tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post7405217083774407434..comments2024-03-01T15:55:16.858-08:00Comments on My Life in the Glow of The Outer Limits: Episode Spotlight: "Second Chance" (3/02/1964)Craig Beamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01039251711343080950noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-45201251221636539422023-04-04T10:28:41.583-07:002023-04-04T10:28:41.583-07:00Late to the party yet again, but I've been mus...Late to the party yet again, but I've been musing about this episode lately and have decided to inflict my thoughts on all of you.<br /><br />Based on the comments both here and at We Are Controlling Transmission, fans think the premise of "amusement park space ride becomes real" is either the coolest idea ever or the dumbest. As a lifelong case of arrested development, I am resolutely on Team Cool, which means that I enjoy the episode as is to a certain extent. However, I also wish that it had lived up to its potential, especially after David J. Schow revealed how much better Sonja Roberts' original script was. My problem with the existing episode is that it has the same mentality as poor, doomed Tommy: so desperately eager to please, so anxious to give its superiors (in this case, ABC executives) what they want instead of what they need, that it ultimately undermines itself. <br /><br />And for all that, it's still worth watching, despite the dumbed-down story and the annoying presence of Grandpa Simpson, aka Arjay Beasley.<br /><br />Two more thoughts and I'll stop bugging everyone. First: yes, I admit the idea of turning a wooden spaceship ride into an actual functioning spacecraft is utterly ridiculous. I forget where I read it, but someone suggested a story based on the opposite idea: take a real spaceship and hide it in plain sight as an amusement park ride. Ah, the road not taken...<br /><br />Finally, although the takeoff sequence is an effective piece of filmmaking, there's one thing they didn't show that I think might have really sold the episode: a shot of the ship actually taking off from the amusement park, including the confused and astonished reactions of the staff and patrons. Admittedly, this would have been tough for even the wizards at Project Unlimited to pull off on a TV schedule and budget. But think how awesome it would have been! If we ever get a third version of <i>The Outer Limits</i>, I hope someone remakes this episode just to include that scene. And you know, improve the story too,<br />Mark Lungohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470025194827675845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-61136445489986189832022-03-04T12:41:16.784-08:002022-03-04T12:41:16.784-08:00I first saw it as a toddler, with nearly three dec...I first saw it as a toddler, with nearly three decades intervening before I had the opportunity to see it again. Two things made it incredibly memorable to me:<br />1) an amusement park flying saucer ride turning out to be the real thing, and<br />2) the guy who was blown out of the airlock into space.<br />Both of these aspects stuck with me.PoisonedDragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14989168700554006066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-20319844445440040452021-09-29T10:05:46.817-07:002021-09-29T10:05:46.817-07:00I kinda liked it. The basic premise was easy to re...I kinda liked it. The basic premise was easy to relate to--who hasn't imagined that a carnival ride is more than it seems? And I thought the carnival ride was *always* a space ship, not a conversion. The "Twelve Angry Men" drama was well-played, too. <br /><br /><br />The main thing I would have changed is the husband and wife duo: make *her* the reason she's aboard, and he's just dead weight. Actually, *he* should have been the one to go out the airlock.<br /><br />Simon Oakland was also on Kolchak, the Night Stalker as the abrasive newspaper editor.Falstaffehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17873386885206899736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-8695817767886874572020-09-22T01:41:48.113-07:002020-09-22T01:41:48.113-07:00Thank you all for the input. Yes , the episode has...Thank you all for the input. Yes , the episode has "feet of clay" but it IS a Guilty Pleasure. Good cast and the Empyrian is a great creature.bruce gilbertnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-74057975104955475552020-06-01T23:59:06.395-07:002020-06-01T23:59:06.395-07:00The British series 'The Tomorrow People' d...The British series 'The Tomorrow People' did a similiar plot in 1974 with 'The Vanishing Earth' in which visitors to a haunted house exhibit in a fun-fair got snatched by aliens and used as slaves. Best wishes, Zokko Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-49891788262636139302019-05-21T15:56:09.074-07:002019-05-21T15:56:09.074-07:00Freedomland was in The Bronx.Freedomland was in The Bronx.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06677516234595906932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-49306894749155263492019-02-03T12:23:51.987-08:002019-02-03T12:23:51.987-08:00The flying saucer exterior was based on a ride at ...The flying saucer exterior was based on a ride at Brooklyn's very shortlived Freedomland Amusement Park (1960-1964), the "Braniff Space Rover."