tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post3523636787865686126..comments2024-03-13T23:42:41.022-07:00Comments on We Are Controlling Transmission: The Special OneJohn Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-84306743477112610052022-07-03T15:37:31.407-07:002022-07-03T15:37:31.407-07:00I am a huge fan of this series, mainly because of ...I am a huge fan of this series, mainly because of the moral lessons, for which this particular episode provides. I have used the narrator's epilog in my commentaries, whenever commenting on the subject of education.what difference does it makehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14393259847436968457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-40585880980809847692018-06-01T19:38:23.451-07:002018-06-01T19:38:23.451-07:00That makes a lot of sense.
It's very interest...That makes a lot of sense. <br />It's very interesting to meet someone (online) who's known him so well.Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09603892208775996594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-21131843775041603882018-03-10T05:02:08.240-08:002018-03-10T05:02:08.240-08:00Ok, I know I'm late to the party, but I DO lik...Ok, I know I'm late to the party, but I DO like this episode. I feel pretty much as you guys do. The TOO long chicken feather scene, etc. But creepy possible child abuser Mr Z. is great in this thing. Side story, my BEST friend and business partner in life is the infamous actor BILL MUMY. Bill could have sold this part and it would have been all the better for it--Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06899760253608859423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-57046071591518215982017-10-30T15:28:06.822-07:002017-10-30T15:28:06.822-07:00The feather scene was most enjoyable for me becaus...The feather scene was most enjoyable for me because the music accompanying it was great and Richard Ney's desperate attempts to escape were quite well done. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-68471906502485765562017-05-26T19:34:43.773-07:002017-05-26T19:34:43.773-07:00One "L-OL" moment - but only if you know...One "L-OL" moment - but only if you know a LATER show - is Edward Platt's look when MacDonald Carey starts to really rant. It's pretty much the look he gave so many times while dealing with Maxwell Smart!Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09603892208775996594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-20773687056922995942016-10-07T21:18:49.692-07:002016-10-07T21:18:49.692-07:00Did anybody notice how in "Stranger Things,&q...Did anybody notice how in "Stranger Things," the atmosphere of the "underside" dimension is full of floating feathers? I feel this must have been inspiration.David Lanteignehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04974754167539349280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-7827328497568414532015-05-29T18:00:43.748-07:002015-05-29T18:00:43.748-07:00As dramatic as that opening scene is, it does have...As dramatic as that opening scene is, it does have one funny side to me. When Jason Wingreen sets himself on that window sill in an awkward way, I can't help thinking of Paul Reubens dancing to the "Tequila" song in PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE.Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09603892208775996594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-20907359276541509802014-12-06T08:05:45.769-08:002014-12-06T08:05:45.769-08:00Peter Enfantino:
"A few episodes ago (I belie...Peter Enfantino:<br />"A few episodes ago (I believe it may have been The Brain Mansion show) someone brought up Steve Ditko. I think "The Special One" is the closest I've seen to cinematic Ditko. That intro hallway scene, Mr. Zeno, the mini-astro-neutrolyzer that Kenny uses to defeat Mr. Zeno, etc. I'd never seen this one as a kid but I suspect I would have dug it (even the dopey climax) immensely."<br /><br />Interesting observation. Hadn't occured to me before. Hmm. For me, it's "THE FOUNTAINHEAD". That whole DAMNED thing feels either like one long, interminable, unending TWILIGHT ZONE episode, or, like every single word of dialogue was written BY Steve Ditko. Of course it does. It's OBSESSED with the story's writer's philosophy.<br /><br />Funny you mention "The Brain Mansion". An early DR. STRANGE episode, "The House Of Shadows" (episode 9, STRANGE TALES #120 / May'64) has a near-identical premise. A tv show is set up with someone going into an alleged "haunted" house, which turns out to actually be a living being from another dimension. Steve Ditko supplied the story & full art. (His "editor" STOLE credit & pay for the story, while merely fine-tuning some of the dialogue.)