Believed by most fans of "The Outer Limits" to be one of the finest hours of the series, the other being "The Architects of Fear". Both programs were directed by Byron Haskins. This one, penned by Joseph Stefano himself, is the epitome of what "Outer Limits" is really about. Although many episodes explore all types of scientific experiments gone wrong, at the heart of each is a very human story. Feasibilty Study is the best example of this. Six square blocks of a major city is removed from earth overnight and taken to the planet Luminos. There, the inhabitants of this neighborhood soon learn they are no longer on earth but are prisoners to be experimented on by the Liminoids. If the experiment is successful, all of humanity on earth will be brought into slavery. Rather than allow that to happen, this small group of people make the ultimate sacrifice. They deliberately allow themselves to be infected with a disease that already plagues the Luminoids. By doing so, the human race is spared from eternal slavery. The feasibility study ends with those still on earth totally unaware of the sacrifice that was made for them. This episode was so well regarded, it was remade when the series was resurrected in the mid 90s. In the shadow of shows like, "The Twilight Zone" there is a tendency to remember "The Outer Limits" as a failed series. I believe it was anything but that. Stories like "A Feasibility Study" show the quality "The Outer Limits" was capable of. In the hands of Joseph Stefano the series should have been a huge hit and would have had it not been robbed of its chance in the 60s by nervous network executives who did not understand the show or its audience. The 32 episodes of the first season and a few from the second stand today as true gems of science fiction at its best. There will always be critics of the show, but who can argue with author Stephen King who once called "The Outer Limits" the best program of its type ever to run on network television.
14 Reviews
Star Trek TNG and Voyager using ideas from this episode?
mase-625 January 2017
I recently saw this excellent episode, and I noticed several things that brought to mind similarities in Star Trek TNG and Star Trek Voyager. The idea of scooping out an entire area was also shown in the TNG episode The Best of Both Worlds - Part 1, where the Borg removed the entire New Providence colony. In fact, the post-removal shots in both episodes look very much alike.
Also, the disease symptoms in A Feasibility Study look similar to the Phage, which afflicted the Vidiians in Star Trek Voyager. The Phage looks more terrifying possibly because the makeup budget was no doubt smaller in the Outer Limits episode.
Also, the disease symptoms in A Feasibility Study look similar to the Phage, which afflicted the Vidiians in Star Trek Voyager. The Phage looks more terrifying possibly because the makeup budget was no doubt smaller in the Outer Limits episode.
Nothing is so modifiable as morality.
hitchcockthelegend26 June 2019
A Feasibility Study is directed by Byron Haskin and written by Joseph Stefano. It stars Sam Wanamaker, Phylliss Love, Joyce Van Patten, David Opatoshu and Frank Puglia. Music is by Dominic Frontiere and cinematography by John M. Nickolaus Jr.
Season 1 - Episode 29
Episode sees an entire neighbourhood transported to the planet Luminos, where the inhabitants, Luminoids, are suffering from a disease that renders them as living statues. They are conducting a study to see if humankind can be used as slave labour, and thus this neighbourhood are the guinea pigs.
Super concept on offer here as the key twist in the tale revolves around a critical choice the humans have to make. This choice gives The Outer Limits one of its better episodes because it leads to an emotionally pumped, poignant and unforgettable finale. 8/10
Season 1 - Episode 29
Episode sees an entire neighbourhood transported to the planet Luminos, where the inhabitants, Luminoids, are suffering from a disease that renders them as living statues. They are conducting a study to see if humankind can be used as slave labour, and thus this neighbourhood are the guinea pigs.
Super concept on offer here as the key twist in the tale revolves around a critical choice the humans have to make. This choice gives The Outer Limits one of its better episodes because it leads to an emotionally pumped, poignant and unforgettable finale. 8/10
This one has it all...
planktonrules6 March 2012
This is one of the better episodes of "The Outer Limits" and it seems to have it all--excellent writing, lots of originality and some exceptional guest actors. In particular, Sam Wanamaker, David Opatashu and Joyce Van Patten help to make this one better since they all are very good actors.
