The Greatest Sci Fi/Fantasy TV Shows: Considering the case for the sci fi and fantasy television shows that should be counted among the greatest of all time.
What Is It?
This anthology series gave us science fiction-focused tales that often worked around a monster-of-the-week format and that also delivered the expected twist ending. It has since been ranked as a classic among sci fi shows and is revered for pushing boundaries and helping the genre to mature on television, all kicked off by that iconic opening narration:
There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to – The Outer Limits.
Aired: ABC, 1963-65, 2 Seasons Totaling 49 Episodes
Created By: Leslie Stevens
Notable Guest Stars: Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Shirley Knight, Barry Morse, Adam West
Argument to Count It as One of the Greatest Sci Fi TV Shows:
The Outer Limits often takes second place to The Twilight Zone among sci fi and fantasy anthology shows, but the fact is that the two were close equal in their level of quality. The Outer Limits leaned heavier on the sci fi elements while TZ brought in supernatural and horror, but both knew how to tell a good story. They used genre trappings to deliver morality plays and social messages as well as to explore some interesting moral quandaries. And it doesn’t matter if you consider Rod Serling’s show to be the better of the two, both are important sci fi TV entries.
The fact is that beyond the similarities in format, The Outer Limits very much charted its own course. It delivered mostly science fiction stories, some adapted and/or written by renowned authors from the genre. And even though network executives forced a monster-of-the-week formula on the show, the creative team turned that to their advantage and used the creatures to enhance the scares while also advancing the story and at times delivering some hard-hitting drama. And this series did deliver its share of classic episodes, even though it only ran two seasons and produced about a third of the number of eps The Twilight Zone had. But The Outer Limits took the baton from Serling (though it didn’t run as far) and has since achieved its place as a genre classic, counting as must-watch sci fi TV. (Read more about the show at this link.)
Argument Against:
Just like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits was an important show for its time, but it has not dated well. In fact, its heavier use of special effects makes it look like an even cheesier affair to modern eyes. And while the writers did work out some good stories with the monster-of-the-week format, that network demand hampered the show more than it helped it. That fact is that despite good writing for some of the episodes, it ends up veering heavily to high camp because the production values were not able to match up to the ambitions of the writers. The show was also cut short too soon by ABC, just at the time that it was breaking away from the monster-centric formula. It did produce some excellent episodes and it is worth watching for its historical impact, but plenty of genre entries have since superseded it (arguably even the ’90s reboot of the show).
Johnny Jay’s Take:
The Outer Limits is definitely a cheesy affair, and modern viewers who are spoiled by the advancements of CGI technology will struggle with this ’60s relic. But its cheesiness is actually part of its charm, and the fact is that when you dig into this one there is plenty you will find beneath the surface. Neither creator Leslie Stevens nor regular writer Joseph Stefano are as well known as Rod Serling, but both did an excellent job guiding the show. They had a similar vision for their anthology, and very often got the best from the cast and crew working on the episodes. Sadly, the show was cut short and the network denied us a longer run for this classic sci fi TV entry, but it put out plenty of memorable episodes during its truncated tenure. You have to appropriately adjust expectations when approaching The Outer Limits (as with many shows from that era), but if you give it some leeway, you will realize why it counts as one of the greatest genre shows of all time.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series has been released on DVD and Blu-ray, though both are rather pricey. If you keep an eye out (especially around the holidays), sometimes there are some pretty good discounts on those. It has bounced around across several streaming services over the years and it is currently available for free (with ads) on The Roku Channel, FreeVee, and Pluto TV (On Demand). The 1990s revival is available for streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video and The Roku Channel. It is also a regular in CometTV’s rotation of classic shows.
Do you consider The Outer Limits one of the greatest sci fi TV shows of all time, or has it not stood up to the test of time? Chime in with your thoughts below.
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