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Television
The Outer Limits - The Original Series, Season 2

The Outer Limits - The Original Series, Season 2

List Price: $69.96
Your Price: $62.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: not complete
Review: it would have been nice if they would have included the 2 unaired episodes -- PLEASE STAND BY and THE UNKNOWN, but they didn't. odd, since both have been circulating among fans on vhs since the '80's. so i'm not buying this.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Four stars for the episodes - one star for the pricing!
Review: Let's see - almost the same price for 32 of the best Season One episodes as they are charging for just 17 of the Season Two shows, which everyone knows are generally not up to par with the first. I half expected SOME sort of extras for the high price. Maybe the pilot episode, 'cause it wouldn't have fit on the first package. Maybe some interviews or behind-the-scenes stuff. Nothing - but the high price! Some of my favorite episodes are in this season (Demon with a glass hand, The Inheritors - damn, I even love the Eddie Albert vehicle Cry of Silence), but this was an out-and-out rip compared to the value of the first season. Shame on MGM!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: For die-hard Outer Limits fans only
Review: Okay, so the second season of "The Outer Limits" was not up to par with the first season which is why it died in mid-season, but there are still some gems there. Yes, this collection is bare bones, no extras, no nothing, just 17 episodes. And some of those episodes are really painful to watch, especially considering how great season one was of this classic TV series.
Production is down along with the budget. Most episodes look extremely cheap. Season one made up for low budgets by making good use of unusual camera angles, close-ups, and film noir techniques. Most episodes in season two just have a flat look with sleepwalking direction and acting. But, if you are a die-hard like me, you'll bite the bullet and buy this over-priced set. At least it completes the collection. I still like the sand shark episode with Adam "Batman" West and "Cold Hands, Warm Heart" with William Shatner's unique over-the-top acting style. As for the rest of the episodes, be prepared to snooze through them.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: For die-hard Outer Limits fans only
Review: Okay, so the second season of "The Outer Limits" was not up to par with the first season which is why it died in mid-season, but there are still some gems there. Yes, this collection is bare bones, no extras, no nothing, just 17 episodes. And some of those episodes are really painful to watch, especially considering how great season one was of this classic TV series.
Production is down along with the budget. Most episodes look extremely cheap. Season one made up for low budgets by making good use of unusual camera angles, close-ups, and film noir techniques. Most episodes in season two just have a flat look with sleepwalking direction and acting. But, if you are a die-hard like me, you'll bite the bullet and buy this over-priced set. At least it completes the collection. I still like the sand shark episode with Adam "Batman" West and "Cold Hands, Warm Heart" with William Shatner's unique over-the-top acting style. As for the rest of the episodes, be prepared to snooze through them.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Outer Limits 2..........
Review: Season 2 contains only 17 episodes because ABC canceled the series in mid season. However it features 2 of what sci-fi fans considers the finest tv (or film) shows ever produced "Soldier" & "Demon With the Glass Hand" by Harlan Ellison. If you have never seen the series,then these two episodes are a must, it puts a shame to Terminator/Alien .... As a matter of fact James Cameron's Terminator is "borrow" from "Soldier". OL is a pioneering series that is far beyond science fiction it is drama love mystery and the meaning of life. Check it out,the only negative its that MGM package the DVDs in double layer making it very clumsy to handle.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: good for its time; picture and sound quality aren't great
Review: Summary:
The Outer Limits was a science fiction TV show during the 1960s. It generally employed some pretty good, cutting edge type science and was a precursor to the Twilight Zone, Dr. Who, and other shows that followed in its footsteps, including a later run of a series by the same name.

My Comments:
The second season has some pretty good episodes, and some pretty bizarre ones. Having grown up during the eighties as movie special effects were really being refined, I was hard pressed not to be overly critical about the poor special effects from the movies. If this is a big issue for you, then you'll probably not want to watch this series as many of the episodes include very rudimentary special effects, even though they were probably cutting edge for their time.

The episodes that are worth watching generally revolve around human issues and avoid the problems with special effects that computers have now been able to resolve.

There are no special features included in this 3-disc set and the sound and picture quality are about what you would expect from footage from the 1960s, but overall this is a surprisingly good DVD set. Generally the stories are intriguing, the acting is bearable, and the issues the episodes address are engaging. If you were around to watch these episodes when they originally aired this set will be like re-living your past (which is what happens in some of the episodes). If you weren't around back then, a category of individuals in which I am included, but liked the follow up series and some of the other series that have stemmed from this original series, you may want to check it out. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, as long as you don't let the old school special effects bother you too much.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Thankyou MGM/United Artists
Review: Thanks for preserving this sci-fi classic from the 60's and making it available on the superior DVD format. The episodes look and sound great.

