Trivia / The Outer Limits (1995)

• Accidentally-Correct Writing: "Gettysburg" accurately predicted that the U.S. President would be an African-American man in 2013.
• Actor-Shared Background: Saul Rubinek, whose parents were hidden by Polish farmers during World War II, plays Aaron Zgierski, the son of a survivor of The Holocaust in "Tribunal".
• Channel Hop: The series aired on Showtime for its first six seasons from 1995 to 2000. After it was cancelled by Showtime, it was picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel for its seventh and final season from 2001 to 2002.
• The Danza:
  • Kirby Morrow played Kirby in "Double Helix" and "The Origin of Species".
  • Douglas Smith played Douglas in "In the Zone".
  • Barbara Rush played Barbara Matheson in "The Balance of Nature".
• Directed by Cast Member: Several guest stars directed episodes of the series. In several cases, the episodes in which they appeared.
  • Helen Shaver played Cathy Kress in the pilot "Sandkings" and later directed six episodes.
  • Rebecca De Mornay directed "The Conversion", in which she played the Woman.
  • Jason Priestley directed "New Lease", in which he played Anthony Szigetti.
  • Catherine O'Hara played the title character in "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson" and later directed "Glyphic".
  • Lou Diamond Phillips played Captain Cotter McCoy in "Identity Crisis" and later directed "Blank Slate".
  • Martin Cummins played Esterhaus in "Better Luck Next Time" and Jack Burrell in "Nest". He directed the former.
  • Peter DeLuise played a detective in "Black Box" and later directed "Alien Shop".
• Disabled Character, Disabled Actor: Like her character Jennifer Winter in "The Message", Marlee Matlin is deaf.
• Dueling Shows: It continued its predecessor's rivalry with The Twilight Zone. Its first two revivals ran from 1985 to 1989 and 2002 to 2003 respectively. This revival of The Outer Limits ran for seven seasons and had a greater episode count than both of these Twilight Zone revivals combined. Whereas the original Twilight Zone was a staple of the late 50s and early 60s, the revived Outer Limits was a staple of sci-fi for the late 90s.
• Fake American: A large number of characters are Canadians playing Americans, due to the show being shot in and around Vancouver.
• In Memoriam:
  • "Nightmare" is dedicated to the memory of Leslie Stevens, the creator of The Outer Limits (1963) who served as a creative consultant on the revival until his death.
  • "Tribunal" features the following dedication from its screenwriter and the series' executive producer Sam Egan: "Dedicated to my father who survived Auschwitz...and to his wife and daughter who did not."
• Irony as She Is Cast: In "If These Walls Could Talk", Leviticus Mitchell wears a t-shirt that says on the back "capitalism is organized crime." In real life, Dwight Schultz (who plays Leviticus) is a hardcore free market conservative.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: The first and final seasons are the only ones that have gotten a uncut U.S. DVD release. The first 2 seasons (with the exception of one episode, "Paradise") and the final season were released uncut in Canada but Seasons 3–6 all contain numerous censored episodes and are of noticeably poorer visual quality than the first two. Uncut versions of episodes from seasons 3-6 are available on the six themed DVD anthologies and on various streaming sites.
• Making Use of the Twin: Twin brothers Mitchell and Matthew Laurance played multiple versions of Mason Stark in "In Another Life".
• Out of Holiday Episode: Both of the series' Christmas themed episodes, "The Conversion" and "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson", aired in June, in 1995 and 1997 respectively.
• Out of Order:
  • Not usually an issue for an anthology series but "In Another Life" aired as the fourth episode of Season Four, after a clip from it had already been shown in the Season Three finale "A Special Edition".
  • Three other episodes from Season 3 ("Hearts and Minds", "In the Zone" and "Rite of Passage") didn't air until the following season due to getting preempted for boxing.
• Playing Against Type: In "The Grell", Marina Sirtis played the callous, cruel slave owner Olivia "Liv" Kohler.
• Playing with Character Type: In "Zig Zag", Frank Whaley seems to be playing the usual timid character he became famous for in The '90s due to his youthful "whitebread" looks. However, in this episode it's just a fake persona for a bold cyberterrorist who is using it to mask his real status as The Chessmaster.
• Prop Recycling:
  • An edition of The Tribune featuring the headline "Horowitz Executed" is a major plot point in "A Stitch in Time". The prop newspaper is later seen being read by James Feind in "Descent" and Hank Dell in "Fathers & Sons".
  • The android exoskeleton prop created for "The Camp" was later reused in "The Hunt".
  • The Grey puppet created for "Beyond the Veil" was later reused in several episodes of Stargate SG-1 to represent Thor and other Asgard. Footage of the alien was reused in "Dark Child".
• Real-Life Relative:
  • Three generations of the Bridges family appeared in the pilot episode "Sandkings": Lloyd Bridges as Colonel Kress, Beau Bridges as Dr. Simon Kress and Dylan Bridges as Josh Kress, all mirroring their own relationships of father, son and grandfather.
  • The series' most prolific director Mario Azzopardi cast his daughter Kyra Azzopardi in three episodes: as Kate Martin in "Final Exam", Hannah Zgierski in "Tribunal" and Catherine Beckett in "Patient Zero".
