Episode Spotlight: "Wolf 359" (11/07/1964)

“Wolf 359”

Season 2, Episode 8 (40 overall)

Originally aired 11/07/1964

Fifty years ago tonight, a determined scientist cloned an entire planet and still had time for cocktails, steaks and sex. Damn, this cat is sci-fi's answer to James Bond.

Doctor Jonathan Meridith has constructed a complete replica--- in extreme miniature--- of a distant planet in the Wolf 359 system (hence the title) and, since billionaire tycoon Philip Exeter Dundee (no relation to the Exeter of This Island Earth as far as I know) is funding the project, the mini-planet is christened “Dundee Planet.” Time passes at a profoundly accelerated rate inside the hermetically-sealed room which houses the planet, thanks to the planet’s diminished scale, allowing Meridith to witness environmental changes over the centuries, and to determine if the actual planet might be safe to visit or even colonize. When Dundee asks if it’s possible that “animate life” might develop, Meridith coyly repliesthat he “wouldn’t dream of anything like that.” However, the smile on his face clearly indicates that he’s hoping for that very thing, and his introduction of human DNA into the planet’s ecosystem proves his ambition.

.
The experiment works, and a miniature human race develops and rapidly evolves, its history paralleling that of the earth. Unfortunately, something else develops as well: an evil phantom creature which is able to transcend Dundee Planet and can leave the greenhouse room at will, killing anything it comes into contact with.

Meridith becomes aware of the creature’s lethality and takes it upon himself to complete the research alone, sending his wife Ethel to stay elsewhere and firing his assistant Peter to protect them. He witnesses his tiny offspring gradually succumbing to the pervasive influence of the entity until, consumed with hatred, they bomb themselves out of existence. The phantom then turns its deadly attentions to Meridith.

.
Ethel arrives, having experienced a premonition of sorts that Meridith is in trouble. As the entity chokes the life out of him, he begs her to destroy the planet, which she does by hurling a chair through the protective glass of the greenhouse. The miniature planet’s atmosphere dissipates and the creature vanishes.

.
RANDOMONIUM

“Wolf 359” began life as “Greenhouse,” a story treatment by Richard Landau (probably best known to genre fans for co-scripting the 1955 cult classic The Quatermass Xperiment), and was crystallized into script form by associate producer/story editor Seeleg Lester. The five-pronged cast evokes Joseph Stefano’s scripts of season one, particularly “The Bellero Shield” and “The Forms of Things Unknown,” both of which are populated by quintets. While “Wolf 359” doesn’t quite attain the theatricality (or the audacious brilliance) of those earlier efforts, it’s still a nice subliminal throwback. And with its meditation on human/alien evolution, it evokes season one’s “The Sixth Finger” as well. The core idea--- a miniature model of an alien planet spawning a demonic entity--- is one of season two’s more interesting concepts, something the season one gang might've exploited much better... but that's not to say that the episode as is is a failure by any means.

“Wolf 359” is directed by Laslo Benedek (who also helmed five Stoney Burkes as well as “The Man with the Power” and “Tourist Attraction,” both in season one). Much of season two is brightly lit and relatively flat, so it's a welcome surprise that this week's offering has much to offer in the way of atmosphere and shadows (it feels a bit like season one at times, particular during Ethel's late-night stroll around the house). There's a nice sense of space throughout; ample time is allowed for characters to simply react with silent dread to the impossibility of the ghostlike creature hovering before their eyes, effecting a creepy vibe that never feels like unnecessary padding. Director of Photography Kenneth Peach contributes an awesome first-person POV shot approaching--- and then looking through--- the periscopic viewfinder at Dundee Planet and it's resident cranky critter, which is generally referred to as the Plag Creature, even though it's never called that in the episode.

.

The barbecue scene in act one looks like an outtake from a Mad Men episode. We got the men discoursing about bourbon and martinis while Meridith’s wife just sits there looking pretty and doling out canapés (and enduring the thinly-veiled come-ons from her husband’s boss). Speaking of come-ons, what’s with the overlong shot of the Meridiths in bed, stroking one another’s hands in the dark? It’s gotta be an implied sex thing, only a lot more subtle than the customary train going through a tunnel shot.

