I personally abandoned the major networks some time ago, I suspect around when objective about every present they set on seemed to be sex obsessed. I have since only gone help to net recent episodes of “Heroes”. So, it’s no surprise that the short-lived “Masters of Science Fiction” series came and went on ABC without my ever even smart about it. I was aware of the more current “Masters of Anxiety” series from Showtime, even though I don’t even have Showtime, but then I’m a bit more into the anxiety genre and admire fear anthologies. One thing that puts me off of Sci-Fi anthologies a bit is that they tend to always be about aliens, bleak futures, and robots. Rarely anything else.
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“Masters of Science Fiction”, in all of its six episodes, doesn’t deviate from that, and it also is high on making political and social statements. That’s resplendent approved in sci-fi, but it does rep a bit old-fashioned, especially in a world where the political statements on television are getting as uninteresting as the sex. Calm, over all, this very “Outer Limits” TV series is about as excellent as can be expected. Some episodes are better than others. Oddly, the two episodes I found to be the most exquisite are the two that never aired on American television, “Dinky Brother” and “Watchbird”. Here is a breakdown of the 6, 44-minute episodes you regain in this complete series, 2-disc DVD plot (with zero extras) :
“A Dapper Flee” (Narrative Author: John Kessel, Director: Designate Rydell) : A dying doctor’s patient cannot remember the past 25 years of his life; 25 years in which the world has been changed greatly as a result of his actions. This one is a microscopic dreary and a bit too “in your face” with its political statement.
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“The Awakening” (Anecdote Author: Howard Lickety-split, Director: Michael Petroni) : A uncommon visitor to Earth brings forth an ultimatum that could cause the leaders of the world to come an view with or completely demolish each other. This second episode is probably even more in your face with the political statement, but it’s more challenging than Well-organized Sprint (which probably could have worked better as a 22 diminutive program) . Starting the series with its two most blatantly political episodes was probably not the best thought.
“Jerry Was a Man” (Legend Author: Robert A. Heinlein, Director: Michael Tolkin) : A more lighthearted episode, this futuristic chronicle presents a bored rich couple who assume in some original “pets”. One of them is a man-made humanoid that was marked for destruction. The rich woman who now controls his fate soon becomes sure to defend his rights as a “human being”. This episode was magnificent fun, but could have been better if “Jerry” had been more likable. He was rather annoying with his constant requests for candy and cigarettes.
“The Discarded” (Sage Author: Harlan Ellison, Director: Jonathan Frakes) : An irregular collection of diseased freaks exiled from Earth travels through residence in search of a current home and is suddenly presented with an offer to return. Yet another I would rather have seen in 22 minutes than 44. This one really drags and I didn’t gather it that curious. Perhaps it’s unbiased too remarkable of a downer throughout. Boasts a fair cast though. John Distress and Brian Dennehy are in this one.
“Miniature Brother” (Legend Author: Walter Mosley, Director: Darnell Martin) : A man trying to run the confines of the lower levels of urban development finds himself on trial for a kill that was clearly not his fault. However, the believe, jury, and executioner of this future world are not human and lack the willingness to weigh the facts fairly. One of the better episodes, in my understanding.
“Watchbird” (Myth Author: Robert Sheckley, Director: Harold Becker) : A young inventor creates the weapons system of tomorrow in a posthaste of mechanical birds designed to remove out a killer before he strikes. Things gain out of hand though, when the government wants to achieve the birds, designed for war combat, over the streets of the U.S. to protect the citizens. I found this to be, hands down, the best episode of the series. It’s the only one that didn’t feel it was dragging at any point. A genuinely favorable episode.
When all is said and done, “Masters of Science Fiction” really is about the same as any other sci-fi anthology prove. Perhaps a smidge better, because there were more episodes about the future of mankind than about aliens. If you like that sort of thing, you’ll like this. Of course, it’s an anthology, so even at honest six episodes it is hit and miss. Composed, it’s probably better than anything else that’s been on ABC for a long time.