If you are familiar with "The Outer Limits" (the original series), you already know why it's special. If you are not, buy this DVD collection, insert disc 2 and watch "The Inheritors" starring Robert Duval and Steve Ihnat. See what Hollywood was capable of producing (in black and white and even with primitive special effects) at one time in history and, sadly, how far the entertainment industry has fallen.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Season Two a Classic, Too
Review: The original 1960s version of THE OUTER LIMITS is arguably one of the best science-fiction series ever created for television. The writing was fresh, innovative, and literate, and episode plots were often inspired by the real-life scientific and social issues of the day. True, the show's limited budget sometimes resulted in cheesy special effects, but the producers and their crews worked hard to ensure that the stories were of the highest quality. Even though the series lasted only two seasons, the intelligence and overall quality of the program have helped it to remain an influential sci-fi favorite for more than 40 years.

This set of DVDs contains the entire second season of THE OUTER LIMITS, which originally aired during the first half of the 1964-1965 TV season (it was, alas, cancelled in mid-season). Although a lot of die-hard fans feel that network meddling resulted in the inferior quality of several episodes from this season, there are many other ardent fans who feel that, in spite of the network meddling, many of series' best and most memorable episodes are from the second season. Whatever the case may be, there are definitely some standout episodes in Season TWO. Some of those include:

In "Soldier," a warrior from the future, armed with advanced weaponry and psychologically programmed to be the ultimate combatant, is transported back to the 20th-century. Hot on his heals is an enemy soldier, also armed to the teeth and programmed for combat. This episode was written by award-winning author Harlan Ellison, and it ended up winning a 1964 Hugo award. It would later serve as the inspiration for the 1980s blockbuster THE TERMINATOR, a fact that the film's director and writer, James Cameron, denied but that Ellison proved in court. As a result of the lawsuit, Cameron was required to change the film's credits to acknowledge Ellison's contribution.

"Demon with a Glass Hand" is the story of a man who travels back through time in an attempt to save the human race from being annihilated in the future by extraterrestrials. Unfortunately, the man has no clear memory of his identity or his mission--and the aliens are hot on his trail. Another from the pen of the venerable Harlan Ellison, this one earned an award from the Writers Guild of America.

"Wolf 359" is the story of a scientist who creates an Earth-like planet, complete with a miniature human-like population, and accelerates the evolutionary process in an effort to study and better understand humankind's past and future. But as one might expect, things don't work out quite the way they were planned.

In "I, Robot," small-town scientist & tinkerer Charles Link creates the first artificially intelligent robot. When Dr. Link is killed in a freak laboratory accident and the robot is accused of his murder, Dr. Link's daughter brings a famous and controversial attorney out of retirement to defend the robot. This episode was remade in the 1990s for the new OUTER LIMITS anthology.

A myriad of actors and actresses who would later go on to become big stars appeared in various second-season episodes. This estimable group includes William Shatner, James Doohan, Robert Culp, Arline Martel, Eddie Albert, Adam West, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Duvall, Ivan Dixon, Edward Platt, Michael Constantine, and Anthony Eisley.

There have been alot of complaints circulating regarding the picture quality of this DVD set, and it is true that there seems to have been little, if any, work done in the digital restoration of these wonderful sci-fi teleplays. This is unfortunate, because some of the episodes do show minor amounts of scratches, spots, and other wear artifacts. However, these are DVDs, so the picture quality is still quite acceptable and does not include any of the tape-noise artifacts or signs of tape wear that consumers suffered with the previously released VHS editions.

It does seem a bit unfair of MGM that the difference in price between this DVD set and the first-season set is so diminutive. There are 32 episodes in season one but only 17 in season two, so it seems that the minuscule price difference merits some sort of bonus features or extras on the second set. Sadly, this is not the case, meaning that with the second set, you get less bang for your buck. Ardent fans of the show will buy the second season anyway, of course, but others may think twice.

All in all, Season Two of THE OUTER LIMITS makes a fine addition to the DVD collection of any serious science fiction fan.

(NOTE: The four-star rating does take the non-restored picture quality into account, as well as the fact that this DVD set is overpriced when compared to the first-season DVDs. Otherwise, this set would earn a five-star rating.)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Season Two a Classic, Too
Review: The original 1960s version of THE OUTER LIMITS is arguably one of the best science-fiction series ever created for television. The writing was fresh, innovative, and literate, and episode plots were often inspired by the real-life scientific and social issues of the day. True, the show's limited budget sometimes resulted in cheesy special effects, but the producers and their crews worked hard to ensure that the stories were of the highest quality. Even though the series lasted only two seasons, the intelligence and overall quality of the program have helped it to remain an influential sci-fi favorite for more than 40 years.

