tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post629154547509638664..comments2024-03-13T23:42:41.022-07:00Comments on We Are Controlling Transmission: The Hundred Days of the DragonJohn Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-32633216856496151162023-05-03T11:23:23.353-07:002023-05-03T11:23:23.353-07:00Always one of my favorites. Blackmer looks and sou...Always one of my favorites. Blackmer looks and sounds so presidential and Hall's lighting, in noirish nightly scenes or not, is glorious as always. The rest of the casting is great. But what really made the episode for me was Dom Frontiere's spectacular music, even if probably all of it was tracked and used throughout Leslie Stevens Stoney Burke series a year or so prior. Gregnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-87437754358937393742018-06-14T18:02:32.961-07:002018-06-14T18:02:32.961-07:00I’m afraid this one didn’t really work for me. Oh...I’m afraid this one didn’t really work for me. Oh, it was an interesting premise, but it all took sooo long to play out. And we didn’t see any big payoff at the end. After all that time taken to set up the false president, all we see him do is say “Oh, well, in a few months we’ll withdraw our troops from this contested area” and that’s it. <br /><br />I was kind of hoping for a twist at the end, where it was revealed that the vice president was in fact a replacement as well, and he wanted to discredit the fake president so he could take over instead, but.... nope.<br /><br />Yeah, for me this was extremely dull; it isn’t an episode I imagine I’ll re-watch anytime soon, if ever. <br />octobercountryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10730345596655835129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-789727083306554532017-06-04T01:55:05.205-07:002017-06-04T01:55:05.205-07:00Yes, that early scene (pre-credits, I believe) is ...Yes, that early scene (pre-credits, I believe) is really something. The narration is nicely evocative, along the lines of "south of the Mongolian border, north of the equator", etc. Good writing, and right for 1963. It could <br />almost be Walter Cronkite.<br /><br />It's an incredibly far fetched story, and, as I just finished watching it (yet again) and loving it, I was reminded of this, what with the "colonel" standing in for Blackmer early on, standing opposite Chairman Richard Loo, this one required some major suspension of disbelief.<br /><br />Some of what was mentioned later in the episode ought to have been dealt with early on, such as the remains of the would-be assassin kept somewhere. Also, the body ought to have been examined more closely. Plus, the Clone is way too good an actor to not F up somewhere along the lines. His daughter later on mentioned her concern about "little things" about him that changed. How's about big things. There's no way a Duplicate President & Father could pull off such an act IRL without being outed purdy darn quick.<br /><br />Still, a terrific episode,--I can write off its improbabilities by using the all purpose term fever dream to describe it--and as such it's near flawless.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-74182537528696045132017-04-05T13:15:55.264-07:002017-04-05T13:15:55.264-07:00"My favorite "L-OL" moment - except..."My favorite "L-OL" moment - except that it's hard to consider it ACCIDENTALLY funny - is Aki Aleong presenting the invention to the Chairman and his staff with that big smile. He's so enthusiastic that it's almost impossible not to be reminded of an info-mercial host.Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09603892208775996594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-90075792047507482412016-05-09T00:57:42.462-07:002016-05-09T00:57:42.462-07:00I just watched it again, or as much as I could, on...I just watched it again, or as much as I could, on the Comet substation, which had many freezed fames and also a lot of scenes cut out altogether. Sad. It's a wonderful episode, sadly dated by its non-p.c. vibe, which could have easily been fixed by having a "good Asian", better still, an Asian-American, but they didn't got for that.<br /><br />Like most of the best first season TOL eps, 100 Days Of The Dragon feels as much like a feature film as a TV series. The production staff did a fabulous job with the show, which is often visually lush (there must be a better word for this...), featuring nice textures, evocative lighting. Yes, it's Hall and Nickolaus but also others who worked behind the scenes. There's no other TV series from the same period I can think of with such a distinctive, classy look.