Line #11 Recap/TheOuterLimits1963S2E13TheDuplicateMan


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/outer_limits_the_duplicate_man_james_and_james.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Henderson James and his clone confront each other...]]
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4	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/outer_limits_the_duplicate_man_megasoid.png]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:...but which one will confront the Megasoid?]]
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7	->'''The Control Voice:''' Since the first day that Man stared up at the stars and saw other worlds, there has been no more haunting question than this: What will we find there? Will there be other creatures, and will they be like us? Or when that ancient dream comes true, will it turn into a nightmare? Will we find, on some distant, frozen planet, an alien life of unimaginable horror?
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9	In the year 2025, space anthropologist Henderson James (Ron Randell) has himself illegally cloned to kill the Megasoid, a bloodthirsty alien that he has smuggled to Earth.
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11	->'''The Control Voice:''' In all the universe, can there be creatures more strange than the species called Man? He creates and destroys; he fumbles and makes mistakes. But the thing which distinguishes him is his ability to learn from his mistakes.
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13	!!The Duplicate Tropes:
14	* AlternateHistory: In the world of this episode, by 2025 humans have been traveling the stars and discovering alien lifeforms at least since TheEighties.
15	* BizarreAlienReproduction: The Megasoid reproduces asexually and hundreds of offspring can result.
16	* CloneAngst: A major plot point. James has himself "duplicated" so the clone can hunt the Megasoid. While the clone accumulates the real James' memories, James' wife Laura discovers that she prefers the clone because her husband has become a cynical {{Jerkass}} and the innocent clone reminds her of his more likable younger self.
17	* CoolCar: James' sporty roadster, which is actually a 1963 Buick Riviera that was heavily modified by customizer George Barris.
18	* DirtyCoward: The whole reason James has himself cloned is that he's afraid to go after the Megasoid. However, he gets over this due to CharacterDevelopment.
19	* EarnYourHappyEnding: By overcoming his character flaws, the real Henderson James not only eliminates the threat of the Megasoid, but saves his troubled marriage.
20	* TheFilmOfTheBook: The episode is based on "Goodnight, Mr. James", a short story by Creator/CliffordSimak.
21	* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction: The Federal Duplication Bureau.
22	* NotUsingTheZWord: An interesting example. This episode is about cloning, but the word "clone" is never used because it hadn't been created yet.
23	* SparedByTheAdaptation: "Goodnight, Mr. James" ends with both versions of the protagonist dying, although neither is killed by the alien.[[note]]The original James is eliminated by his gardener, who mistakes him for the clone. Then the clone learns about the time-released poison.[[/note]] Here, the duplicate dies heroically fighting the Megasoid before the poison can finish him, but the example he sets allows the real James to become a better person.
24	* VideoPhone: The characters use video phones with rotary dials.
25	* {{Zeerust}}: Made in 1964, this episode is set in 2025, a future in which humanity has been exploring outer space (and bringing aliens to Earth to exhibit in a zoo) for decades.

Context Recap / TheOuterLimits1963S2E13TheDuplicateMan