first episode.You have had to been there at the time it actually aired to really appreciate how great the show was, even with no budget.That first episode was one that most kids my age will never forget...true sci-fi!!!

 

[Craig Beam]

Oddly enough, "The Galaxy Being" has never done much for me. Too much Day the Earth Stood Still going on. But there are so many episodes that I adore --- like dozens. Like most of the series. Even the goofier entries --- "The Mice," for example --- have a lot to offer. God, I love this show.

 

[ROclockCK]

 

[ROclockCK]

I just finished watching most of the 1st and 2nd (final) season episodes. These were the original MGM sets - I never saw the re-release DVDs - and I thought most of them upscaled to 1080p surprisingly well. A lot of creativity and care went into the lighting, cinematography, sound, and score for this series, which gives its original 35mm elements a major leg-up for HD remastering. After all these years, this is still the finest anthology series I've ever seen. I tend to rewatch The Outer Limits in roughly 5 year cycles and never tire of it...I always find something new to appreciate in every episode. So many great scenes and richly detailed performances.

As spotty as MGM's post-bankruptcy home video output has been (especially on Blu-ray), the Studio has never failed to support this series in every other format (even Laserdisc), so presumably it has been an evergreen property for them. I just can't see them walking away from an opportunity to box the whole shebang into one definitive Blu-ray collector's set. And I don't care what they ask for that sucker, I'd be all over the first retailer taking orders.

49 one hour episodes @ roughly 48 minutes per = approximately 42 hours of video. What would that translate to as 50 GB discs?

 

[TravisR]

49 one hour episodes @ roughly 48 minutes per = approximately 42 hours of video. What would that translate to as 50 GB discs?

It seems like 5 episodes per disc is the standard for hour-long shows on disc (though I've seen 6 episodes a disc) so I guess it would be a 9 or 10 disc series set.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Would be a natural fit for Shout! but I don't think they have the cash for new transfers.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

As nice as blu-rays would be for the original series, I think it's also high-time for a complete-series release of the new series in the original Showtime versions. Only season 1 (and most of season 2) were released this way, apart from the random "themed" discs. Everything else was the "alternate versions" that aired in first-run Syndication and Canada (apart from the final season that was never on Showtime).

 

[younger1968]

I have this show on dvd and i watched an episode with David McCallum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixth_Finger) a few years ago. The episode was great and i watched it with one of my good friends, who has now passed away. My friend got me into outer limit, voyage to the bottom of the sea, etc and i have love them ever since!! TV from the 1950s until the early 1990s was best for TV shows. The mid 1990s to the present has good shows, but they are few and far between!.

 

[Neil Brock]

As nice as blu-rays would be for the original series, I think it's also high-time for a complete-series release of the new series in the original Showtime versions. Only season 1 (and most of season 2) were released this way, apart from the random "themed" discs. Everything else was the "alternate versions" that aired in first-run Syndication and Canada (apart from the final season that was never on Showtime).

I was so disappointed with the Showtime series as it was produced by people who hadn't a clue as to what the original show was about, hadn't watched it nor even cared to. They were just opportunists who capitalized on the great name. I watched it, probably out of a sense of obligation and loyalty but honestly I can't say I really was impressed with more than a half dozen episodes of the 100+ they produced.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I was so disappointed with the Showtime series

What I saw of the series was definitely a mixed bag for me. My recollection is that a large number of the plots relied upon a 'twist' type of ending. To be fair I did enjoy more than a handful of episodes. One in particular that I thought stood out was the Season 2 premiere episode "Stitch in Time" with excellent performances from Michelle Forbes and Amanda Plummer. That might be my favorite episode of the new series.

- Walter.

 

[Nelson Au]

I thought the 1995 reboot series had some moments and episodes that had merit. I remember seeing the episode where the female robot falls in love with the wheel chair bound William Sadler. Valerie 23. I saw that in syndicated broadcasts in the late 1990's so it was trimmed of the naughty parts. I got the DVD set of the first season and the well touted Sandkings was okay. I could see it was similar to Wolf 359. There are a few other episodes I liked. I never saw the remake of I, Robot. I have the disc, I should watch it, but I was trying to watch in the order of the episodes. I guess I'll skip ahead! Around the same time, the Twilight Zone remake was airing and surprisingly, I kept confusing the two, probably because the new Outer Limits had a more Twilight Zone feel. Because of two really strong episodes I remember and the reason I bought the box sets of the remake Twilight Zone are of the episodes on JFK and Elvis. Profile in Silver and The Once and Future King. There are episodes there I thought was in the new Outer Limits. There was one where the President of the US had to decide if incoming alien ships were attacking or friendly and whether to launch missiles. That one stood out too and I'm thinking its a Twilight Zone. But that could have been an Outer Limits as I don't think it's on home video.

 

[Walter Kittel]

The president deciding whether to attack alien ships or not was The New Outer Limits, Nelson. That was "Trial by Fire" from Season 2. Had to look at the Wikipedia episode guide to find the episode. That was a pretty solid episode that did a good job of maintaining tension throughout the broadcast.

- Walter.