tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post3121997003759922875..comments2024-03-13T23:42:41.022-07:00Comments on We Are Controlling Transmission: Demon With a Glass HandJohn Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-50887734909398026142023-07-05T18:15:56.511-07:002023-07-05T18:15:56.511-07:00I'm closer to P.E. on this one. I've seen...I'm closer to P.E. on this one. I've seen it 4 times because it's the most acclaimed episode, I think I first rented it on VHS in the eighties, even then I always saw it as a 2 1/2 Zantis. Maybe I would bump it up to 3 for the Bradbury's building, which is my favorite part. Maybe it's because I know how it ends, but I find it too dour, there's too much running around by Culp, like he is doing his best But Lancaster. The girl- who looks like she could be Jill Hayworth's older sister is too weird, although I like how she rejects the ribot Culp at the end. Still a good episode, but not in my top 5 for the season.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-37575055893489342522022-09-15T13:01:32.316-07:002022-09-15T13:01:32.316-07:00Also, although working late, she was hardly a &quo...Also, although working late, she was hardly a "cleaning lady." Consuelo Biros was the "C" in "C&E Biros, Ladies Apparel," the name of the business clearly shown on the office door; she explained to Trent that her abusive husband, Esteban, who gave her such an aversion to violence, was the "E."Matthew Bradleyhttps://bradleyonfilm.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-23235620411579477052021-05-17T21:06:18.948-07:002021-05-17T21:06:18.948-07:00Your comment about Consuelo is interesting. Accord...Your comment about Consuelo is interesting. According to the Companion (of course you can see that above), the others got impatient with Harlan Ellison for focusing too much attention on that character, although I think that was actually a good thing.Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09603892208775996594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-85388946328174544582020-12-04T15:08:46.529-08:002020-12-04T15:08:46.529-08:00Chain-yanking makes the Kyben (Kyban, singular?), ...Chain-yanking makes the Kyben (Kyban, singular?), human, or robot (that had been wearing the medallion) die. That's part of the reason why the Kyben are so interested in getting all the fingers integrated back into the glass hand: they expect the completed computer to tell them how to SAFELY return to their time (~2964?).hockey24hrshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17665339445715581362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-72259529575259585902020-12-04T15:05:33.995-08:002020-12-04T15:05:33.995-08:00It was the 17 billion Earthlings from 1000 years i...It was the 17 billion Earthlings from 1000 years in the future (~2964?) who had disappeared overnight, not the 3.3 billion who were on Earth in 1964. Martel/Consuelo was merely the last human working late into the night in a deserted Bradbury Building that makes it seem as if she might be the last person on Earth. In fact there was a bustling world outside the building; we just don't see it.hockey24hrshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17665339445715581362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-78700427395700167432020-11-09T17:35:30.010-08:002020-11-09T17:35:30.010-08:00Isn't it called the Dixon building??Isn't it called the Dixon building??Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07374666809845313461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-68320965314164809662020-08-14T14:46:19.686-07:002020-08-14T14:46:19.686-07:00Mistake:
01:12 Trent: "What can I do? Who a...Mistake:<br /><br />01:12 Trent: "What can I do? Who are they?" Trent's Hand: "....(b) the time mirror permits only two travelers at one time, but they are replenishable...."<br /><br />And yet, there are several points in the ensuing story where there are more than two travelers: at the end of act 2 there are 4 Kyben standing around a prone/dead Trent, and in the passport office when Bonn comes through with the last finger there are 4 -- and briefly 5 -- Kyben on 1964 Earth . . . . and that doesn't even count Trent, who is also clearly a "traveler" (the glass hand makes no distinction between humans, robots, or Kyben in defining "travelers").hockey24hrshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17665339445715581362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-86396630494607595592020-08-14T14:45:20.393-07:002020-08-14T14:45:20.393-07:00In the spirit of Joe Bob Briggs' MonsterVision...In the spirit of Joe Bob Briggs' MonsterVision (with a dash of COVID-19 boredom), I re-watched Demon and did a detailed body count of Kyben (AK = Anonymous Kyben):<br /><br />02:15 1 AK chain yank<br />05:52 1 Breech (Steve Harris) chain yank<br />10:12 1 AK gunshot<br />13:41 1 AK chain yank<br />28:23 1 Durn (Bill Hart uncredited in imdb) chain yank<br />38:06 1 Arch (Abraham Sofaer) chain yank<br />41:36 2 AK (time mirror technicians) chain yank<br />41:40 1 Bonn gunshot<br />44:52 1 Budge (Robert Fortier) chain yank<br />45:37 1 Battle's (Rex Holman) near-future chain yank death is implied, though at this point he's only karate-chopped unconscious from the final attic sequence<br /><br />total dead Kyben = 11<br /><br />I also noticed that the end of acts 1, 2, and 3 all focus on Consuelo: as if to remind the viewer that all this activity centers around her (the allegorical figure representing all of humanity) progeny.hockey24hrshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17665339445715581362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-29511985898282258742020-08-10T19:01:27.520-07:002020-08-10T19:01:27.520-07:00Why blame Haskins for the Kyben look? There were o...Why blame Haskins for the Kyben look? There were other names attached to the titles Costume and Makeup.hockey24hrshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17665339445715581362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-18172958801328765822020-08-10T18:54:35.288-07:002020-08-10T18:54:35.288-07:00".... He (Ellison) was the ONLY SF writer on ...".... He (Ellison) was the ONLY SF writer on board during the second season...."<br /><br />Jerry Sohl wrote for S2. Also, I think Ellison's point was that more of S2's source material came from extant SF books/short stories (than S1 utilized), even if the teleplays were not cobbled together by SFWA (or it's antecedent organizations) members.hockey24hrshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17665339445715581362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-90736287389489001302019-12-19T14:28:11.128-08:002019-12-19T14:28:11.128-08:00enjoy a personal commentary by Ellison...