The show begins with an alien species kidnapping a group of humans by literally chopping part of a town out of the Earth and bringing it to their planet. At first, the humans don't realize what has happened but they soon come to realize many BAD things--that they are not on Earth, the aliens are infected with a horrible virus and this is all part of a study to see if ALL the people of Earth can be enslaved to serve these brilliant but evil aliens. How the humans handle all this makes this one great--and very, very poignant. The ending, in particular, is one that might just make you shed a tear or two! Really. This is just exceptional throughout and I won't say more, as I don't want to spoil it.
The show begins with an alien species kidnapping a group of humans by literally chopping part of a town out of the Earth and bringing it to their planet. At first, the humans don't realize what has happened but they soon come to realize many BAD things--that they are not on Earth, the aliens are infected with a horrible virus and this is all part of a study to see if ALL the people of Earth can be enslaved to serve these brilliant but evil aliens. How the humans handle all this makes this one great--and very, very poignant. The ending, in particular, is one that might just make you shed a tear or two! Really. This is just exceptional throughout and I won't say more, as I don't want to spoil it.
Before Under The Dome
StuOz10 July 2014
A typical American street of the 1960s is taken over by aliens.
This one has moments that will stay forever locked in the memory: the sick guy in the empty house, the car in the fog, the aliens first appearing, the look of the street, the look of the fog, etc.
I can think of several Outer Limits shows I like more than this one but there is no question that the general look of the episode is a knockout! Perhaps this hour could have used a bit more spark in it but it must of scared the hell out of people way back in 1964.
A 1964 version of TV's Under The Dome you might say. But done in one hour instead of several hours.
This one has moments that will stay forever locked in the memory: the sick guy in the empty house, the car in the fog, the aliens first appearing, the look of the street, the look of the fog, etc.
I can think of several Outer Limits shows I like more than this one but there is no question that the general look of the episode is a knockout! Perhaps this hour could have used a bit more spark in it but it must of scared the hell out of people way back in 1964.
A 1964 version of TV's Under The Dome you might say. But done in one hour instead of several hours.
Hope Among the Hopeless
Hitchcoc15 January 2015
This is one of those episodes that was repeated in the second incarnation of "The Outer Limits." An alien race (of course) takes a six block chunk of turf, including all the structures and inhabitants, an teleports them to Luminos, a dying planet. This is a feasibility study which is designed to test whether the earth people will accept slavery. Once absorbed into the society, they will be put in labor camps to spend the rest of their lives waiting on these insipid creatures who look like marshmallow men. The problem is if the humans are touched by the aliens, they begin to be infected with a horrible disease. We are give a look at the ugly life that is posed. If the study is "successful," the rest of Earth will follow suit; if not, they will move on. It is up to the people living on this slab of land to decide what to do. This is both a depressing and uplifiting episode.
Human Choices
AaronCapenBanner14 March 2016
The Beverly Hills neighborhood existing on a six-block section in Midgard Drive finds itself carved out and taken by an alien ship to the planet Luminos, where the inhabitants are to be used as a forced slave labor. The Luminoids are suffering from a leprosy-like disease that has blighted their planet, and unaffected humans will be used as test subjects that requires a choice, since human vanity and selfishness are being counted on to keep the abducted under control, in order to insure that the rest of the Earth will be viable for abduction. Can the people(some of whom are already infected) make the right choice? Outstanding episode is among the best, with an intelligent, ambitious script being matched by haunting visuals, atmospheric direction all leading to a noble, deeply moving climax that may move viewer to tears.
One the best episodes
kyyankee12 May 2020
If you watched Outer Limits back in the day, you probably were watching Twilight Zone as well. Outer Limits was the scifi show with rubber monsters, Twilight Zone was the home of the speculative, the bizarre and the conduit for the social beliefs of Rod Serling. It was this last that separated the two shows. Outer Limits rarely produced the kind of thoughtful episodes that touched the feelings of the viewer.
