tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post7638922969798247393..comments2024-03-13T23:42:41.022-07:00Comments on We Are Controlling Transmission: The Zanti MisfitsJohn Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-2173168616125531472023-07-15T10:42:54.316-07:002023-07-15T10:42:54.316-07:00No. 3 Zantis is too kind. This is not a good epis...No. 3 Zantis is too kind. This is not a good episode until the Zantis - and Vasquez Rocks show up. Much of the dialogue is really bad. I did not care for the performances especially by the general- he is not convincing - and the woman. Although it's good to see a very young and typically unhinged Bruce Dern. It was funny when the guy is informed there was a woman in the dessert and he says "a woman?" as in wow, I've never seen a woman" or "I've never seen this woman but whoever she is maybe I can marry her.". The plot is just an excuse to show the impressive Zantis. Hello Earth, this is the planet Zantis, can we sagreeend our worst criminals to your planet to live? Ok thanks. But I agree with those who think this is a bad episode. Except for the Zantis creatures. The fight at the end is pretty good and terrifying. Until the woman ruins it with some more bizarre dialogue. 2 1/2 Zantis.CNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16648877307525667089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-6763864249508720292021-01-05T18:26:35.685-08:002021-01-05T18:26:35.685-08:00Best line: "I studied history before I had t...Best line: "I studied history before I had to!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-79956129023217534252020-09-25T12:45:25.050-07:002020-09-25T12:45:25.050-07:00This episode can be studied from so many angles. ...This episode can be studied from so many angles. The essence of death and destruction that runs through the episode (i.e. military with their missiles aimed, Olive Deering character Lisa with a death wish "I'm not afraid of dying", the sign that reads Morgue, California etc.). The stop motion animation which is amazing in itself. The character of human beings as practiced executioners. I think Stefano poured all of his genius into this one episode to give us a surreal sense of the human condition. After all, it is only ants and mankind that wage war.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09780925279804495038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-4083053765410689552019-02-06T13:55:36.454-08:002019-02-06T13:55:36.454-08:00Freaking Human Faced Ants them on Zanti have ...Freaking Human Faced Ants them on Zanti have no way to exicute their crinimals so they send them here to Earth knowing we would squish the little pipsqueaks Star Birdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-42676484047741252122018-06-23T16:28:16.212-07:002018-06-23T16:28:16.212-07:00This episode is a lot of fun! I don’t have any ma...This episode is a lot of fun! I don’t have any major issues with the plot, apart from thinking that the Zanti are fooling themselves when they say they are unable to kill their own kind. After all, sending your prisoners to certain death really isn’t much different than killing them yourselves, for goodness sake.<br /><br />As much as I enjoyed the show, of course I have to nitpick just a bit… You’d think the military would guard the area much better than it did, given the delicacy of the situation with the Zantis. A flimsy wooden gate watched over by a single guard? The security measures are pathetic!<br /><br />The hat-like Zanti ship was pretty darn tiny, for all those Zanti to fit inside. Wish the design was a bit more imaginative, and that it was much larger, but of course there’s the budget to consider...<br /><br />I liked the juxtaposition of old and new you get by putting a modern military base---with all the necessary futuristic equipment, complete with blinking lights and whirring tape reels---inside of an old Victorian hotel. But really, why on earth would they leave that beaded curtain in place, which they have to walk through every time they leave or enter the room? Kind of silly.<br /><br />And finally---yes, the Zanti are kind of goofy looking, but also very very creepy. Love the design.<br />octobercountryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10730345596655835129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-69134521895653730982018-05-22T16:18:18.232-07:002018-05-22T16:18:18.232-07:00Deering was terrific, no doubt about it. Dern and ...Deering was terrific, no doubt about it. Dern and Simon also, given the silly circumstances. But the Zantis are poorly used and laughable when not being given life via stop-motion. A near-worthless episode, saved in part only by the "practiced executioners" bit. As a kid, yeah it was slightly scary, but as an adult, it's a bad b-movie. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-47432440138494773782016-07-12T21:11:37.325-07:002016-07-12T21:11:37.325-07:00Did Mr. Spock ever find out WHY the Zantis never u...Did Mr. Spock ever find out WHY the Zantis never used their credit cards whilst on earth to pay for desert parking at Area 51?