Category: Sci-Fi

Outer Limited Viewing

It’s both fun and frustrating, tracking old films and TV shows — the ones that are still covered by copyright — from one outlet to another. I was in the middle of watching every episode of the original The Outer Limits from 1963-64, in order and commercial-free, on Amazon Prime. Before I could get to the second (abbreviated) season, the series was no longer included with Prime subscriptions.

I didn’t know where it could be found for free viewing until replacing Fire TV with Roku, and there it was, with commercials, on the Roku Channel. I intentionally skipped one of the second season episodes, saving it for last. Then, with only the final episode remaining to be seen before returning to the skipped episode, The Outer Limits disappeared. But where? I don’t know.

Eight of the very best episodes are in a LaserDisc box set I own. The episode I skipped is, by far, the most familiar and renowned. “Demon With a Glass Hand,” written by Harlan Ellison. This picture was taken when resorting to Plan B, and watching it on LaserDisc.

Outer Limits
Robert Culp and Arlene Martel in Demon With a Glass Hand

Having not watched “Demon with a Glass Hand” in a long time, I was able to see something new in it. In a moment of, “it’s so obvious!” I realized it is a perfect template for a video game.

The action starts at street level, with Trent capturing and interrogating an alien invader. He learns how they are arriving on Earth, and how to kill them, which requires hand-to-hand combat. He has the goal of destroying the alien’s method of entry and, along the way, he must find the fingers that are memory modules for the computerized glass hand that is mysteriously grafted onto his arm. There is a terrible secret that can’t be revealed until the hand is complete. From there Trent enters the famous Bradbury Building. He must defeat the aliens he encounters at each level, with new aliens continuing to arrive as he climbs upstairs, floor by floor. He meets the only other human in the building, a girl who is told by the hand how to help Trent.

My resident video game expert informs me that Ellison was involved with a game version of his story “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.” Being so perfectly suited for adaptation as a video game, I don’t know why “Demon With a Glass Hand” wasn’t given the same consideration.

If you have never seen “Demon With a Glass Hand” here is a copy on Daily Motion with a link to — WTF?? — InfoWars! I have no frickin’ idea why the demonically possessed Alex Jones has been associated with this video.

Another complete copy I found, on Vimeo, requires getting permission to embed it, which I’m not going to request. If you would prefer that copy, here’s the link: https://vimeo.com/637062245

Touring Test

If not for a little virus goin’ ’round, I would have returned by now to Ticonderoga, NY, to visit the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour. William Shatner has been a guest there quite a few times, and he loves the place.

Working from original blueprints, the attention to detail in recreating the sets is uncanny. I’ve added labels to this photo of a model showing the layout exactly as it was created for the original series. I think the only thing I missed is the ladder in the middle of the corridor.

Star Trek set model

Everything aboard the USS Enterprise happens somewhere in those areas. Seeing the sets exactly as the actors did is an experience that brings a new appreciation for the series.

Here’s a picture of the corridor. There’s the ladder.

Beyond the Worldwide Webb

Happy New Year, and wowee! Looking good, so far, getting the JWST deployed.

“Repent, Google!” Said the TikTok Man

Oh, the effort and difficulty it took getting Google to even list this site again, let alone accept a sitemap to index its contents:

Once again I lay blame on Bluehost for changes it made, causing all of the problems I have struggled to resolve. There are numerous quirks — especially with pre-fix posts — but most of the serious issues seem to have been cracked, and only because I switched from feeling annoyed to remembering why I started Prattling Before the Pratfall. It was originally intended purely as a learning curve challenge, with no expectation of continuing for more than 15 years. But now that I’m retired from a high tech career, a technical challenge is perhaps a good thing.

I’d better acknowledge the late Harlan Ellison for this post’s title, with the names of the world’s two busiest web sites. Harlan always — and I mean always — wanted to receive his due credit: