Outer Limits (Original Series) - Why Rereleased?

#1

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6/14/05 at 3:12pm

Ken_K
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I just noticed that Amazon.com lists the release date of DVD sets of The Outer Limits (Original Series), both seasons 1 and 2, as June 7, 2005. However, I own these DVD sets, and I bought them some time back.

Does anyone know why they were rereleased? Is there some difference between the DVD sets issued prior to June 7, 2005, and now?

Thanks.

#2

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6/14/05 at 4:19pm

Gord Lacey
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Ken, I believe the prices were dropped, and Amazon showed it as a new product.

Gord

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#3

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6/14/05 at 6:08pm

ScottR
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THey should have included the pilot.

#4

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6/14/05 at 7:01pm

Peter Apruzzese
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Quote:

THey should have included the pilot.

I thought The Galaxy Being *was* the pilot, under the title of "Please Stand By".

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#5

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6/14/05 at 8:50pm

Jeff#
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How much are they now? The 1st season I bought 2 years ago.

The 2nd season only had 17 episodes and usually goes for $50 at Best Buy. I can't buy from Amazon.com

#6

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6/15/05 at 6:12am

Doug Otte
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I've been waiting to get Season 2 because it seemed overpriced for the quantity and quality. I just checked Amazon, and they still list it for $55, but other e-tailers have it for less. Deep Discount DVD has it for $35. That's a more reasonable price.

Doug

#7

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6/15/05 at 8:34am

Jack Briggs
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Regarding Season Two "quality": Those episodes look considerably better on disc than the Season One episodes.

#8

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6/15/05 at 12:12pm

Doug Otte
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Thanks, Jack. I was referring to the overall entertainment value, not the PQ. I know there are some outstanding episodes in Season 2, but my credit card kept sticking in my wallet (when comparing to Season 1) because it should work out this way:
fewer episodes + smaller percentage of outstanding episodes = lower cost

Now, $35 is more reasonable given that equation.

Doug

#9

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6/15/05 at 9:01pm

Jeff#
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The first season was far superior overall in terms of the writing and also the music (Dominic Frontiere) and photography (Conrad Hall). Joseph Stefano quit at the end of that year due to the idiots in programming at ABC re-scheduling Outer Limits for the 2nd season in 1964 to go on Saturday nights at 7:30 against CBS' powerhouse The Jackie Gleason Show. That's what led to the big ratings drop and cancellation in mid season.

The second season's music by Harry Lubin wasn't as good, although I did like the new theme song (which reminds me a little of old Italian mafia music)! But there were still some very good episodes in the second year -- particularly the Hugo and Nebula Award winning stories by Harlan Ellison including "Soldier" and "Demon with a Glass Hand". My favorite from that year was "The Premonition", in which an Air Force pilot and his wife get caught just outside the interdimensional plane of time and try to save their daughter (who is still in normal time).

Ultimately, Joe Stefano and the original series creator (the late Leslie Stevens) got the last laugh 30 years later, when Showtime hired them as consultants to the new The Outer Limits in 1994. Stevens was more a figurehead, and he died a few years into production. Stefano remained until The Sci-Fi Channel (which bought the series from Showtime for the 7th season) cancelled the show in 2001.

#10

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6/19/05 at 12:24am

Tom_mkfty
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I also remember hearing that same (Dominic Frontiere) music on the Fugitive.

.

#11

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6/19/05 at 8:02am

Jeff#
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Quote:

I also remember hearing that same (Dominic Frontiere) music on the Fugitive.

Yes, but only during most of the final season (1966-67) of The Fugitive and all of that was taken directly from the Outer Limits first season soundtrack. It worked well on both series.

Previously Quinn Martin hired Dominic Frontiere and had him use it during the first season of his 12 O' Clock High series a few year earlier (which coincidentally was Outer Limits' second season).

After The Fugitive ended, Frontiere composed original music for The Invaders -- another QM Production.

#12

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6/19/05 at 11:24am

Doug Otte
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Deep Discount DVD has a 20% off sale until 6/25. It doesn't apply to preorders, but if you order Outer Limits on or after the rerelease date of 6/21, it should end up being around $28.00, w/ free shipping. I've always had good experiences ordering from DDD.