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-81578473584472568912016-07-12T21:07:49.519-07:002016-07-12T21:07:49.519-07:00I was 7 years old, & was visibly shocked to se...I was 7 years old, & was visibly shocked to see this arthropod pop-out of the hive-shaped spacecraft with a high pitched 'weeeeeeeeeee' Looks like they 'Brexited' the hive mentality....but they all died in the process from those terrible staff sergeants who never had an ant farm as a kid!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-80897378409371547402016-07-12T21:04:51.591-07:002016-07-12T21:04:51.591-07:00Didn't the pest control exterminators have the...Didn't the pest control exterminators have these things mounted on roofs of their vans in the 60"s???Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-79001474806084920592016-07-11T02:17:24.790-07:002016-07-11T02:17:24.790-07:00Congress returning to DC for a new session? Hellar...Congress returning to DC for a new session? Hellary must be the Queen Ant,...er...bee...or whatever it is...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-52706089735939397072015-10-22T13:43:33.032-07:002015-10-22T13:43:33.032-07:00I also disagree with the sour comments on Deering,...I also disagree with the sour comments on Deering, who, to me, gives a stellar performance of a deeply troubled lady. And as to the stupid article, inquiring "Why she's so strung out?...Did this guy WATCH the episode? She has just witnessed a guard being run over, and her boyfriend killed by GOD knows what? I think Deering is terrific and her getting that last line was inspired.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00519423738587179226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-45201523359884501462014-11-23T11:01:38.325-08:002014-11-23T11:01:38.325-08:00"the moment we've all been waiting for: o..."the moment we've all been waiting for: our first glimpse of a Zanti, gleefully crawling up Dern's arm in all its stop-motion animated glory (as Dern screams his heart out) !! Man, can anyone find a better "build-up" and "climax" sequence than this one in the whole series ??" <br /><br />"GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME, MAN!!!!" (or words to that effect)<br /><br />Crazy enough, since I first saw this in the 70s, what i couldn't get over was, "Hey, this is where Kirk fought the Gorn!"<br /><br />And of course, in that same episode, "The Control Voice" takes complete control of The Enterprise, and forces the bridge crew to WATCH tv. In a story that had already been adapted, in a very different fashion, AS an "Outer Limits" episode!! Wild.Henry R. Kujawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01607373491331529952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-40855888899250747022014-11-23T10:52:00.832-08:002014-11-23T10:52:00.832-08:00Bobby Jossen:
"I stopped watching the imposte...Bobby Jossen:<br />"I stopped watching the imposter Limits after about 6 episodes. I'm sure that I didn't miss anything in the remaining 7 seasons. Comtemptible rubbish made by 4th rate retarded minds."<br /><br />GEEZ. I only ever wqatched 2 episodes-- and one of those, TWICE. (The one with Molly Ringwald. So sue me.)<br /><br />I have an online friend who raves about the show. All I keep telling him, for WHATEVER reason, it just did NOT grab me. I keep thinking it was the opening credits. NO, REALLY.Henry R. Kujawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01607373491331529952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-55396125371926794192014-09-29T01:45:27.969-07:002014-09-29T01:45:27.969-07:00I am in the minority in actually liking Olive Deer...I am in the minority in actually liking Olive Deering's performance and even many (most?) of those wacky Silliphant-Tennessee Williams-William Inge lines she delivers, with style and appropriate world weariness (a quality her character was probably born with). <br /><br />Many of the best Outer Limits eps feature characters who could easily be dropped and the story qua story could develop anyway, without the side trips to the shrink's office, lunatic asylum,--wherever--but is this what we want The Outer Limits to be? Not me. I enjoy those diversions and those elliptical walks through the enchanted forest of the author's (usually Joe Stefano) imagination.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-43805846983731043042014-04-11T17:35:28.118-07:002014-04-11T17:35:28.118-07:00I'm sure it's been mentioned already, but ...I'm sure it's been mentioned already, but one of the great emotional moments is the panning from one man to another as they hear poor Ben on the radio. They must know that this is the man who ran down one of their guards, but that doesn't make any difference when it comes to their reactions.Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09603892208775996594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-67500062023405068362013-12-09T14:44:00.370-08:002013-12-09T14:44:00.370-08:00Just wanted you to know that it's almost 2014 ...Just wanted you to know that it's almost 2014 and Outer Limits fans are still stumbling onto your brilliant project. The Zanti Misfits popped into my head for some unknown reason today and so I decided to finally look up the quotation, "Mine own executioner," used so well by Stefano in the Zanti ruler's closing speech. Boom -- there was John Donne and then there you guys were! Thanks for your work and for the links to other Outer Limits appreciations. <br /><br />And you're right, Olive Deering is just strange, way ahead of her time in the art of cryptic overacting/non-acting that would later become so common in movies. But she does nail the key lines, "Mine own executioner" and later "Practiced executioners.