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Lunkhead's Lair • View topic - OL Episode #6 – The Man Who Was Never Born

OL Episode #6 – The Man Who Was Never Born

Episode Discussions

Moderator: Xenorama

OL Episode #6 – The Man Who Was Never Born

Postby Lunkenstein on February 13th, 2006, 9:52 pm

Image

Original Airdate: October 28, 1963

Through the years, this has become my personal favorite. It’s almost surreal in imagery and it’s the one I show first to anyone interested in the series. Martin Landau gives one of the most memorable performances of classic Sci-Fi television. He is Andro, the mutated romantic from the future who travels back in time in an attempt to save humanity. Shirley Knight is just gorgeous as Noelle, the young woman whom the fate of the world rests upon. The production is mesmerizing and well paced. – It gets better with each viewing (trust me, I've watched it dozens of times). Every area is top-notch and the writing, acting and photography combine for one of the best OL’s ever. The time travel theme is handled well and is thought provoking with its implications and consequences.

Image

Beautiful and dream-like, the show is full of haunting music and artistic camerawork – some of the best use of B&W hypnotic blurs and lighting. (Conrad Hall was in top form here.) At times, we view Andro as others see him, but with a slight haze indicating it’s an illusion. Other times he’s seen as the real deal, and an outstanding creation he is – a molten monstrosity with a loving soul. There are so many great scenes and shots. Too many to list, but a couple of favorite moments are: When Andro first sees Noelle in the woods. His fascination at seeing real beauty again is moving. And the shot of him by the tree, with the sun gleaming directly behind, is superb photography. And later, when Noelle gives him hope of actually changing the future, the shadows give way to light. Also memorable is when Andro follows Mrs. McCluskey up the stairs, with his image changing back and forth.

The way Martin Landau is able to emote through the mutant makeup is always a stand out and a feat not easily done. I’d say he’s on par with John Hurt in “The Elephant Man”. Martin returns in “The Bellero Shield” and of course went on to become Rollin Hand on TV’s “Mission Impossible”. And many know him from “Space: 1999” and his academy award winning role as Bela Lugosi in “Ed Wood”.

I could go on and on about this show, but I want to hear how others feel. Hope I haven't hurt it with over-praise. One last note: I’ve read there was an additional ending scene of Noelle being welcomed on a beautiful, intact Planet Earth. It was cut due to time limitations. That’s a shame. It might have been a touching way to follow up Andro’s ultimate sacrifice. But then again, we know the conclusion, even without it.

Image
“The truth is in my eyes Noelle.”
Last edited by Lunkenstein on April 15th, 2006, 11:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Preston on March 15th, 2006, 4:14 pm

I don't know whether it's a flaw but the fate of Andro appears to be a discrepancy. That is, his trip back through time ELIMINATED his own birth by which he became, as the title says, "The Man Who Was Never Born." How could Andro have made the trip if he was never born? How could he have made that trip if he Never existed in the first place? Lunk...pardon me for playing devil's advocate but I was compelled to point that out because it's so glaring.
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time travel

Postby Xenorama on March 15th, 2006, 9:47 pm

it's one of those things about time travel that can't be explained. just go with it and enjoy!

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time travel

Postby Lunkenstein on March 18th, 2006, 11:39 am

Thanks for your thoughts on this guys. Preston, I recall when this ep was posted at the old Xenorama EzBoard, there was much discussion concerning time travel theories. The point you mention was brought up in that thread and is a reasonable questioning of the script. The ending scenario can appear a contradiction, I agree, but my take on it allows the possibility. For the sake of argument, suppose time flows like rivers with bends and forks. I like to think Andro existed in the original river that time took. But by going back in time to prevent the tragedy to humanity, he caused the space/time continuem to take a different course (and unfortunately eliminate his birth while saving millions). Now how those rivers of time normally flow without intervention is another question. But that's basically how I justify the ending to the story. It is fun and mind-boggling to consider these theories.


