The Outer Limits

I've really been wanting to catch up on all the episodes of The Outer Limits...I mean the excellent second series that started back in 1995, not the crappy first series that started back in 1963.  

I remember watching my first episode back when I was a security guard watching over an Exel Logistics warehouse full of laundry detergent back in the late 90's.  It was "Patient Zero" (Season 7, Episode 2), starring the dude who would go on to play Merle Dixon in The Walking Dead.  The ending had a pretty nasty twist, I loved it and I was hooked.  



Then, about a year after I had moved back to Texas in the November of 2007, the gas station where I was working stocked the "Time Travel and Infinity" DVD, which included five time-travel-related episodes from The Outer Limits, among which was the "Deja Vu" episode (Season 5, Episode 16) starring Ronny Cox (Dick Jones from RoboCop).  Money well spent!



And most recently, I watched "The Promised Land" (Season 4, Episode 17).  It was good (as most Outer Limits episodes are), and it got me thinking, "You know, if a bunch of extraterrestrials got together and conquered Earth, why wouldn't a few of them strike out on their own and start their own farms and whatnot?"  Deep thoughts, right?  And naturally, we humans just have to show up and ruin it.  



Anyway, I may have to binge-watch Outer Limits episodes one of these days.  Hey, look!  Dailymotion has the entirety of Season 1, starting with both parts of "The Sandkings" (based on a George R. R. Martin book that doesn't have anything to do with Westeros), which some guy on Dailymotion broke up into three parts instead of two.  Don't ask me why.  

(Of course, one of my favorite details about this series is Kevin Conway, who voice-acts the Control Voice in this series.  That's his voice you hear during the "We are controlling the transmission..." intro, as well as his narration during the opening lines and the closing lines of each episode.  There's just something about his voice which makes me all misty-eyed during the closing lines.  Speaking of which...)

So...are you done watching all of the Season One episodes?  Good!  Pop quiz time!


Naturally, the order of the closing lines has been all jumbled up; I can't make things too easy for you, can I?  :P

Ready?  Go!



1)  The Sandkings:  "Some of man's greatest achievements have been motivated by a driving need for love and acceptance. What happens when that need for recognition becomes a desire to be revered, and then worshipped like a god?"

2)  Valerie 23:  "Poets argue that you are truly alive if you possess the ability to feel and love.  Scientists, on the other hand, choose to define life in terms of proteins and carbon building blocks.  But what happens when these two beliefs come crashing together?"

3)  Blood Brothers:  "It is said that civilization began when man first became capable of changing his environment.  What will happen when man has the ability to change himself?  When no human need be cursed by heredity, will it be the beginning of a glorious new kind of civilization, or the end of everything we know?"

4)  The Second Soul:  "Contact happened exactly one year ago, and the world changed forever.  The line between life and death was blurred, crossed, then totally erased, not through divine intervention, but another force from the heavens, a force greeted not with rapture, but with fear."

5)  White Light Fever:  "The one certainty of the human experience is death.  But what might happen when our effort to prolong the inevitable starts to turn that battle around? Will someone — or something — step into ensure the final outcome?"

6)  The Choice:  "It is the differences between people that cause conflicts: Differences in religion, in race, in beliefs.  What wars would be fought if the differences grew between two intelligent species: Humans and those who might ultimately replace us?"

7)  Virtual Future:  "Man has always been fascinated with the concept of going back in time.  The question is often asked: 'If you could go back, would you do anything differently?'  But what if it goes the other way?  We never hear the question, 'Would you do anything differently if you could go forward?'"

8)  Living Hell:  "It is a common scientific belief that humans use but a small fraction of the brain.  Researchers all over the world try to unlock the secrets hidden in these darkened parts of the mind.  But do we really want to unlock such secrets?  And how will we deal with the dark discoveries that lie within?"

9)  Corner of the Eye:  "In a world filled with darkness, Father Anton Jenescu's faith has long been a beacon of light for those in need.  But now the good father finds himself at a crossroads, in danger of losing his way."

10)  Under the Bed:  "It is said, only children are willing to believe in the possible existence of unknown creatures.  When these creatures are discovered, scientists will classify them by genus, class, order and species.  But to children, aren't they simply the monsters that they already know?"

11)  Dark Matters:  "For the crew of the transport vessel Nestor, their moment has come.  The eternal night of space has vanished, and the night to come will be longer and darker than they can possibly imagine."

12)  The Conversion:  "For every human act, there is a moment of decision: A single thought, a breath, a heartbeat.  And to which all possible outcomes narrow to one."

13)  Quality of Mercy:  "Men of war have long known that warriors must often abandon those verities they defend — peace, human kindness, love — for they hold no meaning to the enemy.  And so to win, do we become what we despise, and despise what we become?"

14)  The New Breed:  "Man has long worked to stave off the disease that can ravage us.  But what can happen when the cure grows more fearsome than the disease?"

