The Favorite TV Episode Blogathon: The Outer Limits "The Architects of Fear"

We're happy to be participating in the 2nd Favorite TV Episode Blogathon, sponsored by the terrific A Shroud of Thoughts blog.  Be sure to visit the blog -- click here -- for a listing of all the sites taking part in this event!

We are chiming in with a short shout-out to one of our favorites, the superb first season episode "The Architects of Fear" which first aired on network TV on September 30, 1963.  Fifty-three years old and still works like a charm, though there is little charming about the episode.  Harrowing?  Yes, and frightening and unthinkable and ultimately touching would be more like it.  Unforgettable certainly.

There are quite a few other write-ups on this episode around the net and I'll link to them at the end of this post and borrow a few screengrabs from them, too.  I don't even think I'll go step-by-step through this brilliant hour of TV.  If you've never seen it, you need to watch it, that's all.  If you've never watched any of The Outer Limits -- but really how could avoid it, it's been in constant syndication for the past half-century -- we of course recommend settling in and catching up with some of the most intriguing science fiction ever presented on TV.   (Not as easy as it used to be -- it's behind Hulu's subscription wall now but I did find one link for "The Architects of Fear" -- click here).

In a nightmarish nutshell, the plot of "The Architects of Fear" is fairly simple -- a secret group of scientists gathers together to execute their plan to scare Earth's political leaders into peace through the use of an extraterrestrial threat which will force them to cooperate together to ensure the safety of all mankind.  Their idea is very specific -- they are going to medically change one of their group into an alien who will land a spacecraft in front of the United Nations. They draw names, and the winner -- loser -- is young physicist Allen Leighton, played by actor Robert Culp is a true tour-de-force performance.  His wife is played by the great actress Geraldine Brooks who was always an intelligent presence in every role.

Leighton is willing to go through with the transformation but in a cruel twist of fate -- actually something that would have been a joyous moment had he not been involved in the plan -- he learns that he will be leaving more than just his beloved wife behind.  But still he goes forward.

Key things making "The Architects of Fear" so incredibly good are the amazing performances by the entire cast.  Culp is nuanced, intelligent, heartbreaking and in one scene completely mesmerizing as the medical process induces a psychotic episode which is terrifying, almost hilarious in its flights of fancy, but ultimately bleak and tragic.  Geraldine Brooks as Yvette Leighton is one of the many interesting female portrayals on The Outer Limits over its 49 episode run.  She's smart, skeptical, and unique, thanks to Meyer Dolinsky's script and Brooks' talent.  Veteran character actor Leonard Stone plays the main brain behind the scientific cadre, and he's both ruthless and compassionate as he leads one of his best friends down the road into inhumanity.

I watched the episode again last night -- though I've seen it probably a hundred times over the years -- but my husband had never seen it.  I asked him "Do you think this looks dated and stupid?" but he said it was the story that kept him interested.  And so it is.  It's part Frankenstein-part The Day the Earth Stood Still-part Incredible Melting Man or Swamp Thing; we don't want to forget the basic premise of changing a human via hideous surgery into a creature and re-engineering his entire body into an alien physiology.  We get to see some of the process and it is grueling, not in terms of bloody operating room scenes but in glimpses of the intimate horrors they are perpetrating on their unlucky friend.

Just watch it.  Forget about the lack of million-dollar special effects and revel instead in the sheer excellence of the entire team who made The Outer Limits such a wonderful show and "The Architects of Fear" an especially great example of that genius.

As I mentioned above, a few other great blogs on this episode are:  My Life in the Glow of The Outer Limits -- click here --  We Are Controlling Transmission -- click here and here - The Daily P.O.P -- click here -- Casual Debris -- click here -- The Last Drive-In -- click here -- Living in The Outer Limits - click here -- Home Videos.com -- click here -- and a few others I might have missed.
Just you don't miss "The Architects of Fear".

Summer Nose-talgia #31: James Shigeta, R.I.P.

We're so sorry to hear of the passing earlier this week of the wonderfully talented actor James Shigeta, a fixture on movie and TV screens since 1960.  Born in Hawaii on June 17, 1929 to Japanese parents, Shigeta started his performing career after studying drama at New York University and serving in the Marine Corps during the Korean War.  Musically gifted as well as a good actor, Shigeta got his show business break when he found himself in Japan and used his singing to establish himself and eventually make his way back to the U.S. and American stardom.

We'll direct you to several complete obituaries for his entire life story, like this one from the Los Angeles Times, this one from The New York Times, a nice one from The Onion AV Club, but we especially want to point out the tremendous amount of episodic TV work he did during his career.  Shigeta moved easily between movie and TV roles, the latter which were probably his bread and butter over the years.  He appeared on everything from Dr. Kildare to Medical Center to Kung Fu to Ben Casey to Perry Mason to Ironside to Mission: Impossible and many more including more recent hits such as Beverly Hills 90210 and Babylon 5.  Action movie lovers particularly remember his great turn as the boss of Bruce Willis' wife in the original Die Hard movie.

We'll share here a few looks at his movie and TV work, then direct you to one of his most powerful TV performances in an episode of the original The Outer Limits.

First of all, this is a lovely overview of James Shigeta's career from 2006 when he was honored at the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival:




One of the young Shigeta's most prominent movie roles was in 1961's Bridge to the Sun opposite Carroll Baker:



James Shigeta did all his own singing when he co-starred in the big screen version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's charming San Francisco-set musical Flower Drum Song:





He also does some dancing in this elaborate musical number from the movie:



Here is the reunion of Jack Lord and James Shigeta in an episode of Hawaii 5-0 in 1968.  A reunion, you ask?  They co-starred together in a very interesting movie Walk Like a Dragon in 1960:





The one amazing James Shigeta performance that we really want to share with you is in an episode from The Outer Limits entitled "Nightmare".  Shigeta stands out in a cast of stand-outs, including a very young Martin Sheen.

In case the embed doesn't work, you can watch the episode on Hulu by clicking here.

James Shigeta, June 17, 1929 - July 28, 2014.

Summer Nose-talgia #11 Warren Oates in "The Outer Limits" as "The Mutant"

Veteran character actor Warren Oates would have celebrated his 86th birthday today, July 5, 2014, but unfortunately this brilliant acclaimed actor passed away 32 years ago at the far too-young age of 53.  Best known probably for his work with director Sam Peckinpah, Oates also had a long and prolific career as a TV guest star from the time of his first TV anthology work in the mid-1950s.  Often in Westerns but also in other popular TV genres, Oates was never less than completely committed to his art and always brought something unique to his roles.

One of Oates' most interesting credits was in a 1964 episode of the classic science fiction anthology The Outer Limits called "The Mutant", and it's an Oates that once seen cannot be forgotten.  Either before or after you watch the episode, you will want to check out the section on this episode from the blog project from a few years ago titled "We Are Controlling Transmission" wherein media scholars and authors Peter Enfantino and John Scoleri analyzed every TOL episode. You can find their take on "The Mutant" here.

You might enjoy another analysis from "The Fashion of Dreaming" website which also cover The Outer Limits in some detail.  There is another The Outer Limits blog available here, too.  As you might surmise, this series was a huge influence on a lot of viewers over the years and it still remains relevant and entertaining.

I would recommend watching it on the "We Are Controlling Transmission" page, click here or you can go directly to Hulu, click here.

On the chance that you might not know anything about this episode before reading this post, I'll refrain from spoiling the surprise, though it doesn't take too long into the episode before the beans are spilled, or the eggs are broken, whatever the case may be.

Happy Birthday, Lisa Mateas!

In case you do not know her name, it's Lisa Mateas.

She's one of the progenitors of THE FLAMING NOSE, but she is SO SO much more than that. I won't go on and on about her achievements. This would embarrass her. Still, I will say she's been a champion of TV for a long time. She's been in there, punching for fandom and for pure love of television so much that, if I told you all how much she's done, you'd be sending her copious e-mails in complete thanks. This is easy to say, but, believe me, you would be sending those e-mails (the Babylon 5 people alone would be turning out full force)!

I met Lisa in 1994, when I was applying for the job of Programming Coordinator at Turner Network Television, where she was the network's longtime Vice-President (and, thus, a progenitor of both Turner Network Television and Turner Classic Movies). I showed up on time, and I got the job, and I knew it immediately because both she and her cohort, Phil Oppenheim, acted like they had just won the lottery after they had met me. How many people can say THAT about people they've interviewed with? To work with Lisa and Phil was like working for the Wright Brothers: they knew it all, and I never questioned it. The astronomical plus was that these two were vastly funnier and more joyous that the Wright Brothers probably ever were. They were, for me, the king bosses of all time. If you can imagine your managers spending time blackening in the shiny white teeth belonging to celebrities on the covers on TV Guide while STILL remaining the smartest people in the building, then you'll know what I mean. Can't imagine it? No? Thank you. It was a one-of-a-kind job.

