Season 7
The Outer Limits is a revival of the 60s science fiction anthology show created by Leslie Stevens. Each episode is a self-contained story, ranging from encounters with aliens to experiments with new technology.
The series originally aired in the USA on ABC from September 16, 1963 – January 16, 1965. The reimagined series aired on Showtime and the Sci Fi Channel from March 26, 1995 – January 18, 2002.
The Outer Limits originally aired in South Africa on SABC3. It was later broadcast on DStv's M-Net Action (formerly actionX) channel.
Season 7 premiered on M-Net Action on Thursday 28 August 2008, at 19h00. There are 22 episodes in the seventh season.
Repeats
Fridays: 10h00
Sundays: 17h00
Wednesdays: 18h00
Season 7 Synopsis
The seventh season opens with the question: "In a society where devotion to one's family is frequently sacrificed on the altar of one's ambition, can the things we sacrifice ever be regained?"
Jerry Miller is the stereotypical American father who is forced to spend more time at work than home. As head of the household, he is looked to as a source of stability in an effort to unite the family and provide stability for their hectic lives.
Unfortunately, Jerry is fighting a losing battle.
While up late one night watching TV, Jerry sees an infomercial for a robot that could be the solution to his family's woes. Designed to obey every human command and available as a thirty day free trial, Jerry phones the company that produces the unit immediately.
The next day, Gideon arrives and a surprised family grudgingly accepts the artificial life form. Though Gideon is initially ignored, the family quickly becomes attached to it.
Gideon performs better than Jerry could ever hope for, so well that Jerry's role as head of the household is removed in favour of an artificial replacement. Jerry grows increasingly hostile towards Gideon but despite his change of heart, Gideon's hold of the family has become too strong.
Though Jerry's newest electronic device was once the envy of every male neighbour, they are all finding that this jealousy was hastily misplaced as their family roles are respectively being replaced by other units.
The Show
The show originally ran from 1963 to 1965 for 49 episodes, and was revived in 1995, running for seven seasons to end in 2002.
There were no recurring characters or subplots, but each episode started with The Control Voice delivering the following opening narration:
"There is nothing wrong with your television. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are now controlling the transmission. We control the horizontal and the vertical. We can deluge you with a thousand channels or expand one single image to crystal clarity - and beyond. We can shape your vision to anything our imagination can conceive. For the next hour we will control all that you see and hear. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the deepest inner mind to... The Outer Limits."
The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and featured numerous guest actors from other sci-fi series that were also shot in Vancouver, notably Michael Shanks and Amanda Tapping from Stargate SG-1, Leonard Nimoy and Rene Auberjonois from Star Trek, William B. Davis from The X-Files and Bruce Boxleitner from Babylon 5.
The series was broadcast in South Africa by SABC3 and later by actionX on DStv.