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Season 1 – The Outer Limits

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – The Outer Limits Sep 1963 Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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93% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 93% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
"There is nothing wrong with your television set." That famous line opens each episode of the classic science fiction anthology series as part of a narration that makes people think their TVs are being controlled. Episodes of the series, which numbered 49 over the course of two seasons, range from a mix of sci-fi and horror that feature "scary monster" motifs to episodes focused on the sci-fi aspects of the stories. Episode writers include such notables as series creator Leslie Stevens and Harlan Ellison.
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The Outer Limits — Season 1

The Outer Limits — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Not content to settle for Twilight Zone knockoff status, The Outer Limits set the bar for gruesome monster anthology series and stands the test of time.

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Critics Reviews

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Noel Murray Rolling Stone Apr 28, 2018
The result is a B-movie-inspired anthology series that looks like a European art film -- one that's aged surprisingly well. Go to Full Review Chuck Bowen Slant Magazine Apr 26, 2018
5/5
Three of the season's best episodes -- "O.B.I.T.," "Nightmare," and "The Guests" -- are merciless classics of the sci-fi and horror genres, metaphorically examining our surveillance and torture states in their infancy. Go to Full Review Greg Evans New York Times Apr 26, 2018
Nearly all of the best episodes were from the show's far superior first season. Go to Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Apr 29, 2025
... took on a combination of science fiction and suspense to delve into the dark side of humanity in episodes tragic, poignant, and comic beginning with the pilot episode. Go to Full Review Cameron Meier MeierMovies.com Aug 6, 2022
3/5
Over the course of two memorable seasons and 49 hour-long episodes from September 1963 to January 1965, The Outer Limits lived up to its name by pushing science-fiction television to and beyond its existing boundaries. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Aug 30, 2021
3.5/4
The fact that it only lasted two seasons doesn't negate the importance, influence or enduring popularity of this crackerjack anthology series. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Johnathon W @Hoppynsc Sep 2, 2024 Classic series that doesn't quite find its footing in the first season, remains a standout thanks to its brilliant list of guest stars and sharp writing. The actors are standouts, from Donald Pleasance to Robert Duvall, while the writers provide some intriguing science fiction premises to explore. Classic series than stands second to "The Twilight Zone" as the greatest science fiction anthology series of all time. See more Rick O @Mr.Farkle Nov 24, 2023 Excellent for its time. Overall, highly imaginative writing, fine acting, cinematography, directing .... It was a superior TV show done in a professional manner. See more Jan 28, 2019 I have watched all of the original two seasons many times over. And all of the new version once. I am still amazed at the quality of the writing and the production values that went into Season 1. 32 episodes !!! Unheard of these days. And compare the best episodes to the B&W science fiction movies of the time. The comparison is even more glaring. The Canadian version also had some accomplished episodes. But much more hit and miss. And not nearly as groundbreaking. Some garbage episodes like Borderland. But then brilliant ones like OBIT or Chameleon. Season 2 (half a season really) frequently ruined by bad scripts and cut budgets. And the music of Harry Lubin versus Dominic Frontier ??? A huge mistake. Concentrate instead on Season 1. It's worth mentioning that Don't Open Until Doomsday is weird beyond belief - but in a good way. See more Read all reviews
The Outer Limits — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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John Brahm

