History Series / TheOuterLimits1963

** Harry Lubin's second season theme had already been used twice. It was adapted from a piece he'd originally composed for ''The Loretta Young Show'', then used as the theme for another ABC anthology, ''Series/OneStepBeyond''.

-->--Complete version of '''The Control Voice''''s OpeningNarration, used on the first four episodes. Shorterd versions were used for the rest of the series.

Although ABC commissioned ''The Outer Limits'' to cash in on the late 50s/early 60s monster boom, the network never really understood it. When ABC announced that during the series' second season in 1964, it would be [[ScrewedByTheNetwork moved to a suicidal Saturday night time slot]] against ''The Jackie Gleason Show'', Stevens, Stefano and much of their production team left in protest. The network replaced them with a new team headed by ''Franchise/PerryMason'' vet Ben Brady, who tried to save the series by making it (somewhat) less artsy and more commercial. ABC didn't help matters by reducing the series' already low production budget. Despite this, the second season produced several memorable episodes (most notably Creator/HarlanEllison's two scripts, "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S2E1Soldier Soldier]]" and "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S2E5DemonWithAGlassHand Demon With A Glass Hand]]", and the two-part "[[/Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S2E10TheInheritors The Inheritors]]"), but it did no good. After a few months of predictably bad ratings, ABC canceled ''The Outer Limits'' in the middle of the season, after only 49 episodes.

->''"There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. We will control the horizontal, we will control the vertical..."''
-->-- '''The Control Voice'''

Although ABC commissioned ''The Outer Limits'' to cash in on the late 50s/early 60s monster boom, the network never really understood it. When ABC announced that during the series' second season in 1964, it would be [[ScrewedByTheNetwork moved to a suicidal Saturday night time slot]] against ''Series/TheJackieGleasonShow'', Stevens, Stefano and much of their production team left in protest. The network replaced them with a new team headed by ''Franchise/PerryMason'' vet Ben Brady, who tried to save the series by making it (somewhat) less artsy and more commercial. ABC didn't help matters by reducing the series' already low production budget. Despite this, the second season produced several memorable episodes (most notably Creator/HarlanEllison's two scripts, "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S2E1Soldier Soldier]]" and "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S2E5DemonWithAGlassHand Demon With A Glass Hand]]", and the two-part "The Inheritors"), but it did no good. After a few months of predictably bad ratings, ABC canceled ''The Outer Limits'' in the middle of the season, after only 49 episodes.

* GenderFlip: In "I, Robot", Dr. Charles Link's closest living relative is his niece Nina. In the 1939 short story "[[Literature/AdamLink The Trial of Adam Link, Robot]]" by Eando Binder on which it is based, his closest relative is his nephew Tom.

* GenderFlip: In "I, Robot", Dr. Charles Link's closest living relative is his niece Nina. In the 1939 short story "The Trial of Adam Link, Robot" by Eando Binder on which it is based, his closest relative is his nephew Tom.

** "[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S2E6CryOfSilence Cry of Silence]]" is another variation. It's about a non-corporeal alien intelligence who tries to communicate with the lifeforms it senses on Earth by controlling various objects and beings, including tumbleweeds, frogs, boulders, and a human corpse.

** "Cry of Silence" is another variation. It's about a non-corporeal alien intelligence who tries to communicate with the lifeforms it senses on Earth by controlling various objects and beings, including tumbleweeds, frogs, boulders, and a human corpse.

* DomesticAbuser: In "Demon with a Glass Hand", Consuelo Biros tells Trent that her husband Esteban beat her regularly.

* BizarreAlienReproduction: In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S2E13TheDuplicateMan The Duplicate Man", the Megasoid reproduces asexually and hundreds of offspring can result.

* BatDeduction: "The Probe" is frequently criticized for this, as the characters quickly and easily figure out various aspects of the OntologicalMystery to keep the plot moving.

* BizarreAlienReproduction: In "The Duplicate Man", the Megasoid reproduces asexually and hundreds of offspring can result.

* DramatisPersonae: "Counterweight" does this at the end of the episode.

* InterruptedSuicide: "Keeper of the Purple Twilight" has [[PlayingWithATrope a variation]] of the trope that kickstarts the plot. When high-strung scientist Eric Plummer fails to solve the two equations he needs to complete his [[DisintegratorRay matter disintegrator]], he's so upset that he gets in his car and starts driving home through the desert at dangerous speeds. Alien invader Ikar suddenly [[DangerTakesABackSeat appears in his back seat]] and says "You gain nothing by suicide." Thanks to Ikar, Eric survives his trip home and the story begins in earnest.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Joseph Stefano loved this trope. His scripts are full of phrases such as "this virile, violent inevitability" ("The Invisibles") and "mad mechanical magics" ("Fun and Games").

