We Are Controlling Transmission
An episode of The Outer Limits a Day as seen through the eyes of Peter Enfantino and John Scoleri.
Monday, January 3, 2011
The Galaxy Being
The Galaxy Being - Wikipedia
"The Galaxy Being" is the first episode of the original The Outer Limits television series, originally broadcast on September 16, 1963. In it, Allan Maxwell, an engineer for a small radio station, somehow makes contact with a peaceful alien creature – the "Galaxy Being" – who is then transported to Earth by accident. The Galaxy Being inadvertently kills several people with its natural radiation, and is met with violence and hysteria from the people of Earth.[1]
"The Galaxy Being"The Outer Limits episode
Opening narration
“ There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to... The Outer Limits. ”
Plot
Allan Maxwell (Cliff Robertson) is an engineer who has dedicated himself to researching microwave background noise using a device powered from his radio station. Pretty good,considering,somehow,Allan Maxwell modified an old radio station and it's tower.Once again,we are never told how,but then if we did,it would ruin the story.He inadvertently gets an extraterrestrial from Andromeda on his three-dimensional television screen. Using his computer, Allan is able to translate the extraterrestrial's thought patterns into English.And we do not know how is done.Seems just by buying extra equipment,you can preform miracles.
Both are conducting illicit experiments; Maxwell should not be using the radio station's power, and the extraterrestrial is not allowed to use equipment for exploration. Also, "Reason we are not allowed to contact you, you are danger to other galaxies." Allan and the extraterrestrial have further enlightening, philosophical conversations, in which no epistemological basis is given for the Andromedan's opinion that Maxwell's own "brain waves" will "go on" subsequent to the death of his carbon-based body. Maxwell then hears the opinion that "Infinity is God. God, infinity, all the same" after the Galxy Being explains "electromagnetic forces underlying all ... electromagnetic force intelligent", in response to Maxwell's query regarding whether the alien believes in God as an intelligent force.
Much of this interaction, along with Maxwell's earlier discussion of Faraday with his wife,Carol Maxwell is a play on James Clerk Maxwell the father of electromagnetic theory and his predecessor Michael Faraday, as is the alien's reference to quaternions when stating that its species uses "4 dimension numbers" to identify themselves rather than names.
In the evening, Allan Maxwell reluctantly leaves the radio station to be feted at a banquet, while leaving the channel to the extraterrestrial open. Dimwit DJ Eddie Phillips, who is substituting for Allan's brother Gene "Buddy" Maxwell (Lee Philips), after being told not to, turns up the power to full, causing the extraterrestrial to be transmitted to Earth as a three-dimensional electromagnetic being. Gee,I Eddie Phillips,being a moron like many DJs,found turning up power all the way to Andromeda Galaxy was worth it.I am sure,the Byfrost Alien,a few episodes on,enjoyed it.Eddie get burned by radiation.No problem,I am sure,he can get a job as a morning Shock jock on WMMR,where everything that sucks hired any loser-even this moron.
The 'Galaxy Being', as it is dubbed, wreaks inadvertent havoc, tossing trash up the street with gravity waves and messing with store fronts,killing Eddie and injuring several other people by burning them with natural radiation. We take it,that the Galaxy Being is not only not native out world,but our type of environmental conditions.
The extraterrestrial encounters Allan in person, who convinces it to turn down the heat, and then guides it back to the transmitter shed. They are soon cornered by local authorities, who accidentally shoot Allan's wife, Carol (Jacqueline Scott). The Galaxy Being then uses beneficial radiation to heal the wound.Not sure,he does this,other than deal a wound.Still,The Galaxy Being is a precursor to Marvel Comics Silver Surfer and he does this kind of thing, all the time.
When the Galaxy Being emerges, the authorities attempt to kill it; but it protects itself by destroying the bullets in flight, again with radiation. As a warning demonstration (and perhaps to prevent other aliens from coming), the Galaxy Being destroys the transmitter tower. The mob is told, "There are powers in this universe beyond anything you know. … There is much you have to learn. … Go to your homes. Go and give thought to the mysteries of the universe. I will leave you now, in peace." At this, the crowd disperses.They better,since The Galaxy Being just tore down a transmission tower with even trying much.Then again,maybe they are affraid,he will blow some more trash up The street.
The Galaxy Being then chooses not to return home inasmuch as it has violated a law forbidding contact with Earth. So, after first reassuring Allan that "There is no death for me," answering his concerns that it would disintegrate, the Galaxy Being reduces its microwave intensity which causes it to fade out from the Terran realm. Its last words as it vanishes into another putative dimension are "End of transmission".[2][3]
All I can say is,the other Galaxy Beings must be one hard added bastards.
Closing narration
“ The planet Earth is a speck of dust, remote and alone in the void. There are powers in the universe inscrutable and profound. Fear cannot save us. Rage cannot help us. We must see the stranger in a new light - the light of understanding. And to achieve this, we must begin to understand ourselves, and each other. ”
Sign-off narration
“ We now return control of your television set to you, until next week, at the same time when the Control Voice will take you to... The Outer Limits. ”
Note: The Outer Limits now-famous introduction and epilogue narration heard from "The Control Voice" was performed by veteran radio, screen and TV actor, Vic Perrin.Voice of Star Trek Nomad and the Guardian of Forever.