<br /><br />Figure that one. The comic probably came out in February 1964. "The Guests" aired on March 23, 1964. What are the odds? What was in the water???Henry R. Kujawahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01607373491331529952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-72387362894185615642014-05-31T06:35:55.054-07:002014-05-31T06:35:55.054-07:00I'm glad that the revised version of the COMPA...I'm glad that the revised version of the COMPANION mentions Roy's incredible trust early in the story, because I thought the same thing when I saw it again yesterday, that this is from the same Joseph Stefano who was behind so many stories with that "mistrust of authority" feeling.Granthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09603892208775996594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-67723500989603711322013-01-07T21:30:18.431-08:002013-01-07T21:30:18.431-08:00Being the early 1960's they don't. that Mi...Being the early 1960's they don't. that Mister Zeno is an outer space pervert.And I find it amussing to see Mister Zeno killed the child,he is tutoring,by turning the atmosphere into something,loooking like chicken feathersDoc Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08255204147754923490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-61376032464728770052012-10-10T12:45:35.040-07:002012-10-10T12:45:35.040-07:000 Zantis. I hated this one- its a really padded 2...0 Zantis. I hated this one- its a really padded 20 min episode. The dad doesn't seem that surprised his kid is an alien. The Floating feathers climax is weak. Also, I hate to pile on, but the kid isn't very good. Why do the aliens need him? It doesn't make a lot of sense. Young Marion Ross is kind of cute.Cmacnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-24887766182298559642012-06-01T23:47:03.389-07:002012-06-01T23:47:03.389-07:00I'm sure a lot of people see a "naive ear...I'm sure a lot of people see a "naive early ' 60s" attitude every time Roy Benjamin says something like "Well, the government's behind it, so it must be all right." Maybe they're right, but this story lays it on SO heavily, maybe Oliver Crawford was trying to say the opposite thing. I mean, one of the best ways to make fun of something is to have a character lay it on very heavily, and by the end of the story, Roy has done that with his "Trust the government" attitude.Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-28966435217387882872011-02-26T17:19:10.151-08:002011-02-26T17:19:10.151-08:00Just watched Marion Ross in Route 66's 2nd sea...Just watched Marion Ross in Route 66's 2nd season episode "1800 Days to Justice" from late 1961. Anyone who considers her just an amusing, slightly daffy mom-next-door type should check out this show. EXCELLENT dramatic work; I was totally impressed.<br /><br />LRLarry Rapchaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-50706017822279223682011-02-15T21:42:59.612-08:002011-02-15T21:42:59.612-08:00I saw this as a teen and was bored and so many yea...I saw this as a teen and was bored and so many years later, on a second viewing, I was bored again.<br /><br />I think the big mistake here was the opening scene. Had it not been in place, there would have been slow revelations of ever more peculiar events - hopefully culminating in a something a mite interesting. Zeno is strange and alien from the beginning.<br /><br />Also, the opener promises something that is a mite long in delivery during the actual episode, where the prologue should cause anticipation, the body of the segment is boring, the performances drab and artificial in the way many domestic sitcoms were in the '50s. So even the without the prologue, it might not have helped.<br /><br />What I find really interesting about the show is that the story of writer Oliver Crawford. He got a 'Writers Guild of America' nomination for this episode! (he also received Emmy Award nominations for his work on the series 'Climax!' and 'The Lineup' in the '50s.)<br /><br />And was also a victim of the blacklist.<br /><br />According to 'Variety':<br />"In 1953, Crawford was contracted to work for Burt Lancaster and Harold Heck. Shortly thereafter, he was called before the sub-committee of the House Un-Americans Committee and refused to cooperate by naming anyone. His refusal to implicate anyone led to being blacklisted and fired from his contract.<br /><br />He left Hollywood with his family and went to New York and scraped together whatever work he could find, eventually finding work on "Playhouse 90."<br /><br />After his career rebounded, he served on the board of directors of the Writers Guild of America for 26 years. He worked with the Writers Guild to provide financial restitution to victims of the blacklist and also led the cause to remove the anti-Communist loyalty oath from the Guild's membership application.