Product Description

You hold in your hands an artifact from a time now vanished forever - a compendium of portals into worlds unknown. A four-disc set that controls over 27 hours of transmission from the 1963-64 series, this vessel has sought you out for one specific purpose: to expand your mind to "The Outer Limits"!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28856 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-09-03
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Black & White, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 1642 minutes

Amazon.com
From the moment Vic Perrin's omniscient "Control Voice" first proclaimed, "There is nothing wrong with your television set," on September 16, 1963, The Outer Limits was destined for greatness. The dazzling, long-beloved series was a daring experiment in "omnibus" TV, trading the speculative fantasies of The Twilight Zone for farther-out sci-fi concepts. Producers Leslie Stevens and Joseph Stefano had risen as gifted writers from (respectively) Broadway and Hollywood; Stevens rebounded from his previous canceled series, while Stefano had scripted Hitchcock's Psycho and was eager to expand his creative horizons. With an executive order for scary monsters and cold war thrills, their fruitful symbiosis was preceded by the superb Stevens-directed pilot "Please Stand By," named after the series' once-proposed title and changed to "The Galaxy Being" for its broadcast premiere.

Cliff Robertson launched an impressive succession of guest stars, and on meager, oft-exceeded budgets of $120,000 per episode, The Outer Limits became a showcase for shoestring ingenuity. The "blue ribbon crew" (as Stevens called it) included cinematographer Conrad Hall, whose Oscar®-winning skills were honed on the series' cramped TV-studio sets. Packed onto four double-sided DVDs, these 32 episodes (out of a total 49) comprise the series' dynamic first season of moody, frequently paranoid black-and-white adventures. Repeat performers Martin Landau, Robert Culp, and Sally Kellerman excel (respectively) in the fan-favorite episodes "The Man Who Was Never Born," "The Architects of Fear," and "The Bellero Shield" (and who can forget the insect-like menace of "The Zanti Misfits"?). There are a few clunkers, of course, but the series' quality (and parade of monsters) is remarkably consistent, and DVD compression does not compromise its technical achievement. These eerily seductive shows invite repeated viewing, supporting Stephen King's oft-quoted remark that The Outer Limits was "the best program of its type ever to run on network TV." --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Very happy to see this series on DVD
One of the first great sci-fi TV series, with excellent direction and writing. All black and white episodes, with a mix of good and not-so-good effects and production values (depending on budget at the time). Worth the time to watch.

five stars for mayjor episodes six for the Sixth Finger, Man Never Born, and OBIT.
The First season is the best and don't even bother with the second, it was nothing but a B&W "Night Gallery" crap shot. The funds ran out, why I cannot speculate as this was a high quality and believable(if at times campy-who cares!) Sci Fi series. It has stories of profound insite tugging on both emotions and sentiments. I can't think of a better way of telling or presenting short stories of pure science ficton than this.-Twilight Zone is of a different format all together-scocial science in reverse. Most actors are well known today and guest stars appeared regularly to gain the believablity it deserved. Such actors as David Macallum, Martin Landau, and Robert Culp as well as the depute appearenc of Sally Kellerman make these stories and characters outlast Time. Dominic Frontire's music is fantastic, depicting the theme's grim, yet grandeous vastness of space and the future to more minor subtile themes of the dim and vagueness of the eerie odd and alienly conventional behaviors of the future on a more day to day level. No odvious over the top stuff like today. No one noticed that Obit's court room had automatic sliding doors for example. Of course the New Outer Limits(1990's series) is just as good, sometimes even better, a rarity in a sci fi rehash the 90's sci fi sucking flies otherwise.

excellent series
There is incredible atmosphere in each episode. Sure you will chuckle at the often corny costumes but hey...this was cutting edge in the sixties!
It's creepy, serious, dramatic, and sometimes comical. The stories and dialogue are well thought out and the acting is well done. When the opening music comes on; I still get chills. It really does transport you to another place. Highly recommended!