On a related note, was anyone else driven to distraction by that phallic cactus on the Meridiths’ porch (time stamp 29:38)?

Insert (har har) dick joke here.

It gets worse (or sexier, depending on your level of sexual deviance): we learn that Meridith uses human DNA, presumably his own, to spark the emergence of sentient life on Dundee Planet. I’m reminded of that wicked and wacky Doctor Pretorius from 1935’s Bride of Frankenstein, who successfully grew miniature people (his beloved homunculi) using his own “seed.” We unfortunately aren't privy to the specific details behind Meridith’s injecting of his genetic material into the planet, but I’m envisioning a cocktail-heavy Saturday night in which he forwent his comely wife’s advances and instead stuck his, um, phallic cactus into that hot, curvy little planet in his lab.

.

Oh hell, there are guinea pigs in the lab! As soon as I saw them, I just knew they were gonna die…. Just like those bunnies in “Specimen: Unknown” last season. Oh shit, the ant colony too? Too bad Henry Mancini didn’t score this episode (get it? Please tell me you get it). And holy fuck, now the parakeet’s dead? Y’now, this whole thing is starting to feel like a variation on Shelley’s Frankenstein, with its lab-created monster rampaging around and slaughtering folks. Wait, it kills a fucking tree too? This is nothing short of a bona fide massacre! It’s really a shame that this episode wasn’t ready to go a week earlier... between its devil-like antagonist and overall spooky atmosphere, it has Halloween written all over it.  Plus, c’mon…. that Plag Creature looks a lot like a ghost, don’tcha think?

 Good grief! Sally's head looks a helluva lot like the Plag, which opens up a whole different Pandora's Box of weirdness.

Science types are probably aware that Wolf 359 is a red dwarf star in the constellation Leo (it's that little orange dot in the middle of the picture at right; thanks, Wikipedia!). Sci-fi nerds like me, meanwhile, know it best as the location of The Borg’s massacre of the Federation fleet in “The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2” on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The aftermath of the battle at Wolf 359. This isn't actually an image from the show... but it's way neater than anything I could've possibly screen-capped from the blurry version Netflix has to offer.

“Wolf 359” was parodied on The Simpsons in 1996 in Treehouse of Horror VII (the “Genesis Tub” segment). Lisa Simpson unwittingly grows a colony of miniature people after her extracted tooth is charged with electricity. She observes them evolving at an accelerated rate and is revered as their benevolent God. In a nice twist, they regard her obnoxious brother Bart as the devil.

The Plag Creature is one of the subtlest, most minimalist “bears” in the entire series (even less complex than that light-up Christmas tree-topper Eck), but somehow its simplicity serves to enhance its malevolence; it’s as if  possessing less detail streamlines the evil that emanates from it. It’s like a spectral Terminator: “It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.” But it is really simple… so simple, in fact, that I’ll bet a talentless oaf like me could make his own. That’s right, kids, it’s time for another installment of Project Limited, Ltd.!

My first inclination was to somehow pull this off using Kleenex tissues and a lollipop, but it was just too damned small. Here's what I used instead:

His dork materials:

gloves, balloons, chopstick. Sharpie and Scotch tape not pictured.

To quote Dr. Finkelstein from The Nightmare before Christmas: “(It’s) construction should be exceedingly simple.” But was it? More importantly, did it turn out okay? See for yourself: ladies and gentlemen, I give you--- His Satanic Majesty!

I cribbed Meridith’s climatic showdown with the Plag Creature for The Adventures of Can’t-Miss Craig, a collection of short films I made way back in 1992. The premise involved a guy (played by me; I worked cheap) who experiences a crisis of faith and challenges God to prove his existence by helping him sink difficult basketball shots (this was back in my Christian days, before I became enlightened--- and essentially agnostic if not downright atheist). He then finds himself cursed with the inability to miss a shot, no matter how impossible (the moral: don't challenge The Lord thy God, lest thou be ever afflicted. Subtle, eh?). The concept mutates throughout the shorts until the ball itself emerges as a sentient nemesis. One Halloween night, our unfortunate hero finally snaps and murders the ball with a butcher’s knife… only to be haunted by a hysterically stupid in-camera effect intended to represent the ball’s ghost. Have a look:

.

