tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post7888519513822136797..comments2024-03-13T23:42:41.022-07:00Comments on We Are Controlling Transmission: The InvisiblesJohn Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-20179688497717691892023-07-16T21:07:01.833-07:002023-07-16T21:07:01.833-07:00I know I watched this 13 years ago because I watch...I know I watched this 13 years ago because I watched every first season episode for this blog. But I didn't remember a single thing about this episode - the plot, the bear, the actors, even Bradford Dillman, fresh off an Emmy win for playing The madman on The Defenders. It's basically a spy thriller. It gets my vote for the episode in which I most don't know what the hell is going on. 2 Zantis. But I need to read these comments in full.CNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16648877307525667089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-71544973324139591322023-07-10T12:39:02.991-07:002023-07-10T12:39:02.991-07:00I used to go to watch plays at a church in Hollywo...I used to go to watch plays at a church in Hollywood, the play group was called First Stage. Anyways I noticed someone in the audience who looked so familiar but I couldn't place him so I kept staring. Anyways someone introduced me to him afterwards - it was Les Lesser. I apologized for staring, he said no problem he got that all the time. Great guy. So that was my lame claim to fame moment, the only other more famous people I met were Rene Auberjones who gave a talk at my high school and OL alum Carol O'Connor while trick r' treating (me, not him)- other than Mickey Dolenz, Jefferson Airplane, and John Hartford- who my dad built guitars for when I was a toddler, I don't remember those encounters.CNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16648877307525667089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-26655064352960379422021-03-08T01:01:29.182-08:002021-03-08T01:01:29.182-08:00This is a good rip-off of Heinlein's Puppet Ma...This is a good rip-off of Heinlein's Puppet Masters, which, thankfully, lacks the gay subtext. Heinlein obviously appreciated the female form, especially sans clothing, as the scene describing the disrobing in the The Section's main lobby. It was unfortunate that the movie version of the novel was a botch; probably the difficulty of showing the nationwide influx of the alien slugs (arriving in spaceships from Titan (one of Saturn's moons)) and the resultant Presidential directive (akin to the current Covid-19 mask requirements) of Operation Sun Tan, the massive nudity embraced by the populace to slow the slug infestation. Heinlein dismissed the cultural clothing mores as outdated since "[s]kin was skin, and what of it?" In the novel, a General notes that wartime adjustments in defeating the slugs turned a military base into a nudist colony, but in today's movie rating system, such onscreen nakedness would be excised. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18063546149476869332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-59147328942607523412018-06-24T08:43:37.519-07:002018-06-24T08:43:37.519-07:00While the “pod-people-secret-alien-invasion-force”...While the “pod-people-secret-alien-invasion-force” concept was already old-hat in the mid sixties, this is a very solid episode all around; one of the best yet of season one. The only weak point is the aliens themselves, which are a bit clunky and aren’t as menacing as they could be. Plus, you have to wonder how they could be secretly transported in suitcases with all that plainly audible growling going on.<br /><br />Great performances, complex secret-double-agent hijinks; it’s a good entry in the series.<br /><br />The “southern mansion” exterior set on the MGM back lot is prominently featured in this episode; you’ll see that building in many old films. If you look online, you’ll find some rather sad photos of it being bulldozed in the 1970s.<br />octobercountryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10730345596655835129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-52972676869452177852018-02-19T21:01:00.356-08:002018-02-19T21:01:00.356-08:00That "rapturous mugging" is one of the f...That "rapturous mugging" is one of the few unintentionally funny moments. Not because of Neil Hamilton's scenery chewing - at least, not to me - but because that of all things allows Spain to get away. The Invisibles really should have warned him about that kind of thing.Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09603892208775996594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-60712025453369810262018-01-28T21:02:20.770-08:002018-01-28T21:02:20.770-08:00That's right. Genero is less generic (had to g...That's right. Genero is less generic (had to get that in) than Tony. Wholly agree on the excellence of this dang near flawless, yes warts and all, episode of TOL. It does (really can't) get much better than The Invisibles. Unlike to many entries of the series it doesn't bid the viewer to empathize much with its characters; nor is there a "love conquers all" subtext,--other kinds, yes--which lends it a rather cold, heartless air.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-21572411080978268252017-08-06T01:52:40.018-07:002017-08-06T01:52:40.018-07:00A favorite of mine. MeTV aired this tonight and th...A favorite of mine. MeTV aired this tonight and there were some (literally) nasty cuts, such as the word vainglorious,--gone from Neil Hamilton's rapturous mugging in his study--and probably others as well. I mean, of all the words to cut out.<br /><br />Most of the rest of it was pretty well intact, and I loved the musical cues, the Stalag 17 opening; the more portentous than usual narration early on; the B horror madness of Macready; Walter Burke's poker faced toady; Also, after some near pastoral scenes in Chevy Chase the cut to the literal chase at the end, with Don Gordon in near Odd Man Out mode. <br /><br />The Invisibles is a wild, wonderful ride. It is flawless? No, not at at. Yet in its surreal, febrile way it's perfect.