Analysis
The shimmering effect of the alien was generated by filming a specially treated rubber suit through polarized lenses.[4] This photographic negative illustrates the effect used to create the appearance of the alien in the three-dimensional television transceiver.
Booker[1] observes that the engineer and the Galaxy Being are variations of the television and science fiction tropes of the mad scientist and the invading alien, albeit with a reversal typical of The Outer Limits that both the scientist and the alien are benevolent, and it is the ordinary human beings of Earth who are the villains in the story.
The story itself dramatized the coverage in popular media of the time of speculation as to whether other planets could be contacted via radio, most particularly the (at the time recently initiated) "Project Ozma" search for radio signals from extraterrestrial intelligence ("SETI").[5] It developed these themes further into a story about electronic existentialism, and tapped into themes prevalent in U.S. culture at the time, including the televisation of the space race and the fascination with television transmission in general. The Galaxy Being itself echoed the contemporary words of NASA with lines such as "You must explore. You must reach out."[2][6]
The story also had elements of horror. As did another Outer Limits story, "The Borderland", it addressed the idea of an electronic limbo that exists when television signals cease transmission or are broadcast out into space, raising questions such as where the Galaxy Being goes when he turns off the transmitter. This horror of oblivion was to occur in several other Outer Limits episodes.[2][6]
Cast
Cliff Robertson – as Allan Maxwell
Jacqueline Scott – as Carol Maxwell
Lee Philips – as Gene "Buddy" Maxwell
William O. Douglas Jr and Charles McQuarry – as The Galaxy Being
Leslie Stevens – as The Voice of The Galaxy Being
Burt Metcalfe – as Eddie Phillips
Allyson Ames – as Loreen
James Frawley – as State Trooper
Bill Catching – as National Guard Major
Allan Pinson – as Policeman
Roy Sickner – as Collins, the Caretaker
Production
Filming took nine days to complete, at radio station KCBR (now KYSR) in Coldwater Canyon, MGM Backlot #4 Andy Hardy Street, and Soundstage #3 at KTTV Channel 11. The Budget for the production was $213,000.[7]
References
^ a b M. Keith Booker (2004). Science Fiction Television. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-275-98164-8.
Production Order #01
Broadcast Order #01
Original Airdate: 9/16/63
Starring: Cliff Robertson, Lee Philips, William O. Douglas, Jr.
Written and directed by Leslie Stevens.
Allan Maxwell (Robertson) and his brother Buddy (Philips) run radio station KXKVI. While Buddy is focused on the job, Allan is more interested in using the station's resources to experiment—like reaching out to other intelligent life forms via microwaves. Imagine his surprise when something materializes in three dimensions. Everything is proceeding nicely until an overzealous deejay cranks up the power on the station transmitter, releasing the interstellar guest (Douglas).
JS: I thought it was a nice touch how the sine wave pattern from the titles worked it's way into the pilot episode.
PE: I was wondering how the meeting with the network brass went after they screened "Please Stand By," which is essentially the same episode as "The Galaxy Being":
Brass: Well, we really love this show, but we'd like you to rework it and make some changes.
Stevens: Like?
Brass: Well, um, err... that title has to go!
Outside of a few very minor details, I can't imagine why they'd bother messing with this thing. In fact, when I became aware of the "Please Stand By"/"Galaxy Being" and watched "Please," I naturally assumed they'd be re-filming those dreadful special effects but, alas, they're just as bad as in the first incarnation. Chalk it all up, though, to the dawning of spfx in television and don't hold it against the show. I didn't.
JS: If this is any sign of things to come, the next 10 weeks should be a breeze. Interesting story, fine performances, a cool creature, effective music, nicely photographed—what more could we ask for? (Elizabeth Montgomery? Ursula Andress? Mary Tyler Moore? Nope, out of luck. -PE)
PE: Agreed. I liked the story as well. Cliff Robertson is really good in this. He's a character we've never seen before: a handsome science geek. He's a very good-natured dude. Allan smiles in a vacant way when his wife (Jacqueline Scott) pushes him to make a decision. I get that same look on my face when my girlfriend asks me a question while Adam-12 is on.
JS: The episode is cut from the same cloth as Robert Wise's seminal Day the Earth Stood Still (a bit too much in the climax. -PE). A benevolent alien met with fear and violence from the establishment... what makes it particularly interesting is that it's completely free of flying saucers. And unlike Wise's cautionary tale, not everyone makes it through the event unscathed (the deejay who let him loose may have deserved his fate, but the station caretaker was more of an unwilling victim of the Andromedan's radiation) (and don't forget those four DOAs in the car. -PE). And appealing to the monster kids in the audience, you can't help but feel a little bad for the Andromedan, who is unable to return to his home and therefore chooses to willingly "tune himself out."
