The Man with the Power

Donald Pleasance has a brain operation that creates terror to his family and co-workers.

Other posters have compared this episode to Forbidden Planet (1956), I never picked up on that over the decades, but yes you are correct, so the IMDb has changed my view of this episode. Thanks.

An all-round good episode, not a favourite, not an episode I often return to with repeat viewings...but a well made hour of sci-fi...and all the guest stars really shine (even if one of them is now too associated with comic insanity of Get Smart).

We are now four episodes into the series an all four episodes have things of interest.

The Outer LImits was way ahead of its time, and has aged very well. And for me The Man With The Power was the best episode of all of them. Professor Finley is a totally sympathetic character, morally impeccable, and the conclusion of the episode confirms his dignity. Perhaps my review says more about me than about the episode, but if so, so be it.

Having had a technically advanced device installed in his head, Harold J. Finley has the ability to cause electric storms to appear and eviscerate those that get in his way.

It's another very high quality, impressive episode, this one is pure science fiction, the story of an everyday man being pushed into extreme action by those around him.

This comes at a really interesting point in the career of the late, great Donald Pleasance, definitely a big star by this point, with an already illustrious list of performances, and he was terrific here, adding real sincerity to the part.

Ok, so when you see Harold Finley use his powers to lift the rock, you can see the strings lifting it up, but we are watching things on a much higher resolution, I'm sure many wouldn't have picked up on it at the time.

Once again they were ambitious with the special effects, they attempted to do something pretty bold, it was a fair effort.

Good story, elevated by the lead performance.

8/10.

Donald Pleasance, a sort of Casper Milquetoast college teacher, dominated by his wife and his boss, the college dean, has agreed to be a guinea pig in an experiment to use the brain to cause do things beyond the scope of normal machinery. It can actually be used to cause things to happen in other places, including space, to mine precious metals and elements. Unfortunately, Pleasance begins to lose control of his own id impulses, actually killing his boss and injuring his wife. Once he realizes how dangerous this power is, he tries to put the kabosh on the project, but his own impulses can't be curtailed. To make matters worse, a young astronaut is going to have the same implant that Pleasance has, and this guy won't listen to reason. Pleasance sounds like a nut, so drastic measures must be employed for drastic times. Unfortunately, the conclusion can be seen coming a mile away.

Those isn't really a review so much as a statement of my reactions. My bedroom was off the living room where our tv was. I was very young; so it may have been when the show started in the 60s. I wasn't allowed to watch the show but my dad liked it. I snuck out and peeked out my bedroom door and remember seeing the storm cloud following Donald Pleasance. Scariest thing I ever saw. Gave me nightmares for weeks. Recently rewatched it. Not bad for its age, but I slept well that night.