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The Outer Limits
S5.E14
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Descent

  • Episode aired Jun 25, 1999
  • TV-PG
  • 44m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
219
YOUR RATING
Leland Orser in The Outer Limits (1995)
DramaFantasyHorrorMysterySci-FiThriller

A milquetoast scientist who has been working at a museum develops a genetic dominance DNA serum that should bring out the competitive nature inherent in all of us that has been muted over th... Read allA milquetoast scientist who has been working at a museum develops a genetic dominance DNA serum that should bring out the competitive nature inherent in all of us that has been muted over the years. Trying it on himself brings out more than he bargained for.A milquetoast scientist who has been working at a museum develops a genetic dominance DNA serum that should bring out the competitive nature inherent in all of us that has been muted over the years. Trying it on himself brings out more than he bargained for.

  • Director
    • Steve Anker
  • Writers
    • Erik Saltzgaber
    • Leslie Stevens
  • Stars
    • Leland Orser
    • Jenny Cooper
    • Greg Thirloway
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    219
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Steve Anker
    • Writers
      • Erik Saltzgaber
      • Leslie Stevens
    • Stars
      • Leland Orser
      • Jenny Cooper
      • Greg Thirloway
    • 1User review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos1

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    Top cast10

    Edit
    Leland Orser
    Leland Orser
    • Dr. Arthur Zeller
    Jenny Cooper
    Jenny Cooper
    • Laura White
    • (as Jenny Levine)
    Greg Thirloway
    Greg Thirloway
    • James Feind
    John Novak
    John Novak
    • Dr. Stansfield
    Frank C. Turner
    Frank C. Turner
    • Mikulak
    Benita Ha
    Benita Ha
    • Cute Lab Technician
    John 'Bear' Curtis
    John 'Bear' Curtis
    • Bum
    Robyn Driscoll
    Robyn Driscoll
    • Detective
    David Neale
    David Neale
    • Security Guard
    Kevin Conway
    Kevin Conway
    • The Control Voice
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Steve Anker
    • Writers
      • Erik Saltzgaber
      • Leslie Stevens
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews1

    6.1219
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    Featured reviews

    5Hitchcoc

    Missed Opportunities

    This episode could have been so much more fun. It is so simplistic that it gets ruined from the get go. A researcher who has developed a method of adding strength to the weak but is himself the walking, talking emblem of weakness. His colleagues treat him like dirt, his benefactor does so, he can't walk down a street without being assaulted by passersby and he has no romance in his life. Because he is so passive, his work is not respected (which is absurd, since so many scientists can be withdrawn nerds). Of course, when he gets his weakest lab mice to become dominant when they are injected, we know he will try the stuff on himself. He begins his descent, becoming a sort of Neanderthal who now bullies and assaults those whom he encounters. He enjoys his new power but his violent actions diminish the effect of the episode. What happens is a pathetic decline where he loses his own humanity. This could have been so interesting with a little more delicate touch.

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    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      James Feind is seen reading an edition of "The Tribune" with the headline "Horowitz Executed." This newspaper was a prop originally created for A Stitch in Time (1996). It was later read by Hank Dell in Fathers & Sons (1999).
    • Quotes

      Dr. Arthur Zeller: [to Laura] Believe me, there is nothing that I'd like to do less than skewer you... With a spear, anyway.

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • June 25, 1999 (United States)
    • Production company
      • Atlantis Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      • 44m
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby

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