On the Edge

Not a feature, but three short stories loosely connected by a fourth. All share a common theme of examining relationships, but these are not "normal" relationships. Males are typically portrayed as angst-ridden, overly controlling stereotypes, in the context of society, business, or science, gone wrong, while it is a woman who becomes the healer, bringing them back to a deeper appreciation of relationships and social values. But this is the "Outer Limits" take on the yin-yang debate, and the stories-within-a-story tend to have a Twilight Zone quality.

Actually, each of the sub-stories is good enough to stand on its own, and none of them benefits from being connected to the forth. The fourth one tries to "set us up" for them with all the subtlety and eloquence of near "Mystery Science Theatre" hokum, which tends to be more distracting than helpful. Its characters are cartoonish and its storyline an obvious contrivance. We learn nothing from the connecting story to justify its inclusion, and hence we are left "on the edge" of missing the point of the much better stories it attempts to link together.