<br /><br />His novel, "The Execution," in 1985 made into a TV movie of the week starring Loretta Swit, Valerie Harper, Rip Torn, Sandy Dennis, Jessica Walter and Barbara Barrie. He also served as associate professor of filmmaking at Loyola Marymount University."<br /><br />He did write an excellent episode of Star Trek, 'The Galileo Seven' and then two lesser ones in the 3rd season.<br /><br />Another aspect I find interesting is the possible gestation of the plot, which seems to me to a kind of reverse engineering of Ray Bradbury's famous 'Zero Hour'. It's the story of a parent increasingly concerned that the alien invasion game being played out by her child and swathes of children across the country are actually true and that they, the adults, are in danger.<br /><br />It was adapted on radio 7 times across the '50s in 'Suspense' (3 times), 'Escape', 'Dimension X', 'X Minus 1', 'Light Out' and three times on TV.<br /><br />In those stories, the kids have already being befriended and being playing with the alien leader - Drill - before suspicions are aroused. It seems to me that 'The Special One' is a kind of, "how would something like that start" and has a viewpoint split between the parents and Zeno with Crawford trying to sketches in the details; from the end of one failed recruiting mission to the beginning of another as envisioned in our show. It's the kind back and forth playing with ideas that's common in the field. <br /><br />All the radio and TV show adaptions are in the public domain, for those interested, here is one from 'Suspense':<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk6cggajucQbobby jossonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-73178175038555062092011-02-14T09:11:32.931-08:002011-02-14T09:11:32.931-08:00We had John Williams with "Stranger in Paradi...We had John Williams with "Stranger in Paradise" for ATAD. Perhaps "This is MacDonald Carey, and these are the Days of Our Lives" could be the WACT theme.<br /><br />(Video embedded above by John)Christinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-22260877274121230932011-02-12T09:48:03.158-08:002011-02-12T09:48:03.158-08:00The Limerick Bandits can't be stopped. This ju...The Limerick Bandits can't be stopped. This just in:<br /><br />"THE SPECIAL ONE" by LR<br /> <br />A TUTOR MYSTERIOUS AND QUIRKY,<br />HIS MOTIVES SUSPICIOUS AND MURKY,<br />BUT A JUVENILE WIZARD<br />SAVES EARTH WITH A BLIZZARD<br />OF FEATHERS PLUCKED STRAIGHT FROM THIS TURKEY.John Scolerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15830334036783163702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-43669756201629257692011-02-11T23:48:25.813-08:002011-02-11T23:48:25.813-08:00UTW-- By your comments (if you hadn't said oth...UTW-- By your comments (if you hadn't said otherwise), I would have thought you were a veteran fan. I'm glad that you've discovered OL. I wish I could temporarily "forget" each episode just to see them again for the first time. LIsa--glad to see you back; missed your perceptive comments.Jim Barwisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06621993116774388708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-69828302943544405242011-02-11T23:20:32.757-08:002011-02-11T23:20:32.757-08:00The interesting character is Richard Ney, channeli...<i>The interesting character is Richard Ney, channeling James Mason as Humbert Humbert, more chaste but still preying on kids in closet perversity.</i><br /><br />I can't find it now, but some fellow (perhaps inspired by his residing near, I'm not making this up, the "Outer Limits Family Restaurant" in Conway, SC) wrote an essay for some website wherein he detailed at length all of the indoctrinating-young-OL-viewers-into-homosexuality subtext that allegedly runs rampant throughout <i>The Special One</i>. It was the conspiracy theory to end all conspiracy theories. It went way beyond Mr. Zeno's mildly effete manner, and even posited the notion that they cast Flip Mark because a "Mark" is/was gay slang for "prospective youth that a mature homosexual attempts to turn queer".<br /><br /><br /><i>"The Mutant" (hell, if we could just slow down our species tendency toward rampant accidental reproduction, we wouldn't have NEEDED Annex One!).</i><br /><br />That was the point of my comment in <i>The Mutant's</i> WACT entry. Damned writers invent all these fantastic fictions without ever explaining who's paying for all this technical wizardry (spaceships for everyone who wants real estate on Annex One?) that has much cheaper alternatives (free condoms for the 3rd world!) and why the populace isn't rioting in the street when their 4,000% tax bill arrives in the mail.