It the Galaxy Being,actually came here to screw up air waves,destroy radio towers,powerful enough to pull an Andromedan down to earth and blow trash up the street.
PE: Well, actually, the reason the Andromedan can't get home is because he's never progressing while he's walking. In several scenes, he looks like he's on a treadmill. The background (blue screen) is not following his pace. And what's with that extra baggage up front? A bit of an Alien beer belly? Is the he really a she? My laugh-track moment comes when the alien steps out of his dimension into ours. Well, he doesn't really step out so much as shimmy out of a vent duct and fall face first on the floor.
JS: I did have to laugh when he gives his speech, indicating he's going to leave in peace, the military and civilian onlookers all just turn and walk away. Um, he's still right there, folks! And no one even thought to try and take a picture? I thought the negative technique used to film the Andromedan gave him a very cool look. (if they had taken a picture of the big dude, what would the negative look like? -PE)
PE: You mentioned The Day The Earth Stood Still. In the end, "The Galaxy Being" merely recycles the message from that classic Keanu Reeves film: We better stop our aggression or someone will step in and stop it for us. Does his race keep a monitor on all civilizations or are we just so violent we’ve made a reputation all the way to the Andromeda system?! Do aliens film movies (in the Andromedan version of Hollywood) about us invading them?
And Keanu Reeves film: really stinks.I really,really sucks,since they have to put original The Day The Earth Stood Still,with Michael Denny after you watch about the worst remake ever made.Our planet ?Yeah,duck you add clown.Your not even the real Klaatu.Your just Keanu Reeves stunk in the attic and made to act a dimwitted version of Klaatu.So suck this,mister our planet.
JS: Keep in mind, Peter, that like Allan, 'Andy' was screwing around on the job. He wasn't supposed to be monitoring extraterrestrial traffic either, which is a big difference between this and the ol' Klaatu-Barada-Nikto.
PE: A few words about our first "Outer Limits Babe": Jacqueline Scott carved out a nice career as a character actress in films and especially on TV; parts on all the usual suspects: The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Twilight Zone ("The Parallel"), Have Gun, Will Travel, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Ironside, Planet of the Apes, etc. On the big screen, she had roles in Bert I. Gordon's Empire of the Ants and Don Siegel's Telefon (with Charles Bronson). She'll be seen later in the Season 2 episode, "Counterweight."
JS Rating
PE Rating
JS: The original pilot was titled Please Stand By, as seen in the following opening and closing credits. For more on the variations between the versions, check out David J. Schow's write up below.
David J. Schow on "Please Stand By"/"The Galaxy Being":
From The Outer Limits Companion, Copyright © David J. Schow, 1986, 1998. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission and by special arrangement with the author.
Next Up...
Posted by John Scoleri at 5:47 AM
DJSJanuary 3, 2011 at 6:14 AM
I was once trying to describe this episode to a friend of mine, who said, "Oh! The one about SPOTTY!" Spotty the Alien. "Andy" works great, too.
A couple of things: On both the videocassette and DVD releases, the (brief) teaser and opening OUTER LIMITS titles have been transposed -- some sort of editing glitch that was never noticed or fixed. The film was literally cut apart so that the OUTER LIMITS title came first, followed by the pre-title teaser, which fades out and then fades back rather jarringly to the show opener (episode title + et cetera).
And listen to the deejays at KXKVI -- they keep talking about "vocal offerings" and singers, but the tunes are all instrumental (a couple of them are also heard in the Leslie Stevens movie, MARRIAGE-GO-ROUND).
"Los Feliz," of course, is not an LA county, but the region east of Hollywood-proper, bordering on Eagle Rock.
Hugo Grimaldi and the Woolner Brothers obviously saw this episode, since, in THE HUMAN DUPLICATORS (1965) the aliens are referred to as "Galaxy Beings" and the one to whom Kolos (Richard Kiel) reports is rendered via the same negative-reversal effect ... except, it's just a regular-looking guy.
The episode may look ridiculous to you now, but in 1963 ... well, considering all the Westerns and variety shows that were tube mainstays, it was striking to see a man contact an alien and immediately begin a discourse on death and the existence of a supreme being. Plus, this was the first time I had ever seen the concept of a computer used to decode an alien language, although it may have been done in movies earlier. That alone knocked me out.
Also notice how the episode begins with the immortal Control Voice intro, "There is nothing wrong with your television set ..." and concludes with Spotty actually "tuning himself out." Impressive. Forgive me. I was eight.
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Walker MartinJanuary 3, 2011 at 6:26 AM
Thanks for the reprint of THE OUTER LIMITS COMPANION pages. It's nice to have it so handy. Of course this means I'll have to forget about selling my copy for $500 bucks.
