The Outer Limits

Author: Leslie Stevens

The Twilight Zone's little brother, The Outer Limits, takes everything that made the former great, and then adds in a touch more science fiction to the mix. Like The Twilight Zone, it brought out the best in some of the best writers working in the field, including future Oscar winner Robert Towne, low-budget SciFi master Ib Melchior, and science fiction legends Richard Matheson, Clifford Simak, Eando Binder, and Harlan Ellison, The writing was always top-notch, rising as high, if not higher, than the standards set to Serling's other project. The most impressive part of The Outer Limits is just how far and wide things went. Episodes dealt with space travel and exploration, mind control, time loops, and even future war. The episodes were self-contained, and at least somewhat less gimmicky than many of those on The Twilight Zone. The way the stories were told, they allowed each episode to come to its own over a full hour, with some of the best cinematography and effects on television at the time. They also tackled issues of the time like race, homosexuality, and scientific ethics, all without missing a step in telling the story. Why it's on the list: The episode The Forms of Things Unknown would be worth including on its own, and it wasn't even the best episode they did!