The Mice

A prisoner is asked to be apart of a dangerous experiment.

Not really a favourite episode, in fact for several years I hated it, but a more recent screening went over a bit better as the acting and general story draw you in from beginning to end.

After 15 episodes of quality entertainment, I am sorry to say that the next two or three Limits shows leave one hell of a lot to be desired.

In fact, after watching The Mice I would even consider jumping two or three shows and going straight to the episode: The Invisibles (this one is a total knockout). From The Invisibles onwards the series continues to be very good.

When the prison warden summons three inmates serving life sentences, they are interviewed by Dr. Thomas 'Kelly' Kellander that is seeking a volunteer with authorization of the government to test a teleportation system to another planet. Chino Rivera accepts the offer and learns that the advanced civilization from planet Chromos has contacted the earthlings and offered the technology for teleportation. They propose an exchange of natives from each planet and soon Dr. Kellander receives an alien that walks freely in the facility. However Dr. Robert Richardson finds a strange goo floating on the lake and decides to investigate, but is murdered by the alien. Meanwhile Chino tries to escape from the facility and stumbles upon Dr. Richardson´s body. He is accused of murder and only Dr. Julia Harrison believes him. What is the real intention of the alien from Chromos?

Despite the potential of the storyline, "The Mice" is a poorly written and acted episode of "The Outer Limits". How can an alien come to Earth and circulate unmonitored in a state-of-art military facility? The attitudes of the sluggish security officers are ridiculous. Nobody comments the fate of the officer sent to Chromos. The way Dr. Julia Harrison reports her findings nearby the lake to Dr. Kellander is unthinkable. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Os Camundongos" ("The Mice")

There isn't any boundaries to The Outer Limits series, this one is a engrossing story on Sci-Fi setting, where a prominent scientist Dr. Thomas Kelly Kellander (Michael Higgins) has an advanced project with faraway planet Chromos, after previous agreements they sent a blue print to earthlings built a chamber of molecular transportation, they planned develop an interplanetary exchange with prolific minds to learn each other, however Dr Kelly Kellander didn't finds anyone interest in this odd and dangerous travel, so he has to go into a penal institution to get any volunteer, the prison warden brings to him three convicts as potential applicants, Dr. Kelly explains all possibilities to this journey, but just one agrees, the leery and shaky Chino Rivera (Henry Silva) no reward is offer, but due Chino was sentenced to life imprisonment any attainable output is welcome, firstly the Chromonite being should arrives first at chamber, then Chino will be transported afterwards, therefore the Alien actually is an awful monster, what a dreadful freak, the designer should be arrest at mental asylum and throw away the key by such inability to make something feasible, after a terrible fright they have to postpone Chino transportation, meanwhile the mute and unfriendly Chromonite guest has an unusual behavior, fine episode if we forget the freak alien!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25

A Scientist has devised some ingenious technology, that allows people to be transported to another planet, a scheme is set up to transport prisoners to The Plant Chromo in an exchange. The Prisoners are volunteers the alternative is life in prison.

This isn't an episode I'd deem a classic, I wouldn't say it has anything particularly memorable, other than the obvious, a few years ago there was an advertising campaign for a blocked nose/sinuses relief product, it put me in mind of that.

Not a classic, but definitely still full of merits, I like the question of ethics, the value of a Prisoner's life, did he have any choice but to accept the mission, it was definitely an interesting concept.

The first half has an element of suspense, that opening sequence definitely added a degree of curiosity, I found the second half just bizarre, some of it perhaps didn't make a lot of sense. It is very well paced, I really did like the characters.

There are two terrific performances here, Henry Silva and Diana Sands were both terrific I thought, and despite the less than convincing looking subject from Chromo, they both managed to make their characters so sincere, they both bolstered the story hugely.

7/10.

"The Mice" is rarely singled out as a noteworthy OUTER LIMITS episode, yet it has many distinctive qualities. The strangeness that we find in the best episodes of this series is here in full force. A prisoner exchange between Earth and a little-known alien society allows a bizarre creature to arrive on this planet. This prisoner behaves in its own alien way and is creepy and fascinating to watch. There are a couple of suspenseful scenes when the creature is on the loose and wreaks some havoc. In the cast are Michael Higgins, Diana Sands and Henry Silva: all very good actors who bring plenty of realism to their roles. It's especially interesting to watch the sympathetic connection between Sands and Silva. This episode does not waste Henry Silva (a wonderful performer) as another entry, "Tourist Attraction", does. He really carries the show and makes it a must-see for anyone who in interested in early 60s TV drama.