* AliensSpeakingEnglish: A frequent trope, understandably enough. Some episodes don't bother explaining how the aliens know Earth languages; otherwise, it's given a variety of {{handwave}}s, some of which are more plausible than others. "The Zanti Misfits" is the only episode where the aliens are heard speaking their native language, and even then a translating device lets them communicate with humans.
* AllThereInTheScript: The name of Aabel, the alien from "The Children of Spider County". His name is never shown or spoken in the episode.

* BeingWatched: In "Second Chance", while the stewardess and pilot of the spaceship ride are being secretly observed by the alien Empyrian, the stewardess tells the pilot that she has the feeling of being watched.

* BittersweetEnding: Several episodes end with the protagonists saving the world, but they (and/or their loved ones) pay dearly for it in the process. Examples:[[spoiler:"The Man Who Was Never Born", "Corpus Earthling", "ZZZZZ", "The Guests", "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S1E29AFeasibilityStudy A Feasibility Study]]", "Demon with a Glass Hand" and "'I, Robot'".]]

* BlobMonster: The box monster from "Don't Open Till Doomsday" and the alien brain from "The Guests" are straight examples. The Chromoite from "The Mice", which combines a faceless, globular upper body with humanoid limbs (and was [[PropRecycling the basis]] of the creature from "The Guests"), is [[PlayingWithATrope a partial example]].
* BottleEpisode: "Controlled Experiment" (from the first season) and "The Probe" (the very last episode, one of two filmed ''after'' the show's cancellation) were both written to be filmed cheaply while the producers were trying to control the series' budget.

* AbsurdlyHugePopulation: In "Demon with a Glass Hand", Earth has a population of 70 billion in the 30th Century.

* AfterTheEnd: In "The Man Who Was Never Born", a present day astronaut goes through a "time convulsion" and winds up in 2148, where an accidental SyntheticPlague has devastated humanity, with only a few mutants left. The plot centers around the characters trying to return to the present and prevent this BadFuture.

* BananaRepublic: The Republic of San Blas in "Tourist Attraction".

* BigBrotherIsWatching: The titular device in "O.B.I.T." is a highly advanced surveillance machine that is used to spy on the scientists at a research station, leading to an atmosphere of pervasive paranoia.

** In "Cold Hands, Warm Heart", General Jeff Barton is working on Project Vulcan, the planned colonization of UsefulNotes/{{Mars}}.

* ExtraDigits: The episode "The Sixth Finger". When a man experiences accelerated evolution, he develops an enlarged head and a sixth finger on each hand.

* FreakyFridayFlip: "The Human Factor" features an accidental one caused by a PhlebotinumBreakdown.

** "The Borderland" has no monster to speak of; the episode is set around a machine that can reach into another dimension.

* PsychicStatic: Used by a man to protect his thoughts from the title character in "The Mutant".
* PuppeteerParasite: The alien villains of "Corpus Earthing" and "The Invisibles".

* ReversePolarity: Episode "The Borderland". During the experiments to reach the other dimension, the scientists reverse the polarity of a magnetic field in order to send objects to the other side and reverse them.

* SuperSoldier: Quarlo from "Soldier" had superhuman strength and hearing.

** "The Galaxy Being" is accidentally brought to Earth through a TelevisionPortal.

* JekyllAndHyde: In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S2E4ExpandingHuman Expanding Human]]", a mind-enhancing drug transforms one of its researchers physically and mentally, turning him back and forth between his normal self and a super-strong, super-intelligent alter ego who wants to TakeOverTheWorld and convert or destroy the rest of humanity.

* MandatoryTwistEnding: A DefiedTrope. Unlike its competitors ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' and ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'', ''The Outer Limits'' didn't use twist endings on a regular basis. However, there are exceptions that head into TheEndingChangesEverything territory when we discover what the aliens were ''really'' up to all along ("Nightmare", "The Zanti Misfits", "The Mice"). "Demon with a Glass Hand" is another example.

* OverpopulationCrisis: In "The Mutant", there is mention of "Earth's overflowing population."

[[caption-width-right:350:Charles Thaxton's collage of "bears" (and a handful of humans) from various episodes.]]

* AliensAndMonsters: The original series was specifically designed to [[MonsterOfTheWeek have one "bear" every week]], the producers' code term for aliens or monsters. One of the most popular episodes, Creator/HarlanEllison's "Demon With a Glass Hand", stuck the word demon in the title mostly to satisfy the network execs, who wanted a monster in every episode. There's certainly nothing demonic-looking about Robert Culp, and the bad guys are HumanAliens.