https:/...enjoy a personal commentary by Ellison...<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCS7bhYrtY0<br /><br />bobby Jbobby J.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-91734620375002558662019-06-25T00:01:16.887-07:002019-06-25T00:01:16.887-07:00Where did Arlene Martel (cleaning lady) come from ...Where did Arlene Martel (cleaning lady) come from if everyone on earth had disappeared overnight? Was she too busy cleaning The Bradbury Building to disappear along with everyone else?Fred Derfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-24251685003407621492019-03-15T06:31:19.288-07:002019-03-15T06:31:19.288-07:00An excellent if vitriolic oral history of the epis...An excellent if vitriolic oral history of the episode by Ellison.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCS7bhYrtY0<br /><br />Could have been, would have been an extra on the blu-ray, had it been discovered then.<br /><br /><br /><br />bobby jnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-19440753531374413152015-12-25T19:46:07.004-08:002015-12-25T19:46:07.004-08:00Harlan Ellison was great, but it's a shame Bar...Harlan Ellison was great, but it's a shame Barry Malzberg was born too late to write for OL. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-75617800923136249192015-09-15T11:09:14.961-07:002015-09-15T11:09:14.961-07:00Watched this one for perhaps the 6th or 7th time i...Watched this one for perhaps the 6th or 7th time in my six-plus decades, and must conclude IMHO that "Demon with a Brass Gland" as DJS once tagged it, is the single best hour of sky-fi ever produced for the tube. That's IMHO. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-66330117443347061172014-12-12T18:34:11.215-08:002014-12-12T18:34:11.215-08:00Back then, we were hooked on THE JACKIE GLEASON SH...Back then, we were hooked on THE JACKIE GLEASON SHOW. I can't remember clearly, but I have to assume that, somewhere in the back of my mind, I probably figured THE OUTER LIMITS had been cancelled after the previous season.<br /><br />HOW in the HELL did I wind up seeing this one??? I have NO IDEA. Since TOL did not last the full season, was it yanked off the air after the final new episode? Without a rerun season? I would guess it probably was... Which means these were probably run ONCE. And that's when I saw it. Or, HALF of it, anyway. I do have a pretty clear memory of walking in RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. Good grief. It didn't take long to figure out what was going on. After all, I was used to coming into whole series after they'd been on the air for weeks-- months-- or years.<br /><br />This one stayed with me, as did all the ones I saw on ABC.<br /><br />The crazy thing is, it kept eluding me in reruns in the 70s. Until ONE day I caught it-- FROM THE BEGIINNING. The thing I remember most was watching it in my Dad's room, instead of downstairs in the living room where it would have been more comfortable. Sitting in a folding chair with the LIGHTS OUT. I watch all my TV with the lights out these days (except when I'm eating).<br /><br />The story starts IN PROGRESS-- it never slows down-- and when you get to the end, it won't be over for several thousand years. Holy cow.<br /><br />Incredibly-- I don't think I've seen this again since. So I've only ever seen it 1-1/2 times so far. And the one time I saw saw it all the way thru, was already DECADES ago. Unreal.<br /><br />An aside... DC Comics did a series of magazine-sized "graphic novel" TPBs, and a smaller sub-set of "science-fiction" graphic novels. It's my understanding that "DEMON WITH A GLASS HAND" was the ONLY sci-fi one that completely sold out. My neurotic comics-shop owner, Fred Marcus, insisted it was because of Harlan Ellison. I told him, NONSENSE. It sold so well because it appealed to 3 distinct audiences...<br /><br />1 - Harlan Ellison fans<br />2 - Marshall Rogers fans<br />3 - OUTER LIMITS fans<br /><br />I've always considered "BLADE RUNNER" to be a feature length OUTER LIMITS story. The plot reminds me of "The Duplicate Man" (it's illegal for something to be on Earth, and has to be killed), and then you have the human-like android with the chase inside The Bradbury Building ("Demon").<br /><br />The Building also turns up in "I, THE JURY" (1953) and "MARLOWE" (1969). That's right. Mike Hammer & Philip Marlowe were neighbors!<br /><br />And Arlene Martel was HOT in 2 different episodes of THE MONKEES...Henry R. Kujawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01607373491331529952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-77257231819649451682014-05-23T13:04:48.002-07:002014-05-23T13:04:48.002-07:00This one has at least one "L-OL" moment....This one has at least one "L-OL" moment. It's when Trent tells the hand "There's a woman with me. We're trapped. What should I do?"