Controlled Experiment

When Deimos, who is the owner of a pawnshop, receives the visit of Phobos, they present their Martian identification to each other. Deimos is a Martian agent based in an outpost on Earth disguised of pawnshop a long time ago to observe the Earthlings. Phobos is a supervisor with a time controlling device worried with the atomic energy that has come to understand what a murder is. Soon they receive a message to go to a low budget hotel to witness a murder in the lobby of the hotel. When they arrive, they identify the blonde Carla Duveen that is waiting for her boyfriend Bert Hamill that has had sex with his lover. Phobos uses the time controlling devise to repeat the murder many times to understand the details. However the experiment runs out of control and they receive a report that the future will be affected by the event. Will they fix the problem?

"Controlled Experiment" is a silly but also funny episode of "The Outer Limits". The genre comedy does not fit well to the sci-fi genre, but the episode is entertaining despite the repetitions of the same scenes. The romantic conclusion is not well resolved with Phobos interference in the timeline but is commercially attractive. My vote is seven. . Title (Brazil): "Experimento Controlado" ("Controlled Experiment")

I was amazed to find this episode of Outer Limits, which I'd never seen before! . OL usually scares the crap out of me, and has since I first watched it as a child (older now!") So this episode was a pleasant surprise! Suspenseful to a point and too many special effects and noise but overall this one got me smiling. There is hope for change and humor. Great episode! Left me in a good mood and ready for bed. Recommended.

"The Outer Limits" goes for tongue-in-cheek in this episode with two Martians (assuming ordinary earthling appearance) who are sent to earth to study human beings. They are told there will be a murder taking place at a 'less than first class hotel' and take their equipment to the scene and wait for the event to take place.

The scene: A sexy blond waits in the lobby. The elevator door opens, a man steps out. The blond stands up and faces him.

Blond: "Bert Hamil!! You're a two-faced, no good, black-hearted two timer!" Man: "Carla!! Don't shoot!!" Blond: "Don't come begging to me. Take that!!" The gun goes off, the man grabs his chest and falls to the floor. (Love the dialogue--right out of a 40s murder mystery.) The Martians watch but are dumbfounded and have no clue so they decide to rewind the scene (in real time) but still draw a blank. Then they run it in slow motion, backward, forward, upside-down, inside-out, stop the action stepping into the scene for human physiology tests such as blood pressure, temp, etc., and now take the scene further back in time and follow him to find out where the man was coming from on the upper floors--a sexy brunette is up there. Still nothing. They finally decide to redirect the bullet trajectory to see what result that produces, and do so but according to headquarters, what they have done will alter future events with a devastating result to the solar system. Now they're in quandary and discuss what to do.

Considering television was in its teens in 1964, this "Outer Limits" episode isn't bad. Carroll O'Connor plays one of the Martians and its interesting to see him in action prior to his "Archie Bunker" fame.

The plot was hokey but enjoyable and the Martian equipment looked like gadgets anyone could have bought at a toy store in 1964; the special effects are simplistic (the director got a lot of mileage out of "the scene" by playing and replaying it) and when the Martians stepped into the stopped action, the actors did their best to hold their positions and not flinch.

If its a Saturday night and there's nothing else on cable, give this one a shot. Ooops.

One of the non-speaking characters, the one on his own left sitting on the couch, drops a newspaper when the gun goes off. The newspaper's headline: "I Let Go of the Bumper and the Bus Ran Over Me." Amazing what you can do with a high-def TV.

Second factoid, the actress playing Arlene Schabel (upstairs love interest), has her name spelled Linda Hutchins in the credits. She is otherwise known as Linda Hutchings.

Several members of this episode's staff, the blonde actress (mentioned in other reviews) the production manager Lindsley Parsons, production associate John Erman, makeup supervisor Fred Phillips, art department Richard Rubin, assistant director Robert Justman, went on to work on Star Trek projects.

Special effects Ray Mercer went on to work on Star Wars.

This is an unusual episode for "The Outer Limits" because this episode is played strictly for laughs. While its counterpart, "The Twilight Zone", often made some comedic anthology episodes, "The Outer Limits" was almost always deathly earnest and serious---making this a radical departure.

The show begins with a Martian agent (Barry Morse) making contact with another Martian who's been living undercover with humans for many years (Carrol O'Connor). It seems that the Martians are worried about people, as they are very violent and MAY need to be eradicated for the good of the universe. So, Morse's job is to observe them--and specifically to understand why murder occurs, as no other sentient being does this. And, his bosses back on Mars are worried that humans might infect others with this desire to kill. So, using a special time machine that allows them to stop and restart time, they investigate in EXCRUCIATING detail one particular murder. What's next? See the show.

While this was a pretty forgettable and slight show, it did make me smile from time to time and was entertaining. Worth seeing...and very strange for this show.