  • Real life married couple Bonnie Bedelia and Michael MacRae play a married couple, Nancy McDonald and Greg Tilman, in "Worlds Apart".
  • Leonard Nimoy played Thurman Cutler in "I, Robot", which was directed by his son Adam Nimoy.
  • Mario Van Peebles played Captain William Clark in "Bodies of Evidence", which was directed by his father Melvin Van Peebles.
• Recycled Set: "The Vessel" used the briefing room and isolation room sets from Stargate SG-1. The former was redressed somewhat to make its use less obvious.
• Romance on the Set: Peter Outerbridge and Tammy Isbell met when they played an engaged couple, Dr. Andy Groenig and Judy Ledbetter, in "The New Breed". They got married in 2000, and have two children.
• Similarly Named Works: The episode "The Human Factor" is not a remake of the TOS episode with the same title.
• Write What You Know: Sam Egan based the story of Aaron Zgierski and his family in "Tribunal" on his own family history as his father was a survivor of The Holocaust whose first wife and daughter were killed at Auschwitz.
• You Look Familiar:
  • Several episodes feature the time-traveler Nicholas Prentice, played by Alex Diakun. Alex Diakun, however, also plays unrelated characters in unrelated stories (most confusingly, as the store owner in "Alien Shop", which aired after two Nicholas Prentice episodes had already established character continuity). He also played a mental patient in "Beyond the Veil".
  • Kim Coates played two different, unrelated characters, seven years apart. There is a degree of synchronicity in Coates' two roles as he appeared in the pilot "Sandkings" in 1995 and the series finale "Human Trials" in 2002.
  • Crystal Cass appeared in "Paradise", "Bits of Love", and "Rite of Passage". Emmanuelle Vaugier appeared in "Rite of Passage" and "The Other Side". Kristen Lehman appeared in "Falling Star", "Dead Man's Switch", "Stasis", and "Time To Time". Michael Ironside appeared in "Summit" and "Rule of Law". Each time, these are different characters in unrelated stories.
  • Saul Rubinek played a biochemistry professor in season 1's "Caught in the Act", and the descendant of a Jewish concentration camp victim in season 5's "Tribunal".
  • Eric Schneider holds the record, having played eight characters in as many episodes. He was the only actor to appear in all seven seasons while the aforementioned Alex Diakun (who also appeared in eight episodes) did not appear in Season Three. Unlike Diakun, however, Schneider never had a major role in any episode, playing a variety of small and supporting roles. He played Detective Barclay in Season One's "I, Robot", Dr. Golden in Season Two's "Vanishing Act", a Triune in Season Three's "Feasibility Study", Dr. Miles Osgoode in Season Four's "Fear Itself", the Voice in Season Four's "Nightmare", High Commander Reese in Season Five's "Summit", Dr. Stanley Miller in Season Six's "The Gun" and the Alien Interrogator in Season Seven's "Abduction".
  • Tom Butler played Charlie Rogers in "Valerie 23" and later reprised his role in "Mary 25", though the character was named Charlie Bouton in the latter episode. He also played Mr. Evans in "The Conversion" (since it came only ten episodes after "Valerie 23", another especially noticeable example), Dr. Werner in "Straight and Narrow" and General Morehouse in "The Vessel".
  • Bruce Harwood played a technician in "Valerie 23", Dr. Norris in "Trial by Fire", Dr. Avery Strong in "A Special Edition" and Miles Pendergast in "What Will the Neighbors Think?".
  • Matthew Walker played Terry Walsh in "The Choice", Trevor Hunter in "Bits of Love", Winston in "Stasis" and Kra'dok in "Rule of Law".
  • David Warner played Bill Trenton in "Virtual Future" and Inspector Harold Langford in "Ripper".
  • Kelly Rowan played Isabelle Pierce in "Virtual Future" and Kristin in "In Another Life".
  • Don S. Davis played Lt. Wilson in "Living Hell" and General Callahan in "The Voice of Reason". This was a particularly noticeable example as both episodes were in Season One.
  • Len Cariou played Father Anton Jonascu in "Corner of the Eye" and Doc Wells in "Seeds of Destruction".
  • Peter Outerbridge played Dr. Andy Groenig in "The New Breed", Ned Bailey in "What Will the Neighbors Think?" and Zach Griffiths in "Replica".
  • A less straightforward example. Jason London played Jay Patton in "Caught in the Act" while his identical twin brother Jeremy London played Chris in "Flower Child".
  • Blu Mankuma played Captain John Owens in "Dark Matters", Stanley in "Stream of Consciousness" and the 2013 U.S. President in "Gettysburg".
  • Gary Chalk played Detective Barnett in "Caught in the Act", General Seawell in "Nightmare", and Detective Frank Dayton in "Something About Harry".
  • Don MacKay played Dr. Charles Link in "I, Robot", Pat Dooley in "Feasibility Study" and Ollie Gibb in "The Inheritors". Coincidentally, all three episodes are remakes of episodes of The Outer Limits (1963). The only remake episode in which MacKay does not appear is the aforementioned "Nightmare".
