Keeper of the Purple Twilight

This is one of those episodes that require us to accept an alien force that has capabilities to withdraw sense from a human. It's one thing to be a vanguard for populating another world (much science fiction and especially The Outer Limits hangs on this possibility. When the alien come to the desperate scientist, who is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, one can understand that he would do what he could to gain access. But the fact that an interplanetary culture has no knowledge of emotions but has the ability to absorb someone else's, makes everything more fantasy than sci fi. The story is a pretty good one. Ikar comes from a beehive culture, not unlike the Borg from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Every entity has his or her own purpose. When he ingests the emotions of the scientist and goes about testing out his newfound toys, it becomes really sort of silly. I decided to let that go and evaluate the story as presented. It is suspenseful and interesting and maintains the attention. It is heavy handed with a kind of human proselytizing, showing how superior we really are. Television in the sixties couldn't seem to shake this sermonizing.

No idea how the title connects with the story (and no clue is given), but its poetic turn sure makes it easy to remember. "Demon with a Glass Hand", "Purple Twilight", "O.B.I.T." are standout examples of what came from the short lived Outer Limits series. Like many of the episodes, "Purple" was shot on a limited budget, but manages to give an engaging story - plot line, imagination and effort getting the job done, with a measure of philosophizing dialogue, an OT trademark.

Just plain, simple fun. An alien scientist, with a sinister agenda, arrives on earth, but has an unexpected change of heart after being exposed to a dose of human emotions. Poker face actors Robert Webber, the alien ("I don't live to be liked or disliked."), and Warren Stevens, an obsessed, stressed-out earth scientist ("You serve no purpose, Janet. I have no use for you."), make interesting foils. The girlfriend's role is a bit overemotional (a fate that many of the Outer Limits female leads had to endure), but it's her nature that melts the emotionless, extraterrestrial heart. A nice touch is the three duty-bound, alien policemen who show up to retrieve the now renegade scientist.

My biggest complaint with season 2 of OL is that the production staff seem to have no clue how to do plausible science fiction. They impose conditions and motivations into a script that ultimately prove to make the discerning viewer feel cheated out of a good story. After the excellent 'The Inheritors I and II', 'Keeper Of The Purple Twilight' avalanches right back into the banality of the rest of season 2.

It is a great title though, isn't it. It is never satisfactorily explained however. It really doesn't seem to mean anything perhaps.

So, the basic story is a dedicated scientist is seeking certain equations to help him complete his death ray and he is having no luck on his own. He is frustrated and emotionally sick over the stress of the situation. Along comes an alien to help but his motivations are bizarre. Basically he is supposed to provide the equations so that the death ray is produced on Earth and this would open the door for the rest of his species to come in and take over the world. It's sort of a warped hostile version of 'The Day The Earth Stood Still'. On top of this, the 'logical' alien advises the scientist he will provide the equations if he can have the scientists emotions. Well, I didn't see that coming - and, quite frankly, seems completely insipid. As you can surmise, the emotions don't sit well with the alien - blah blah blah.

I found myself wanting desperately for this episode to foray into something original or simply end. It finally ended. The only thing I managed to take away from this episode was the impressive alien configurations. These were worthy and could hold up to anything from the first season although that 'crushed velvet(?)' uniform was a bit laughable. And did I detect crotch zippers on the pants of the soldier aliens?? Did you see the claws on those guys? Logistically, urinating could be an adventure I would bet.

Overall: A dreadful episode slightly saved by the eerie alien costumes

An alien gets human emotions and struggles to understand the human emotion known as love. Warren Stevens must deal with the confusing alien...not to mention his confused wife!

Great story, guest stars (mainly Warren Stevens), location filming, score, and eight foot aliens that still look cool in this century! I have just read a negative review on this episode, mainly about the "confusing story", and am rather surprised that some disliked this episode.

Some women of this century will find the hour sexist, some Get Smart (1965-70) fans will struggle with seeing "The Chief" acting straight, but to me, this is an almost perfect hour that defines The Outer Limits.

Professor Eric Plummer is busy working on a powerful and deadly weapon, he is approached by a shape shifting alien being named Ikar arrives, and offers to trade his scientific genius, for Plummer's human emotions.

This deserves a higher rating, it's a fine sci fi story, great characters, interesting themes and some nice action sequences.

I loved the way Ikar confronted Janet, seeking understanding of what emotions are, and how they work, it's quite an uncomfortable scene.

I was worried about Janet and her character early on, but she developed well, and actually played a significant part in the conclusion.

I liked Ikar's design, and those of the giant alien beings. Nice location work, and some decent looking sets too.

Robert Webber and Warren Stevens both deliver in my opinion, acting in such a way, devoid of emotions must be difficult to do, the pair do it so well, Ikar is a great character.

Thumbs up.

8/10.