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-66607505308258912372013-07-23T12:00:03.051-07:002013-07-23T12:00:03.051-07:00I find that MISFITS has one of the best "buil...I find that MISFITS has one of the best "build-up" sequence ever, which climaxes with the Zanti regent attack on Bruce Dern. I stole the expression "build up" from a quote from Gerd Oswald who, in TOL COMPANION, describes his direction of SPECIMEN UNKNOWN as a "build up towards a final moment". Unfortunately, the "final moment" of SPECIMEN UNKNOWN is predictable and boring. However, the whole "build up" in ZANTI MISFITS is totally effective. <br /><br />All the necessary tension and suspense elements are introduced one after the other: the tension in the military compound, as it is established that Earth was coerced into accepting the penal ship; the mention that the military is ready to blow up the Zanti ship if it goes off target from the designated landing area; the coercive voice of the Zanti communications, promising "total destruction to anyone who invades our privacy", the frequent use of the word "enemy" while discussing the Zantis; the killing of the guard by Ben Garth (a no-dialogue, entirely VISUAL sequence); the presence of the intruders in the landing area as we see the Zanti ship coming from the sky; the tension between Ben and his girlfriend. <br /><br />It all comes together in that great sequence where 3 simultaneous actions are perfectly edited together: Bruce Dern climbing the hill, General Hart pleading with the Zantis and trying to explain to them the presence of the intruding car, and the inside of the penal ship, where we get a tantalizing glimpse of a zanti antenna (again a great VISUAL idea). This sequence is a triumph of editing ! As Bruce Dern rolls up his sleeves, he looks at the Zanti ship on top of the mountain and takes his first step. Right there, the military-style music composed by Frontiere for that episode alone begins (it fits so perfectly). Cut to the inside of the Zanti ship emitting weird screeching noises, AS WE HEAR TRANSMISSIONS FROM GENERAL HART ! Cut back and forth between the penal ship and General Hart at the compound, which help establish that while the Zantis can hear the General, they refuse to respond to his pleas ! Tension keeps mounting ! Then that great shot of Bruce Dern's face AS SEEN FROM THE INSIDE OF THE SHIP, as an antenna appears. We can FEEL Dern's gonna get it ! Then the Zanti response: Total destruction to anyone who invades our privacy ! Door snaps open, Dern falls, close-up on his face and yes, here's the climax, the "cum-shot" (!), the moment we've all been waiting for: our first glimpse of a Zanti, gleefully crawling up Dern's arm in all its stop-motion animated glory (as Dern screams his heart out) !! <br /><br />Man, can anyone find a better "build-up" and "climax" sequence than this one in the whole series ?? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-73655709700552767962012-07-05T14:14:55.001-07:002012-07-05T14:14:55.001-07:00hey, Ultimate Tactical etal: don't leave out O...hey, Ultimate Tactical etal: don't leave out On The Edge (1986), truly a candidate for the ultimate Dern movieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-38617725066697458932012-06-14T11:32:23.941-07:002012-06-14T11:32:23.941-07:00Outer Limits writers had a name for their monster ...Outer Limits writers had a name for their monster "gimmick" of the week (I forget what the term was) and some realizations of these creatures were better than others. However, good drama is the temporary suspension of disbelief, so if the story's good, I can watch a school play production with cardboard cutout waves to represent an ocean and still enjoy it. What I liked about this episode was the premise that humans are still an inherently violent and often irrational species.<br /><br />We evolved from the most aggressive and opportunistic individuals within the species. As Colin Quinn noted in his recent special, "We didn't evolve from the tribe that starved to death waiting for their turn at the dinner table."<br /><br />As my pal Bernie the Attorney put it...<br /><br />"Nice guys finish last; by design."<br /><br />Kurt Vonnegut has this quote at the beginning of "Galapagos" - "You come from a long line of persistent swimmers. Champions, every one."LanceThrusterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12034741254580206813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-24028731500022544562012-06-14T11:01:29.945-07:002012-06-14T11:01:29.945-07:00Certainly one of the better uses of Vasquez Rocks,...Certainly one of the better uses of Vasquez Rocks, CA as a filming location. Loved the episode. Great website here.LanceThrusterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12034741254580206813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-50501317790553871712012-05-28T16:16:21.944-07:002012-05-28T16:16:21.944-07:00To this day I cannot believe that anyone... ANYONE...To this day I cannot believe that anyone... ANYONE likes this episode, or finds the Zantis scary. Single worst episode of