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-91385937181732484542017-02-28T12:52:24.737-08:002017-02-28T12:52:24.737-08:00This is in my Top 7 or 8 favorite O.L. episodes. D...This is in my Top 7 or 8 favorite O.L. episodes. During my binge-watching of the show (going on for about 8 months now), I keep going back to this one over and over. It holds up fine to repeated viewings. SO well done. I met Don Gordon around 1970, at a casting call for the movie Papillon. My best friend is Bill Mumy, and Mumy was in that movie, along with Gordon and Steve McQueen and others. Don seemed like a good guy.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06899760253608859423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-33252052974720067172016-09-09T13:00:12.265-07:002016-09-09T13:00:12.265-07:00Still love McReady,even in the Gov role-MASTERS!?M...Still love McReady,even in the Gov role-MASTERS!?Masters & Johnson?Don Gordon best part of this show.And Richard Dawson-great acting,nice to see as other than Newkirk in Hogan's Heroes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-58450273302466006722015-12-25T18:54:38.278-08:002015-12-25T18:54:38.278-08:00The story does start to unravel but Hall and Oswal...The story does start to unravel but Hall and Oswald have so much fun with an insane supporting cast -- Hamilton, Macready, Walter Burke, Dee Hartford and so on... So this scary sucker had me at the opening credits -- and it also offers some insights into how Pure Evil goes about recruiting its foot-soldiers. Hmmm, would that have some relevance today? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-16520371515740664872014-11-28T11:09:31.436-08:002014-11-28T11:09:31.436-08:00Okay. That's about it. ALL the actors in this ...Okay. That's about it. ALL the actors in this one, I liked better in their other OL episodes!<br /><br />Len Lesser was funny as hell on both THE MONKEES (teamed with Lon Chaney Jr. & Rose Marie) and GET SMART ("No torture???").<br /><br />Earlier this year-- and around the time I re-watched this episode-- I kept seeing the name "Tony Mordente" over and over. I checked the IMDB. Whatta ya know! He moved into DIRECTING. Just in my collection alone...<br /><br />8 episodes of THE A-TEAM<br />14 episodes of HUNTER<br />36 episodes of WALKER, TEXAS RANGER (36 !!!!!)<br /><br />Wow.Henry R. Kujawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01607373491331529952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-80676956418097307282013-07-26T07:10:41.533-07:002013-07-26T07:10:41.533-07:00Pretty big technical mistake in this one (at 15 mi...Pretty big technical mistake in this one (at 15 min 40 sec) which can be blamed on Conrad Hall : when Spain gets out of the barracks at night to meet with his fellow agent, he comes out the window, walks towards the camera then goes right of the screen and runs AS WE CAN SEE IN PLAIN VIEW TO HIS LEFT A LIGHT POLE CLUMSILY HIDDEN BY A BLACK DRAPE !! (not the conveniently located wooden board at the beginning of the shot, but the light in the distance at the END of the shot) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-48544589601538537472012-10-10T14:09:41.670-07:002012-10-10T14:09:41.670-07:001/2 Zanti. Its both boring and beserk. Its also ...1/2 Zanti. Its both boring and beserk. Its also too similar to 100 Days of the Dragon. Nifty camera work as usual, annoying repetitive shore. When attacking Gordon the thing looks rediculous, although the sound effects are creepy. The twist ending is o.k.Cmacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-48966367544642976112012-06-06T22:44:35.864-07:002012-06-06T22:44:35.864-07:00Richard was great in this as smarmy Oliver Fair.
...Richard was great in this as smarmy Oliver Fair. <br /><br />Like PE, I roll my eyes at those "gay sub-text" comments when it comes to about a ninety-nine stories in a row, but also like PE, this might be that one in a hundred for me. (Not that I think it's all that BIG a part of the story, just that it might be THERE.)<br /><br />One of my few problems with this one is the way Planetta NOT ONLY gets killed by sort of "friendly fire" while finally HELPING Spain, but is just left lying there (and not just literally). Sure, maybe that's one more part of the "grittiness" that this story is full of, but that part could have been done just a little differently. At least the scene could've let Spain take some long, sad look at Planetta, or let him make some comment about how he was killed.Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-91858170975629788532012-06-03T18:20:27.282-07:002012-06-03T18:20:27.282-07:00R.I.P. Richard Dawson -- "Oliver Fair" -...R.I.P. Richard Dawson -- "Oliver Fair" -- 20 November 1932-2 June 2012.<br /><br />TCM has been running P.T. 109, featuring a "pre-union" of sorts between Cliff Robertson and William Douglas Jr. (Douglas plays "Zinser" on the PT boat crew -- one of his very few feature acting gigs); also featuring OUTER LIMITS stalwart Robert Culp ... in color!DJSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-25619938618048461522011-04-19T06:29:27.587-07:002011-04-19T06:29:27.587-07:00I've always liked Len Lesser a whole lot. He h...I've always liked Len Lesser a whole lot. He has an even smaller role in the comedy Slither (the ' 73 movie of that name), without one word of dialogue, and he even manages to stand out in IT.Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-22397849716928640282011-02-18T03:41:32.756-08:002011-02-18T03:41:32.756-08:00FURTHER TO LEN LESSER, ABOVE:
Just by melancholy ...FURTHER TO LEN LESSER, ABOVE:<br /><br />Just by melancholy coincidence, this past Sunday I hosted a time-delayed birthday dinner for a friend whose favorite OUTER LIMITS is "The Invisibles," which we screened 16mm for his delectation. Big credit to Larry Blams, for introducing me to the Man Himself during the table read ... without Larry, I never would have gotten to meet Len that one memorable time.DJSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-10087763760849480192011-02-18T00:15:40.890-08:002011-02-18T00:15:40.890-08:00LEN LESSER - R.I.P.