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-22178665588753863112016-04-02T18:40:38.675-07:002016-04-02T18:40:38.675-07:00I enjoyed this episode very much except for the en...I enjoyed this episode very much except for the ending. The story is long, detailed and reveals itself slowly and carefully. Up until the last 5 minutes, this episode was almost perfect and then, suddenly, the story went to hell. The comman technique for ending a dispute between a real person and a fake duplicate is to either probe their knowledge or find some small discrepancy in their appearance or voice,etc. I was relishing the moment when the "grand finale" would begin: the real man vs the duplicate, and instead, they quickly arrest/remove the fake president who offers absolutely no resistance at all. The scene where the real president was killed and replaced by a fake was brilliant, better than I had expected, but the ending was incredibly lacking. My conclusion is they ran out of time. How very sad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-8976420350201656352015-05-12T01:33:05.916-07:002015-05-12T01:33:05.916-07:00Excellent early entry for the series, beautifully...Excellent early entry for the series, beautifully directed to make it lo like a feature film, very well acted by the urbane Blackmer, an intense and increasingly suspicious Philip Pine,--in both instances, excellently cast in their roles. The Outer Limits truly was, for its first season anyway, a classy, classy show for its time. john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-30128470919281876922015-02-06T06:11:39.784-08:002015-02-06T06:11:39.784-08:00I saw it again last night, and it's easy to sa...I saw it again last night, and it's easy to say this now, but I know what Ziggy Mehta means. Unlike the rest of the hands, it's easy to imagine those two finger joints having a sort of clay sculpture look to them.Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09603892208775996594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-74814251447713203102014-10-29T06:55:17.174-07:002014-10-29T06:55:17.174-07:00I saw many of these for the first time in the 70s....I saw many of these for the first time in the 70s. Even as, when I saw "THE ARCHITECTS OF FEAR", it reminded me of "THE CHAMELEON" (which I had seen first-run), when I got around to "THE HUNDRED DAYS OF THE DRAGON", I immediately saw where my favorite Tara King episode of THE AVENGERS came from-- "THEY KEEP KILLING STEED".<br /><br />Incredibly, Brian Clemens swiped outright the method of duplication-- the drug and the face-mask. He just upped the ante with having multiple agents using them at the same time. The kicker was after they kidnapped Steed, he got loose briefly, and tampered with the face-masks, resulting in multiple Steeds, who, not in on his "joke", began killing EACH OTHER.<br /><br />That episode was also my introduction to Ian Ogilvy, who, years later, would become my favorite actor for his performance as "Simon Templar" on RETURN OF THE SAINT.<br /><br />It was nice to see Philip Pine as a good guy. I mostly remember him from the 3rd season STAR TREK episode, "THE SAVAGE CURTAIN", which involved another U.S. President getting killed... Abraham Lincoln.Henry R. Kujawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01607373491331529952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-51807760179678896012014-10-06T16:58:57.313-07:002014-10-06T16:58:57.313-07:00After the real Selby is killed, the fake one stret...After the real Selby is killed, the fake one stretches his left ring finger to make it appear normal . . . but wouldn't a flacid (the re-arrangement drug doesn't work on bone according to Aki Aleong's demo for Mao Tse-tung) fingernail-less finger be noticed by the coroner during even the most cursory autopsy?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-60556766266150205052013-07-19T07:25:29.239-07:002013-07-19T07:25:29.239-07:00If you check the credits listing in the excerpt fr...If you check the credits listing in the excerpt from The Outer Limits Companion, you'll find the original source of said information.John Scolerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-27082577337317969652013-07-19T05:47:25.922-07:002013-07-19T05:47:25.922-07:00Grant : Yup ! A stunning Jackie Kennedy look-alik...Grant : Yup ! A stunning Jackie Kennedy look-alike dancing away in the first images of the party scene at the end, indeed ! BTW, the imbd article mentions an interesting bit of trivia : according to them, the voice of the commentator on TV announcing the election results is the voice of ... Leslie Stevens ! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-29223845914859674882013-04-03T11:09:04.290-07:002013-04-03T11:09:04.290-07:00I saw it again last night, and I noticed for maybe...I saw it again last night, and I noticed for maybe the first time that one of the party guests at the end is a Jacqueline Kennedy look-alike. I know she made that whole look of hers extremely trendy, so it could have just "happened," but was that a deliberate joke? Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-36732632353315396792012-10-05T22:29:52.950-07:002012-10-05T22:29:52.950-07:00I know the thread about this episode keeps getting...I know the thread about this episode keeps getting political, but I might be able to answer jimbar's question. When the Clinton White House was doing badly in the polls for just about about the first time, it made a bombing raid on Iraq because allegedly they'd discovered a 2-3 year old Iraqi plot to assassinate George H. W. Bush - which of course, unlike the Selby one, DIDN'T succeed, or even get acted out - and this raid was to "retaliate" for that. So again, bad opinion polls - FAILED plot against former president uncovered - "punish" the country the plotters were in - GOOD opinion polls. <br />But here you have the new president Pearson, who really weighs the whole idea of retaliating or not, even though HE actually has an assassination to retaliate FOR.Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-23383257734426865052012-04-11T17:55:40.597-07:002012-04-11T17:55:40.597-07:00First episode I watched for this blog. If this is...First episode I watched for this blog. If this is a 2 1/2 or a 3 as Peter and John say, I'm not looking forward to the 0-1ers. There are too many problems wiht this episode. The criminals sure get into the president's bedroom easily. Maybe the idea seemed novel in 1963, buts its too clearly a watered-down variation of the Mancurian Candidate. Acting isn't great, dialog equally wooden. What's the stuff about "oh by the way we believe the president is buried in this unknown grave we just happen to know about." The end is rediculous. First, everybody just allows the v-p to gouge the face of the man they believe to the president of the United States. Second, if the Russians or whoever killed Presdient Obama or Bush and replaced him with an imposter, thats probably grounds for some kind of military intervention, rather than the v-p saying well, we'll just let it slide. 1 ZantiCmacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-88073162763206046942012-03-27T10:11:32.340-07:002012-03-27T10:11:32.340-07:00I always enjoyed the conspiratorial tone of first ...I always enjoyed the conspiratorial tone of first season OL episodes. Did ABC put the kibosh on this kind of thing as a result of JFK's assassination and the subsequent conspiracy theories which followed immediately afterward? ; ) Just a passing thought....its the Zapruder in me I guess! "Hundred Days" was a great episode, gaping plot holes notwithstanding. I admired the fact that something like this even aired on TV, so I guess its "Manchurian Candidate" roots may have helped somewhat. Either way a thrilling hour which showed everyone you didn't need an alien to creep folks out. The music here was also great. Thanks again for the review.fdg2012https://www.blogger.com/profile/15629522035964625073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-81381164302530250132011-10-29T16:27:26.479-07:002011-10-29T16:27:26.479-07:00"'The 100 Days of the Dragon' is atyp..."'The 100 Days of the Dragon' is atypical in that it's slant is right-wing knee-jerk fears"<br /><br />Yeah, like communism is bad? I'd note that while the filmmakers were not aware of this, at the time this episode was made the Mao government of China was doing something called the Great Leap Forward, which in their zeal to forcibly impose pure Marxist economics on the population, resulted in some 30 million people dead, or five times the number killed by Adolf. So the notion that this episode is somehow "tainted" by today's standards is the most laughable piece of claptrap I've ever heard except in the mind of someone with a "far-left" standard that never wants to acknowledge the truth about what kind of a regime this was. And that's my definition of pathetic.ejpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-46211424827614195352011-04-21T07:08:00.781-07:002011-04-21T07:08:00.781-07:00Anon's problem with this one is one of my few ...Anon's problem with this one is one of my few problems with it. I think that any given time you hear a speech about how " ----- is a threat to peace" you can almost bet that even if it's TRUE, ------ is also a threat to SOMETHING ELSE, or you wouldn't be HEARING speeches about how he's a threat to peace.<br /><br />One of the things I DO enjoy is Aki Aleong's "contagious" enthusiasm during that demonstration. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's reminded of info-mercials while watching it.Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-60083180243813868152011-01-18T14:23:45.559-08:002011-01-18T14:23:45.559-08:00Never liked this one. Seemed alittle slow and bori...Never liked this one. Seemed alittle slow and boring. The music was good, though.Troy Thomasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-50480532263991530992011-01-11T23:11:51.435-08:002011-01-11T23:11:51.435-08:00I have to confess I'm not a fan of politics es...I have to confess I'm not a fan of politics especially, but I'm always surprised how much I enjoy this episode when I see it again. And I have to give a babe vote to Joan Camden, an underestimated OL gal. She was given a lot more to work with later in "It Crawled Out Of The Woodwork", but is still good here. I wonder if it would be possible in this day and age, for there to" be no order" of retaliation for an act like Selby's murder?Jim Barwisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06621993116774388708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-91376416557722561342011-01-11T20:19:00.949-08:002011-01-11T20:19:00.949-08:00I always really liked this episode, especially the...I always really liked this episode, especially the casting of Blackmer. It definitely falls into the grand tradition of paranoid political movies, and for an hour TV show manages to be eerie, tragic and almost plausible.<br /><br />My sister and I used to have a joke about the first names of three of the characters in the episode -- we'd say our imaginary line "Hi Bob, Hi Carol, Hi Ted -- where's Alice?" -- which obviously dates our joke to about 1969, when OL was in reruns and the B&C&T&A feature film had just come out. <br /><br />No monsters in sight here, but this one presents a truly monstrous concept and that made it a favorite of mine. <br /><br />Super comments from everybody here!Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00345830456539347899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-19327737345267777242011-01-11T19:17:39.591-08:002011-01-11T19:17:39.591-08:00Though I agree with Gary that a show can be looked...Though I agree with Gary that a show can be looked at from the era in which it was made, the nostalgia factor, I also think should also be looked at from each era since it was made.<br /><br /> The essence of SF is thought and philosophy, and to look into the conceptual underpinnings and assumptions of the show is mightily important. TOL was a wake-up call that was/is one of the provocative and stimulating calls to thought.<br /><br />The ideas expressed in this show are seriously dangerous in there implications.<br /><br />There's a dreadful TTZ segment in which Peter Falk hams it up as Castro. Some of it forgiveable as a reflection of it's time - the paranoia of Sputnik and the media, but as the writers here were to go on and script 'Mission Impossible', in an era of similar mass produced thick-ear brain-washing hokum, when in actuality; coups, assassinations of foreign and domestic leaders, LSD experiments on it's own citizens, the brainwashing zombie-fication of MKULTRA and the sabotaging of any social justice movement was the order of the day....there's is something more than a mite hypocritical about the control voice's opening line, "An irresponsible threat to the peace of the world"...must mean that oil has been found!Anonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-24662518482693813432011-01-11T18:49:34.251-08:002011-01-11T18:49:34.251-08:00Gary: Point. I neglected to account for the broa...Gary: Point. I neglected to account for the broadcast/syndication order.DJSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-23182534838008329332011-01-11T16:33:44.876-08:002011-01-11T16:33:44.876-08:00Although Hall already shot "Human Factor"...Although Hall already shot "Human Factor" and "Architects of Fear," "Dragon" was the first OUTER LIMITS of his that was aired (followed by "Architects' and "Man with the Power"), introducing his unique visual style to us ready-for-anything kids. We were still weeks away from the extreme up angles and other expressionistic devices ("gimmicks" Hall called them in a 1970s interview) that would come to characterize the series, especially when Gerd Oswald was directing. But even so, "Dragon" is a low-key, carefully-crafted visual delight, culminating in that terrific rear-projection shot that Larry mentions.Gary Geraninoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-8624403751247234382011-01-11T13:35:06.810-08:002011-01-11T13:35:06.810-08:00I like this music too, which definitely seems suit...I like this music too, which definitely seems suited to this OL. It's the one Frontiere score I can think of that puts me in mind of Goldsmith for some reason. By the way, the music on that old GNP CD is included with lots more on the recent La La Land 3 CD set--highly recommended.<br /><br />Not a favorite episode, but I enjoy it as a well crafted product of its time.Larry Blamirenoreply@blogger.com