the entire show, and the Zantis have got to be some of the least scary monsters in history. I burst out laughing every time they appeared on screen. Come on, ants with Santa Claus faces? Is this a SciFi Original Movie in disguise? I think it might be.Emmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-18243209279578473592012-04-20T20:37:02.549-07:002012-04-20T20:37:02.549-07:00This is nitpicking, but I'm always slightly bo...This is nitpicking, but I'm always slightly bothered by the sight of them being cremated at the end, dramatic though it is. At the end of "Nightmare," you hear how everything connected with the aliens is going to be studied. But at the end of this story, you see the Zanti bodies being cremated, as if nothing could be learned from THOSE (including how they could kill so quickly). <br /><br />The sight of that Zanti with the white fringe of beard is always entertaining. Is he maybe the story's little reference to that veteran prisoner who shows up in so many down-to-earth prison stories? (Maybe he should've had a harmonica?)Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-73581089887804882382012-04-13T18:10:49.740-07:002012-04-13T18:10:49.740-07:00Exactly right. This is a 3 Zanti. Can't be a...Exactly right. This is a 3 Zanti. Can't be any more or less. And I agree its the best bear of the series- those are the episodes I like- when the effects and creations are effective even by today's story. I wish they did more with the Zantis, maybe made them benevolent mutants despite their appearance- there could have been a message in there somewhere. The military men are pretty interesting. Whats up with that crazy woman? Who knows what she's talking about. Still good episode, pretty scary.Cmacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-76192557411978625682012-01-26T20:13:08.946-08:002012-01-26T20:13:08.946-08:00Maybe it's been mentioned before, but am I the...Maybe it's been mentioned before, but am I the only one who's surprised by the way Claude Woolman's "twitchy" Major character (of all characters) survives the whole thing? He runs out instead of waiting for them, collapses on that porch, gets COVERED by them, and STILL survives. (A single one climbing up the pant leg is all it takes for one poor soldier.)Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-41259531743857195822011-07-12T18:59:36.477-07:002011-07-12T18:59:36.477-07:00I find that ZANTI MISFITS has one of the best &quo...I find that ZANTI MISFITS has one of the best "build-up" sequence ever, which climaxes with the Zanti regent attack on Bruce Dern. I stole the<br />expression "build up" from a quote from Gerd Oswald who, in TOL<br />COMPANION, describes his direction of SPECIMEN UNKNOWN as a "build up towards a final moment". Unfortunately, the "final moment" of SPECIMEN UNKNOWN is predictable and boring. However, the whole "build up" in ZANTI MISFITS is totally effective. <br /><br />All the necessary tension and suspense elements are introduced one after the other: the tension in the military compound, as it is established that Earth was coerced into accepting the penal ship; the mention that the military is ready to blow up the Zanti ship if it goes off target from the designated landing area; the coercive voice of the Zanti communications, promising "total destruction to anyone who invades our privacy", the frequent use of the word "enemy" while discussing the Zantis; the killing of the guard by Ben Garth (a no-dialogue, entirely VISUAL sequence); the presence of the intruders in the landing area as we see the Zanti ship coming from the sky; the tension between Ben and his girlfriend. <br /><br />It all comes together in that great sequence where 3 simultaneous actions are perfectly edited together: Bruce Dern climbing the hill, General Hart pleading with the Zantis and trying to explain to them the presence of the intruding car, and the inside of the penal ship, where we get a tantalizing glimpse of a zanti antenna (again a great VISUAL idea). <br /><br />This sequence is a triumph of editing ! As Bruce Dern rolls up his sleeves, he looks at the Zanti ship on top of the mountain and takes his first step. Right there, the military-style music composed by Frontiere for that episode alone begins (it fits so perfectly). Cut to the inside of the Zanti ship emitting weird screeching noises, AS WE HEAR TRANSMISSIONS FROM GENERAL HART ! Cut back and forth between the penal ship and General Hart at the compound, which help establish that while the Zantis can hear the General, they refuse to respond to his pleas ! Tension keeps mounting ! Then that great shot of Bruce Dern's face AS SEEN FROM THE INSIDE OF THE SHIP, as an antenna appears. We can FEEL something BAD is about to happen ! Then the Zanti response: Total destruction to anyone who invades our privacy !<br /><br />Door snaps open, Dern falls, close-up on his face and yes, here's the<br />climax, the "cum-shot" (!), the moment we've all been waiting for: our<br />first glimpse of a Zanti, gleefully crawling up Dern's arm in all its<br />stop-motion animated glory (as Dern screams his heart out) !!<br /><br />Man, can anyone find a better "build-up" and "climax" sequence than this one in the whole series ??QUEBEC OL FANhttp://www.filmscultes.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com