DEJA VIEW

Judging by the photographic evidence, it appears that the miniature Dundee Planet is a combination of the Mars from “The Invisible Enemy” and the future Earth of “Soldier.” The use of the Martian Sand Shark is an interesting choice in particular, given the fact that Lester’s original script (and maybe Landau’s initial story treatment too, I dunno) dealt with a miniature duplicate of… yep, you guessed it, Mars.

.

GRILL OR BE GRILLED

Ye olde pastime of barbecuing animal flesh, first glimpsed in “Cold Hands, Warm Heart” last month, is depicted again this week, gloriously so: a gorgeous closeup of sizzling steaks on the grill opens act one. I’m a sucker for a good steak, so my mouth instinctively began watering when I saw it (it’s watering again as I type this, in fact). Summer’s long gone, but I’m a staunch supporter of year-round grilling, so some medium-rare cowboy ribeyes may be on the menu very soon….

.

AURAL PLEASURE

Harry Lubin’s contributions this week include a lovely cue called “Celestial Bodies,” which sounds vaguely similar to his familiar end title music (“Supernatural"; also heard during the episode this week), chilled out and augmented with wordless female vocals (think Alexander Courage’s Star Trek theme, which was still a couple of years off in 1964). Other Lubin pieces underlining “Wolf 359” include “Mental Anguish” (also heard in “Soldier”), “Hostile Galaxy” (accompanying the Control Voice prologue intro), “Hostile Space” and “Evil Apparition.”

.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

This week’s cast all have something in common (besides their appearing together here): all appeared on at least one of Alfred Hitchcock’s television series. Cue Charles Gounod’s Funeral March of a Marionette and read on.

Jonathan Meridith is played by Patrick O’Neal, whose genre credentials include two run-ins with Rod Serling (“A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain” on The Twilight Zone and “A Fear of Spiders” on Night Gallery). O’Neal also showed up on Alcoa Presents One Step Beyond (“The Return of Mitchell Campion”) and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (“Bed of Roses”).

Sara Shane (Ethel Meridith) has very few genre credits, and all of them came at the very end of her career. She popped up on Alfred Hitchcock Presents (“The Old Pro”), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (“Captive Audience”) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (“Long Live the King,” which guest-starred TOL alum Carroll O'Connor and was her final acting gig). She’s now known as Elaine Hollingsworth, controversial holistic medicine proponent and Director of the Hippocrates Health Centre in Queensland, Australia. And yes, she’s definitely a TOL Babe (she still looks pretty damn good at 86).

If Ben Wright (Phillip Exeter Dundee) looks familiar, it’s because he’s already visited The Outer Limits three times  before (“Nightmare,” plus he did voice work on “Moonstone” and “A Feasibility Study”). He first blipped on Daystar Productions' radar when he scored a gig on their pre-TOL series Stoney Burke (“Point of Entry”). Other genre credits of note include three appearances on The Twilight Zone ("Judgment Night," "Death's-Head Revisited" and "Dead Man's Shoes"), three on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (“A Home Away from Home,” “Murder Case” and “Thou Still Unravished Bride”), and one-offs on The Fugitive (“Nobody Loses All the Time”) and The Invaders (“Summit Meeting: Part 1”).

Peter Jelicoe is played by Peter Haskell, whose other genre credits include roles on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (“The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair”), The Fugitive (“Runner in the Dark”), Land of the Giants (“Return of Inidu”), and The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents (“The Canary Sedan” in 1986). Fans of cheesy horror film sequels may recognize him as the assholish Mr. Sullivan, CEO of Play Pals Toy Company, in both Child’s Play 2 (1990) and Child’s Play 3 (1991).

