The Man Who Was Never Born

When I saw this episode as a teenager, a hundred or so years ago ;) when it originally aired back in the 60s, I knew that Martin Landau was destined for greatness. I was blown away even then!

It took him a few decades but when he won that Oscar for his part in the movie "Ed Wood," I definitely thought of his incredible acting job in this long ago episode of "The Outer Limits." "The Man Who Was Never Born" is just the best... Landau's performance made you want to weep for the tragic character he portrayed with such beauty and depth.

You know it's a strong performance when you as the viewer are made to care so much about the character, even though his extreme ugliness makes him something less than a feast for the eyes!

This episode works pretty well, but one can dismantle in a few seconds with a bit of thought. When that Connecticut Yankee of Mark Twain's went back, Twain ignored the implications of the whole scientific world. Here we must recognize those things. An astronaut finds himself 200 years in the future, encountering an Earth that will likely die soon. Some well-meaning biologist has done something that has caused this horror. Because the astronaut has gone through a time warp, he makes the trip back, accompanied by a hideous future denizen, a man of great moral character and sadness over the results of humanities stupidity. As they find their way back to the present, the astronaut disappears because of time factors. The creature, however, manages to land the ship and sets about trying to kill the person responsible for the great calamity. At the very least, to stop his wife from producing an offspring. He barges in using a convenient form of hypnosis, shielding his ugliness, and tries to destroy the relationship and stop the wedding. The story ends about the only way it could because of the messing with causality. It's a really depressing conclusion. I'm still waiting to see if someone can really produce something satisfying when it comes to time travel.

This is when and how my love affair with Martin Landau began. I saw this when the Outer Limits series was new...I have NEVER forgotten this episode.

The story is quite interesting and the acting by ALL is top-notch. The set-up and the story line may be read in others' reviews so rent it, steal it just get a hold of a copy..I found mine this day on VHS and it remains as lovely as it was 47 years ago! Oh Heck..I'll give you a few details..It starts out NOT on earth. A spaceman has a conversation with this mutant creature of a man who speaks with style and grace...yep, it's Martin. He, Martin, gets to earth and meets the lovely Shirley Knight...evidently it's his power of suggestion, a hallucination, that changes his ugly self into an eloquent and handsome man. I refrain from saying any more.

WOW the early 1960's were quite filled, thankfully, with such interesting and intellectual programs in this vein. Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, etc, were a grand insight to how the brainy writers and actors appeared and we were treated to same in spades!

This episode explores the notion of killing evil before it has a chance to grow into a menace for mankind--sort of like if you could go back through time to kill Hitler. The show begins with an astronaut from 1961 landing in the future only to find that the planet has been decimated and what people are left are hideous creatures. One named Andro explains that all this was caused by a scientist who accidentally created a plague and wiped out most everyone on the planet. So, using the ship, Andro returns to the 1960s to kill the man who would one day destroy mankind. However, because he's so ugly, he's able to use cool psychic powers to make others think he looks just like Martin Landau! And, it turns out, he's arrived just in time to possibly prevent the scientist's parents from ever marrying! Overall, a very intriguing episode that only has one fault--the ending and the bride's reaction to Andro is just too weird and hard to believe. Still, it's a cool episode and one well worth your time. As usual for this series, it's well written and insightful. See this one.

"The Man Who Was Never Born" is a sensitive fantasy about a man named Andro who is caught in a limbo of time and space. In this episode, he traverses through several worlds, searching for a sense of connection, solidity, and resolution, which is frustratingly elusive.

I will not provide more plot details, aside from the fact that the ending is absolutely stunning and unforgettable. Overall, this is one of the greatest Outer Limits episodes. Martin Landau delivers an outstanding performance in the title role with great support by Shirley Knight. Conrad Hall's soft-focus black/white photography and Leonard Horn's incisive direction complement Anthony Lawrence's spare, compact screenplay to create a powerful viewing experience.

It is difficult to imagine that you will not be moved after watching this. 10/10.