The Special One

Richard Ney stars as Mr. Zeno, a self-described tutorial emissary from the government who has chosen a child science prodigy named Kenny Benjamin(played by Flip Mark) for his help, but his father(played by Macdonald Carey) grows increasingly suspicious about Mr. Zeno, and these fears are later confirmed when he sees him seemingly disappear into thin air! Turns out that Zeno is really an alien who has tutored other children to aid him and his species in their effort to take over the world, and also dealt with at least one other father in a harsh manner. Will Kenny be helped in time by his father, or does he already have things under control? Straightforward story is a bit protracted(especially the finale) but is still reasonably interesting, with a nice character twist at the end.

The introduction to this episode was fantastic--starry and thrilling to watch. I also loved the teleportation--very effective despite a very small budget. The only problem is that it let you know then and there that Mr. Xeno was a BAD man---a very, very bad man indeed! In hindsight, I think it might have worked better had this only been revealed later in the show--to give it suspense. Still, it's one of the best episodes of the series.

Mr. Xeno then arrives at the home of a couple (MacDonald Carey and Marion Ross) and introduced himself as a special tutor sent by the government to work with their genius son. They agree but after some time, the father is a bit concerned--weird sounds are emanating from his kid's room and Mr. Xeno just seems to 'pop in' with no notice. Later, however, the father realizes Xeno is not human. The problem is, no one believes him, his son has now been pitted against him and there is some evil brewing. What's next? See this one for yourself.

All in all, there isn't much to dislike about this one. Fine acting, exceptional writing and a story that keeps you on edge--this is one to see.

UPDATE: I just saw an old episode of "Tales of Tomorrow" (available through the public domain at archive.org) that was VERY much like "The Special One"! In fact, it would appear to have inspired this "Outer Limits" episode. Try watching "Many Happy Returns"--you'll see what I mean that it seems to have inspired this show a decade later.

"The Special One" stands the test of time.

It is also a prophetic episode for the 21st century, with a chilling warning that is ingeniously presented as a captivating science fiction story, featuring terrific acting, direction, and effects (however primitive they may seem by modern standards).

As with all Outer Limits episodes, the moral of the story is provided at the end. "The mold of a man stems from the mind of a child. Educators and emperors have known this from time immemorial. So have tyrants." No less a tyrant than Adolph Hitler expressed the same idea when he said, "He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future."

The episode is prophetic because it warns about the dangers of allowing indoctrinators (with values antithetical and alien to traditional American values) to program the nation's youth, particularly to accomplish the long-term mission of destroying the existing civilization and replacing it with a new world order.

Unfortunately, this warning wasn't heeded and the US educational system has already been infiltrated by Marxist ideology at all levels. The infiltration has been so complete that today there are few genuine "professors," "colleges," or "universities." The colleges and universities have been replaced by what I call "Leftist Indoctrination Entities" (also called "LIEs"). And the professors have been replaced by Marxist demagogues.

Thus, hatred, intolerance, and violence are common amongst today's youth, as that is what is encouraged by today's LIEs. Blind obedience to the Marxist Totalitarian State is what they're after.

The message of "The Special One" is still a hopeful one, however, because good parents can still raise their children to hold strong traditional values, enabling them to resist the influence of enemy "aliens" that seek to destroy those values.

Mr. Zeno is an alien that takes on human appearance and is dedicated to locating children with a high IQ to indoctrinate them and use them as the vanguard of an upcoming invasion of Earth. The background of this story is to show how adults can manipulate children to the point of turning them into soldiers for their own benefit. Richard Ney composes the disturbing and disturbing Dr. Zeno, the atmosphere is quite somber as most of the action takes place at night and in the room of Kenny, the chosen child. The final scene is fantastic and the moral very sobering. One of my favorite episodes.

Roy and Agnes Benjamin are over the moon, when their young son Kenneth is chosen as a child protégé, and set to be given extra, out of school tuition by Mr Xeno. Concerns are raised however, when Kenneth's behaviour becomes very odd.

It's a great episode, thoroughly enjoyed this one, once again it's that formula of something ordinary, like tuition, being used as a tool for something that ultimately became so menacing. Great imagination behind this one, especially at the conclusion.

What a dramatic introduction, that certainly put you on edge, you came away aware that Xeno was an incredibly powerful and malevolent individual.

It's a long first series, and you have to hand it to the writing team, for constantly delivering new ideas, this one had a unique feel.

I liked that the introduction was altered somewhat in the main body of the story, now I may be wrong, but I think that may be a first.

Richard Ney was just so good here as Xeno, he really did present as someone a little menacing, a little strange, and from a child's point of view, the stuff of nightmares.

Enjoyed it.

8/10.