This episode is one TZ would be proud of. It starts out as many OL shows do, with aliens taking Earth people way for nefarious purposes. But as it develops, and at it's memorable conclusion, there is a moral intellectual message that is the equal of the best of TZ or anything else that was broadcast at the time. The writing, the cast, the premise are all superior to most of the other shows. This is a very worthwhile viewing experience.
This episode is one TZ would be proud of. It starts out as many OL shows do, with aliens taking Earth people way for nefarious purposes. But as it develops, and at it's memorable conclusion, there is a moral intellectual message that is the equal of the best of TZ or anything else that was broadcast at the time. The writing, the cast, the premise are all superior to most of the other shows. This is a very worthwhile viewing experience.
"Take me back, or I'll touch you!"
classicsoncall1 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
It's hard to take some of these 'Outer Limits' stories seriously with the goofy alien costumes they came up with and the representation of their spaceships. This one had a gigantic badminton birdie scoop up a six square block, city neighborhood on its way to the Planet Luminous. The Luminoids were conducting a feasibility study (hence the title) on whether abducted Earthlings could be turned into compliant slaves to serve their race, consisting of non-moving sentients who existed as 'contemplative energy plants'. Also, as common with these stories, an inconsistency will pop up that causes a bit of head scratching; in this one Dr. Simon Holm (Sam Wanamaker) suggests bringing an infected Ralph Cashman (David Opatoshu) to the hospital, right after the man disappeared in front of Mrs. Cashman (Joyce Van Patten) and himself. More than anything, the story obliquely reminded me of Nazi concentration camps of World War II, and how captive had to stick together, even if it meant annihilation at the hands of their captors. The noble sacrifice of the captive earthlings to willingly infect themselves to spare their entire home planet from slavery was one of the better outcomes of an Outer Limits episode, which often left the conclusion to the imagination of the viewer.
Modifiable morality
nickenchuggets22 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Recently, I talked about The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, a Twilight Zone installment that has aliens tampering with a suburban neighborhood and sowing chaos and confusion among its inhabitants. This episode of Outer Limits follows a similar premise, except these aliens are much more confident in their methods to pacify humanity and teleport an entire neighborhood to their homeworld. The episode begins with a bunch of people (along with their houses, cars, streets, and everything else around them) being moved to the strange planet of Luminos. The race of beings that live here are trying to conduct an experiment to see whether it's possible to enslave humanity, as Luminoids all have an affliction that gradually immobilizes them as they get older. Ralph Cashman says goodbye to his wife Rhea and leaves for church, but after travelling a while, comes into a strange misty area where he is ambushed by Luminoids. Meanwhile, Dr. Holm and his wife Andrea are arguing about a possible divorce since she wants to disobey her husband's wishes for her to stay at home. Shortly after, Ralph stumbles back to his house and his wife is shocked at his ghastly appearance: he has what looks like sores all over him. After Ralph is taken away in a light beam, Andrea gets in a car with someone infected by the Luminoid disease and is taken to them. Holm goes off in pursuit and meets with what appears to be a council of the aliens. They tell him they still plan to enslave humanity based on the outcome of this study, and if it is a success, all of planet Earth will follow suit. To enforce this, the Luminoids threaten him with their touch, which transmits the affliction they have. Holm demands Andrea to be released, but the Luminoids say they'll give her back when they're ready. Upon returning to his house, Holm is greeted by a strange looking Andrea who has a bright and distorted glow emanating from her, which is used by the Luminoids to sterilize people. As Holm and his wife prepare to go to the town church to tell the rest of the community about the alien's intentions, Andrea examines herself in the mirror and sees a telltale mark near her neck, which she hides from Holm. There's no mistaking it, she now has the Luminoid disease. As Holm arrives at the church, Andrea comes face to face with the infected Ralph outside, banging on the doors to be let in. Once the people inside see him, they are