Dabney Coleman turns in his third and final Outer Limits performance as James Custer (you can spot him in “The Mice” and “Specimen: Unknown,” both from season one).  Coleman’s other genre work includes an impressive four stints on The Fugitive (“World’s End,” “Nicest Fella You’d Ever Want to Meet,” “Coralee” and “Approach with Care”), two on The Invaders (“The Innocent” and “The Saucer”), and two on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (“Dear Uncle George” and “Isabel”).

.

HOME VIDEO RELEASES

“Wolf 359” was released on VHS in 1991 (one of the final dozen Outer Limits episodes to hit home video) and sported a classy, understated cover. As with many of these tape boxes, the cover image was a collage of multiple images from the episode, in this case these two:

For its inclusion in Columbia House’s mail-order Collector’s Edition club, it shared tape space with “Cry of Silence,” which made for a dry n' dusty desert double feature.

I have a love-hate relationship with MGM Home Video, and here’s why: they released the entire series on DVD (season one in 2002, season two in 2003), which is awesome since one could replace his/her 48-volume VHS collection with higher-quality versions for a fraction of the cost (SRP was $12.95 per tape, and each DVD set was around $50.00, so… you do the math, I’m busy typing), saving large amounts of shelf space in the process. What’s not so awesome is the fact that they used double-sided DVDs, which have proven immensely unreliable (even prone to failure) over time. They then re-released the series in 2007, split up into three volumes, which would’ve been awesome if they’d used single-sided discs… but they didn’t. That’s right, kids, they foisted the same unreliable double-sided discs onto an unsuspecting public. A mere year later, they collected those three volumes into one omnibus collection, still using the same accursed discs. This means that they’ve been selling the same exact discs for twelve freakin’ years, and there’s no indication that they’ll ever remaster the series in high-definition for a Blu-ray release. So I guess my relationship with MGM is more hate than love.

If you’re a relatively new fan, or a longtime fan who never bought the series, and you’re considering seeking out the series on DVD, stop right there. Why would you give MGM any of your hard-earned cash? You all have computers, and you all have an internet connection (obviously, since you’re reading this blog), so point your browser of choice (I prefer Google Chrome, personally) to Hulu, where you can stream all 49 episodes of the series absolutely free. Too good to be true, you say? Perhaps… or maybe it’s the universe making up for MGM’s bullshit.

.

MERCHANDISE SPOTLIGHT

Models are usually more impressive if they’re packed with intricate detail; however, sometimes simplicity and clean lines can yield something compelling and beautiful. Case in point: Dimensional Designs’ 1/8-scale resin Plag Creature model kit (DD/OL/PC-27), an elegant and graceful sculpt by Chris Choin. Obviously there’s no assembly required, and for all I know the thing is already white out of the box, but damn is it ever gorgeous. Here’s Mr. Enamel’s completed specimen, which is just plain breathtaking:

If I ever get around to collecting some of these (which will require me to employ someone with finesse, patience and artistic ability to do the painting), the Plag Creature is definitely on my short list of must-haves. If you’d like your own Plag Creature, be prepared to pony up $49.95 plus shipping.

.

THE WRAP-UP

.

“Wolf 359” is one of season two’s better offerings (I’d probably put it in my top five). The premise is intriguing, the effects are well done (that foggy planet behind the glass really adds to the production value), the acting is uniformly good… and yes, the steaks are grilled to perfection. Delicioso!  








Oh, and speaking of delicioso.... here are a couple of modeling shots I found online of the breathtaking and exquisite Sara Shane. Le sigh.

Episode Spotlight: "Tourist Attraction" (12/23/1963)

“Tourist Attraction”

Season 1, Episode 13

Originally aired 12/23/1963

After the disappointingly monster-free “The Borderland,” The Outer Limits followed up with an attempted return to form with an episode featuring a gloriously grotesque and wonderfully-realized creature. It didn't come from the Black Lagoon, exactly, but it may as well have.

