Monday, September 12, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
The Death of a TV Show, or Why the Outer Limits Failed
I don't know much about the way the TV industry really works. It has been fascinating for me to read about what went on behind the scenes regarding the Outer Limits: how the series came to be, who were the writers and directors, and why it was taken off the air after a season and a half.
The show was the brainchild of Leslie Stevens, who was only 38 at the time. He already had one successful series in "Stoney Burke." He wanted a new series that would different. It would be similar to the Twilight Zone and Thriller, but go where they hadn't gone. Stevens liked hard science and science fiction. He wrote and directed the Outer Limits pilot. It was originally called "Please Stand by" which is a terrible name for a TV series. ABC liked the pilot, but they asked him to change the name because they thought that viewers would think they had come to an actual station break. Stevens considered changing it to "Out of Control" (which is also a terrible name) and then settled for "The Outer Limits" since he was pushing the outer limits of prime time TV. Stevens would be the executive producer and would only write another 3 episodes of the series.
ABC insisted that Joseph Stefano produce the Outer Limits. Stefano had written the screenplay for "Psycho" ten years earlier, and was working on another Hitchcock movie when he as asked to participate in the Outer Limits. Stefano would wind up writing most of the episodes during the first season. Where Stevens liked hard science, Stefano liked horror and suspense.
Byron Haskin would direct many of the episodes of the Outer Limits during the first season. He directed "War of the Words" in 1953 and would direct an episode of the Outer Limits which contained a monster very similar to the aliens that appeared in "War of the Worlds." But the monster on the Outer Limits was scarier.
Gerd Oswald also worked as a director for the series. His father was a German immigrant, and Gerd was familiar with a German type of film that was similar to the film noir. He would use that style while directing the Outer Limits.
Cinematographer Conrad Hall contributed a great deal to the series. He got the effect the director was looking for- be it a dark film noir tone or soft lighting. (Watch "The Man Who Was Never Born" to get an idea of the extent of his ability).
Dominic Frontiere wrote a killer theme song, and he did sound tracks for several of the episodes.
ABC also made a requirement that every week the Outer Limits was include a "bear" or a hideous monster. It was an agreement that the Outer Limits would break more than once. Just the same, most people remember the series for their hideous monsters. Where did those monsters come from? They came from a company called "Projects Unlimited," which was nicknamed "Monsters Unlimited."
That year, 1963, ABC had a new theme and a new jingle, "The New ABC" every time I heard that jingle I would run to the TV set because they would show some footage of The Galaxy Being,the bear in the premier episode. This was in the summer months leading up to the new season.
The Outer Limits premiered on September 16th, 1963. I was 8 years old. The premier episode, renamed "The Galaxy Being" starred Cliff Robertson, Jacqueline Scott, and Lee Philips. William O. Douglas Jr., the son of a supreme court justice, played the part of the being- though Leslie Stevens himself did the voice. If you have never watched it, go this link and watch it:
http://wearecontrollingtransmission.blogspot.com/2011/01/galaxy-being.html
The special effects were pretty good for 1963. But the plot, the dialogue, and the acting were superb and revolutionary. Cliff Robertson makes contact with the being via a radio signal and asks him, "Do you have a God? Do you have wars? Where you are, do people die?"
I had dreams about the Galaxy Being for years. Not nightmares, but dreams. In them I didn't see the being as a menacing creature. He was lost and trying to get home, just like in the TV episode.
So what happened? ABC,and the American public, weren't ready for the Outer Limits in 1963. They were ready for shows like the Beverly Hillbillies. ABC, and the censors, kept telling Leslie Stevens and Joseph Stefano to change things. ABC wanted monsters. They wanted the Outer Limits to be as how that children would watch. Stevens and Stefano wanted to "say something." I have only recently found out that scenes were deleted from some of my favorite episodes. Scenes that would have made them even better. They were deleted to make the show fit into a 60 minute formator because ABC and the snsors didn't like them. Some scenes were never filmed.
The Outer Limits was given a very low budget to work with. Yet they got good actors and created some good monsters. They dipped in the ratings, but they made it through the fist season. The Outer Limits was renewed for a second season, but they were told they would be moving to Saturday nights and playing opposite Jackie Gleason. What happened next I am not sure of. Either Stevens and Stefano quit or got fired. Stevens' name remained on the credits as Executive Producer. He and Stefano got completed copies of each script and they got royalties, but they were no longer involved. (They were busy working on other projects anyway). Ben Brady, who had produced Perry Mason, took over the Outer Limits. He didn't know that much about science fiction. Eventually Byron Haskin and Gerd Oswald left along with other crew members. New directors came in that weren't as good. The theme song was different. The monsters weren't as good or as scary. The scripts weren't as good. Eventually the actors, and the directors, lost interest and didn't beleive in what they were doing The Outer Limits was cancelled in the second season after 17 episodes.
It went into syndication almost immediately, and built a cult following. It is now available on DVD, and Blu-Ray. Nearly 50 years after the premier of "The Galaxy Being," people still watch those original episodes of the Outer Limits.
David Schow wrote "The Official Companion to the Outer Limits" and you can't get one for less than $1000.
If only ABC hadn't moved the series to Saturday nights. If only Stevens and Stefano had stayed on. Maybe the show would have lasted another 3 or 4 years. We would have more episodes to watch.