I was, I thought, strictly a movie guy when I met Lisa. But she saw something else in me. And she made me realize that TV was just as close to my soul as the movies were. It took me a while to understand this, but it happened. Now, I get the difference, and the nuances, that separate the mediums. And I have to say: after meeting Lisa (and Phil), my love of TV and movies are running neck-and-neck. In fact, I don't think one can exist without the other.

My tribute to Lisa was going to be, originally, a series of posts on Facebook. But I thought that was much more ephemeral than I could stand.

Lisa and I are still kindred spirits; we played VIDEO GAMES together, for God's sake. Even though we now live far apart, I will always carry her with me in my heart. And, clearly, this is the case with her, too; she is still always keeping up with my doings on FILMICABILITY, and constantly comments--in complete, loving, and authentic allegiance--on my articles. She has said, and I believe, that she is my #1 fan. And so, as HER #1 fan, I offer a single article in tribute to her wisdom and magnificence.

Even so, I respect her privacy. But I still feel I have to say how much I love her. And so I'll do it through television--her FIRST and TRUEST love. I think she'll groove on this.

So now I offer, for my dearest friend, a tribute through television. The following top ten clips--even though we may not have talked about them ALL straightforwardly--are still each sublime TV moments that will make me, forever, undoubtedly recall Lisa Mateas, and all the great times, and all the great loves, we've shared together. Happy birthday, Lisa! You make every world shine!

(The Andy Griffith Show; "Mr. McBeeVee" Season 3, episode 1, part 3; written by Harvey Bullock, directed by Bob Sweeney; this scene requires Opie's father, Andy, to believe in something that was unbelievable. Lisa and I still share a love of this series; I may be speaking out of turn for her, but I think that we agree this series, and perhaps this very series of scenes, are amongst TV's sweetest moments in time. Lisa is all about sweetness but, as you will later see, darkness plays a role as well).

(The insanely amazing opening credits to The Wild Wild West, with Richard Markowicz's unforgettable theme, and those beautiful animations; TNT played The Wild Wild West daily up until the late 1990s; Lisa named one of her cat Artemus!).

(The opening credits to the greatest one-season TV show of all time: Freaks and Geeks, created by Paul Feig and Judd Apatow; I think that if Lisa had had the power at the time, Freaks and Geeks would have gone on to a second season, and beyond; and we were THIS close...).

(From The Twilight Zone: "To Serve Man." Season 3, episode 14. Written by Damon Knight and directed by John Braham).

(From The Outer Limits: "The Zanti Misfits." Season 1, episode 14. Written by Joseph Stefano and directed by Leonard Horn).

(I Love Lucy, "Job Switching," season 2, episode 1, written by Bob Carroll Jr., Madelyn Pugh and Jess Oppenheimer; directed by William Asher; Lucy is the avatar for this very site, which should tell you something).

(Leave It To Beaver, "Beaver Gets Spelled," season 1, episode 1, part 3; written by Bob Mosher and Joe Connelly; directed by Norman Tokar; I never knew how smart the Beaver was until I met Lisa).

(Joe Flaherty as Count Floyd, tubthumbing for "The Bloodsucking Monkeys of West Miffland, PA," from 1980 on Second City Television; Lisa and I both share a massive crush on Mr. Flaherty, who I think we agree is a genius).

She's a hilarious, wonderful lady. Lisa Mateas is my hero. How I adore her so! And she is the one and only person I know who is totally, completely, all about love. And here's a bonus clip, too!

(Joe Bob Briggs singing the Monstervision song, 1997; they'd be no Joe Bob hosting Monstervision without Lisa!)

2011 -- "The Outer Limits" for the New Year!

There's a wonderful internet experience going on and we'd like to point you there. A couple of terrific and talented writers and TV experts are tackling a grand task -- watching and critiquing every episode of the brilliant early 1960s' science fiction/horror series The Outer Limits. As a practically life-long fan of TOL, I can tell you that this is a sacred and important mission Peter Enfantino and John Scoleri are on. The Outer Limits is one of those very special TV series which continues to gain fans and respect as time goes by. No way this show is going to be forgotten! (Below, Martin Landau in the haunting "The Man Who Was Never Born", co-starring Shirley Knight.)

Just before embarking on the TOL project, Peter and John finished up a similar episode-by-episode treatment for the 1960s' horror anthology series Thriller, which is also definitely worth checking out. Not only are the fellas smart and completely in the know about genre TV, literature, and almost everything else, they're also a bunch of fun to read and not at all stolid or humorless in their appreciation of the series that they cover. That's what I really like -- people who love TV but who can love all the absurdities and crazy bits that make us love the programs all the more.