Arrogant rich white guy John Dexter stumbles upon --- and captures --- a large aquatic creature in the waters of the Republic of San Blas. Working with a local university, Dexter has the creature placed on ice while he arranges to transport it back to the US. The tyrannical General Juan Mercurio, San Blas’ current dictator, is having none of it: the discovery is sure to draw the world’s eye and make his upcoming World’s Fair a resounding success. He names the creature after himself (Ichthyosaurus Mercurius), declares it a national treasure and installs an armed guard to “protect” it.

The creature possesses porpoise-like ultrasonic communicative abilities, which it is using to emit a homing signal, presumably to others of its own kind. Dexter disarms the guard and attempts to smuggle the creature out of the country; however, his plan is foiled by the appearance of more Ichthys, rising out of the water to rescue their lost companion. Dexter panics and releases the creature, which promptly returns to the water with its kin. The Ichthys then concentrate their ultrasonic powers on destroying the nearby Mercurio Dam, causing a devastating flood. Among the resultant dead is General Mercurio.

RANDOMONIUM

“Tourist Attraction," which premiered 50 years ago tonight, is screenwriter Dean Riesner’s only contribution to The Outer Limits. Riesner is probably best remembered as co-writing a few of the Dirty Harry movies in the 70's and 80's; classic horror fans may be interested to know that Riesner was married for six years to Malia Nurmi, better known as late-night TV personality Vampira. According to David J. Schow in his Outer Limits Companion, series producer Joseph Stefano offered Riesner a second crack at writing an episode, an offer which he refused (considering the slogging and unoriginal work he turned in here, that’s almost certainly a blessing).

Laslo Benedek returns to direct the action (he helmed “The Man With the Power” earlier this season, and he’ll return for “Wolf 359” in season two), while John Nickolaus directs the photography. There is some decent underwater stuff, to be sure, but otherwise the episode isn’t terribly imaginative in its staging or photography. However, we get LOTS of those amazing Ichthys on display, so it's hard to complain much.

I think we can all agree that Dexter is a total dick, particularly in his callous treatment of his girlfriend Lynn and shipmate/marine biologist Tom (in all fairness, however, Tom and Lynn’s mutual flirting is pretty blatant, so some of that dickishness may be justified). Dexter’s brusque bravado is satisfyingly undercut when he pisses himself with fear as the Ichthys charge toward him in act four (okay, there’s no indication that he actually pisses himself, but I like to think he does). His subsequent reconciliation with Lynn (pathetic though it may be) effectively completes a character arc (cursory though it may be), something we don’t see a lot of on The Outer Limits (we’re more used to psychologically skewed characters with unresolved issues). I’m not suggesting that Dexter’s character arc is in any way satisfying on a dramatic level, I’m just pointing out that the arc is technically there. Do I give the episode an extra point for this? I can’t decide.

I’m absolutely going to dock a point, however, for the embarrassing ethnic stereotypes assigned to guard the Ichthy. You know, Paco and Mario. Of course they get drunk and fuck things up. Of course they do. Because that's the kind of thing Colombians do. You can’t see me right now, but I’m typing harder than usual and rolling my eyes with disgust.

I’m also docking a point for the episode’s uncomfortable similarity to Universal’s 1954 classic Creature from the Black Lagoon. This is certainly not the only time The Outer Limits will, um, borrow story material (the fourth act of “The Galaxy Being” is straight out of The Day the Earth Stood Still; the nefarious plot in “The Hundred Days of the Dragon” strongly evokes The Manchurian Candidate; “Corpus Earthling” features an alien threat very similar to the one depicted in Invasion of the Body Snatchers; “Specimen: Unknown” cribs from The Day of the Triffids, etc.), but this is probably the most blatant example. On the whole, “Tourist Attraction” doesn’t feel much like an Outer Limits episode at all; it would seem more at home on a double bill with any number of late-50's Universal films (The Deadly Mantis, The Monolith Monsters, etc).

I don’t think I’m bursting any bubbles by stating that the episode’s sole attraction is the Ichthy itself. Big, bulbous and bug-eyed, it’s one of the series’ most elaborate creature creations (I’m reminded of the Thetan from “The Architects of Fear”; interestingly, both creatures share similar eyes and skin texture). This isn’t just a man-in-a-rubber-suit deal: the Ichthy is a grand achievement in creature design. It doesn’t matter that it’s heavy and slow moving: if this thing was crawling toward me, I’d be pissing myself right alongside Dexter.