One scene dig ring false to me and that was when The Wife started to nag that Cliff better attend the award banquet or she might take a hike. So he buckles under and puts on hold one of the greatest moments in human history: contact with another alien race. I was thinking of what I might do in the same situation if all of a sudden the Galaxy Being appeared and started to talk to me. I'd be scared as hell but I also would say to hell with everything else going on in my life at that moment! Look what happens when he takes leave for an hour: the alien gets loose, accidently kills a few people, the Army shows up, and his wife gets shot. I know, I know, Cliff had to act stupid and give into a nagging wife, or else there would be no story. Otherwise, I agree with the rating.
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Jack SeabrookJanuary 3, 2011 at 6:45 AM
I like the way Gene "Buddy" Maxwell always refers to himself as Gene "Buddy" Maxwell, as does everyone else. And on the babe watch, how about Gene "Buddy" Maxwell's pickup at the banquet, who runs right out to the parking lot with him? He should have just shut off the radio. He and Cliff Robertson are too easily distracted. Shame on you, Shame!
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The MaverickJanuary 3, 2011 at 7:38 AM
> merely recycles the message from
> that classic Keanu Reeves film:
Ouch!
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Ultimate Tactical WarriorJanuary 3, 2011 at 8:21 AM
This episode was all around very solid. Never saw it before and probably never would have if it weren't for this blog. I've only got the first 16 shows of TOL because I bought it back when the series was sold in sections. I'm going to buy the complete set today while working.
If I have only one major gripe from the handful of episodes I've seen it's the habit of showing each weeks "bear" up front before the opening credits without any tension or build-up. I know, I know, they were trying to discourage mom, dad, and the kiddies from changing the channel, but it just annoys me. This ep. gets bonus points from me for not doing that. Plus, Andy has aged pretty damn well compared to some of his later bear cousins.
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Mark HolcombJanuary 3, 2011 at 9:29 AM
The hasty, DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL wrap-up for this episode is always when I tune out, but I'm surprised at how powerful it still is overall. Little wonder Stevens sold the series with it.
Peter, I thought of the Andromedan plopping out of Allan's monitor (OK, it does look like a vent duct) years later during the money shot in both versions of THE RING. And I'll always remember Jacqueline Scott as Richard Kimble's long-suffering sister, Donna, in several episodes of THE FUGITIVE. (In one, her husband is played by James Sikking, who has walk-ons in a couple of OLs.)
As for the spoilery bear-reveals in the teasers, Ultimate Tactical Warrior, it only gets worse as the season progresses. Are these things skippable on MGM's DVDs?
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John Townsley RiddleJanuary 3, 2011 at 10:57 AM
The Andromedan Strains
Other than "Hundred Days of the Dragon" or possibly an upscale version of "Chameleon," the only episode capable of selling the series was the one that sold the series. (What, you mean ABC president Leonard Goldenson wouldn't have dug "Don't Open Till Doomsday"?)
Juxtaposing Leslie Stevens' idealistic stargazing with Joe Stefano's murky navel-gazing; Stevens' direct direction with Gerd Oswald's low-key-lit labyrinths; or John Nickolaus' journeyman's eye with Conrad Hall's marksman's eye, brings into relief just how simple, almost innocent, THE OUTER LIMITS was before it became Joe Stefano's bad dream.
Stevens' hard science approach hat-tipped universal scientific laws and, by implication, creation itself; Stefano would create a new universe governed by bizzaro physics: Let there be Bifrost-light! Let dust bunnies turn into energy clouds! Let a roomful of clocks act as a time machine!
Unfortunately, the pilot's necessary simplicity when it came to style and "artiness" seeped like a radiation leak into its message.
Stevens irradiated the show with so many roentgens of preachiness, you'll need a lead shield to keep your hair from falling out.
Benign aliens who interact with humans to their own detriment are stand-ins for cluck-clucking writers who can't think of subtler ways to let us know how much we suck.
The Andromedan's flickering phosphorescence serves as the torch of Enlightenment carried into the benighted recesses of provincial America. It's a shame the creature tuned himself out at the finale. More of us need come-to-Galaxy Being-moments. Your consciousness will be raised if your skin isn't sauteed first.
How the heck were the townspeople supposed to know the creature was benevolent? We are lectured that "fear cannot save us; rage cannot help us." How is calling in the National Guard an irrational response to a roaming monster with at least five deaths on its glowing hands?
Isn't it a bit much asking people to "see the stranger in a new light" when faces were fried off by his old light?
Both the Being and the Control Voice tag team these poor people with unwarranted rebukes. Instead of ripping them a new one, they could have demonstrated a little of that "light of understanding" themselves by understanding that the locals didn't know the Being was brought here accidentally, didn't know he meant them no harm, and were acting not out of bigotry, but in self-defense.
The Being, rather than ignorantly sitting in judgement of people who exercised sound judgement (trigger-happy cop notwithstanding) should have removed the plank from his own tri-pupilar eye. Physician cauterize thyself.
Fortunately, Stevens was as sure-footed visually as he was flat-footed thematically. "Galaxy Being" is chockablock with stunning sequences that burn into the memory like microwaves into disobedient disc jockeys.
