The Inheritors Part I

Four soldiers disappear after being shot in the head, with a strange bullet, crafted from meteorite, only one of the four, Adam Ballard, is in hospital. The men all have elevated intellect and abilities, powers that The Authorities believe spell out danger.

Often I'm surprised by how far ahead of its time this show was, in this instance, I'm staggered, made way back1964, this is a high quality piece of sci fi drama.

Notable for being the only two parter from this show, and it's terrific. An awesome storyline, with great characters and some terrific ideas.

I've always been obsessed with the ideas of mine control, infiltration and slow invasion, this ticks every one of those boxes.

The increased running time allows everything go build, it's well paced, but isn't frantic or rushed, it just works.

Mr Larkin and the gun.....that is a chilling moment, it holds up so well, I'm not sure they'd get away with such a scene nowadays.

The financial element is so well thought out, a concept that's seldom explored, the level of detail here is terrific. A very diverse cast too, not something you see too often in the 1960's.

Robert Duvall is awesome as Ballard, what a cracking actor, his performance is sincere and measured, the character is so believable.

Brilliant.

10/10.

Robert Duvall stars as a government agent named Adam Ballard who has been assigned to a most peculiar case: Four men(played by Steve Inhat, Dee Pollack, James Frawley, and Ivan Dixon), all soldiers, have been shot in the head during an ongoing Asian war, but have survived. The bullets used in all four cases were manufactured from meteorite fragments that have somehow healed their bodies, and given them a secondary brain wave pattern that has given them increased intelligence and an inexplicable drive to complete a project that Adam believes is for sinister alien purposes, but the fact remains that no one has been hurt, or any laws broken, so why the pursuit? Excellent episode with fine acting, intelligent script and smooth direction. First of two parts.

I just finished watching pt.2 of the episode. I've seen this episode at least once before. But this was the first time in a long time. And I've gained a new appreciation for it.

I just finished reading an online review. The person who wrote it praised this episode. But he also took the time to point out the sorts of flaws that are inherent in most (if not all) older sci-fi TV shows and movies. With new technology things are obviously more realistic and spectacular. But in order to appreciate some of these older programs you need to ignore those sorts dated issues.

The power of this particular episode is in the message. And in the excellent way that the viewer is kept in suspense. It's well acted, too. With Robert Duvall. And with some other very familiar faces that are playing completely out of the characters they're better known for portraying. IMO, though, the actor Steve Ihnot is the most impressive. Not wanting to give anything away I'll just say that he plays his role perfectly.

I think this is a beautiful 2 pt. episode. And I believe at it's conclusion it will leave many people with a wonderful feeling. Something that I feel is terribly lacking in much of what I see on TV these days.

Robert Duvall is up against four genius troublemakers.

Fans of Star Trek's Whom Gods Destroy: this hour is for you! Steve Ihnat did two really good sci-fi characters in his lifetime and Whom Gods and The Inheritors are where you find those characters.

Granted, he was more fun in Star Trek but you hang on his every word in The Outer Limits.

Robert Duvall, the story and acting are all fine. The only issue I have is the sometimes poor musical score which sounds like the score for the 1950s flick: It Came From Outer Space.

Note: Part 2 is better than part 1.

Intelligent, driving, compelling drama. I won't belabor the plot which is already described here. Don't read too much about it before viewing! (Frankly, the less you know about the plot in advance, the better.) I will say how glad I am that the producers permitted this story to stretch over two episodes. It permits detail, texture, and the buildup of suspense normally characteristic of finer motion pictures. Surprisingly, two hours are barely enough.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a legend on the order of Robert Duvall in the lead--and the supporting performances are just as strong. But the real credit in my view goes to Seeleg Lester, Sam Neuman, and Ed Adamson, who devised one heck of a cracking yarn, so deliberate and insistent that you aren't really distracted by some minor plot holes, or anything else frankly. On top of its entertainment value, it's genuinely disturbing.

I have no idea if Lester intended this--consciously or otherwise--as an addiction allegory but it most certainly works as one. Men forced to do things against their will, over and over--lying, cheating, stealing, "but for what purpose?...We aren't even aware of what we're doing." Because they are driven by an unseen demon. Of a sort. (A bit more far-fetched, it also works as a Cold War allegory.)

Ever since seeing "Demon with a Glass Hand" (q.v.) I sorted the series to see which other episodes got such high ratings (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056777/eprate). That naturally led me to this. So I was very much interested to see what OL ep would garner an 8.8 rating. Well, it turns out that the Outer Limits fanboys (and girls) on IMDb know what they're doing. Given that TOL includes some really cheesy, kitschy eps it's gratifying to see one as smart as this.

Two hours? There's barely enough time to catch your breath.