<br />I almost expect the hand to say (maybe in a Groucho voice) "Well, If I have to TELL you...."<br /><br />I almost expect that even though the hand CAN'T see how adorable Arlene Martel is as Consuela. If it COULD see her, it would be an even better comeback line.Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09603892208775996594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-50420952462182317982013-01-21T02:40:43.401-08:002013-01-21T02:40:43.401-08:00Watched this one just yesterday. Quite an exciting...Watched this one just yesterday. Quite an exciting and fast paced episode. I agree on the sloppy invader outfits which reminded me on those fancy spaceguys featured in the 50s b-movie "Killers from Space" in some way (But I have to admit TOL does the way better job here ^^) The climate was just fantastic with the girl turning away in the end, leaving the lonely bot alone with humankind in its "hands" - Even though after a few minutes it was quite clear that he indeed is keeping the secret himself / Or at least that mysterious glashand from outer space :D Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05552406246113831639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-49227224526341393962011-07-04T15:01:21.833-07:002011-07-04T15:01:21.833-07:00Bobby Josson mentions overpopulation as a topic in...Bobby Josson mentions overpopulation as a topic in the story, but it's always bothered me a little that those "17 BILLION people" are mentioned so matter-of-factly, without that being pictured as a bad thing (in other words, who needs a Kyben invasion to wreck a world like THAT?). Or was Ellison trying to let that speak for itself, without going any farther with it?Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-31570807822318328172011-04-13T17:25:18.070-07:002011-04-13T17:25:18.070-07:00I'm glad UTW brought up that one question, bec...I'm glad UTW brought up that one question, because I've always wondered about it. There's that scene where Trent (kind of morbidly) asks one of them what "it" is like, and it's hard to tell whether he's talking about the disappearing after the necklace is pulled or something else.Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-86253259448398193362011-03-26T13:41:03.003-07:002011-03-26T13:41:03.003-07:00Two dots I'm surprised nobody has connected in...Two dots I'm surprised nobody has connected in these comments (although I have yet to read the spotlight): if "Hand" is thought to evoke PKD, then how perfect is it that the Bradbury featured so prominently in BLADE RUNNER?Matthew Bradleyhttp://bradleyonfilm.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-28262654874801849612011-03-18T00:59:32.017-07:002011-03-18T00:59:32.017-07:00The other very cool aspect of Lubin's final st...The other very cool aspect of Lubin's final string orchestra cue as Trent wanders up the stairs is the fact that, purged of all of the "modernity" of the rest of the score, it introduces the only true "Human" element into the music. Ironically, it is Trent's realization that he is a machine that triggers the viewer's empathy and emotions...for the first and only time in the show. And it's at this crucial point that Harry eliminates all of the electronics and "new-age" stuff, and reverts to a good, old-fashioned string orchestra lament.Larry Rapchaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-78739579582135229382011-03-11T06:45:01.294-08:002011-03-11T06:45:01.294-08:00I want a glass hand replica. Seriously, I would p...I want a glass hand replica. Seriously, I would pay BIG bucks for one. Somebody's working on one... check it out:<br /><br />http://www.therpf.com/f9/demon-glass-hand-2029/index4.htmlCraig Beamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03233913069626486976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-61346380212245004812011-03-04T06:42:10.682-08:002011-03-04T06:42:10.682-08:00DJS - thanks for the fascinating anectdote on the ...DJS - thanks for the fascinating anectdote on the Ellison cassette and the Sumerian slip-in on DREAMS.AWChttp://www.hollywoodaholic.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-80988901543805244332011-03-03T21:09:20.421-08:002011-03-03T21:09:20.421-08:00Re: Bobby J's comments---I have a similar litm...Re: Bobby J's comments---I have a similar litmus test for reference books on character actors: if the book doesn't contain an entry on Walter Burke, it goes out into the garage. So now, whenever I want to check on ANY particular actor, that's where I head.<br /><br />ALSO---re: Ellison's best TV scripts, I would certainly add the new TZ "Paladin of the Lost Hour", which I thought was the highlight of the series.<br /><br />LRLawrence Rapchaknoreply@blogger.com