<br />https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/wpimages/images/images1/1/0816/07/1_4b0f47d273b43c62a4c08d55d7796792.jpgDavid Edward Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09477129717880202240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-13197183667600814182018-06-25T00:02:31.010-07:002018-06-25T00:02:31.010-07:00I actually found this episode to be rather interes...I actually found this episode to be rather interesting, and wanted to see how it all came out in the end, but let’s face it---it has a stupid, stupid plot.<br /><br />Man, none of this makes the least bit of sense from beginning to end. First off---secretly converting a carnival ride to a functioning space craft, without anyone noticing? Uh, yeah…sure… (Though it has to be said, the spacecraft has some serious design flaws, when anyone can simply press the airlock button and get sucked into the nothingness of space, while the craft is in flight. That’s just poor design.)<br /><br />There is absolutely no reason the advanced alien bird-race needs to have humans to, what---colonize an asteroid to prevent it from hitting their planet? Um, how does that work, now? And why couldn’t they just adjust the trajectory of the asteroid themselves? Also, given the vast distances involved, I think it’s safe to say that a rogue asteroid many, many light years away is going to have ZERO effect on the earth, even if it bounces around its own solar system like a ping-pong ball.<br /><br />If the aliens absolutely HAVE to have humans on their asteroid, just picking up half a dozen totally useless random specimens doesn’t seem to be very practical. The only man that could possibly be of any use is the scientist---but given that the bird-men are 400 years advanced in the sciences, as compared to earth---what good would he be, anyway?<br /><br />Kind of strange, the bird-man hears his hostages basically killing one another down below, and he does nothing---until finally he verrrrry slooowly moves over and looks down the stairs to see what’s going on.<br /><br />Poor Tommy---he gets sucked into space and basically nobody cares.<br /><br />Argh. “Kidnapped into space” is a fun idea, and there’s a basic sort of childhood wish fulfilment at play here: surely more than a few children visiting an amusement park have thought “what if this carnival ride was REALLY a spaceship and could fly?” But really---every single bit of this story is utterly nonsensical, and so I can’t say it’s a very good episode. (And this is another that gets the “Dark Shadows” award for “obvious visible shadow of boom mic.”)<br /><br />Now, the most basic idea of the premise---that being, second chances on a new world---did put me in mind of Jack Finney’s excellent short story “Of Missing Persons.” Man, now why wasn’t THAT ever adapted into an episode of The Outer Limits or The Twilight Zone? Would have been a perfect fit.<br />octobercountryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10730345596655835129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-4340921398099970722017-02-16T12:39:53.854-08:002017-02-16T12:39:53.854-08:00Ok, this episode is a bit of a guilty pleasure for...Ok, this episode is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, having enjoyed it the 100 times I saw it as a kid when it was first run and rerun. Some of it doesn't hold up today, script-wise. But I still enjoy it. I don't think an aluminum cheap-o circus spacecraft would hold up to the rigors of space travel. It would fall apart as soon as it hit 300 miles per hour, I think. And that's in spite of any tinkering the alien did to it during the night hours.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06899760253608859423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-58289416896976829002015-01-24T15:09:39.887-08:002015-01-24T15:09:39.887-08:00I absolutely love the "Countdown" scene ...I absolutely love the "Countdown" scene in this episode, you know, where the Empyrian counts it down to the big blast off. Sounding as sinister and frightening as possible, the alien "punches" each number slightly differently, which, of course, is the sign of a truly great actor, you have to "mix it up", you know. As he punches each number, we cut to each passenger, one by one, for their reactions to all this. Some look frightened, some part frightened, part angry (Donise), some cool but defiant (Buddy), some unconscious (Dr. Crowell). This scene is so great we get to see it twice, in the teaser and then in the episode proper. There are a couple of questions though, actually more than a couple, but I'll address two here. One, why would the alien think we need a NASA style countdown for THIS situation? Maybe this is universal throughout the universe, as the alien muses later. Second, why would you need a super scary countdown for a mission of saving the universe? I'll have MUCH more to say about this episode in a future post. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-26153091567998066222014-12-29T18:22:05.543-08:002014-12-29T18:22:05.543-08:00Hello Craig.