Three of my favorite moments: (1) A sine wave emanates from an outdoor radio tower and, as the scene dissolves, transitions seamlessly onto an indoor TV screen. (2) An in-your-face shot of the Being, toppling out of the TV screen and into the camera as he is transmitted to Earth, making the viewer feel as if they should be wearing 3-D glasses. (3) A thanks-for-the-mammary moment when Cliff Robertson catches a falling Jacqueline Scott by her, er, "upper torso."
For now, the infant series was appropriately peach-fuzzed and soft-skulled. Soon, budget-conscious leanness would replace baby fat. Incisive incisors would replace baby teeth. The subtextual testes would drop. Insect alien jailbreaks and hermaphrodite box demons were right around the corner.
But in the beginning, it was a straightforward disaster movie featuring an alien made of blue light that got the green-light.
Two and a half Zantis.
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Ultimate Tactical WarriorJanuary 3, 2011 at 10:58 AM
Glad I'm not the only one Mark, that disapproves. Thanks guys for posting the pic of Andy from Schow's book, pre-special effects, as I was curious while watching the ep. just what he looked like before.
Out of curiosity, has anyone else seen Underworld U.S.A. starring Cliff Robertson as a badass gangster?
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Larry BlamireJanuary 3, 2011 at 1:08 PM
UNDERWORLD USA--terrific Sam Fuller film. I like Robertson in it.
I'm pretty much with the DJS opine above. Certainly to a kid, in this and other episodes, it felt like a real encounter with a real unknown. In particular, for TV at that time, it was a whole different physical way of presenting alien lifeforms, "alien" in the truest sense. Not a favorite for me, "Galaxy Being", but an important and fascinating entry.
I'm more a Stefano guy than a Stevens guy, but their yin and yang really made for a compelling run. It's interesting to catch later writing from Stevens on THE VIRGINIAN. With the episode "Lady of the House" (with Myrna Loy) he actually goes all Stefano-gothic in a tale of manipulation and madness.
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Peter EnfantinoJanuary 3, 2011 at 1:55 PM
And we're off!
Fabulous comments form everyone and, what I like best, recommendations on things non-Limits!
Ultimate-
Thanks for bringing up Underworld USA. I've got it but haven't watched yet. Just went to the top of the pile thanks to you and Mr. Western. Speaking of which...
Larry--
Thanks so much for the continuing globs of information on old TV shows we should be watching. I've made a list and I'm checking it twice!
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Larry BlamireJanuary 3, 2011 at 3:11 PM
Cool, Peter, then you mind one more Stevens curiosity: another VIRGINIAN episode he wrote called "The Modoc Kid", a kind of sagebrush THE DESPERATE HOURS. Pretty good, with the odd opening credit "...And introducing Harrison Ford..." Not that it really did, but interesting young-bad-guy role for Ford, even years before AMERICAN GRAFFITI(!).
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Walker MartinJanuary 3, 2011 at 4:07 PM
THE VIRGINIAN really broke ground as a 90 minute show and I remember watching the original episodes. Now I have the show on a bootleg dvd set and it's holding up pretty well. I can recommend A HISTORY OF TELEVISION'S THE VIGINIAN by Paul Green.
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Larry RapchakJanuary 3, 2011 at 5:04 PM
Cliff Robertson's performance is fabulous-- subtle, realistic, and perfectly balanced; a true pro. But after all those dames that needed a good slapping around in THRILLER, here comes Jacqueline Scott to annoy, hen-peck and browbeat our hero into walking away from the single greatest encounter in history; such is the power of a shrew from Hell. Now every time I see Ms. Scott in an old TV show I cringe--but I guess that's a testament to HER acting prowess alongside that of Robertson.
You can fault this episode all you want...yeah, there's plenty to pick at, especially in light of the ensuing 48 years. But the MAGNITUDE, the SCOPE of Steven's achievement is an amazing thing to behold. His accomplishment in actually getting the "Galaxy Being" onto our TV screens back in '63 merits our eternal praise and gratitude: a BIG-scale production, with outstanding production values, visuals (for its time and budget), direction, writing, music and, most important of all---CONCEPT---the vision of an authentic dreamer who created the damned thing, got it made, and then sold it to a major TV network. I would imagine that Stevens' secret reaction upon hearing that ABC bought the series was a mix of euphoria and shock---"My God, they bought it; now I actually have to PRODUCE it--ONE A WEEK! WHAT HAVE I DONE??! And then he proceeded to do it, while juggling a bunch of new TV pilots with his other hand.
And so the 1st-season Odyssey began, with ABC-TV, probably against its better judgement, allowing the imaginations of Stevens, Stefano, Hall, Frontiere, Morheim, et al to RUN RIOT for the better part of a year, thus providing American pop-culture with one of its most unique, and occasionally powerful, moments.
LR
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DJSJanuary 3, 2011 at 5:57 PM
I think that by now the differences between this and the THRILLER-A-Day blog should be apparent. In a way there are so many more things to talk about ... and so many more satellite, peripheral, tangential things to note as well.
