In today's Outer Limits episode, a test pilot crashes in his experimental X-15 rocket plane and discovers that him and his wife are in a reality where time has slowed down to nearly a standstill. Returning to the airbase, the two are horrified to see their daughter on a tricycle in the path of a moving truck, and seem to be unable to prevent her death...
This one stars Dewey (THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, LAND OF THE PHARAOHS) Martin, Mary (WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, THE ATOMIC CITY) Murphy, Emma (GREEN ACRES, FAMILY AFFAIR) Tyson, William (THE AQUANAUTS, WEST SIDE STORY) Bramley and Dorothy (THEM!, MAN-TRAP) Green.
There goes test pilot Jim Darcy off in the X-15 rocket plane on another test flight.
Jim's wife Linda drives out to the landing site to watch, everything seems fine at the moment...
The plane breaks into pieces but Jim is unharmed in the wreckage. He sees Linda, who crashed the car, and runs to her aid. Hey, they stole that tumbleweed from "Cry Of Silence!"
But something is definitely wrong here, there are two cars and two planes! The car in the background and the plane in the air are both frozen in time... Like, help Mr. Wizard!!
Even the emergency landing crew are frozen in their positions. Hey, a Ford Econoline, drove one of those when I was a courier at Fort Lewis in 1968.
Jim and Linda hoof it back to headquarters only to find the people there also frozen like a bunch of mackerels. What else could go wrong?
Oh crap, that's all I had to say! Anywho, this phantasm pops in from out of nowhere but is repelled by the flame of Jim's lighter, and it disappears.
Jim and Linda have to trek back out to the crash site, they notice that the men there have moved a bit from their previous positions. So.....
The two run back to headquarters to check on their daughter and to see if they can figure out what's going on. They encounter the ghostly figure again and he tells them that they will become like him if they don't get back to the car and plane and be in position for when the time elements will merge together. Boy, this story will make you dizzy!!
But, Jim has one last thing to do, and that's to run back to the base with the seat belts he cut out of the crashed car, because that one's not frozen in time.
He ties them together, attaches it to the back wheel hub, then ties it to the parking brake that's not engaged. Since he has to go back to the plane, he hopes this will save his daughter!
Jim makes it back in the nick of time, Linda gets herself ready for the moment...
Oh man, I've been holding this in the whole time!..
So, time has synchronized and Jim's plan works, the line pulls the brake, and viola!.. Their daughter is safe! Wow, could you imagine if that didn't work and the kid gets it! Maybe today, but not back then.
And to prove that she's just fine, check it out...
No tread marks!
This episode was written by the late Ib Melchior, who wrote ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS, THE TIME TRAVELERS, THE ANGRY RED PLANET, and uhm, meh, REPTILICUS.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, that "phantasm" character was played by an actor named Kay Kuter, who played (of all things) Newt Kiley on PETTICOAT JUNCTION and GREEN ACRES, not to mention a ton of other movies and shows!
Here's his IMDb page:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0476484/
Dewey Martin was a very good actor. Pity he didn't have more work than he did, but he certainly is very memorable in this OL episode, as "Daniel Boone," and as Bob in The Thing (from Another World).
ReplyDeletePS: Don't get the impression that I totally dislike "rubber monsters!" There are some of them that I like very much, in both seasons of OUTER LIMITS, but when monsters are just savage, hungry, ugly, monsters, what's the use in a show like OUTER LIMITS, which was meant to be a more intelligent, artistic approach to the genre. There ARE meaningful monsters for sure, Like Ikar in KEEPER OF THE PURPLE TWILIGHT, or Andro in MAN WHO WAS NEVER BORN, even Robert Duvall's Mace and the beings he was modeled after in THE CHAMELEON, but dumb, ugly monsters are both dumb AND ugly. And I'll just stop here because I know that I'm barking up the wrong tree. Arf arf! ;)
ReplyDeleteI kinda dig Ib Melchior's work, and I was trying to figure out who played the "phantasm" by looking at a negative. Saves me some trouble! I rather liked the creature, but couldn't really understand its motives, but hey, I don't understand the Martians' motives in Angry Red Planet (which I freakin' LOVE) either.
ReplyDeleteHey, about Dewey Martin, he's terrific in everything I've seen of his!
ReplyDeleteRandall: did you know that the lead actor in this episode was supposed to be Don Gordon, but when they were to begin filming, he came down with strep throat, so Dewey Martin was a last-minute change! Almost reminds me of your actor who only had a minute's prep for his cameo!