tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post1048158383943128630..comments2024-03-01T15:55:16.858-08:00Comments on My Life in the Glow of The Outer Limits: Episode Spotlight: "Counterweight" (12/26/1964)Craig Beamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01039251711343080950noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-62315548465349962192020-07-19T01:26:06.618-07:002020-07-19T01:26:06.618-07:00Got two more genre credit for Michael Constantine:...Got two more genre credit for Michael Constantine: he was in the <i>Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea</i> episode "The Indestructible Man" and the <i>Friday the 13th: The Series</i> episode "Pipe Dream".Mark Lungohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470025194827675845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-61218594917516829002020-05-20T00:15:23.752-07:002020-05-20T00:15:23.752-07:00I detest MST3K. Talentless fools childishly mocki...I detest MST3K. Talentless fools childishly mocking old movies. This episode ought to have adhered to Jerry Sohl's story. Its far superior. Best wishes, Zooko. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-50912156984733057682019-11-10T19:03:50.118-08:002019-11-10T19:03:50.118-08:00It looks like plant tries to uproot anoth...It looks like plant tries to uproot another plant i guess that's how they reproduce on their planet they plant the seed water it and add some Miricle Grow and SHAZAM plant alien creaturesStarbirdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-47622921528227063192019-05-02T05:14:45.022-07:002019-05-02T05:14:45.022-07:00Read Poul Anderson's CALL ME JOE with Cameron&...Read Poul Anderson's CALL ME JOE with Cameron's AVATAR in mind, and you will forget all about THE CHAMELEON, believe me. Because CALL ME JOE stars a paraplegic who uses a device that transfers his consciousness into a big blue synthetic alien on another world... ultimately he becomes that alien and leaves his crippled body behind, but you guessed that, didn't you? JBLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06120358953477246942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-35974794833305836602019-03-18T20:10:50.646-07:002019-03-18T20:10:50.646-07:00and demands that Earth keeps its grubby mitts off
...and demands that Earth keeps its grubby mitts off<br />s/b<br />and demands that Earth keep its grubby mitts offhockey24hrshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17665339445715581362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-19202105930947516482019-03-18T20:10:29.575-07:002019-03-18T20:10:29.575-07:00"The holographic chess game between Chewbacca..."The holographic chess game between Chewbacca and R2-D2 in 1977’s Star Wars features a veritable menagerie of creatures, all stop-motion animated. One in particular looks quite a bit like our Antheon, wouldn't you say?"<br /><br />The next time you watch James Cameron's 2009 movie Avatar, see if you don't agree with me that one of the indigenous plants on the moon Pandora looks remarkably like Counterweight's Antheon plant creature. Also, Avatar's entire story seems terribly similar to Robert Towne's TOL episode The Chameleon.hockey24hrshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17665339445715581362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-47574750208996397522018-11-13T01:09:28.739-08:002018-11-13T01:09:28.739-08:00The whole business about Indians/Injuns is kind of...The whole business about Indians/Injuns is kind of ludicrous.<br /><br />1. The adults in 1964 who made this could only operate by the standards of 1964, not those of the 21st century.<br /><br />2. The standards of the 21st century are not as enlightened as you fancy them to be. By indulging every SORRGA* SIG's** demands about word prohibition, all we've done is Balkanize our society and encourage people to form their identities via race/blood/geography instead of (philosophical & political) ideas. And for what? It's completely arbitrary whether we call an Indian an Indian or Injun or Native American (there is no such thing; even the Indians' ancestors came here from Asia when the Bering Straits were more land than water). The claim that one word/term is better than another is unprovable and is done strictly so that a minority group can yank the chain of American society as a whole. i.e., Nietzsche's Will to Power<br /><br />* sexual orientation, race, religion, gender, age<br />** special interest group<br />hockey24hrshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17665339445715581362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-68504486853172556202017-12-30T08:38:41.417-08:002017-12-30T08:38:41.417-08:00>>Captain Branson: You're now travelling...>>Captain Branson: You're now travelling at the speed of 25,000 miles per hour. You will not hear the rockets again until we fire the retro-rockets for the Antheon landing [261 days, 11 hrs later]. For your information, we will be passing the planet Mercury. Mercury's day is exactly equal to its year: 88 days.<< So, traveling via Mercury, Antheon is approx. 157 million miles away from Earth. Interesting! That would put it about 90-100 million miles away from the Sun - i.e., at about Earth's orbit (assuming a straight-line trajectory, which is unheard of). Seriously: What would it have cost to mention something about superluminal velocity, and a destination in a different star system?Alexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-14059619661846143902017-12-28T05:51:20.889-08:002017-12-28T05:51:20.889-08:00Yes, "Injuns" (when pronounced by someon...Yes, "Injuns" (when pronounced by someone perfectly capable of pronouncing "Indians") is, indeed, offensive. But if the female character pronounced it "Injuns," then certainly in scare-quotes, i.e., ironically, in order to attack Dix, by implying that that is the sort of term he would prefer using.Alexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-77753877498194192872017-05-15T17:00:17.847-07:002017-05-15T17:00:17.847-07:00A different Anonymous here, and I agree completely...A different Anonymous here, and I agree completely with the earlier Anon. The first year of LOST IN SPACE is beautifully written, acted, and directed. And yes, it IS good science fiction. Sadly, a lot of people are prejudiced against it, condemning even the first year without giving it a fair and open viewing. IMNSHO, it's far better TV than any of the various seasons of STAR TREK, regardless of generation. And methinks Harlan Ellison was quite right that the second season of OUTER LIMITS is better science fiction (with thankfully fewer big dumb "bears") than the first.