ABC didn't know what a good thing they had!
if you want to watch any of those episodes, click on this link:
http://wearecontrollingtransmission.blogspot.com/
The show was the brainchild of Leslie Stevens, who was only 38 at the time. He already had one successful series in "Stoney Burke." He wanted a new series that would different. It would be similar to the Twilight Zone and Thriller, but go where they hadn't gone. Stevens liked hard science and science fiction. He wrote and directed the Outer Limits pilot. It was originally called "Please Stand by" which is a terrible name for a TV series. ABC liked the pilot, but they asked him to change the name because they thought that viewers would think they had come to an actual station break. Stevens considered changing it to "Out of Control" (which is also a terrible name) and then settled for "The Outer Limits" since he was pushing the outer limits of prime time TV. Stevens would be the executive producer and would only write another 3 episodes of the series.
ABC insisted that Joseph Stefano produce the Outer Limits. Stefano had written the screenplay for "Psycho" ten years earlier, and was working on another Hitchcock movie when he as asked to participate in the Outer Limits. Stefano would wind up writing most of the episodes during the first season. Where Stevens liked hard science, Stefano liked horror and suspense.
Byron Haskin would direct many of the episodes of the Outer Limits during the first season. He directed "War of the Words" in 1953 and would direct an episode of the Outer Limits which contained a monster very similar to the aliens that appeared in "War of the Worlds." But the monster on the Outer Limits was scarier.
Gerd Oswald also worked as a director for the series. His father was a German immigrant, and Gerd was familiar with a German type of film that was similar to the film noir. He would use that style while directing the Outer Limits.
Cinematographer Conrad Hall contributed a great deal to the series. He got the effect the director was looking for- be it a dark film noir tone or soft lighting. (Watch "The Man Who Was Never Born" to get an idea of the extent of his ability).
Dominic Frontiere wrote a killer theme song, and he did sound tracks for several of the episodes.
ABC also made a requirement that every week the Outer Limits was include a "bear" or a hideous monster. It was an agreement that the Outer Limits would break more than once. Just the same, most people remember the series for their hideous monsters. Where did those monsters come from? They came from a company called "Projects Unlimited," which was nicknamed "Monsters Unlimited."
That year, 1963, ABC had a new theme and a new jingle, "The New ABC" every time I heard that jingle I would run to the TV set because they would show some footage of The Galaxy Being,the bear in the premier episode. This was in the summer months leading up to the new season.
The Outer Limits premiered on September 16th, 1963. I was 8 years old. The premier episode, renamed "The Galaxy Being" starred Cliff Robertson, Jacqueline Scott, and Lee Philips. William O. Douglas Jr., the son of a supreme court justice, played the part of the being- though Leslie Stevens himself did the voice. If you have never watched it, go this link and watch it:
http://wearecontrollingtransmission.blogspot.com/2011/01/galaxy-being.html
The special effects were pretty good for 1963. But the plot, the dialogue, and the acting were superb and revolutionary. Cliff Robertson makes contact with the being via a radio signal and asks him, "Do you have a God? Do you have wars? Where you are, do people die?"
I had dreams about the Galaxy Being for years. Not nightmares, but dreams. In them I didn't see the being as a menacing creature. He was lost and trying to get home, just like in the TV episode.
So what happened? ABC,and the American public, weren't ready for the Outer Limits in 1963. They were ready for shows like the Beverly Hillbillies. ABC, and the censors, kept telling Leslie Stevens and Joseph Stefano to change things. ABC wanted monsters. They wanted the Outer Limits to be as how that children would watch. Stevens and Stefano wanted to "say something." I have only recently found out that scenes were deleted from some of my favorite episodes. Scenes that would have made them even better. They were deleted to make the show fit into a 60 minute formator because ABC and the snsors didn't like them. Some scenes were never filmed.
The Outer Limits was given a very low budget to work with. Yet they got good actors and created some good monsters. They dipped in the ratings, but they made it through the fist season. The Outer Limits was renewed for a second season, but they were told they would be moving to Saturday nights and playing opposite Jackie Gleason. What happened next I am not sure of. Either Stevens and Stefano quit or got fired. Stevens' name remained on the credits as Executive Producer. He and Stefano got completed copies of each script and they got royalties, but they were no longer involved. (They were busy working on other projects anyway). Ben Brady, who had produced Perry Mason, took over the Outer Limits. He didn't know that much about science fiction. Eventually Byron Haskin and Gerd Oswald left along with other crew members. New directors came in that weren't as good. The theme song was different. The monsters weren't as good or as scary. The scripts weren't as good. Eventually the actors, and the directors, lost interest and didn't beleive in what they were doing The Outer Limits was cancelled in the second season after 17 episodes.
It went into syndication almost immediately, and built a cult following. It is now available on DVD, and Blu-Ray. Nearly 50 years after the premier of "The Galaxy Being," people still watch those original episodes of the Outer Limits.
David Schow wrote "The Official Companion to the Outer Limits" and you can't get one for less than $1000.
If only ABC hadn't moved the series to Saturday nights. If only Stevens and Stefano had stayed on. Maybe the show would have lasted another 3 or 4 years. We would have more episodes to watch.
ABC didn't know what a good thing they had!
if you want to watch any of those episodes, click on this link:
http://wearecontrollingtransmission.blogspot.com/
I have a blog now
I have a blog now. The name of it is "Reese's Blog." I use the alias of "Reese Fowler." As you can see I used my actual photograph.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)