This set of DVDs contains the entire second season of THE OUTER LIMITS, which originally aired during the first half of the 1964-1965 TV season (it was, alas, cancelled in mid-season). Although a lot of die-hard fans feel that network meddling resulted in the inferior quality of several episodes from this season, there are many other ardent fans who feel that, in spite of the network meddling, many of series' best and most memorable episodes are from the second season. Whatever the case may be, there are definitely some standout episodes in Season TWO. Some of those include:

In "Soldier," a warrior from the future, armed with advanced weaponry and psychologically programmed to be the ultimate combatant, is transported back to the 20th-century. Hot on his heals is an enemy soldier, also armed to the teeth and programmed for combat. This episode was written by award-winning author Harlan Ellison, and it ended up winning a 1964 Hugo award. It would later serve as the inspiration for the 1980s blockbuster THE TERMINATOR, a fact that the film's director and writer, James Cameron, denied but that Ellison proved in court. As a result of the lawsuit, Cameron was required to change the film's credits to acknowledge Ellison's contribution.

"Demon with a Glass Hand" is the story of a man who travels back through time in an attempt to save the human race from being annihilated in the future by extraterrestrials. Unfortunately, the man has no clear memory of his identity or his mission--and the aliens are hot on his trail. Another from the pen of the venerable Harlan Ellison, this one earned an award from the Writers Guild of America.

"Wolf 359" is the story of a scientist who creates an Earth-like planet, complete with a miniature human-like population, and accelerates the evolutionary process in an effort to study and better understand humankind's past and future. But as one might expect, things don't work out quite the way they were planned.

In "I, Robot," small-town scientist & tinkerer Charles Link creates the first artificially intelligent robot. When Dr. Link is killed in a freak laboratory accident and the robot is accused of his murder, Dr. Link's daughter brings a famous and controversial attorney out of retirement to defend the robot. This episode was remade in the 1990s for the new OUTER LIMITS anthology.

A myriad of actors and actresses who would later go on to become big stars appeared in various second-season episodes. This estimable group includes William Shatner, James Doohan, Robert Culp, Arline Martel, Eddie Albert, Adam West, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Duvall, Ivan Dixon, Edward Platt, Michael Constantine, and Anthony Eisley.

There have been alot of complaints circulating regarding the picture quality of this DVD set, and it is true that there seems to have been little, if any, work done in the digital restoration of these wonderful sci-fi teleplays. This is unfortunate, because some of the episodes do show minor amounts of scratches, spots, and other wear artifacts. However, these are DVDs, so the picture quality is still quite acceptable and does not include any of the tape-noise artifacts or signs of tape wear that consumers suffered with the previously released VHS editions.

It does seem a bit unfair of MGM that the difference in price between this DVD set and the first-season set is so diminutive. There are 32 episodes in season one but only 17 in season two, so it seems that the minuscule price difference merits some sort of bonus features or extras on the second set. Sadly, this is not the case, meaning that with the second set, you get less bang for your buck. Ardent fans of the show will buy the second season anyway, of course, but others may think twice.

All in all, Season Two of THE OUTER LIMITS makes a fine addition to the DVD collection of any serious science fiction fan.

(NOTE: The four-star rating does take the non-restored picture quality into account, as well as the fact that this DVD set is overpriced when compared to the first-season DVDs. Otherwise, this set would earn a five-star rating.)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Conclusion to a great series
Review: The Outer Limits was a landmark series worth remembering. I recently purchased the 2nd season series after viewing the 1st season. Although the 2nd season was only considered "half" a season, it is well worth mentioning. OUTER LIMITS is the baby brother of THE TWILIGHT ZONE but deserves recognition in its own right.
The only criticism I had with volume 1 is that it was copied on double sided disks and I had problems with them. But after three tries, I finally got a set of disks with no problems. I hope the second season will be just as good.
I would like to thank MGM for keeping this original series alive by selling it on DVD.
I have four children at home who have seen the original series and still find them enjoyable to watch even though the special effects are truly substandard. Its the STORIES that count. Yes, some stories are not up to par, but the same holds for any series. THE ORIGINAL OUTER LIMITS was a great attempt at bringing sciencefiction to television by standards of the 1960s.
The second season of OL was cancelled mid-season because of its being scheduled against THE JACKIE GLEASON SHOW (which I really enjoy) but that was a network decision. It should not be the deciding factor about the quality of the show itself.
OL was a series that brought something new to television and suceeded in a spectacular way. If not, people would not even have remembered its name after all these years.
I will always treasure this series and think of it as one of the all-time best series that came out for television.


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