THE OUTER LIMITS / "The Sixth Finger" Season 1 Episode 5 - 1963

This is my last Halloween Countdown Treat this year... In our story, a scientist experimenting with speeding up human evolution hires an uneducated, but bright, young man from the nearby Welsh mining town. He proves a devoted lab assistant, but, not content to stick to animal subjects, his evolution is sped up and he becomes a super genius with six fingers and a huge cranium. But with these powers, what might he be able to do with them?

This classic TV episode stars David (THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.) McCallum, Jill (THE MUTATIONS) Haworth, Edward (OUR MAN FLINT) Mulhare, Nora (KITTEN WITH A WHIP) Marlowe, Robert (ALLIGATOR) Doyle and Constance (MR. SARDONICUS) Cavendish.

Here's Professor Mathers in his lab, he's working on a machine that can increase or decrease the evolution timeline in animals...

The Professor needs a lab assistant so Cathy brings him Gwyllim, a young mine worker who was just fired from his job. After a few questions, the Professor hires him as his assistant.

Gwyllim's intrigued by Darwin, the Professor's little ape. He can fix electronic equipment among other things, that is, after being evolved by Mathers.

Here's Gwyllim, all cleaned up and in his official lab assistant garb. He has convinced the Professor to let him try out the machine, he wants to be evolved. So, after his time in the chamber, Gwyllim exits a new person, he has evolved 40,000 years into the future! At this point, Gwyllim can read minds!

He suddenly has an urge to acquire knowledge and goes on a book reading binge, he comes across some sheet music and it isn't long before he's a pro at playing the harpsichord...

David's father was first violinist for the London Philharmonic, and his mother was a cellist. David was originally headed for a career in music, playing oboe, studying briefly at the Royal Academy of Music. However, he left that for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

When the Professor goes to see Gwyllim the next day, the man from the future has evolved yet again! This time, he says that he's from a million years in the future!! And, he has six freakin' fingers instead of five!!!

Mrs. Ives, the Professor's house maid, catches a glance of Gwyllim in his new state and screams out. Mathers comes to see what the problem is and finds the woman on the floor. Gwyllim says that she had to be stopped, that she would have gone into town to spill the beans... So, he stopped her heart. It's never good when the main character kills someone!

Then, it happens again, Gwyllim has evolved even further. After going into the woods, he has an encounter with some motorcycle police, and injuring one of them. Gwyllim has an epiphany where he denounces violence, and so goes back to the lab.

Cathy goes to the lab and finds Gwyllim there, he wants her to push him into infinity so that he can explore the universe as a pure energy being!! That's weird, that's what I want to do too!

But, Cathy pulls the lever backwards instead!..

Here's a great sequence as Gwyllim morphs back to himself, but, she goes too far and he's a caveman! She corrects the timeline and he's back to his old self...

After he exit's the chamber, he notices a tear on Cathy's cheek, he touches the tear and realizes what love and caring is about, then, drops dead! I told you about main characters that murder!.. Well, it'll be interesting to see what Eegah!! has in store for us on Wednesday for our very last post for Halloween Countdown!.. Happy Halloween Ever'bloody!!