The Children of Spider County

Kent Smith stars as a mysterious alien called Aabel who has come to earth to reclaim his half-human sons who were originally left in Spider county, U.S.A., a rural and superstitious farming community that drove four of the young men out, who have already been collected. This comes to the attentions of the authorities, who send an official emissary to intercept the fifth and final man named Ethan(played by Lee Kinsolving) who has gotten into trouble with the law on a false murder charge, though with the aid of his father and a local girl who loves him, they set about getting back to his spaceship, that is if Ethan chooses to go...Interesting parable about acceptance, even if there are few surprises in the narrative.

This episode of "The Outer Limits" stars the very prolific actor, Kent Smith as well as the less well-known Lee Kinsolving. Lee plays a young man who just doesn't fit in with society. He's not a bad guy--but is odd. And, when he's accused of murder, everyone but his girlfriend is quick to accept that he's responsible. However, he is innocent and he's about to get help from his long-absent father. Why wasn't he there? Because dad (Smith) is an alien and now he's returned to help extricate his son--and take him back to their home world. But the young man, though out of place on Earth, isn't very quick to abandon the only world he's ever known. Why? What is it that keeps him from chucking it all and seeking a galactic asylum?

Overall, this is a rather weak episode of the series. It's not bad, really, but also has few interesting twists or irony. Plus, the mask they put on Smith to make him look like an alien is particularly cheap and silly in the few scenes where people can see him as he actually appears. Fair but not a must-see episode by any standard despite good acting.

An alien has placed his male children on earth so they can do what they can't do on the native alien planet: dream of better things. However, when Dad drops in on earth in 1964 his 20something son (a James Dean-type) is not too pleased with his father's criminal actions.

I go to The Outer Limits more for entertainment value than any deep messages so maybe I am not the best person to review this highly sophisticated series? But I am not suggesting that Spider County is simple. On an entertainment level, this is the best Limits hour. Scripted by a non-regular Limits writer, this has a boy's story feel with only one little used female guest star (Bennye Gatteys as Anna) present. Instead of the often seen romance we get in this series, we get wonderfully filmed (and scored) chase scenes in the mist covered jungle or ray gun sound effects from War Of The Worlds (1953).

These scenes provide a good break from the talk scenes, we can't have the whole hour filled with the father and son talking...the variety is most welcome. More entertainment comes from the highly goofy lines, mainly that early scene in the prison, that give the hour a unique identity. Granted, I was a bit turned off by some of the too- theatrical or too-weird lines from the father or son on my first viewings of the hour. But after a few viewings I came to understand that the hour would not have been the same without the cornball "chased by dogs and fear"-type talk. It is fun.

But not all the talk is corny. The theme about the need to dream is so true...imagine a world without dreamers? After going to other websites I found that many fans have found other meanings in the story...but you have to look hard to find these meanings in the episode itself. The theme about a 20something boy suddenly finding he has an alien father is compelling...one of the best ideas to come out of this series.

Attention Lost In Space fans! The Director of Spider County - Leonard Horn - would later turn his dark alien invasion directing talents to one Lost In Space episode: Invaders From The 5th Dimension. Oddly enough, this hour also has aliens wishing to take a super-smart kid (Will Robinson) away with them. The early nightmare scene in Spider County is not too unlike the dark vision of the Lost In Space aliens in the ship. Interesting!

This is perhaps my favorite Outer Limits show from the original series. The young man who has an alien father is a compelling character and he is faced with a hard choice. The father is a very compelling character too, who faces a difficult decision. And the man from the space agency investigative division is very sympathetic too. The small town sheriffs are narrow-minded and mean. The father has some interesting alien powers, but he is basically a good alien, even if he doesn't really understand his son. Altogether, it's a great plot with interesting characters, with some interesting twists. The alien looks horrible when he's not in disguise, but he's still a sympathetic character. This episode has a beautiful message too, about people who are different and dreamers.

An agent from the Space Administration is dispatched to Spider County to check out some weird goings on. A group of young men have been persona non grata for a time. These young men are connected in some way. When the agent arrives, he knows that one of the fellows is about to be tried for murder. What ensues is an encounter where the young man meets a guy claiming to be his father. This is apparently true, but he is his intergalactic father. This alien comes from a planet where war and destruction and evil thinking have pretty much wiped out the mail population. Thoughts and dreams have been discounted and the five Spider County guys are the hope of the future. Unfortunately, the alien (who has tremendous powers of destruction, despite his role) has no success in talking the young guy into coming with him. The disconnect has become too great and better the enemy you know than the "friend" you don't. I found the episode a little bit dull an the motivations of the young guy sort of one dimensional. For one with big time powers and great intellect, he doesn't offer much. Still, it was somewhat intriguing.