And just to prove we are a completely full-service website, and to thank Stephen Bowie for his shout out:
http://classictvhistory.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/lost-in-the-outer-limits/
... I should note that not only do you have a world-class COMBAT! expert right here, online now (that would be Larry Blamire), but another shortly due to check in here as well: Steve Mitchell, who produced the supplements for both the COMBAT! and THRILLER sets. These men know whereof they speak, and I recently had the pleasure of showing Steve a few COMBAT! production photos that -- gasp -- he had never seen before.
Downside is: With so many varied POVs, we're bound to suffer a little bit of repetition with each entry, and we all beg your indulgence. It's worth it, in the long run.
Golden rule is: With each entry, I hope all readers learn at least one new thing.
Stevens & Stefano would have been thrilled.
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Peter FarrisJanuary 3, 2011 at 6:08 PM
Watching Galaxy Being for the first time in my early-20's with a brain thoroughly spoiled by Industrial Light & Magic and KNB EfX certainly took some effort, but with each year I revisit these episodes I've learned to appreciate what--as David notes--are extremely inventive, practical effects for 1963.
As for the logic behind the writing, I suppose we could chalk it up to the ying and then YANG! of Stevens and then Stefano's shepherding of the show, with some writers clearly "getting" it better than others. From what I've gathered from reading David's "Bible" (and the Video WatchDog sub-companion), it seems that time and the struggle between idea vs. execution played a role in the success (or perceived failure) of every OL episode. But I think the baffling behavior of characters at times (and creative decisions that in retrospect, don't seem so, uh, creative) are all forgivable offenses. Sure, the Monday morning quarterbacking allows for some much-needed humor when watching half-a-century-old television, but Galaxy Being to me is all about the big concept (alien contact freighted with warning) and the look. If somebody asked me for the ONE episode that embodies what The Outer Limits is all about, I'd have a tough time not recommending what won over the suits at ABC.
Hell, "Andy" still looks cool as hell. 3 Zanti's.
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DJSJanuary 3, 2011 at 6:57 PM
Gene "Buddy" Maxwell's babe-a-licious date is none other than Allyson Ames, Leslie Stevens' third wife, and mother of Sunday Stevens, who has worked as an AD on DEXTER and TRUE BLOOD, among other credits. Allyson also had the lead role in INCUBUS (the infamous Shatner movie in Esperanto), which was Daystar's last gasp after THE OUTER LIMITS was terminated. If you look really fast, she's also one of the "judges" in PHANTOM PLANET (1961).
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bobby jossonJanuary 3, 2011 at 8:40 PM
It's a handsome little production, with good though not excellent photography, touches of the musical backing to come (but the acoustic sound design, a staple of the first season is the richest since a wunderkid from radio was allowed to play in a studio of a bygone era) but it greatest assets are having that stupendous Andromedan shimmering away and meeting his intellectual brother beyond the void in Cliff Robertson's stargazing dreamer.
Both Robertson's Edisonian inventor, the alien and the control voice sprout soaring poetic dialogue so far removed from the western, cop and medical TV shows of the time or of even today's Hollywood product - that they are a delight to catch.
It evokes an innocent age of vacuum tubes, sine waves, wiring and the static emitted by the great unknown (echoing the radio hams, the CB braze and the internet), beautifully elucidating the electrifying joys of discovery and the scientific mind-set. It's the biggest toy this man/child is going to get, whilst Stevens has (like his mentor Welles) an even more enviable toy - his camera.
The ending tapers away a mite and the crowd dispersal is fanciful and against the natural instincts (it would probably take a water canon to get rid of them and they would be selling their stories, a la 'Ace in the Hole').
In the past week, I've watched the new 'Tron', 'Clash of the Titans' and '2012' and my mind turned to sap with the mostly boring CGI and utter tedium of the over-the-top storyline amid frentic direction. Altogether, they weren't a patch on this (the only one to blow me away with it's subtle effects in that time is the brilliant little horror 'Let the Right One In').
Two Zantis.
bobby j.
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pzacherJanuary 4, 2011 at 4:50 PM
I remember watching this show with my sister when it premiered in 1963. I was 6and a half years old living in Bay City Michigan. THAT episode really frightened me. I became an avid fan after that show. I also felt they could never top the pilot episode.I think it was doomed to failure for not being able to be more frightening than that first show..
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whitsbrainJanuary 7, 2011 at 7:34 AM
So many great comments here that mine seem useless by comparison, but here's my silly or serious notes...
The look on Allan Maxwell face when he first sees the Andromedan is perfect. The way that he and the alien establish a means of communication and then discuss their being, their God and death, awfully heavy and even possibly heady, but special given the era. The Andromedan's "rampage" thru the town as it explores its new surroundings is a treat. The alien effect seems very original, although I would have liked to see the entire alien on-screen instead of just waist-up shots. I also wonder how the National Guard fired so many machine gun rounds into the shed and we see no bullet holes. They don't appear to be very good at guarding anything.
The advice the Andromedan gives to the gathered crowd is to "go to your homes and give thought to the mysteries of the universe". Obviously, the humans take it to heart because they all leave! I would have filled up a 16-gig SD card on the old Canon PowerShot if I'd been there.
