The Twilight Zone/Outer Limits Intersection in Classic Twilight Zone Forum

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The Twilight Zone/Outer Limits Intersection

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SteveJ

The Twilight Zone/Outer Limits Intersection

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Mar 3 12 2:33 PM

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The two series had a ton of things in common -- performers, props, sets, themes, you name it.

I recently re-watched Outer Limit's "Specimen: Unknown" -- and don't you know it...there in one scene was the crashed spaceship from TZ's "Probe 7, Over and Out." Painted differently, but the same prop.

What other intersections were there?

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James B W Bevis

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Mar 3 12 3:33 PM

a.k.a. "Beev"

Great topic, Steve. I'll be following this with interest.

A quick reminder before anyone introduces any "Outer Limits"-only discussion (which Steve's topic clearly isn't): This board is our community's home for "Outer Limits" discussion. The historical reasons for this are beyond the scope of this thread, I think. I just wanted to remind everybody to prevent things from going off track.

Back on topic...

If you post here, please read the new message board rules (effective July 4, 2009). Thanks.

BEWARE: Many Cafe posts reveal story endings or key plot twists without prior warning. There is no rule against this. But if you are courteous enough to post "spoiler warnings"--especially when you post in a thread unrelated to the story you are "spoiling"--many people will appreciate it.

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SteveJ

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Mar 3 12 4:16 PM

Thanks for the clarification, Mr. Bevis. I'm only looking for the intersections. Not for in-depth discussion of The Outer Limits.

OH MY GOD !!!... The beloved "Andro" in "The Man Who Was Never Born"... isn't that our beloved villain from "Mr. Denton on Doomsday"??!! (Martin Landau)

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Dan Hollis

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Mar 3 12 4:32 PM

Gilbert and Sullivan State Trooper

QUOTE (SteveJ @ March 03, 2012 04:16 pm)

OH MY GOD !!!... The beloved "Andro" in "The Man Who Was Never Born"... isn't that our beloved villain from "Mr. Denton on Doomsday"??!! (Martin Landau)

Or our beloved hero from "The Jeopardy Room."

As might be expected, there's a lot of actor crossover on two contemporary sci-fi anthology series. What intrigues me is how actors like Simon Oakland were totally unrecognizable as OL aliens ("Second Chance"). Landau as Andro would have been another example except that he also appears without makeup in the same role.

On the other hand, we see the real Donald Pleasence on OL ("The Man with the Power"), whereas he's heavily aged on TZ.

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cadwallader

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Mar 3 12 9:01 PM

QUOTE (Dan Hollis @ March 03, 2012 01:32 pm)

On the other hand, we see the real Donald Pleasence on OL

Not to mention Maxine Stuart.

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SteveJ

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Mar 4 12 12:19 PM

In his TZ book, Grams has some interesting trivia about the recycling of the "barrel" from "Five Characters in Search of an Exit."

"According to a production report for Daystar Productions, in The Outer Limits episode "The Inheritors - Part Two," the barrel was altered so it could be used as part of the spaceship being constructed. The same barrel was later cut down to size and again altered so it could be used in another episode of The Outer Limits, "The Probe.""

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LeenZone

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Mar 5 12 12:12 PM

On which network did TOL air?

I've already seen many intersections with TZ and Rawhide, but I attribute a lot of that to the fact that they both aired on CBS. And of course the guest stars who were available at the time.

I watched some of TOL back in the day, but don't remember much about it. Someday I'd like to see them again.

Head 'em up, move 'em out!

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Dan Hollis

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Mar 5 12 1:25 PM

Gilbert and Sullivan State Trooper

QUOTE (LeenZone @ March 05, 2012 12:12 pm)

On which network did TOL air?

ABC. It debuted as part of a self-proclaimed innovative 1963-1964 prime time lineup that included the premieres of The Fugitive, The Patty Duke Show, and The Farmer's Daughter (which ran Fridays opposite TZ, so of course we never watched it).