The excellent OL comedy ep, CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT, also goes into the possible consequences of altering events. I love the order given toward the end: "Put it back the way it was!" :laugh1:
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Postby Preston on March 19th, 2006, 6:45 am

At first, Lunk, I had hesitated to point out the script's contradiction because I know it's your favorite episode so I did NOT want to spoil it for you. But I finally decided to post it because Nobody had responded for many weeks and also because it was the Only observation I could come up with. But I tried to be TACTFUL in my critique, so I felt relieved that you took it in stride.

You see, Lunk, I have to explain something about myself. My taste in science-fiction is somewhat myopic in that it's confined to stories about Outer Space. If there is No alien in it, then it won't interest me. This mania began during the early 1960s when I first picked up a comic book called MYSTERY IN SPACE. I was very young then because it was the early 1960s, so I would mostly just look at the artwork. It opened up a whole new world for me, making me wonder about life on other planets. After paging through the comic book numerous times, I would also go outside and gaze at the night sky and wonder about alien life. Later on would come such mind-staggering tales such as the story where the planet Saturn's RINGS flew away from Saturn! Those Rings then flew to Earth to then surround Earth! Those Rings then began drastically changing Earth's environment. It had been done by the invading Saturn-aliens in order to make Earth's environment habitable for them. During that time, my family did NOT have any television yet, so comic books were my only outlet. Of course,I could afford only one comic book per month. Luckily, one of my friends had comic books too, so I would borrow those that I did not have. Most of these CHERISHED stories have been reprinted in special volumes called DC ARCHIVES which I've discussed at the Xenorama site. If you read my posts at Xenorama, you know how much I love those classic superhero comic books such as THE FLASH, and THE DOOM PATROL, and THE ATOM.

The time my family got our first television set, it happened around the time that THE OUTER LIMITS premiered. And what great timing that was! I still remember how excited I was that this new television show would be about aliens. Being young at that time, I was so spellbound at the episode THE GALAXY BEING. Now as I look back on that experience, I can see how perfect that episode was as an INTRODUCTION to science-fiction on film. Why? Well, because its script contained exactly what I would have wanted to experience in Real life, that is, the AMBITION of the main character Alan Maxwell is to make contact with alien life. We see how his perserverance enables him to finally achieve his goal. In other words, this is a story about a man who makes his dream come true! And this is also the film that made me experience the SENSE OF WONDER for the very first time. What I like about THE OUTER LIMITS are the episodes which evoke this feeling of wonderment rather than horror. That's why I do NOT like episodes such as CORPUS EARTHLING at all, because it's a horror episode. But, as I said, it's a matter of taste.

So my love for THE OUTER LIMITS is due to Sense Of Wonder. Besides the Galaxy Being, that wonderment can be also found in The Chameleon, The Mice, Fun and Games, Moonstone and Second Chance. I even dearly love The Probe (even though it's considered mediocre by fans) because even being trapped inside an alien probe evokes wonderment for me.

Lunk, I hope that in this post that I've given you at least an idea of what makes me tick. Even though you and I are in the same age range, my childhood was shaped more by comic-books instead of films. Only a comic book fan could understand the thrill I felt when I ran across a comic story of THE ELONGATED MAN for the first time. Some people would think I'm scatterbrained for getting so excited at seeing a superhero whose sole superpower is that he can stretch his body like a rubber-band for a hundred yards. But those are precious memories to me, Lunk.
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Postby Lunkenstein on April 1st, 2006, 10:24 pm

Preston, thanks for describing your introduction into the world of sci-fi. I can relate in many ways. By the time the original STAR TREK aired, I was already into pondering life elsewhere in the night sky. I had gotten a telescope and loved observing the moon and whatever I could find. Once, my father and I located Saturn. What a thrill it was to actually see the rings, even as small as they were through the lense. I always hoped to see a UFO or something inexplicable.

Always feel free to express your thoughts on any of these shows, and please don't feel like you'd be offending by having a differing opinion. That's part of what these boards are about. Like you said, we all have our own tastes and I respect your opinions on these shows and films very much.
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