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-50740750090211449572017-04-26T10:25:26.847-07:002017-04-26T10:25:26.847-07:00Just watched this for the first time in decades. T...Just watched this for the first time in decades. The whole "I'm not a SCIENTIST, I'm a WOMAN and a WOMAN needs a MAN" thing is laughably cringeworthy to our modern sensibilities (as is when she calls the stewardess a 'robot' and says "I'm more of a woman than you are"). But the stop-motion fern monster is still cool. Btw, *season one* of Lost in Space is sci-fi, no doubt about it. The other two seasons are just farce.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-28252824028023191212017-04-15T10:40:42.259-07:002017-04-15T10:40:42.259-07:00Oh man, is this a BAD episode. One of season two&#...Oh man, is this a BAD episode. One of season two's WORST shows. I've been binge-watching both seasons for almost a year, and I've only seen this one twice, that's how much I dislike it. (Some episodes I've watched over 8 or 10 times now). But this one? Really bad....Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06899760253608859423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-43655022411283413692014-12-31T15:18:42.776-08:002014-12-31T15:18:42.776-08:00This episode is, for me, far more enjoyable than i...This episode is, for me, far more enjoyable than it deserves to be. In addition to all the faults you listed, I think the bit about strange phenomena occurring almost immediately and then _months_ of "flight" going by uneventfully doesn't make sense. I'd have months go by with a couple of the engineered problems occurring, and only _then_, when the humans appear to be enduring these okay, does the alien step in to provide the extra push over the edge.<br /><br />Ah, well.<br /><br />Lurker111<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-20961850793123870182014-12-31T08:11:05.088-08:002014-12-31T08:11:05.088-08:00I just wanted to let you know how much I've be...I just wanted to let you know how much I've been enjoying your blog, which I discovered only a couple of weeks ago--your comments are insightful, amusing, and a nice balance (might we say counterweight?) to "The Outer Limits Companion." The photo captions are hilarious. Great work here. Best, Chris ConlonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-23996039870147840912014-12-30T19:04:06.386-08:002014-12-30T19:04:06.386-08:00If it's "Indians," her D is so soft ...If it's "Indians," her D is so soft as to be more or less inaudible. I always heard it as "Injuns" with the J pronounced as a Y, as it is in Swedish, Finnish, and Spanish (among other languages). Is "Injuns" somehow more offensive than "Indians"? It's a slang mispronunciation that you'll arrive at if you speak quickly and slur a bit. Frankly, even if she does say "Indians," the whole bit is no less uncomfortable.Craig Beamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01039251711343080950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-36858385496009505042014-12-30T15:52:47.008-08:002014-12-30T15:52:47.008-08:00You might want to listen Dr. Hendrix's questio...You might want to listen Dr. Hendrix's question again.....She says,,,"What if there are (pause)..INDIANS"....Not INJUNS as you had stated.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-64125473070533876452014-12-30T11:11:06.595-08:002014-12-30T11:11:06.595-08:00So her name is Hendrix and she wants to be a "...So her name is Hendrix and she wants to be a "Foxy Lady". (Am I the one one who made that connection?)<br /><br />Seriously, it's been a long time since I saw "Counterweight", but I remember thinking that with all its faults, at least it's better than Milton Krims' other OL scripts. Also, I like the confrontation between the alien and the humans. Mark Lungohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470025194827675845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-34077614796736090582014-12-29T18:47:37.474-08:002014-12-29T18:47:37.474-08:00I really don't know what the hell to make of &...I really don't know what the hell to make of "Counterweight". The six people chosen for the trip are so dysfunctional, I don't know how any of them survive a trip to the local grocery, much less a planet that is a 261-day flight away. <br /><br />The whole episode borders on disastrous and is boring not to mention confusing. Again, the characters are so uninteresting and laughable I really had a hard time watching it to the end.<br /><br />"Counterweight" includes some poor special effects, primarily the alien light projected on the spaceship walls with all the technical splendor of a five-year old playing with a flashlight. I did take a liking to the plant creature in its early stages. Good thing we get the one brief, shining moment when it attacks a neighboring plant in the full glory that is stop-motion animation. As the plant matures into a full-fledged Antheon, it takes on the silly appearance of a Chinese dragon with glowing eyes. <br /><br />I think Jacqueline Scott would have been okay had she just not twirled the pearls.whitsbrainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18171082058163775614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-11618620894064613002014-12-29T18:41:11.748-08:002014-12-29T18:41:11.748-08:00Craig...Your Shock-Zoom.gif of Mike Lint is one fo...Craig...Your Shock-Zoom.gif of Mike Lint is one for the animated gif Hall-of-fame. So f'ing funny!<br />whitsbrainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18171082058163775614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-54862361304907430822014-12-27T14:07:40.497-08:002014-12-27T14:07:40.497-08:00I refuse to re-watch this episode only because I l...I refuse to re-watch this episode only because I loved it when I was eight years old, and I know it would be a disappointment to me now. It really scared me as a kid, in a way that I quite enjoyed. We had a lot of spiral ferns in the back yard that looked almost identical to the Antheon, and the sight of them made me uneasy for years afterwards. (I will add, however, that even as an eight-year-old I knew Jacqueline Scott's character was just plain silly and uninteresting.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com