Doug

#13

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6/19/05 at 12:02pm

Nelson Au
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The second year has a lot of great shows IMO. My favs:

1. Warm Heart, Cold Hands-about Project Vulcan with William Shatner.
2. Soldier- by Harlan Ellison who suied James Cameron, citing The Terminator rips off this story. Both are very good and Soldier stands on it's own.
3. The Invisible Enemy- with Adam West about the time of Robinson Crusoe on Mars. I have not seen this one on this set yet, but remember fondly.
4. Behold Eck!- A childhood favorite, plus seeing a vintage Mustang.
5. Wolf 359- A childhood curiousity, plus the title used on a Star Trek TNG episode.
6. Demon with a Glass Hand- The best of the series to many, by Ellison.
7. I, Robot- With Leonard Nimoy acting very un-Vulcan.
8. The Promonition- as mentioned earlier, about time shifting, a childhood fav.
9. The Probe- The final show. The creature is by the same person who does the Horta on Star Trek. Amazing that Robert Justman was producing the Outer Limits then moves onto Star Trek, bringing some of the effects work with him.

#14

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6/19/05 at 2:19pm

Dane Marvin
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Yep, DDD is going to be the way to go. You can't beat those prices with the 20% off sale. I might just buy them now that they're going to be about half the price they used to be.

#15

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6/20/05 at 6:35am

Doug Otte
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I just noticed that DVDSoon lists Season 2 for $24, but I've never ordered from them. I might give them a shot.

Doug

#16

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7/7/05 at 7:55am

Doug Otte
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I bought Season 2 from DDD last week (less than $28 - nice!). I sometimes don't open DVDs for weeks or months, but I opened it yesterday and discovered that side A of both discs 1 and 2 are either blank or so snarky that 2 players in my house won't read them. I'm sure DDD will replace, but I just wanted to warn folks to check your discs if you recently bought the set.

PS I watched Glass Hand yesterday. I hadn't seen that episode for probably 20 years. It was truly outstanding - another great creation from the bizarre mind of Harlan Ellison. And, it was nice to see Arlene (Arline) Martel. I had only seen her before in the Star Trek episode Amok Time. Was that interior set of the stairs, elevator, etc. the same as was used in Blade Runner?

PPS Jack, you're quite correct that the PQ is much better in Season 2 than Season 1.

Doug

#17

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7/7/05 at 2:44pm

Russell G
Russell Grant
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I have had these set's in my hands since they came out but never bought them due to price. I am coinvinced that I have never actually seen an episode, just the opening (unless this is the series that had an epsiode with aliens that looked like floating brains, I saw that as a kid and had nightmares, but I don't know where it's from). I always hear it tlked in the same breath as the "Twilight Zone". I love the Twilight Zone, is it a pretty safe bet that I'm going to enjoy this as well? It's my understanding that OL is a more Sci-fi based anthology, compared to TZ which is more fantasy based (and yes, I think there is a difference between Sci-fi and Fantasy, just don't ask me why!

)

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#18

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7/8/05 at 7:27am

Doug Otte
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Russell, if you enjoy TZ, I think you'll enjoy OT as well. I've always loved TZ, but not enough to purchase the DVDs. OT, however, has a special place in my heart. I would say TZ is usually more psychological, but OT is more technical SF, but of course both have elements of each. In season 1, OT started out more SF under Leslie Stevens' guidance, but as Joe Stefano became more involved in scripts, it became more gothic. Compare the first and last episodes of season 1 and you'll see what I mean.

Doug

PS I found out the bad discs would play in my old Toshiba, but not my semi-old Sony or new Pioneer. Strange. It's usually the other way around. If I have trouble w/ a disc in an old player, I usually have no problem in the new player. I'll try another set from DDD.

#19

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7/8/05 at 8:22am

Jack Briggs
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Yes, Russell, there is a world of difference between fantasy (anything goes) and SF (must adhere to science as it is understood at the time of the story/book/television episode/film). And The Outer Limits is the best example of SF on television, better than the SF-acceptable versions of Star Trek and so on.

#20

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7/8/05 at 3:42pm

Russell G
Russell Grant
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Thanks Jack and Doug for helping me spend more of my money!

They have these for about $35 cdn on DVDsoon, so I might as well grab them on my next order.

So since you have seen these, am I right that this series was responsible for floating alien brains traumitizing me in my youth? I just remember a b/w show with floating brains. I would love to see it again.

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#21

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7/8/05 at 8:10pm

Peter Apruzzese
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Quote:

PS I watched Glass Hand yesterday. I hadn't seen that episode for probably 20 years. It was truly outstanding - another great creation from the bizarre mind of Harlan Ellison. And, it was nice to see Arlene (Arline) Martel. I had only seen her before in the Star Trek episode Amok Time. Was that interior set of the stairs, elevator, etc. the same as was used in Blade Runner?