Director

Gerd Oswald

Director

Leslie Stevens

Director

Leonard Horn

Director

Laslo Benedek

Director

Paul Stanley

Director

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Sep 16, 1963 The Galaxy Being A radio engineer (Cliff Robertson) experimenting with a 3-D TV receiver tunes in a being from Andromeda. Details Episode 2 Aired Sep 23, 1963 The Hundred Days of the Dragon A winning presidential candidate (Sidney Blackmer) is being impersonated by an agent of an Asian despot. Details Episode 3 Aired Sep 30, 1963 The Architects of Fear Scientists create a fake "being" from another planet to frighten nations into a peaceful coexistence. Details Episode 4 Aired Oct 7, 1963 The Man With the Power A meek and mild college instructor (Donald Pleasence) inherits incredible and uncontrollable mental powers after a unique scientific experiment. Details Episode 5 Aired Oct 14, 1963 The Sixth Finger A Welsh miner volunteers to be the first subject for an experiment to speed human evolution. Details Episode 6 Aired Oct 28, 1963 The Man Who Was Never Born An astronaut accidentally passes through a time warp and finds the Earth of 2148 barren and populated by grotesque humanoids. Details Episode 7 Aired Nov 4, 1963 O.B.I.T. A murder supports an insane scientist's assertion he saw a monster in a visible projection of human wavelengths. Details Episode 8 Aired Nov 11, 1963 The Human Factor At a military base in Greenland, the brains of two men are accidentally exchanged when an experiment goes awry. Details Episode 9 Aired Nov 18, 1963 Corpus Earthling A metal plate in a man's head allows him to hear two crystalline rocks discussing plans to take over the Earth. Details Episode 10 Aired Dec 2, 1963 Nightmare Astronauts believe they have been imprisoned on an alien planet and suffer torture. Details Episode 11 Aired Dec 9, 1963 It Crawled Out of the Woodwork A ball of black dust sucked into a vacuum cleaner feeds on the motor's energy and grows to uncontrollable proportions. Details Episode 12 Aired Dec 16, 1963 The Borderland A team of scientists propel themselves into the fourth dimension, where everything is a mirror image of itself. Details Episode 13 Aired Dec 23, 1963 Tourist Attraction A captured creature asks fellow sea dwellers for help when a dictator plans to use it as a tourist attraction. Details Episode 14 Aired Dec 30, 1963 The Zanti Misfits The planet Zanti coerces permission for its misfits, giant ants with human heads, to emigrate to Earth. Details Episode 15 Aired Jan 6, 1964 The Mice As an alternative to spending his life in prison, a man volunteers for the "inhabitant exchange" program being conducted with the planet Chromo. Details Episode 16 Aired Jan 13, 1964 Controlled Experiment Martians (Barry Morse, Carroll O'Connor) investigate Earth's quaint custom of homicide by using a machine that can replay a murder in fast and slow motion. Details Episode 17 Aired Jan 20, 1964 Don't Open Til Doomsday An elderly woman waits for someone to look into a box and take the place of her spouse, trapped since 1929. Details Episode 18 Aired Jan 27, 1964 ZZZZZZ A scientist who talks to insects hires a new lab assistant, secretly an invading queen bee disguised in human form. Details Episode 19 Aired Feb 3, 1964 The Invisibles A government agent infiltrates a strange society which hopes to conquer mankind by attaching parasitic creatures to human spinal cords. Details Episode 20 Aired Feb 10, 1964 The Bellero Shield An ambitious woman pays dearly for destroying a creature captured by her husband in a laser experiment. Details Episode 21 Aired Feb 17, 1964 Children of Spider County An investigation reveals the link between the disappearances of four scientists born in a single county. Details Episode 22 Aired Feb 24, 1964 Specimen: Unknown Space station crewmen encounter mushroom-like organisms that emit a lethal gas and multiply with astounding rapidity. Details Episode 23 Aired Mar 2, 1964 Second Chance An amusement park attraction turns out to be an actual spaceship commandeered by an alien captain (Simon Oakland). Details Episode 24 Aired Mar 9, 1964 Moonstone A staff of military and scientific personnel on the moon discovers a strange object that is round, smooth -- and alive. Details Episode 25 Aired Mar 16, 1964 The Mutant A scientist mutated by rainfall on an alien world holds colleagues hostage and demands to return to Earth. Details Episode 26 Aired Mar 23, 1964 The Guests Lovers decide whether to stay in a strange place and keep eternal youth or to return to their true ages. Details Episode 27 Aired Mar 30, 1964 Fun & Games A man (Nick Adams) and woman (Nancy Malone) battle an alien duo on a distant world to decide the fate of Earth. Details Episode 28 Aired Apr 6, 1964 The Special One An agent from the planet Xenon is tutoring brilliant Earth children for a special project; the conquering of Earth. Details Episode 29 Aired Apr 13, 1964 A Feasibility Study Six city blocks are transported intact to an alien planet; with Sam Wanamaker, David Opatoshu. Details Episode 30 Aired Apr 20, 1964 Production & Decay of Strange Particles After a nuclear reactor goes out of control, a flood of radiation is released in the form of near-human creatures. Details Episode 31 Aired Apr 27, 1964 The Chameleon The Army suspects the defection of an agent (Robert Duvall) sent to infiltrate the crew of a crippled alien ship. Details Episode 32 Aired May 4, 1964 The Forms of Things Unknown After killing a blackmailer, two women come across an elusive and enigmatic madman who has devised a machine that can "tilt" time and bring the dead back to life. Details

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Season Info

Director
John Brahm, Gerd Oswald, Leslie Stevens, Leonard Horn, Laslo Benedek, Paul Stanley, Alan Crosland Jr., Byron Haskin
Executive Producer
Leslie Stevens
Screenwriter
Lou Morheim, Stephen Lord, Ellis St. Joseph, Joseph Stefano, Leslie Stevens, Michael Adams, Allan Balter, Anthony Lawrence, Lin Dane, Oliver Crawford, Robert Mintz
Network
ABC
Rating
TV-PG
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date
Sep 16, 1963
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