For the absolute originality of the show, especially when taking into account the TV programs that surrounded it, "The Galaxy Being" deserves no less than this blog's benchmark - 4 Zantis.
- Whit
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DJSJanuary 7, 2011 at 1:37 PM
I think my favorite "Allan Maxwell Moment" is when he first contacts Spotty/Andy, and says "I am transmitting from a station ..." and his voice just STALLS in the middle of the word "transmitting" as he stares gape-jawed at the screen. That sold his amazement for me more than any other single detail.
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LisaJanuary 10, 2011 at 6:49 PM
This episode never disappoints. It's awesome, in the full sense of the word. Such a great job by Cliff Robertson, what a concise portrayal of a brilliant scientist, somewhat socially naive, but just the perfect guy to reach out to the universe.
Jacqueline Scott is the ultimate nag, such a complete bitch to Allan -- she's obviously the one who signs the checks -- and at least she gets the crap scared out of her and is humbled, hopefully once and for all, and as she should be, by her husband's intelligence and heart. She's just so awful to him before that, and you hate her, kudos to Jacqueline Scott for so wonderfully playing an unpleasant character. I wonder if somebody seeing it today for the first time would be shocked that she isn't "supporting" her husband more in his choices; back then I imagine many women might have agreed with the way she henpecked him. Times change!
I've always chuckled at the hipster Gene "Buddy" Maxwell sequences, too. These guys are living in a different world than the rest of us, not just Allan. Cool cats and hot chicks -- show biz!
And the Andromedan. Sweet, philosophical, curious, with a penchant for antiquing -- I like this guy. He's kind of like Frosty the Snowman, and even sort of melts away at the end, too. You're really sorry to see him go. I don't think anything he says at the end is cliched in the least -- and should be said again and again, especially these days.
Others have mentioned that it seems weird that the crowd just walks away at the end, but they've been through so much, and frightened almost to death, and almost killed, and have heard the voice of something utterly unbelievable -- I'm not sure this isn't a realistic reaction. What can they say, to themselves or each other? The experience was too profound for instant reflection. (Plus they're just glad to make it out alive, probably.)
I love this episode and can't imagine how many times I've seen it over the years. I think it's just perfection, maybe it wouldn't have been without Cliff Robertson -- I rather think not -- but with him, it's soooo great.
Reading this blog is a dream come true for me!
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RickJanuary 13, 2011 at 2:13 PM
I really don't have much to add to this as everyone above stated so many good things already. This was actually the first OUTER LIMITS episode I caught by accident back in the early 70's. Seeing I wasn't jaded by modern special effects yet, this episode really left an impression on me in the visual department! I have to say even at present it still holds together for me in the visuals. Of course besides being engaging in the effects/creature look the story as always rounded out most all of these OUTER LIMITS episodes including this one. It would be years after seeing this first episode which was neat to find out later was the first that I would fully enter the wild and imaginative world of THE OUTER LIMITS!
Oh yes thanks for posting and giving the bit of history of it almost being known as PLEASE STAND BY. I do think OUTER LIMITS turned out being a better title and it goes better in the opening narration to be. One minor note I actually like the zipping through space on the end credits of PLEASE STAND BY a little better than what ended up being used. It seems trivial but I like the motion of it all. The music was always great in my book I liked it better than the opening music of the second season, although even that was okay.
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Troy ThomasJanuary 18, 2011 at 2:26 PM
I always liked this one and think it's better than it gets credit for.
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AndyApril 7, 2011 at 5:01 AM
I am old enough to have seen The Galaxy Being on its first showing on British television in the mid 60's. The terrible chaos that surrounded the Creature as it explores its new surroundings gave me the willies, and even after all these years I still remember how impressed I was by the physical appearance of the Being.
I grew up into an electronics and radio engineer and now I have the DVD set, I instantly recognised the Being's voice as SSB, possibly with extra filtering. This was a stroke of genius, as it gives the voice a detached, narrowband, long-distance sound.
Watching this episode the other night (the first time in over 40 years) I found myself choking up at the Creature's final speech. I suppose it's a bit of a cliche, but the words 'go to your homes and give thought to the mysteries of the Universe', and his revelation that 'they will come for me', stirs something in me that has me wiping away a stray tear.
This theme - something awful that is actually fallible and good - turns up many times in TOL, but it always does the trick.
Plot holes and a rushed climax/ending don't stop me giving this superb piece of TV a resounding 4 Zantis.
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GrantApril 15, 2011 at 8:40 AM
As much as I sympathize with Alan, I can never understand ALL the criticism the Carol and Gene characters get when this episode is described, because the story really causes a lot of sympathy for them too. In those early scenes, you can almost hear them counting the days till this business of theirs (and Alan's) falls apart completely.
I understand some of what John Townsley Riddle says about the accidental "rampage." One of my few problems with this one has to do with something that I ADMIT is very dramatic, and that's the way he literally throws off that radiation, even when he sees the D.J. and the watchman and the car. I know that even in those scenes, what he does to them is supposed to be accidental, but it's kind of a struggle to remember that.