  • John Novak supplied the voice of Adam Link in "I, Robot" and played Dave Pettigrew in "Birthright" (only two episodes after "I, Robot"), Tom Grant in "Heart's Desire" and Dr. Stansfield in "Descent".
  • Larry Musser played six characters in as many episodes: a clerk in "Caught in the Act", Dr. Evan Swift in "Music of the Spheres", Major Samuel Harbeck in "Josh", Jack Parsons in "Blank Slate", Detective Pete Button in "Something About Harry" and Larry Leonard in "Lion's Den".
  • Garvin Cross likewise played six characters in as many episodes: a police officer in "If These Walls Could Talk", Agent Bauer in "Birthright" (which immediately followed "If These Walls Could Talk"), Ralph Sutton in "First Anniversary", Hawkes in "Afterlife", Lt. Jackson in "Final Exam" and the R & R leader in "Glitch".
  • Kavan Smith played five characters in as many episodes: David James in "Caught in the Act", Harrison Taylor in "Straight and Narrow", Lt. O'Neill in "Criminal Nature", Dominic Langton in "Stasis" and Allan Montesi in "Flower Child".
  • Tom McBeath played Detective Roth in "If These Walls Could Talk" and Dr. Mitchell in "Glyphic".
  • Ryan Reynolds played Derek Tillman in "If These Walls Could Talk" and Paul Nodel in "Double Helix" and "The Origin of Species".
  • Gary Jones played a TV host in "If These Walls Could Talk" and the FBI ballistics expert Duncan in "A Stitch in Time".
  • Andrew Airlie also played five characters in five episodes: FBI Agent Corey Lonn in "A Stitch in Time", Dr. Kevington in "Stream of Consciousness", Don in "The Balance of Nature", Jonathan Morris in "Summit" and Marcus Fellows in "Dark Child".
  • Nick Mancuso played Martin in "Resurrection" and Father in "A New Life".
  • Scott Hylands played Dr. Howard Sarrazin in "Mind Over Matter", Colonel Roger Tennent in "Josh", Wayne in "Joyride" and Governor Oleaga in "Rule of Law".
  • Steve Bacic played Roy in "First Anniversary" and Griff in "Bits of Love".
  • Jonathan Scarfe played Charlie Walters in "Straight and Narrow" and Vince in "Gettysburg".
  • Teryl Rothery played Janet Brevson in "Trial by Fire" and Dr. Lucy Cole in "Re-Generation".
  • Ian Tracey played Mr. Tarkman in "Trial by Fire" and Declan McMahon in "Judgment Day".
  • Jason Gray-Stanford played an airman in "Trial by Fire" and Dylan Venable in "Criminal Nature".
  • Donnelly Rhodes played Senator O'Reilly in "Worlds Apart" and General James Eiger in "Dead Man's Switch".
  • William deVry played a bartender in "Inconstant Moon", Ben in "Double Helix" and "The Origin of Species" and Craig Swenson in "Breaking Point".
  • Gabrielle Miller played a secretary in "First Anniversary", Charlotte Nichols in "From Within", Wendy Seymour in "Glitch" and Megan in "The Tipping Point".
  • Tom Heaton played a crazed man in "Inconstant Moon", Josiah Miller in "Heart's Desire", Jim in "Glyphic" and Red in "Alien Shop".
  • Sarah Strange played Lisa in "Caught in the Act", Rachel Connors in "Falling Star" and Tara in "The Hunt".
  • Ken Pogue played Mr. Jones in "I Hear You Calling", Dean Hardwick in "Double Helix" and Ian Harper in "To Tell the Truth".
  • Roger Cross played a bartender in "The Conversion", Kevin Flynn in "The Awakening", Lt. Lockhart in "The Grell" and Jon in "Lion's Den".
  • Robert Moloney played a lab technician in "I, Robot", Veeter in "The Hunt", Agent Pinter in "Essence of Life" and Corporal Beauregard Larouche in "Gettysburg".
  • Michael Kopsa played an engineer in "The Light Brigade", Detective Broder in "New Lease", Commander Ivers in "Relativity Theory" and Curtis Sawyer in "The Inheritors".
  • Nicole Oliver played Jill Cooper in "The Deprogrammers" and Heather Catrell in "Judgment Day".
  • To viewers of both the original series and the revival:
    • Leonard Nimoy played Konig in "Production and Decay of Strange Particles" and Judson Ellis in "I, Robot" in the original series and Thurman Cutler in the remake of "I, Robot" in the revival.
    • David McCallum played Gwyllim Griffiths in "The Sixth Finger" and Tone Hobart in "The Forms of Things Unknown" in the original series and Joshua Hayward in "Feasibility Study" - the remake of another original series episode - in the revival.
    • Cliff Robertson played Alan Maxwell in "The Galaxy Being", the first episode of the original series, and Theodore Harris in "Joyride" in the revival.
    • Barbara Rush played Leonora Edmond in "The Forms of Things Unknown" in the original series and Barbara Matheson in "The Balance of Nature" in the revival.
    • Peter Breck played Senator Orville in "O.B.I.T." in the original series and James Kendal's father in "Mind Over Matter" in the revival.

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