The Architects of Fear (episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Architects of Fear" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits
television show. It first aired on 30 September 1963, during the first season.
-esque setting in which nuclear holocaust
appears imminent. In the hope of staving off an apocalyptic military confrontation between nations, an idealistic group of scientists, working at United Labs, plan to stage a fake alien invasion of Earth, in an effort to unite all humanity against a perceived common enemy. The scientists have managed to study the planetary conditions on the planet Theta. They draw lots, and physicist Dr. Alan Leighton is chosen to undergo radical surgical procedures that will transform him into a projected figure from a planet with a different atmosphere. Leighton's death is faked and the bizarre series of transplants and modifications to his body proceed. His wife Yvette persists in not believing he is dead; she feels sympathetic pain as Alan suffers on the operating table. Complications arise when the effects of Leighton's transformation extend beyond his physical appearance and begin to affect his mind, a situation compounded by the scientist's strong psychic link to his pregnant wife.
The scientists' plan is for Dr. Leighton as the Thetan creature, equipped with an energy weapon and spaceship, to land at the United Nations
in an effort to create panic initially. This panic, in theory, will be resolved as the world unites to fight the invader. Alan, now a perfect simulation of an inhabitant of the planet Theta, is launched into orbit as a weather satellite
--but the mission goes awry when the spaceship comes down off course and lands in the woods near the United Labs facility. After disintegrating their station wagon with his laser pistol, the doctor is severely wounded by three duck hunters with shotguns and he stumbles back to the lab. Yvette again feels his pain and hurries to the lab looking for her husband. She arrives as the Thetan enters and collapses to the floor. Before dying of mortal wounds, the creature demonstrates "the mark against evil", a personal gesture they both shared and Yvette realizes the horrifying truth that the alien is in fact her husband.
local affiliate stations to be so frightening that they broadcast a black screen during the Thetan's appearances, which in effect censored most of the show's last act. In other parts of the US the thetan footage was tape delayed until after the 11 o'clock news, ln others it was not shown at all.It should be noted that unlike today where film series are transferred to video tape for transmission, up until the mid 1980s film series were broadcast live from the film print via telecine. (source - The Outer Limits:The Official Companion, pages 84 & 85.)
The sequence involving the Thetan's encounter with the duckhunters was shot at M.G.M.'s
Backlot #3. (source - The Outer Limits:The Official Companion, page 82.)
The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction, rather than fantasy stories...
television show. It first aired on 30 September 1963, during the first season.
Introduction
Certain that the Cold War will lead to mankind's destruction, a cabal of scientists decide that they must act to save the world. A film of a nuclear missile attack is shown as people run for shelter is seen before the plot.Opening narration
Plot
The world has entered a Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
-esque setting in which nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
appears imminent. In the hope of staving off an apocalyptic military confrontation between nations, an idealistic group of scientists, working at United Labs, plan to stage a fake alien invasion of Earth, in an effort to unite all humanity against a perceived common enemy. The scientists have managed to study the planetary conditions on the planet Theta. They draw lots, and physicist Dr. Alan Leighton is chosen to undergo radical surgical procedures that will transform him into a projected figure from a planet with a different atmosphere. Leighton's death is faked and the bizarre series of transplants and modifications to his body proceed. His wife Yvette persists in not believing he is dead; she feels sympathetic pain as Alan suffers on the operating table. Complications arise when the effects of Leighton's transformation extend beyond his physical appearance and begin to affect his mind, a situation compounded by the scientist's strong psychic link to his pregnant wife.
The scientists' plan is for Dr. Leighton as the Thetan creature, equipped with an energy weapon and spaceship, to land at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in an effort to create panic initially. This panic, in theory, will be resolved as the world unites to fight the invader. Alan, now a perfect simulation of an inhabitant of the planet Theta, is launched into orbit as a weather satellite
Weather satellite
The weather satellite is a type of satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be either polar orbiting, seeing the same swath of the Earth every 12 hours, or geostationary, hovering over the same spot on Earth by orbiting over the equator while...
--but the mission goes awry when the spaceship comes down off course and lands in the woods near the United Labs facility. After disintegrating their station wagon with his laser pistol, the doctor is severely wounded by three duck hunters with shotguns and he stumbles back to the lab. Yvette again feels his pain and hurries to the lab looking for her husband. She arrives as the Thetan enters and collapses to the floor. Before dying of mortal wounds, the creature demonstrates "the mark against evil", a personal gesture they both shared and Yvette realizes the horrifying truth that the alien is in fact her husband.
Closing narration
Censorship
The "bear" in this episode, the monstrously-altered Alan Leighton, was judged by some of ABC'sAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
local affiliate stations to be so frightening that they broadcast a black screen during the Thetan's appearances, which in effect censored most of the show's last act. In other parts of the US the thetan footage was tape delayed until after the 11 o'clock news, ln others it was not shown at all.It should be noted that unlike today where film series are transferred to video tape for transmission, up until the mid 1980s film series were broadcast live from the film print via telecine. (source - The Outer Limits:The Official Companion, pages 84 & 85.)