Dec 3, 1922 - Feb 16, 2011
...LEN LESSER - R.I.P.<br /><br />Dec 3, 1922 - Feb 16, 2011<br /><br />("He's down there...shed 49")Larry Rapchaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-27178594366894140522011-01-30T17:01:53.082-08:002011-01-30T17:01:53.082-08:00When I was a kid and saw this episode of The Outer...When I was a kid and saw this episode of The Outer Limits that little furry cockroach thing making those horrible grunting and growling noises - it scared the hell out of me! <br /><br />What a great TV show. Thanks for your web site dedicated to it.Patrick Weidingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06227802704974914107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-27680279854270618102011-01-30T11:50:44.748-08:002011-01-30T11:50:44.748-08:00Target stores has an exclusive of the BD for M7 at...Target stores has an exclusive of the BD for M7 at $9.99 if anyone's interested, btw. Previously it was only available in BD bundled with all the inferior sequels for an unmagnificent price.Hollywoodaholichttp://www.hollywoodaholic.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-46499893350771074062011-01-29T23:29:29.496-08:002011-01-29T23:29:29.496-08:00Absolutely, Hollywoodaholic! That's one of th...Absolutely, Hollywoodaholic! That's one of the most stirring scores ever written. I knew it when I first saw the film as a ten-year-old. You come away humming several of the cues. You hear the music and can't surf away from it. <br /><br />How about that the triumphant cue right after Chris and Vin foil the funeral-blockers on Boot Hill?<br /><br />Whit Bissell: "Boys, the drinks are on me!"<br />(CUE ROUSING CELEBRATION THEME!)Ted Rypelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-38144817980307349992011-01-29T19:54:56.233-08:002011-01-29T19:54:56.233-08:00That was the vibe I got having just watched it. Le...That was the vibe I got having just watched it. Lee finally found peace in his mind, put his gun away and let go.<br /><br />My kid plays trumpet in his 8th grade wind ensemble, so I think he really dug the Elmer Bernstein score, too. Imagine hearing it for the first time. How can you not go away humming that?Hollywoodaholichttp://www.hollywoodaholic.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-22301545477944161142011-01-29T15:26:37.900-08:002011-01-29T15:26:37.900-08:00That's a great point, UTW. One that I hadn...That's a great point, UTW. One that I hadn't really considered (as I instantly did when Pike busted in on the Gorch Bros. party at the end of THE WILD BUNCH and said, "Let's go..."). But Lee does, after all, return his gun to its holster with a real sense of finality, doesn't he? And what seasoned gunslinger strolls casually into the midst of a wild firefight?<br /><br />I have to say I believe you're right. And from now on that's how I'll always see his death.Ted Rypelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-41283022056595289732011-01-29T14:45:58.046-08:002011-01-29T14:45:58.046-08:00Ted-
I couldn't agree with you anymore. It w...Ted-<br /><br />I couldn't agree with you anymore. It was a brief scene, but one that added a great moment for a character that was more in the background then the main stars of the film.<br /><br />Now let me ask you this: Did you get the feeling, like I did, that after Lee won his mini-battle in the prisoner station, it was like he purposely walked outside to die? I'm not sure, but just Vaughn's melancholy look as he observes the surrounding chaos, kind of gives me the impression that he was 'finished' in his own mind. After all, he did find his courage and maybe felt that he needed to no longer fight anymore.Jockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16292833295819266389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-76414261314776221732011-01-29T14:26:57.946-08:002011-01-29T14:26:57.946-08:00UTW--- a nice Vaughn moment, no doubt. I like al...UTW--- a nice Vaughn moment, no doubt. I like all his scenes. The rest of that nightmare plays out as a strong, if brief, character intensifier: the flies ("There was a time I would have caught all three"); the Mexicans' attempted comfort:<br /><br />"Have no fear."<br />"Have no fear...my very words, ten thousand times a day."<br /><br />Even Lee's death scene has always made me wonder. You see him sliding his face along a rough adobe wall as he goes down. I always wonder how much he threw himself into selling that. Did he wind up with abrasions on his cheek? A nice Western death moment.Ted Rypelnoreply@blogger.com