15)  The Voyage Home:  "The Book of Job tells us that he who discovereth deep things out of darkness bringeth out to light the shadow of death.  Will man's unquenching thirst for discovery ultimately be his undoing?"

16)  Caught in the Act:  "Humankind has long tried to tame the forces of nature, to harness their power for our needs.  But what if the very needs that drive us are the greatest power of all?  Will we be able to control ourselves?"

17)  The Message:  "There is the silence of the oceans and the unending silence of space.  There is the welcome silence of serenity and the everlasting silence of death.  A cry for help is lost in the shrill noise of the world, but the faintest of whispers, when spoken in silence, can resonate across the universe."

18)  I, Robot:  "It is said that God made man in his image, but man fell from grace.  Still, man has retained from his humble beginnings the innate desire to create.  But how will man's creations fare?  Will they attain a measure of the divine, or will they too fall from grace?"

19)  If These Walls Could Talk:  "Ghosts.  Haunted houses.  Many maintain that such concepts have no place in our computerized Twentieth Century reality.  But until man conquers death, one inevitable question will always linger within the recesses of the human mind: 'What lies beyond?'"

20)  Birthright:  "The Roman philosopher Boethius said, 'In other living creatures, the ignorance of themselves is nature.  But in men, it is a vice.'  Imagine treading into the deep recesses of oneself and finding someone you never knew existed."

21)  The Voice of Reason:  "What is our last line of defense?  Is it the military, with all of their power and might?  Or is it the courage of a solitary man?"



A)  "Within the human soul reside mysteries dark and deep, about our frailties, our fears, our shame.  Today, or a hundred years from now, the darkest matter will still lie in the human heart."

B)  "The pursuit of technology exists to make human life easier and more pleasurable.  But once such forces intrude upon the most intimate parts of our lives, will we then forfeit our very soul?"

C)  "A second chance.  But redemption follows not a change of body, but a change of heart."

D)  "Empathy.  Sacrifice.  Love.  These qualities are not confined to walls of flesh and blood, but are found within the deepest, best parts of man's soul, no matter where that soul resides."

E)  "Increasingly, modern science pursues powers traditionally reserved for the Almighty.  But those who encroach on the province of the gods realize too late that the price for entrance is destruction."

F)  "There is an old proverb that says, 'Be careful what you wish for, for it might come true.'  And if your wish is for immortality, it is something you will have to live with for a very long time."

G)  "Our world has been mapped, the oceans charted, animals and plants named and indexed...or so we believe.  But there are still places grown-ups forget they've been, and it is children who remind us that there are creatures who lurk in the dark and under the bed."

H)  "If you were offered the chance to communicate with another person's mind, would you choose to do it, knowing that in return, you would have to expose your own deepest and most intimate thoughts?"

I)  "The urge to hunt and kill.  The need to mate and multiply.  These are our most primitive human drives.  But they pale in comparison to the most powerful human drive of all: The need for love."

J)  "The wars of evolution are fought over generations.  But sometimes, only the fittest survive battles which last the briefest moments.  A hundred years from now, a new race may look back and say, 'This little girl's stand was a turning point.'"

K)  "What lies beyond?  For each of us, the answer awaits at the end of life's journey.  Until then, we must live with the ghosts that dwell not within some musty basement, but within the recesses of the human soul."

L)  "Sleep soundly in the knowledge that the dawn will come.  Rest assured that our leaders are watching over us.  But beware, for it is only their vigilance that stands between our restful slumber and the end of the world."

M)  "From the dawn of time, people have believed that angels walk among us.  Some believe that demons are also in our midst.  But who's to say exactly what form either will take?  They could be your spouse, your boss at work, even the person sitting with you right now."

N)  "In the darkest of hours, in the greatest of battles, we must never forget who — or what — we are."

O)  "People have long feared invasion by forces from other worlds.  If that horror comes to pass, our leaders will stand as our first line of defense...unless, of course, our leaders themselves are the invaders."

P)  "There is no sound, no voice, no cry in all the world that can be heard until someone listens."

Q)  "What if you were to wake up to a different world tomorrow, a world of invaders?  Would you raise your voice with the aliens in a chant of remembrance and regret, bidding farewell to a vanished world?  Or would you fight against those who might ultimately help us?"

R)  "Over millions of years, man has become the very paragon of animals.  But we must take care not to alter what nature has taken so long to forge, or risk being burned by the very fires of creation."

S)  "Time is a river winding steadily through the landscape of tomorrow.  There are those who would steal a glimpse around the next bend, and those who would fight the current.  But the wisest are those who turn their eyes from the waters and seek out a fellow traveler to share in the journey."

T)  "The true measure of a hero is when a man lays down his life with the knowledge that those he saves will never know."

U)  "For one man, the battle against death is over.  But for the rest of us, the war rages on.  At what point does the cost of survival become too high a price for us to pay?"