Patient Zero

Having been disappointed recently with this series, I found the implications of this episode quite captivating. A plague has decimated Earth. A few scientists have developed a method for going back in time. They have concluded that there is a ground zero, an inciting factor, that led to the plague. It is the job of a military man to go back and kill the person who has been identified. She is a lonely, attractive young woman who has harmed no one. She has, in fact, been dealt a hard lot in life. The man, of course, begins to have feelings for her and begins to hate his role. He starts to freelance, trying to find another way to bring about the same result without killing the young woman. The people in the future realize something is wrong. They are bound by a brief time frame and begin to panic. This is tenderly done with some real implications for all of us.

Colonel Beckett comes from the near future, a time where mankind is on the brink of annihilation - the cause is a plague, which scientists have now determined the source of. He is sent back to our present, in order to prevent the outbreak... by killing Patient Zero. This goes into the themes of revenge, and the value of human life. Should a few people die to save millions? This does a great job of establishing the lead(and Rooker gives a really compelling performance, as the determined, tortured soldier on a mission), the stakes and the overall situation swiftly and smoothly, leaving room for development of him, as well as Amy(played charmingly by Allen), the woman he is there to take out. We find ourselves getting to like her, and it becomes difficult to accept that she has to go, even considering the gain. The acting in general is quite good. Characters(the focus is on the duo, though) are well-written, credible and likable. The FX are nicely done and minimally(and effectively) used. This is paced impeccably, it moves very fast(effortlessly is a fitting term for it) without it being confusing. Like the best episodes, it has a point(or perhaps rather an interesting question, up to the individual to answer for themselves) but it doesn't hammer it home. There is a little violence and strong, disturbing content in this. I recommend this to all fans of The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone. 8/10

I enjoyed this episode almost as much as I enjoyed the Terry Gilliam movie 12 Monkeys. But then I got terribly confused when I watched the special feature on the episode and found no one giving even an homage nod to the "original" idea. I believe it is possible for multiple writers in any genre to come up with the same or similar idea completely independently of each other, so I'm not suggesting Pen Densham "stole" the idea for Patient Zero from 12 Monkeys...I just don't understand why everyone pretends the coincidence doesn't exist. This confusion of mine is now compounded by the fact there is a new movie being released soon which bears the same title and seems to be based on the same plot...and once again, no mention in any of the publicity I've seen so far of either this Outer Limits episode or the Terry Gilliam film.