Demon with a Glass Hand

I met and talked with Harlan Ellison at an early '70s Star Trek Convention, and the conversation drifted to DEMON, and how he hated the way the writers butchered & disgraced his story. "Imagine", he said: "Creatures from a far-future century fist-fighting and shooting at each other with pistols! Gimme a break!" Its saving grace, apart from its being a terrific sci-fi story, was actress Arlene Martel, who later gained fame as Spck's wife in a Star Trek episode AMOK TIME. That's the one that truly made her famous, previous to that one, she was but a struggling young actress. Her role in DEMON I thought outstandingly underplayed.

Directed by veteran Byron Haskin, this is one of two episodes by Harlan Ellison that earned 'The Outer Limits' it's exulted status among students of serious sci-fi, creating an unearthly setting merely by locating it's nightmare in a dilapidated old office block and photographing it in gothic black & white.

In additional to the perennially underused Robert Culp as "the last hope of humanity" the other members of the cast also provide interesting resonances since Arline Martel - already far from being a conventional heroine - later played Spock's bride T'Pring in the 'Star Trek' episode 'Amok Time', while Abraham Sofaer, who leads the pursuing aliens, actually played God himself in the classic 'A Matter of Life and Death'.

This is by far the best piece of 60's television that I have ever seen... and not only in the genre of sci-fi(sorry, Harlan, "fantasist") or episode of the original The Outer Limits. You can tell that it is by Ellison, and the part this(and the almost as good Soldier) played in inspiring The Terminator is impossible to ignore; I am a fan of Cameron, and I doubt he intended to plagiarize. The story is compelling, engaging, has stunning twists and turns and is smart without being convoluted or difficult to follow. This has amazing pacing, moves fast and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time, not overstimulating you at any point. The action is incredible, and this is exciting, suspenseful and tense throughout it. This has a chilling and unforgettable ending, and in spite of when this was made, nothing looks silly. The effects are rather well-done, and this was ahead of its time in its concepts and the way it explores them. This has excellent cinematography and editing. The acting is marvelous, and Culp, as well as everyone else, is spot-on. There is a bit of disturbing content in this. I recommend this to any and all fans of science fiction. 10/10

This one I liked - from the very first time it was viewed. It has power - with powerful actors & actress. You "feel" the force of the episode - and brace for the surprise ending. When first viewed - it held me spellbound -all the way to the end. We just sat there & thought about it. It was awesome that people could's imaginations could bring this to the screen with such skill. It made me jealous - how they could dream this up & I couldn't. This episode endeared me to the "Outer Limits" forever. It's really incredible they could find just the "right people" in the right scenes with just the "right lines" - When VCR's came out - saw my chance to watch these episodes over & over again - and never tire of them. But - I still remember that night in the early 1960's - when we were held spellbound by this episode - a standard by which other episodes should be judged - absolutely loved it. Thank very much for the privilege of letting me comment.

Michael ml2348@att.com

I beg you to remember that this was written when most TV fans thought of science fiction as Buck Rogers or Flash Gorgon. The ideas and concepts were way ahead of their time for TV. Today we laugh at the special effects and Cosme's but also remember that TOL was made on a very tight budget. lighting effects and camera angles were used with he music to try and add the confused feeling that Trent and Consuelo were enduring. All in all it worked by 60's standards.

You can poke holes or take exception to certain issues that were not addressed but hey, they only had an hour (about 48 minutes without commercials). All in all I feel this is one of the most ingenious and in some ways eerie plots in early TV scifi. It has rightfully earned its place in the hearts of scifi fans.