DEMON WITH A GLASS HAND

Widely considered by Outer Limits fans to be the ultimate or representative episode of the series, Demon With a Glass Hand is more than worthy of such a designation; in a series which is simply one of the greatest of all classic television shows -- right up there with I Love Lucy and All in the Family.

I saw Demon relatively late as far as my Outer Limits familiarization timeline goes. There are many good or great episodes of the series and I had plied through a fair number of them; eps like The Architects of Fear, Nightmare, and the superlative two part The Inheritors set the bar pretty darn high.

I bought Demon on VHS as luck would mar my chances of actually seeing the particular installment -- one I had heard a lot about.

The tape got a lot of play over the years... five or six times... at least. I almost immediately watched it after bringing it home. Often what happens is that you are let down somewhat when you finally watch what everybody has been going on about. But not here.

I just watched Demon again, although on my season two DVD boxed set of The Outer Limits.

Demon is outstanding. What was probably a bottle show in an already trimmed second season budget does not hurt it the least bit. Every discipline is top notch and belies the budget through something called creativity (that commodity not known to many producers today).

The immoderately talented writer, Harlan Ellison, crafted a script specifically for the series. It was his second script. The first being Soldier, which itself was adapted by Ellison for The Outer Limits from his own (1957) short story of the same name.

One small criticism levelled, by some, at the episode is the depiction of the aliens... the Kyben. The makeup and costuming is certainly minimalist -- they come off as alien, and different in a way the average television viewer is not used to seeing; the eye makeups delineate the Kyben as almost Eastern looking. (Having an actor of Burmese background, Abraham Sofaer, play the head Kyben, certainly encourages that feeling.) Sure beats forehead appliances.

Byron Haskin's direction is crisp: Everyone from star Robert Culp, sidekick Arlene Martel, and the Kyben move about the location and studio in a very definite manner as though no other choreography or stage direction is acceptable.

Culp is perfect, as is his glass hand. The man moves about in an almost cat-like fashion. Always one step ahead of any threat and able to overcome any obstacles.

Harry Lubin's score is also perfectly fitted. (Lubin is often criticized as composing his trademark melodious and lush music for what should be a dark series, but he trades it all in here for a marvellous percussive score using piano, tympani, and organ. This music makes everything feel even more off center.)

The big appeal to Demon, for me, is the way it plays like a dream. Even the way the Kyben are disposed of feels unreal.

As I now have the second season of The Outer Limits on DVD -- the well-played VHS tape is now about to go to a good cause.

Harlan Ellison also wrote what is considered by many a Trekker to be the finest episode of Star Trek...

The City on the Edge of Forever.

I detect a trend here.