<br /><br /><br /><i>Further to Laura Hanley: Nancy Malone became a director of some note.</i><br /><br />But her memory is fading. One her Twilight Zone commentary for <i>Stopover in a Quiet Town</i>, she complements its' director, Gerd Oswald(!), who, as we know, did her OL <i>Fun and Games</i> ep. The show's real director, Ron Winston, probably turned over in his grave (which he's occupied since 1973) upon hearing Gerd receiving his laurels.hockey24hrshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17665339445715581362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-32719382150197945632011-02-11T23:05:51.695-08:002011-02-11T23:05:51.695-08:00D'oh! I meant 'production,' not '...D'oh! I meant 'production,' not 'destruction' of 'decaying particles.' Sorry, my days rotate with my job and this happens to be my Monday.Jockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16292833295819266389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-68732088559536718242011-02-11T22:43:39.375-08:002011-02-11T22:43:39.375-08:00Jim Barwise-
Your welcome and a big thanks to you...Jim Barwise-<br /><br />Your welcome and a big thanks to you in return. Being a 'newbie,' that had previously only seen about 4 episodes several years ago, I owe even more gratitude towards yourself and the commentators you have listed. Honestly, I had my doubts about this series. I wasn't impressed in the initial viewing that I had before. Still, I had a feeling that there must have been gold somewhere in this series as it is famously well known among classic programs. I mean, if I loved watching 'TZ, Thriller, and Night Gallery,' how could I have missed these mini-works of art? If it weren't for Peter and John starting up this blog, then I may never have watched any of these awesome shows. So for that, they deserve the credit and accolades for taking the time to do this.Jockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16292833295819266389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-85882173263286837422011-02-11T22:40:02.031-08:002011-02-11T22:40:02.031-08:00Ooops, I said Lisa twice; I meant Larry the second...Ooops, I said Lisa twice; I meant Larry the second time.Jim Barwisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06621993116774388708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-46814341381351047002011-02-11T22:31:35.973-08:002011-02-11T22:31:35.973-08:00LR-
Yes, while 'The Invisibles,' along wi...LR-<br /><br />Yes, while 'The Invisibles,' along with the 'Destruction and Decay of Strange Particles,' get ZERO ZANTIS! Still, Peter actually helped me make a little dough on the side with his premonition of Green Bay's reign of terror............maybe I shouldn't piss him off?Jockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16292833295819266389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-16405941371487733722011-02-11T22:28:14.182-08:002011-02-11T22:28:14.182-08:00Actually this isn't about The Special One, but...Actually this isn't about The Special One, but it's our current spot so here goes. I've really found the experience of this blog has helped me see how relevant and integral my love of OL has been in my life, largely because of the eye-opening perspectives of all the contributors. Thanks Peter, John, DJS, Ted, Mark, Gary, Lisa, Hollywood...,UTW, Lisa and others (I know I've missed some of you, sorry). So many points of view I never considered. And a great opportunity to reconsider episodes I didn't care for as much. I often wondered, as there are a small handful of awesome OL websites out there, what would be something relevant that offers something different. I think this blog is just the right thing at this time, giving us all a chance to share our thoughts, and connect with others of OL fandom. We haven't had the chance before like this.Jim Barwisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06621993116774388708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-3713255364017045082011-02-11T22:09:12.960-08:002011-02-11T22:09:12.960-08:00UTW--
I'm just relieved that Peter and John f...UTW--<br /><br />I'm just relieved that Peter and John finally found something in the series they could really appreciate (along with ZZZZZZZZZZZZ, that is)....<br /><br />LRLarry Rapchaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8535833613343533564.post-49938135258479505702011-02-11T21:56:59.844-08:002011-02-11T21:56:59.844-08:00Peter-
I just did a double take at your generous ...Peter-<br /><br />I just did a double take at your generous 3 and a half Zantis for this ep. I'm starting to wonder if you are purposefully trying to f#$k with my head! J/KJockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16292833295819266389noreply@blogger.com