Simon Oakland actually appeared in tw...Hello Craig.<br />Simon Oakland actually appeared in two Twilight Zone episodes.<br />He also portrayed DeCruz in the second season episode "The Rip Van Winkle Caper."<br />Anyway, keep up the great work on your blogs.<br /><br />Scott Stevensonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-37765197211441092472014-06-23T16:38:36.526-07:002014-06-23T16:38:36.526-07:00My favorite part of this show is when disgraced bu...My favorite part of this show is when disgraced but still proud football player Buddy has had enough and decides to take matters into his own hands. He stands up and rips into Captain Crowell, lambasting him for being only a "pretend captain". "My dear old Dad is a captain too, sir!" he screams at Crowell, "You oughta see HIM pretend"! Captain Crowell (Dave) just sits there taking this, with a puzzled, disappointed expression on his face. He's no doubt wondering what he did to deserve this abusive outburst. When Buddy decides Crowell's probably had enough he turns his pent up anger on the Empyrian, who's been watching the tantrum with a bemused look on his face. Buddy was a quarterback but he puts a great tackle move on the Empyrian, knocking the alien right down on his butt with a THUMP! At this, Mr. Beasley jumps up and, with a wild eyed look on his face, shouts "Splatter him! Kill him! Kill him for real"! Buddy rushes in to finish off the Empyrian but the alien, still sitting on his butt and with a calm, almost sedate expression on his face, knocks Buddy back with a blast of psychokinetic force. The others react in horror to this, especially Mr. Beasley, who really looks spooked. The alien angrily jumps up and glares at Buddy with an indignant expression, he's presumably not used to getting knocked on his butt by teenagers, but then decides to let the incident go. Realizing he's no match for the Empyrian, Buddy resorts to some football strategy and tries to get Tommy to help him "double team" the alien. Tommy, however, wants no part of this and then, right out of left field, brings up the fact that Buddy threw the Big Game. This enrages Buddy, and he calls Tommy a "fink". Tommy retaliates by calling Buddy an even bigger fink for throwing the Big Game.Meanwhile, the Empyrian watches all this with a bemused look on his face, presumably he's relieved not to be in the middle of this squabble, I'm guessing he's not eager to get knocked on his butt again. You'd think that these guys would have more important things to worry about at the moment than who threw the Big Game, but they are, after all, just kids I suppose. Tommy starts getting all choked up and tells Buddy how much Buddy meant to him, and Buddy responds by telling Tommy to "Shut up"! "SHADDUPP"!!!! Suddenly, inexplicably, Tommy starts stumbling backwards, like a drunk! Back, back, back he stumbles until he stumbles right into the opening of the airlock. In an attempt to stop stumbling further he reaches around the wall and then does the worst thing imaginable, he presses the button opening the airlock! Dave tries to save him but it's too late, Tommy is sucked out of the airlock and into outer space! A moment later the others look up at the viewer screen in horror just in time to see Tommy's suddenly lifeless and contorted body drifting away into the universe. This scene actually scared the crap out of me when I saw it as I kid, but now it looks kind of fake. At this awful sight Mara screams, Donise starts crying and Mr. Beasley gets a real spooked look on his face. Dave, however, doesn't react much, just sort of shakes his head as in "Oh, well". Having three teenagers as central characters was, I thought, a mistake, especially considering the fact that the abductees were supposed to have messed their lives up so badly that they needed a "Second Chance". Yes, Buddy threw the Big game, but he's young and has his whole life still ahead of him, and the only way to atone for that mistake is to go to another planet? Donise protests as well, "I don't need another chance"! she screams at the Empyrian. At the end, Doctor Crowell tells the Empyrian "Some of us don't believe in second chances, and the rest of us don't want them". Actually, I could use another chance myself. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-77610432718448608512014-04-24T10:34:30.187-07:002014-04-24T10:34:30.187-07:00Stupid, useless episode. Should have let the damne...Stupid, useless episode. Should have let the damned asteroid hit everything including this episode.i-Lens Artographyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557135512123790408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-4330995905106764702014-03-09T19:16:31.806-07:002014-03-09T19:16:31.806-07:00"Second Chance" is no doubt one of the d..."Second Chance" is no doubt one of the dark horses on my "Top 10" list". The Joyland spaceship ride becoming a transport to another planet is one of my favorite TOL ideas.<br /><br />The lone Empyrian's mission is to recruit humans to help save his nearly doomed planet. Compare this with the recruitment of humans by the Kanamits in a favorite TZ episode "To Serve Man" and you've got quite a contrast. <br /><br />The Empyrian is a large, imposing figure that is frightening, especially the way it ducks in and out of sight early in the story. The Empyrian manages to prepare the ship for space-worthiness without a single person noticing. This suspension of disbelief includes having to ignore the fact that Dr. Dave Crowell (Don Gordon), who is the make-believe Captain of the space ride, is a key recruit to save Empyria due to his genius. Quite an Empyrian-sized feat!