ZZZZZ

An entomologist conducting research on bee behavior is visited by an exotic and intriguing woman who offers herself as his assistant. In reality, she is a queen bee that has taken on the human aspect for the sole purpose of copulating with the scientist and turning him into a human drone. The worst thing about this episode is unfortunately the FX, absolutely poor and simple. The best are the performances mainly by Joanna Frank who has a hypnotic, intriguing and mysterious appearance, her mere presence is disturbing, and the script is very solid.

Dr. Philip Abbott is an entomologist and is working on a machine that will enable him to communicate with bees. But the bees are evolving as well and their queen has morphed into human form.

Joanna Frank's mission is to somehow seduce Abbott into mating with her and creating a new hybrid intelligent species that can take over.

The bee scientists must have done some considerable research into what attracts the male of the human species. Joanna Frank is the total package including some eye popping breasts. Still Abbott stays loyal to his wife Marsha Hunt.

Another Outer Limits story that will stay with you for decades after you saw it.

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.

When this was first aired back in the 60s, I felt a strange love and empathy for 'Regina'. I was only 6 and I fell in love. I felt gutted by the episode's conclusion. But that was when I was 6. Decades later I was happy to be able to view this again through the magic of DVDs. Yes, I own them ALL. I was hesitant to watch this episode. I still had this pit in my stomach. There was something about this episode that lingered and haunted. The title....UGH! Is it corny or clever? After putting it off long enough I finally sat down with it. Here is an excellent example of an outrageous story...an unlikely tale. I know the Outer Limits of the 60s had nearly no budget, but these special effects were surprisingly poor. And yet, despite the apparently ridiculous plot and the dismal effects, I found myself suspending disbelief. The effects, as bad as they were, were simply a device to portray the idea of what was happening, not an attempt to dazzle the eye. Somehow, I overlooked the poor effects and found myself focusing on the story. The acting was superb. Joanna Frank's unsettling beauty and unbalancing sultriness brought me back to being 6-years old again. (As I understand it, Frank complained that she was given no helpful direction as to how to play Regina. This turns out to be a genius move because she delivers her lines as if she really isn't certain of her humanity or the impact of what she would say) I fell in love and was ultimately gutted at the conclusion, again. I wouldn't take anything away from Philip Abbott or Marsha Hunt. Both are more than convincing in what would by all other definitions a ludicrous idea for an episode. The tension between Frank and Hunt ends up being fine drama as does Abbott's final tirade to an unwelcome Frank. Frontiere's usual anxiety provoking music seemed to be practically non-existent here. It's there, but this is an anomaly...a quieter episode. So, I may have a bias since I hold the original series in reverence. It was a part of my childhood and was the only fantastic oddity on TV then. But, I was once again enchanted by this episode. It should have been lame. It wasn't. A fine example of better than average story telling enacted by a committed cast of professionals delivering credible performances. I'm sorry I didn't watch it sooner.

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 .