The sight of the Ichthys surfacing in the lake and climbing up onto the shore is truly a glorious sight (call it a visual strength in numbers; imagine a herd of Thetans disjointedly galloping toward the camera!). Their awkwardness is part of the success of the sequence; creatures of that build would almost certainly have difficulty walking on land. This is the scene we've waiting nearly an hour for and, if it doesn’t quite make up for the three second-rate acts that precede it, it comes damned close.

I like the “Old Gods” connection, the idea that the Ichthys are actually prehistoric denizens of the San Blas waters that have thus far evaded extinction. So many of the series’ monsters are either extraterrestrial in origin or lab creations; it’s refreshing to see something natural and earthbound (yet essentially unknown to modern society) doing the scaring and rampaging for a change. It was assumed that the Creature from the Black Lagoon was either the last of its kind or some kind of mutation (or both); the Ichthys here have apparently been propagating throughout the centuries… unless the four seen in the episode are actually centuries old (which is a distinct possibility:  the captured Ichthy’s spear wound miraculously heals itself, so perhaps these critters have life-prolonging regenerative powers). I prefer to think that they've been gleefully reproducing for ages; along those lines, I would've loved to see a pint-sized Ichthy, maybe riding on its mother’s back or something, an indication that their kind will indeed continue on. Yeah, I know, it sounds goofy. Sue me.

AURAL PLEASURE

“Tourist Attraction” features an original score by Robert Van Eps; this is the only first season episode scored by someone other than Dominic Frontiere. Frontiere does contribute one cue, “The Creature Wakes”… which is actually “Building Terror” from his score for “The Human Factor.” No, really, they’re the same. It’s not an alternate take of the other, or a re-orchestrated variation. Don’t believe me?  Check this out:

See? Identical (well, "The Creature Wakes" has some Van Eps spliced onto the end of it, but the Frontiere part is the same, bit for bit, as "Building Terror"). Unfortunately, the reuse of the Frontiere cue is the highlight of the “Tourist Attraction” score. It sounds like music from a second-rate action or monster flick, with some “exotic” flourishes thrown in to evoke the Colombian locale. The atypical music possesses none of the mystery and resonance of Frontiere’s work, further rendering the episode an ill fit within the series.

The inferior score by Mr. Van Eps sticks out like a sore thumb on the TOL soundtrack collection but, happily, it doesn’t detract from the brilliance of the Frontiere scores. $19.99 plus shipping will get you a copy of this excellent three-disc set from La La Land Records. And yes, both “The Creature Wakes” and “Building Terror” are present, listed separately but most definitely the same exact goddamned cue.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Ralph Meeker stars as John Dexter in his only TOL appearance. His resume doesn’t have much in the way of sci-fi/fantasy/horror, but he did grace four episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He played Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer in one of my favorite film noirs of all time, 1955’s Kiss Me Deadly, which also starred TOL alums Wesley Addy (“The Brain of Colonel Barham”) and James McCallion (“The Man With the Power”). 

Henry Silva stands out as Gen. Juan Mercurio in the first of two Outer Limits appearances; he’ll come back in just two weeks for “The Mice,” where he’ll be much more likable than he is here. Silva’s association with Daystar Productions began when he appeared in “The Weapons Man” on Stoney Burke; he also appeared in the aforementioned The Manchurian Candidate in 1962. He played Princess Ardala’s sidekick Kane in the pilot episode of TV’s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century in 1979 (a role that was taken over thereafter by Michael Ansara, who we’ll see in the season two TOL episode “Soldier” along with Tim O’Conner, a two-time TOL alum).

Willard Sage appears as an unnamed reporter. We first saw him three weeks ago in “Nightmare,” and we’ll see him again in “Production and Decay of Strange Particles” in April.

