Demon with a Glass Hand

Robert Culp with an oddball hand is chased by oddball villains.

Please don't "not useful" me for saying this, but for decades I hated this hour! The look of the guys in masks, the hand, some story elements, it just turned me off!!!!!!!!!! But now I love it!!

I will never know why some Limits shows require added screenings before they really grow on you??

Yes, I agree with the other posters, this is a knockout and one of the best episodes of the series. Too bad the writer was not totally pleased with the end product, but who cares, I love it, and so do most others. Perhaps the best thing Robert Culp ever did.

An astonishing episode. I've seen dozens of Outer Limits eps and really had no idea one could be as intriguing, profound, and even tragic as this. I've now watched it a second time and the plot was as gripping as the first, plus a lot of details stand in clearer relief now. It certainly doesn't lack for atmosphere either!

No need to belabor the details of the narrative (others have completed that task) but in my view this ep redeems the entire series. It's made with the quality and care one normally associates with motion pictures, and the storyline and theme stand the test of time quite well, unlike so much sci-fi and fantasy-fi from the era.

A pleasant surprise, highly recommended.

PS: Don't read any spoilers!

I'm the eldest son of the Assistant to the Producer of this episode of The Outer Limits. It is in my opinion one of the best episodes he was involved in (the last year of production). The show aired Saturday night on ABC. On the Monday morning following the show, the phone in the producer's office rang and my father answered it. The voice identified himself as Ray Bradbury and asked to speak to Ben Brady the producer. My father at first thought it was a joke. It wasn't. Ray Bradbury told Ben Brady that he had watched the show on Saturday night and wanted him to know how much he enjoyed it. Not a bad sci-fi recommend I would think. Harlon Ellison (writer) also called Ben Brady and demanded his name be removed from "that piece of S***!" My father said Ben calmed him down, a little.

Please remember when you watch the original (B&W)Outer Limits that the budget was very limited $100k an episode I think. And that was for everything. So the aliens in this episode wore bathing caps and the "set" was the old Bradbury building in downtown LA. Shot the entire thing in one night. At least the run around the stairs, elevator scenes. For what it was and when it was done, it pretty good.

People occasionally ask,"do you know where the glass hand is?" I do not. I doubt it exists today. Most props are made in multiples, I would imagine there was more than one, and based on the budget limitations of the time, probably returned to a pop rental company. One more piece of trivia - the 1964 season of Outer Limits was shot at what was then called The Executive Producers Studio on Sunset Blvd. That is the original location where Al Jolson's The Jazz Singer (the first talking motion picture)was shot, and they had preserved the original stage he used. The studio has gone through several changes of ownership/function, its now called Sunset Bronson Studios. I had many a good craft services meal there (Dad hated to cook.)

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.

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