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AnonymousJune 25, 2011 at 8:49 AM
one of the best episodes but a very important comment here on the dvds of the 1 season dosnt anyone else see the terrible framing mgm did all around the edges of the episodes they are all chopped and if you love this great show like me this sucks i can only hope they redo these some day.How come no one else is commenting about this cant you see peoples heads cut off they need to do these the right way and not chopped all around the edges im right about this if you love this show how come i havent heard you all on this topic.How about some feedback?
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QUEBEC OL FANJuly 14, 2011 at 9:44 PM
This one has one of the series' most unforgettable moments : the long, haunting scene when the Andromedan calmly examines all that surrounds him in the antique shop, to the sound of one of the best and longest rendition of The Outer Limits' main theme ever !! Just love it when a director chooses to stop the action a bit to stay on a character a little longer, even though the scene does not move the story forward (something Tarantino loves to do and does often).
Speaking of Jacqueline Scott : don't forget her great part as the ill-fated wife of CHARLEY VARRICK (Don Siegel, 1973) and, yes, Miss Scott actually played the nagging wife of Dennis Weaver for a few minutes in Spielberg's DUEL !!
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Replies
DaleSeptember 27, 2012 at 7:10 PM
Or how about the role Scott may be best known for-Richard Kimble's sister on THE FUGITIVE. She appeared in every season including the two part finale.
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DJSFebruary 8, 2012 at 6:00 AM
Holy crap! Jacqueline Scott was just in the Doritos commercial during the 2012 Super Bowl!
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John ScoleriFebruary 8, 2012 at 6:13 AM
It apparently won a million dollar prize for being voted the best Superbowl commercial. Was DJS stuffing the ballot box?
You can decide for yourself after checking it out here: http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/?finalist=13253
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CmacApril 18, 2012 at 7:29 PM
2 1/2 Zantis. A good premire. Pretty effecive monster effects, sound effects too, well-written dialog between Robertson and the Galaxy Being. Supporting characters are not interesting. It should be obvious to Robertson from all the questions the DJ is asking him that he plans to boost the power to increase the broadcast range, so I don't know why Robertson goes to the party.
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AndrewJune 29, 2012 at 4:25 PM
With the exception of Production/Decay (an intentional metaphor for the state of the show?) I'm a great admirer of all of Stevens' episodes and wish more writers and directors took his approach to make genuinely hard science fiction that also succeeded as effective drama. One of my closest friends grew up watching The Outer Limits, and The Galaxy Being had an especially profound effect on him. Today, he's a radio astronomer at one of the top astrophysics labs in the country.
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GrantJanuary 15, 2013 at 9:59 PM
Quebec OL Fan is very right about the scene in the shop. Yes, the music in it is about as spooky as the show's music ever gets - it sounds like something out of 2001.
That scene also has one of the episode's few FUNNY moments, when he looks through the binoculars.
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Reese FowlerJanuary 31, 2013 at 12:29 PM
This is one of my favorite episodes. I remember the summer of 1963. I was 8 years old. ABC's theme was "The New ABC" and they would show clips from this episode on their commercials. Then the big night finally came. My parents usually didn't watch science fiction but they watched this episode with their mouths open. When it was all over I felt like we had just watched something monumental in the history of American television.
In the months that followed I would have dreams of the Galaxy Being. But in my dreams he wasn't scary or menacing. He was lost and trying to get home. Hats off to Leslie Stevens for a great episode.
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GrantMarch 31, 2013 at 7:27 PM
"If you look really fast, she's also one of the 'judges' in PHANTOM PLANET (1961)."
The "jury of Laura Petries," as MST3K put it.
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GrantJune 19, 2013 at 3:06 PM
In spite of how great it is, I've always had one "L-OL" moment with this episode. It's when Allan tells Carol frantically "We brought it here!"
It's hard not to imagine her saying "What do you mean, WE?!"
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gregMay 23, 2015 at 12:27 PM
I was 6 yrs old when I saw it. Now seeing it again in 2015 brings back some of the impressions I had at that time.
After viewing 30 of garbage (most TV) I think feel it was a unique and powerful show in its time. Glad to now know how they created the effect for the galaxy being.
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Ryan DempseyMay 15, 2016 at 8:53 AM
I'm a discoverer of The Outer Limits via DVD (bought the first volume in high school on a whim) and watched the rest through legally grey means. Recently the complete series boxset was put up for a sensible price on Amazon and I snatched it up and I'm going through the whole series completely above board this time!
This episode always endeared me. The scenes of Alan asking this higher extra-dimensional being about God spoke to me as a teenager trying to make sense of the world. The Andromedans answer is surprisingly satisfying and sensible, IMHO. It isn't completely made of psuedo-spiritual/scientific nonsense.
Also the scene of him picking through the thrift shop! Instruments twirlling on strings in a black void for the background while he examines Earth artefacts. Fun, artsy stuff.
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