Mario is played by Henry Delgado (aka Henry Darrow), who probably got the part because Daystar Productions had already used him in the “Point of Entry” episode of Stoney Burke. Paul Stader (last seen as the Ebonite Guard in “Nightmare”) is on hand inside one of the Ichthy suits. But really, it’s a pretty thorough makeup, so he’s barely recognizable. Inhabiting another Ichthy suit is Bill Hart, who will also appear in next week’s “The Zanti Misfits,” as well as “Fun and Games” in March. Hart was a regular on Stoney Burke (he played Lorenzo “Red” Smith).

Which one's Stader? Which one's Hart? We may never know.

HOME VIDEO RELEASES

“Tourist Attraction” splashed into the home video market in two distinct VHS editions: first, the standard retail edition and, later, Columbia House’s Collector’s Edition series (in which it shared tape space with “Corpus Earthling”). All 24 Columbia House volumes have the same cover; note that "Tourist Attraction" is one of the four episodes depicted.

If you were one of those elitist LaserDisc collector types, you would’ve found “Tourist Attraction” on the fourth and final LD volume, which was released in 1995. You probably bought all four volumes, fully believing that the entire series would get released, only to watch the format get superseded by….

…DVD, the LaserDisc killer! “Tourist Attraction” went digital in 2002 when the entire first season was released on DVD. This set was split in half for a re-release in 2007 (the first sixteen episodes, including “Tourist Attraction,” were in the first volume). Finally, the entire series was released as one omnibus package in 2008. Obsessive collectors needn't bother tracking down all three DVD iterations, unless packaging variations float your boat: the discs in all three sets are identical. No new content, no new transfers, no new special features, nothin’.

It’s the 21st century, and streaming is well on its way to becoming the standard delivery method for films and TV shows. You’ll find the entire Outer Limits run, “Tourist Attraction” included, available to stream for free over at Hulu. You cannot, however, stream it to your TV or mobile device…. yet. Computers only, gang.

TRADING CARD CORNER

Topps allocated an impressive five cards to the Ichthy in their Monsters from Outer Limits trading card set in 1964. Since Topps only had rights to the images but not the storylines, they had to essentially create new back-stories for every TOL monster and alien they used. The Ichthy became “The Sea Beast” and, as you can see, was colored a pinkish flesh tone. I’m pretty sure it’s a law that all fish or amphibian-based monsters must be green, so I’m not sure what the hell Topps was thinking (in all fairness, the actual suit was pinkish in spots, so they weren't completely wrong).

MERCHANDISE SPOTLIGHT

Happily, the Japanese follow the rules (Godzilla, for example). Their X-Plus vinyl figure is gloriously green and quite nicely sculpted (it looks a bit lean, though; the actual Ichthys are plumper and even more bug-eyed). It supposedly has a hinged jaw feature that allows its mouth to open and close (though I’m not sure it ever completely closes in the episode; still a cool touch). But does this collectible actually exist? As far as I can tell, it was never actually released in early 2013 as planned, and many websites have it listed as cancelled. Midtown Comics still has it listed as “coming soon”; however, they keep moving the release date out a week at a time... so I dunno. I really hope this Ichthy does in fact surface (ha!), as I’d love to add it to my collection. I’m keeping a vigilant watch, and I’ll holler if it in fact it becomes available.

Dimensional Designs offer a pretty impressive Ichthy model kit, sculpted by Ken Ito. It’s super-accurate (it actually looks like there’s a person inside the suit; look at those legs!), and it even comes with a replica of the little statue found on Mercurio’s desk. If you've got model-assembling and painting chops, he can be yours for $69.95 plus shipping.

Ito assembled and painted one for his website, and it’s beautiful. Check it out:

The Ichthy was prominently featured in one of Milton Bradley's Outer Limits jigsaw puzzles in 1964. Note the parasite from "The Invisibles" there in the foreground.

THE WRAP-UP

It’s more than a bit deflating that a creature as awesome as the Ichthy is attached to a by-the-numbers, highly derivative script. “Tourist Attraction” could’ve been something great; as it stands, however, it emerges as a belly-flop in shallow water. This may explain why it was the fourth episode produced, but the thirteenth to air.