The sequence involving the Thetan's encounter with the duckhunters was shot at M.G.M.'s
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
Backlot #3. (source - The Outer Limits:The Official Companion, page 82.)
Precursors
- Theodore SturgeonTheodore SturgeonTheodore Sturgeon was an American science fiction author.His most famous novel is More Than Human .-Biography:...
's story "Unite and Conquer," published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1948, turns on a similar gag, humans uniting against a fake alien threat. - The Jan/Feb 1951 issue of Weird Science (#5), features the story, "The Last War on Earth," wherein a scientist creates a fake threat from another world - in this instance a "Martian" bomb is dropped on an American suburb, eventually uniting Earth against Mars. The story has a twist ending typical of many Weird Science stories.
- In Kurt VonnegutKurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
's 1959 novel The Sirens of TitanThe Sirens of TitanThe Sirens of Titan is a Hugo Award-nominated novel by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., first published in 1959. His second novel, it involves issues of free will, omniscience, and the overall purpose of human history...
, a fake invasion is carried out to unite Earth and eventually leads to world peace.
Legacy
- In Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
's 1971 novel The Lathe of HeavenThe Lathe of HeavenThe Lathe of Heaven is a 1971 science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. The plot revolves around a character whose dreams alter reality. The story was first serialized in the American science fiction magazine Amazing Stories. The novel received nominations for the 1972 Hugo and the 1971 Nebula...
, the protagonist attempts to dream into existence peace on earth. This results in the creation of an alien race which occupies the Moon, uniting earth against the threat. - Raymond HawkeyRaymond HawkeyRaymond John "Ray" Hawkey was an English graphic designer and author, based in London.-Personal life:He was born in 1930 in Plymouth to John Charles Hawkey and Constance Olive Hawkey....
's novel Wild Card, co-written with Roger BinghamRoger BinghamRoger Bingham is a British science communicator, writer, and public television producer and host. He is co-founder and director of The Science Network and creator of the Beyond Belief conferences. Bingham created the KCET Science and Society Unit...
and published in 1974, also uses the idea of an alien invasion secretly faked by Earth scientists in a time of civil unrest. - Harry TurtledoveHarry TurtledoveHarry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
's Worldwar & Colonization Series, a collection of alternate historyAlternate history (fiction)Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. It can be variously seen as a sub-genre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate...
science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels, imagines an alien invasion during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
that forces the warring global powers to unite. - In a September 21, 1987 address to the United Nations General AssemblyUnited Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
, President Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
said "I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world." - The Showtime series The Outer Limits revisited this episode with "Afterlife", using a more alien approach to the main character, played this time by Clancy BrownClancy BrownClarence J. "Clancy" Brown III is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles in live action as The Kurgan in the cult classic film Highlander, Byron Hadley in the award-winning The Shawshank Redemption, Brother Justin Crowe in HBO's critically acclaimed Carnivàle, and Career...
. The ending in this case saw the aliens coming to retrieve their new "brother". - This episode is similar to the ending of Alan MooreAlan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
and Dave Gibbons'Dave GibbonsDave Gibbons is an English comic book artist, writer and sometime letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything"...
comic book mini-series, WatchmenWatchmenWatchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
. According to Moore, while he was writing issue ten, he came across a guide to cult television that featured this episode and was surprised by its similarity to his already planned ending. A promotional spot for "The Architects of Fear" is overheard on Sally Jupiter's television as she greets a "transformed" Laurie and Dan Dreiberg in the novel's penultimate scene. - In 2011, Paul KrugmanPaul KrugmanPaul Robin Krugman is an American economist, professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times...
mentioned the episode when he said that building a defense against a fictional alien invasion could speed recovery from the late-2000s recession; however, Krugman mistakenly attributed the episode to The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
instead of The Outer Limits.
Cast
- Robert CulpRobert CulpRobert Martin Culp was an American actor, scriptwriter, voice actor and director, widely known for his work in television. Culp first earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on I Spy , the espionage series in which he and co-star Bill Cosby played a pair of secret agents...
– as Allen Leighton - Leonard StoneLeonard StoneLeonard Stone was an American character actor who played supporting roles in over 120 television shows and 35 films.-Life and career:...
– as Dr. Phillip Gainer - Geraldine BrooksGeraldine Brooks (actor)Geraldine Brooks was an American actress whose three-decade career on stage as well as in films and on television was noted with nominations for an Emmy in 1962 and a Tony in 1970....
– as Yvette Leighton - Martin Wolfson – as Dr. Herschel
- Douglas Henderson – as Dr. Paul Fredericks
- Janos ProhaskaJanos ProhaskaJanos Prohaska was a Hungarian United States based actor and stunt performer on American television from the 1960s. He usually played the roles of animals or monsters....
– as Allen-as-Thetan - Lee Zimmer – as Carl Ford, TV announcer
- Clay Turner as Fred, Duckhunter#1
- Hal Bokar as Bert Bolsey, Duckhunter#2
- William Bush as "Big Tom", Duckhunter#3
- And Ginger the Dog
External links
- MovieMorlocks.com: Movie Blog, Remembering Janos Prohaska
- David J. Schow website, The Outer Limits