ZZZZZ

An interesting idea for an episode , which is usually what '' The Outer Limits '' came up with on this groundbreaker of the 60s .Joanna Frank is tasty for sure as Regina the queen bee turned human seductress and she certainly is striking enough and does have a kind of bee look (in a good way ) to her face .Phil Abbott is a fine actor with many films to his credit and Marsha Hunt is also good as his unfortunate wife . Also in the cast as the doctor is Booth Coleman who played the bad guy Morries in the sci-fi thriller ''World Without End ''. All in all fairly well done and while not the best of the great sci-fi series it makes for an entertaining watch .

Sometimes you want to shout at actors: stop pretending, be yourself! Not this time.

The somewhat far-fetched tale of an entomologist translating bee-talk is dominated by the dazzling, tongue in cheek - or should I say wing in mouth - performance of Joanna Frank. It's said she was left to her own devices to interpret the role, she does so with sensuality, effortless intrigue - and the occasional waspish aside to Marsha Hunt, the Professors' wife, sadly apparently childless, having lost her female offspring, who would now have been Regina's age. Phil Abbott plays it straight as the Prof, fending off the Queen Bee's advances, rather better and more decisively than many other men would, or could.

It's a Darwin-esk episode about mating and survival, but the dialogue also includes metaphorical allusions to other issues - such as the role of emotion and feelings, in science.

Ultimately, the slightly suspect special effects made no difference to the excellent calibre of this intense, meaningful drama, within which, a strange scientific phenomenon arose, whereby Ms Frank was able to sizzle as well as buzz.

Professor Ben Fields is visited by a strange young woman, who's there for the post of his assistant, Regina, holds a very strange secret, and is there for one purpose alone.

First off, I love the title, ZZZZZ, plain and simple, from that you know exactly what the topic is going to be, and it doesn't disappoint. It takes a bit of time to develop, but when it does, it's another classic, unforgettable episode.

It instantly put me in mind of a great, memorable episode of Tales of the unexpected, called Royal Jelly, if you've not seen it, check it out, I can't help wondering if ZZZZZ had some degree of inspiration for it.

Joanna Frank is captivating as Regina, she exudes quality, she is beautiful, but sinister and odd in equal measure, you could imagine Ben would eventually fall for her charms. Those eyes of hers are quite something.

Philip Abbott and Marsha Hunt are very good as the devoted couple, but it's the intruder that held my attention.

Best scene has to be the final confrontation between Ben and Regina, it's quite a moment.

8/10.

Along with "The Zanti Misfits," this is the episode that I most recall from my childhood. An entomologist is perfecting communication with bees. He has a machine that actually translate their sounds into English. He is a bit of a distant character, as are some of these scientific types, but lives with his loving wife in a kind of idyllic setting. As the story opens, we see a bee in a garden, morphing into a beautiful young woman. The professor has been seeking a lab assistant and she is suddenly there, with a real knowledge of these creatures. She is also sultry and defiant, seeing the wife as an adversary. We come to realize that she is the queen from the colony, designated to mate with the professor, give the bees longevity, and take over the world. There are so many holes in the story, but the sexual byplay taking place with the professor is really quite erotic. This is a really embracing episode at times and we watch the professor to see if he is going to allow his maleness get in the way of his good judgment.

francodomenico mentioned that Ms. Frank was only 19 when she was in this episode, but if you click on her name in the above credits, it will take you to the IMDb page for Joanna Frank. It plainly shows that she was born in 1941. Unless they filmed this episode of The Outer Limits in 1960, and waited to air it in 1964, then she couldn't possibly have been 19 years old when she was in it. Her year of birth was confirmed on another website before I posted this comment, so it is unlikely to be an error on the part of IMDb for posting the incorrect year of her birth.

I do agree that she gave a wonderful performance in the episode. She definitely gives you the impression that her character (Regina) is trying to 'blend in' but not picking up on the nuances of human interactions in order to accomplish that completely.