<br /><br />Despite these nitpicks, I am able to truly enjoy many of these stories because they enable me to imagine things like an Empyrian world on the brink of disaster. The interplay of the human characters and their conflicts are fun to watch and the Empyrian changes from menacing to sympathetic in the blink of an eye. <br /><br />My love of 50's and 60's special effects is also satisfied here. Most notable are Tommy floating off into deep space and the classic design of the spaceship's interior. <br /><br />Upon repeat viewings, I have come to like the ending, which comes pretty close to the alien/human cooperation found in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".<br />whitsbrainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18171082058163775614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-75050927168886519762014-03-07T09:57:35.833-08:002014-03-07T09:57:35.833-08:00Oops, my bad - make that your MICE ref, Craig. Not...Oops, my bad - make that your MICE ref, Craig. Not FEASIBILITY STUDY as I mis-recalled, reading above (stupid 'false memory syndrome')Brian Akershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09350950418007260040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-90535912246041561222014-03-04T13:26:03.294-08:002014-03-04T13:26:03.294-08:00I've always enjoyed this wildly implausible ep...I've always enjoyed this wildly implausible episode, with its uneven mix of intriguing elements. Perhaps a guilty pleasure. I can lose critical objectivity for OL, having first seen it as a nipper, when it first aired. It made an indelible 'wow' impression.<br /><br />This one seems almost like a love letter from OL to scifi pulp and hokum, for the enjoyment of viewing audience. The basic plot device - an amusement park 'spaceship' ride secretly retooled by an alien, into a real, space worthy interplanetary craft - is amazingly juvenile in appeal. For intelligence level it seems almost right out of a comic book. Same for the meteor shower, the old "man out the door into space" gag, etc. Nothing to lose the attention of a five year old viewer in that.<br /><br />On the other hand, there is also some solid adult drama, nice character interaction. As you reflected Craig, the moment where John McLiam's bewilderment peaks - there's some grown up dramatic punch. It has pretty nice psychological character interaction, giving it some grown up depth that contrasts in a strange, entertaining way with the incongruities of its overall storyline and plot devices.<br /><br />BTW a story thematic challenge, Craig - a follow up to your perspective: Suppose our alien had indeed simply requested volunteers, as per the finale (and your FEASIBILITY STUDY ref) - but oops, not gotten any? For his purposes, where would that've left him? <br /><br />Having revealed his alien presence and purpose, and not achieved his goal - would his cover be blown, a bit, for a presumptive Plan B - abductions; and secretly turn an amusement park ride into a real space vehicle, etc? I submit - maybe, story logic-wise ... he couldn't take that chance?<br /><br />Another cool feature and commentary, thanks one and all. OL then, OL now, and always.Brian Akershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09350950418007260040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-60540159915395337312014-03-03T17:46:41.659-08:002014-03-03T17:46:41.659-08:00Adrian - yeah, I have a screen grab of the boom mi...Adrian - yeah, I have a screen grab of the boom mike, but I couldn't think of a good meme for it. Plus it was after midnight and, after spending hours on this episode, I really just wanted to go to bed.Craig Beamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01039251711343080950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-956768856919265962014-03-03T11:23:31.820-08:002014-03-03T11:23:31.820-08:00Unless Empyria's superior technology includes ...Unless Empyria's superior technology includes microphone booms that follow their species around, there's a very terrestrial-looking mike shadow visible at upper left starting at 1:10 in your Mystery Cue excerpt. Troy Pratt joins you, Troy Thomas and others in seeing the good even in under-rated episodes -- and you're right! This attitude has really helped me enjoy TOL more all the time. [PS: this "prove you're not a robot" stuff won't work for season 2, episode 9.]Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14734209804925803298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4584587054071618235.post-67403206915677767162014-03-02T14:11:33.639-08:002014-03-02T14:11:33.639-08:00This has always been one of my favorite episodes. ...This has always been one of my favorite episodes. Maybe because the premise of the story has always fascinated me so much. <br />I really like Simon Oakland's performance as the Empyrian and Don Gordons' as the drifter scientist, and Janet De Gore is definitely a favorite TOL babe of mine!<br />I find I like this episode more with each viewing.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09504536643397974266noreply@blogger.com