Masters of Science Fiction was a series produced for ABC that sought to lift some of the magic of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Of the six one-hour episodes made (under 45 minutes without the ads), all included here, only four were shown. The series was arguably not given a chance, as it was aired on Saturday nights in August, not a titanic time slot.
Some of the concepts are tantalizing and promising, and there are some respectable actors, but I detached didn’t be pleased these noteworthy. On the whole the writing is superficial, the logic feeble, and the atmospherics that might form up for that are only so-so. I only enjoyed one of the six episodes enough to say I liked it.
The first episode has a nice basic belief to work with, revealed bit by bit in a draw that makes great description of the area too noteworthy of a spoiler. Judy Davis plays a psychotherapist who has a patient (Sam Waterston) with a condition she is very anxious to cure, for reasons that are only made determined later. Sadly, some of it doesn’t quite add up or is only tenuously credible, and the exposition is clumsy. I opinion Waterston seemed oddly hammy and fallacious, though maybe he notion that helpful the character. Davis has a compelling cloak presence.
The second episode takes position in the very approach future. Alien creatures appear on earth and (without giving too mighty away) do stuff that it seems they should have done long before. The scheme this happens is fairly arbitrary. I liked Terry O’Quinn in this episode, in a measured performance that brought some subtlety of character at least.
Both the first two episodes, and most of the others too, fail to be very subtle about the rather simplistic principles we’re supposed to way from them.
The episode I enjoyed is the third one, “Jerry Was a Man,” based on a short narrative by Robert Heinlein. Allotment of the enjoyment was sheer droll relief from the first two episodes, both rather Serious and a bit preachy. This is the only one of the six that’s primarily comedic, though serious ideas are dealt with. Jerry is a genetically engineered android who was originally designed to sweep minefields (in about the least efficient draw possible), but who has been working as a janitor lately and is about to be turned into puppy chow. A very wealthy woman (Anne Heche) takes a cherish to him and undertakes to set aside him, eventually by trying to present he’s a human. The exciting imprint line that is spoken by Stephen Hawking at the ruin is, “What makes us human may one day be defined not by the gifts we enjoy but by the virtues we lack.” Malcolm McDowell is particularly expedient as the genetic engineer.
Series host Stephen Hawking, by the design, has very miniature to do in this series. He says a line at the beginning and waste of each part. The lines generally don’t quite work like Rod Serling’s comments for The Twilight Zone. I doubt very remarkable that Hawking wrote them.
Episode 4 concerns a group of people rejected from Earth because of various terrible mutations and sent to ride the solar system in search of a home. They’re approached by a representative from Earth with a deal to win them wait on. The drama is fairly thin and the results are highly predictable. John Afflict and Brian Dennehy are beautiful, and the make-up artists had a tremendous time with the mutations, including a fairly well done second, smaller head on John Injure. There are a couple surprisingly if unruffled only mildly brutal touches in that episode.
The fifth episode is similar in several ways to Robocop, but with runt eagle-like flying “Watchbirds” as the peacekeeping machines, and a kind of wireless human-machine interface instead of flesh and machine joined directly. The machines begin off well and then problems arrive up as they’re tied up in politics. It lacks Robcop’s high-powered action and is only briefly and mildly violent. It also lacks the clever, polished script. The acting is fairly wonderful. This one is the second best of the group for me.
The final episode has elements of 1984, done in a pale Terry Gilliam (Brazil) style. An underground worker escapes, is accused of abolish, and fights with his mind against a partly human machine that constitutes his reflect, defense counsel, and jury. The things that cause danger for the machine are so elementary as to lack considerable credibility or interest, and the ending is sheer Hollywood.
The production values for the series are on the high side of what would be expected for a TV series. With all of the episodes, there are some spellbinding or luscious points. I can leer why some people enjoyed them. But viewers inclined to be picky or indispensable about their science fiction should probably view elsewhere.
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