Yes, same place in Blade Runner, it's a real location in Los Angeles called The Bradbury Building. Here's a link with some info: Bradbury

Movies the way they were meant to be seen: Big Screen Classics at the Lafayette Theatre

#22

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7/9/05 at 7:02am

Doug Otte
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Thanks, Peter. I also looked it up in the OT Companion last night (excellent book, BTW) and he wrote a good bit about the building, almost too much - now I'll never be able to watch the episode without thinking about the crew returning from lunch at a beanery and gassing up the building!

Russell, there are no floating brains (except mine!) in season 1. I haven't watched most of season 2 yet.

Doug

#23

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7/9/05 at 8:14am

Jeff#
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In a manner of typing, there is a "floating brain" in the 2nd season story "The Brain of Colonel Barham". It floats in the chemical fluid that keeps it alive as part of a botched military experiment by human scientists. That's regarded as one of the worst episodes of the original series. I agree.

#24

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7/9/05 at 8:20am

Russell G
Russell Grant
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Huh, no floating Brain Aliens. I'm pretty sure I'm not imagining seeing this, I guess it's just not in this series.

I have 2 nightmare images from TV as a child:

Floating brain aliens from a b/w movie / tv show

A hand that had a bunch of eyes on the palm, similar to what was on the original paperback "Night Shift" book cover from Steven King. I remember seeing this in color on TV and for some reason it haunted my nightmares as a child.

I guess my search will go on! Thanks for the advice on thse OT sets!

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#25

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7/9/05 at 4:24pm

Joe Fisher
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Quote:

I bought Season 2 from DDD last week (less than $28 - nice!). I sometimes don't open DVDs for weeks or months, but I opened it yesterday and discovered that side A of both discs 1 and 2 are either blank or so snarky that 2 players in my house won't read them. I'm sure DDD will replace, but I just wanted to warn folks to check your discs if you recently bought the set.

Im glad I wasn't the only person with this problem. Got both sets from Amazon. Had to exchange both sets because my player (Denon 2200) wouldn't read some of the discs. When I got the new sets, same problem. So I just got a refund. Hopefully at some point I'll pick up the sets again and won't have any problems.

Joe's DVD, Blu-Ray, HD-DVD Collection

#26

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7/10/05 at 9:13am

Nelson Au
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The only thing that comes close to more then the one floating brain of Colonel Barham in my mind are the 3 brains from Star Trek's Gamesters of Triskelion. But that was in color, there were 3 brains and they were attached to posts.

#27

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7/11/05 at 7:12am

Doug Otte
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Quote:

Im glad I wasn't the only person with this problem. Got both sets from Amazon. Had to exchange both sets because my player (Denon 2200) wouldn't read some of the discs. When I got the new sets, same problem. So I just got a refund. Hopefully at some point I'll pick up the sets again and won't have any problems.

Uh, oh. I was afraid of that. I'll report back when I get a replacement. My season 1 is fine; I only had the problem w/ season 2.

Quote:

The only thing that comes close to more then the one floating brain of Colonel Barham in my mind are the 3 brains from Star Trek's Gamesters of Triskelion. But that was in color, there were 3 brains and they were attached to posts.

I thought of the ST episode, too. How about The Guests from season 1? There is a big brain where the house should be in the long shot, and there's a brain in the room upstairs. Maybe that's what Russell's remembering. Russell, you must buy both sets, watch all 49 episodes immediately, and report back!

Doug

#28

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7/11/05 at 9:16am

Russell G
Russell Grant
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Quote:

Maybe that's what Russell's remembering

Nope, no brains in jars or anything, but a couple of brains with I think eyes that chase down a women in a room. Maybe I did dream it, or it was on one of those Saturday horror marathons they used to show on Halloween weekend on a local station. I guess I can safely say it wasn't on Outer Limits, my candy addeled brain just can't remember where it was from!

Quote:

Russell, you must buy both sets, watch all 49 episodes immediately, and report back!

As soon as my budget affords it, you can bet that I well get these! Can you lend me $60?

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#29

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7/11/05 at 9:57am

Doug Otte
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Quote:

As soon as my budget affords it, you can bet that I well get these! Can you lend me $60?

The check is in the mail...

Don't hold your breath.

Doug

#30

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7/11/05 at 1:11pm

Doug Wallen
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Got a shop here in Macon, Ga. called MovieStop (owned by the GameStop people)and I found the first season set used for $19.99. Great value for all that content. I am like a kind in a candy store, haven't seen some of these stories since TNT played the Saturday late-night marathons 10-15 years ago.

Maybe you can check if you have a MovieStop, great buys on used material - comes with full guarantee also.

http://www.invelos.com/dvdcollection.aspx/cdoug57

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