Thanks to Dr. Moreau for surprising me with this signature. It beats peach brandy!
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6thdimension

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Mar 10 12 6:49 PM

QUOTE (Dan Hollis @ March 05, 2012 01:25 pm)

QUOTE (LeenZone @ March 05, 2012 12:12 pm)

On which network did TOL air?

ABC. It debuted as part of a self-proclaimed innovative 1963-1964 prime time lineup that The Farmer's Daughter[/i] (which ran Fridays opposite TZ, so of course we never watched it).

And Inger Stevens was in the TZ "The Lateness of the Hour" as an eventual robot maid ... only to re-appear on ABC Farmer's Daughter as .. a maid... opposite the TZ.

Which could've made for a great (or at least confusing) OL episode treatment.

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Man In The Bottle

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Mar 12 12 2:18 PM

As far as production quality, the two shows are very close.
The directing,cinematography and music for both series are all very good.
As mentioned, a lot of the same actors appear in both.
The thing that separates the two is the writing - Twilight Zone had better stories.
Also, the 30 min. format works better for the stories most of the time.

twilightzonewor/smokey.gif

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SteveJ

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Mar 12 12 3:18 PM

QUOTE (Man In The Bottle @ March 12, 2012 03:18 pm)

As far as production quality, the two shows are very close.

I agree.

In particular, both series made excellent use of their black and white formats. As has been discussed in another thread, it's almost impossible to imagine certain TZ episodes in other than black and white.

The Outer Limits has some particularly "noir-ish" episodes that rely heavily on stark black/white contrast for impact.

I think it's pretty obvious that there was an "exchange of technique" going on between the two series at the time.

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Dan Hollis

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Mar 12 12 5:07 PM

Gilbert and Sullivan State Trooper

QUOTE (Man In The Bottle @ March 12, 2012 03:18 pm)

The thing that separates the two is the writing - Twilight Zone had better stories.

I agree this is one area of separation, but I see a lot more. TZ is more of a fantasy series, whereas OL tries to stick to science fiction. To contrast two Phillip Pine numerically titled episodes, for example, "The Four of Us Are Dying" has us believe a man can simply change the appearance of his face, whereas "The Hundred Days of the Dragon" tries to provide a convincing scientific explanation. OL is heavy on aliens and other creatures, which TZ uses very sparingly. Both series examine morality on numerous occasions, but TZ does so more cleanly. Sometimes I feel OL just slaps a lesson onto the end of an episode.

I'll definitely give OL the nod for special effects and visual creativity.

Thanks to Dr. Moreau for surprising me with this signature. It beats peach brandy!
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"We're sober men and true!" -- "You had to go have him!"

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SteveJ

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Mar 12 12 5:41 PM

QUOTE (Dan Hollis @ March 12, 2012 06:07 pm)

OL is heavy on aliens and other creatures, which TZ uses very sparingly.

As I'm sure you know, Mr. Hollis, the "bears" (monsters) in OL were imposed on the writers by the network heads. The network heads considered the bears an essential element of the series--and assumed the public expected them.

We could make a list, but I think you'll find there were quite a few "bears" in the Twilight Zone.

More than one might suspect at first glance.

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PolarBear

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Mar 12 12 5:45 PM

Ursus Maritimus

My dad callls the Outer Limits "the poor man's Twilight Zone."

I agree with Dan that the Outer Limits tries to put a moral to every story, even when there is no moral. I find the Control Voice pretentious.

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cadwallader

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Mar 12 12 6:52 PM

I love the Outer Limits, but to me the most irritating thing about it is how most episodes begin with a spoiler (a la "The Bewitchin' Pool") just to give us a sneak peek at the monster.

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SteveJ

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Mar 12 12 7:28 PM

QUOTE (PolarBear @ March 12, 2012 06:45 pm)

I find the Control Voice pretentious.

I've always found the Control Voice segments somewhat analogous to Serling's intros. Sort of sets the tone for what's to come.

Granted...the writing of the Control Voice segments was often a bit sappy and incomprehensible, but (with a handful of very notable exceptions), you don't watch The Outer Limits for the...ahem...mastery of its writing.

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