If you're new to The Outer Limits, I would suggest that you start watching. All the episodes are available on Hulu, plus you can pick up DVD sets for bargain prices these days. There are only 49 episodes, so it's not like you're going to be playing catch-up the rest of your life. Nothing too daunting here, and with Enfantino and Scoleri's commentary to guide you onward, you'll end up with a keen understanding of just what makes TOL a keeper. (Left, David McCallum in his terrifying and brilliant role in "The Sixth Finger".)

Much as I'd like to post it here, it seems that there are no versions on YouTube of the famous The Outer Limits opening that can be embedded -- boo to that! However, I did find a nice piece, from TNT back in 1991, when we ran an entire night of TOL on our groovy MonsterVision franchise. Guess who programmed that, naturally? Please -- my department was dedicated to only bringing you the best of TV, what would you expect? We had just gotten the series in a big package of MGM titles -- practically the best thing in the whole deal! -- and we couldn't wait to get them on our science fiction movie franchise. So here is a little interstitial piece that the production kids put together for that initial marathon -- thanks to YT user Videoholic90sA for keeping, finding and posting this bit of history!

There's nothing like The Outer Limits -- not Twilight Zone, not Night Gallery, not any other anthology, and definitely not the TOL remake from the 1990s, thought there were some great segments. If you remember, it premiered on Showtime back then as one of their original productions, and initially had lots of soft-core nudity from an interesting bunch of actors and actresses. Once it began to be re-run it was edited, but it did add another dimension to the show, I will say that!

Bottom Line: Go to Peter and John's wonderful We Are Controlling Transmission website! Give them some feedback and thanks for taking on this delightful project! An added treat on the site are reprints from the ultimate TOL book written by David S. Schow, and he's also a frequent commenter there. You can totally get your The Outer Limits geek on -- I sure am!

All in for Peter Outerbridge and "ReGenesis"

Okay, his name may not be totally familiar to you, but Peter Outerbridge is a terrific Canadian actor, one of my favorites. I bring him up because the fourth season (and final, evidently) of his amazing TV series ReGenesis has just started on Canada's The Movie Network. It's the perfect blend of science fiction and science fact, a show where it's okay to use big words and intelligent speculation is encouraged. The morality and ethics of modern science are constantly up front, and it's also incredibly cool, to boot. The cast is filled with terrific actors and actresses in intriguing roles, including a wonderful portrayal of a brilliant scientist with Asperger Syndrome and one who's gay and it's just part of the character without being preachy or weird or stereotypical in any way. This is a show that assumes and appreciates that the audience has the maturity to understand the way it is, in science, in life, and everything else.

The earlier seasons of ReGenesis are running here and there in the U.S. also (I believe that KCAL in L.A. has the rights) and I heartily recommend trying to catch them. Episodes have centered around fascinating scientific/medical issues such as Mad Cow, AIDs, the Spanish Flu episode of 1918, cloning, human growth hormone, Gulf War Syndrome, Acid Rain, and many other completely compelling biological disasters. You'll be hard-pressed to find a smarter show on television, or one that's more exciting, and it's completely without the use of murdered women to goose up the ratings. That in itself is refreshing.

I also bring up the talented Mr. Outerbridge because he co-starred in one of the very best episodes of The New Outer Limits, and lucky for all of us it's running tomorrow on The Sci Fi Channel. Entitled The New Breed, it stars Richard Thomas as a scientist experimenting with invasive nano technology, and Peter is his friend who, facing a terminal cancer diagnosis, agrees to become a guinea pig for him. It's an unforgettable episode, alternatively horrifying and heartbreaking, and definitely my favorite segment of TNOL.

It's running tomorrow morning -- Friday March 7th -- at 11am Eastern time, and is followed by another great episode called The Message, with Marlee Matlin as a deaf woman who tunes into a distress call from an alien vessel approaching Earth, and only Larry Drake, as one of her neighbors, believes her. It's another top-notch episode and very moving and exciting. And for even more, the remake of the classic TOL episode I, Robot airs next, at 1pm Eastern, with Leonard Nimoy in the role of the attorney who defends robot creation Adam Link from charges of murder. Though the robot isn't nearly as appealing or cute as it was in the original episode, in which Nimoy played a sympathetic reporter, it's still good seeing Nimoy in anything. So your Friday afternoon's all sewed up, isn't it?