* BeepingComputers: Commonplace in the series. A JustifiedTrope since noisy computers were the standard in RealLife when the series was made.
* BeingWatched: Episode "Second Chance". While the stewardess and pilot of the spaceship ride are being secretly observed by the alien Empyrian, the stewardess tells the pilot that she has the feeling of being watched.

** "The Bellero Shield", sort of. [[spoiler:Just as it seems that everything will go back to normal, it turns out that Judith Bellero's conscience won't let her off the hook for murdering the Christ-like alien. Just like the character [[{{Expy}} she's based on]], Lady Theatre/{{Macbeth}}, she has a guilt-induced delusion, believing that she's still trapped inside the alien's defensive shield.]] [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in that the character involved doesn't ''deserve'' a happy ending, but none of the cast are unscathed.

* DrivenToSuicide: At the climax of "The Man with the Power", [[spoiler:Harold Finley, who has gained deadly new mental powers that [[PowerIncontinence he can't consciously control]], declares that "If I have such power, then I don't want to live" and turns it on himself]].

* GenghisGambit: The plot of "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S1E3TheArchitectsOfFear The Architects of Fear]]"; a group of scientists turn one of their own into a terrifying fake alien so he can threaten an AlienInvasion and thus unite the nations of Earth.

''The Outer Limits'' was a misfit among early 60s TV series. Not only was it DarkerAndEdgier than most shows of its time, it was also unusually arty and thought-provoking, complete with poetic dialogue, unusual camera angles, a lush orchestral soundtrack by Dominic Frontiere, and {{chiaroscuro}} cinematography (often provided by future UsefulNotes/AcademyAward winner Conrad Hall). The show featured some truly brilliant writing by the likes of Stefano, Creator/RobertTowne, Anthony Lawrence and Meyer Dolinsky. And then there was its main selling point--the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters Of The Week]] and other special effects, which were all the more impressive for being created on a weekly TV schedule and budget.

Although ABC commissioned ''The Outer Limits'' to cash in on the late 50s/early 60s monster boom, the network never really understood it. When ABC announced that during the series' second season in 1964, it would be [[ScrewedByTheNetwork moved to a suicidal Saturday night time slot]] against ''TheJackieGleasonShow'', Stevens, Stefano and much of their production team left in protest. The network replaced them with a new team headed by ''Franchise/PerryMason'' vet Ben Brady, who tried to save the series by making it (somewhat) less artsy and more commercial. ABC didn't help matters by reducing the series' already low production budget. Despite this, the second season produced several memorable episodes (most notably Creator/HarlanEllison's two scripts, "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S2E1Soldier Soldier]]" and "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S2E5DemonWithAGlassHand Demon With A Glass Hand]]", and the two-part "The Inheritors"), but it did no good. After a few months of predictably bad ratings, ABC canceled ''The Outer Limits'' in the middle of the season, after only 49 episodes.

* BeepingComputers: Commonplace in the series.

* WhatNowEnding: "It Crawled Out of the Woodwork". [[spoiler:The deadly energy monster is confined again, but as a policeman notes, "It's under control--''for the moment''". No one knows how (or if) it can be destroyed, or how else to deal with it.]]

* BecomingTheMask: "The Chameleon" features human spy Louis Mace, who is turned into an alien to infiltrate a crashed spaceship. Mace adapts well to his transformation.[[spoiler:..so well that he abandons his empty life and goes into space to live on the aliens' world.]]

* JekyllAndHyde: In "Expanding Human", a mind-enhancing drug transforms one of its researchers physically and mentally, turning him back and forth between his normal self and a super-strong, super-intelligent alter ego who wants to TakeOverTheWorld and convert or destroy the rest of humanity.

* BeeAfraid: In "ZZZZZ", an entomologist raises a super-intelligent hive who plan to TakeOverTheWorld by turning their queen into a HalfHumanHybrid who can mate with humans. Doesn't sound too dangerous? See MurderTheHypotenuse below.

* BizarreBabyBoom: In "The Children of Spider County", Ethan Wechsler and four other young men are HalfHumanHybrids who were born in the same month in Spider County. All five of them grew up to become geniuses with telepathic powers.

* KillAndReplace: A U.S. Presidential candidate by an Asian government's agent, in "The Hundred Days of the Dragon".

* TickertapeParade: "Cold Hands, Warm Heart" begins with one.

* MotherOfAThousandYoung: In "The Duplicate Man", the Megasoid reproduces asexually and hundreds of offspring can result.

* WalkThroughTheCamera: Trent does this twice during "Demon with a Glass Hand". Wade Norton does it in "The Guests".