terrified, but then reassured by Holm's testament that this creature is still Ralph. Upon hearing this, Rhea voluntarily touches her husband and infects herself, and Holm tells everyone what must happen. He and everyone around him will never see earth again, but in order to prevent the aliens from getting what they want, they need to give up their desire to go back home and take one last defiant stand. Andrea reveals to Holm what she's been hiding from him, and Holm takes her hand. All the others in the church become infected, and their stance is made clear: dying is better than slavery. With their deaths, the study the Luminoids have been trying to accomplish is deemed infeasible. Their plans to enslave humans are done for. Unlike some other Outer Limits episodes, I feel like this one has an actual moral. I really can't say what it is, but the sense of being in a large community that ultimately sacrifices itself to prevent the aliens from achieving their goal gives a sense of teamwork that wasn't too common in this show. The effects of the Luminoid disease (visible on the skin) haven't really aged well and kind of look like snot just draped over the victim, but like most Outer Limits aliens, the Luminoids themselves have a unique look that can only be described as bipedal rocks. Because they say the disease only really starts to affect them as they age, perhaps the episode is a metaphor for how the old are weighed down with too many responsibilities that prevent them from doing what they want. The elderly Luminoids probably don't regret the things they did in their lives, but the things they didn't do. Overall, I would say that Feasibility Study is probably one of this show's best. It's definitely depressing when you realize the human subjects are destined to die in this inescapable realm, but humanity will not forget their sacrifice.
Flawed premise of evil Alien got earthlings slaves in their poisoned and dying planet Luminos!!
elo-equipamentos5 March 2023
Seemingly a dying planet Luminos, that inhabitants getting a decease that getting older all them, it should be a good premise, not for me, otherwise it seems an awkward offering due it appears on those fog and mug on the ground, the dying aliens choose a small town in the middle of America countryside, they teleports the whole city leaving in the usual place a deep crater, somehow the whole thing falls apart due a small city wasn't enough to supplied a enough food for all alien planet.
Even worst the aliens got a decease of hugely contagious even for earthlings, thus the vast prospect to decrease the labors there is highly odds-on, what the catch for such solidary reviewers is the human agreement to all them preclude the Aliens on feasibility study that episode borrowed the name, if the hard decision to get in touch the decease will spreading faster and then became impossible such kind of slavery.
This episode has a great premise, although stumble in sharp look, displaying some blatant unsoundness that pops up in the screenplay here and there, also emphasizing the Christian faith to get strongest against the evil Aliens, wrong approaching, great casting as David Opatoshu, Sam Wanamaker, Phyllis Love, Joyce Van Patten and the priest Frank Puglia.
Thanks for reading.
Resume:
First watch: 2023 / Source: DVD / How many: 1 / Rating: 7.5.
Even worst the aliens got a decease of hugely contagious even for earthlings, thus the vast prospect to decrease the labors there is highly odds-on, what the catch for such solidary reviewers is the human agreement to all them preclude the Aliens on feasibility study that episode borrowed the name, if the hard decision to get in touch the decease will spreading faster and then became impossible such kind of slavery.
This episode has a great premise, although stumble in sharp look, displaying some blatant unsoundness that pops up in the screenplay here and there, also emphasizing the Christian faith to get strongest against the evil Aliens, wrong approaching, great casting as David Opatoshu, Sam Wanamaker, Phyllis Love, Joyce Van Patten and the priest Frank Puglia.
Thanks for reading.
Resume:
First watch: 2023 / Source: DVD / How many: 1 / Rating: 7.5.
Clever, chilling and imaginative.
Sleepin_Dragon20 August 2023
Two couples go about their daily business as usual, until they realise that something is very wrong, they soon learn that they are taking part in an experiment by the beings of the planet Luminous, a race that are looking for a labour force.
I would imagine this episode is both well remembered and well liked by fans of the show. The opening sequences were terrific, and really do manage to grip the viewer, I can imagine they gave several people a sleepless night or two.
In so many ways this episode was way ahead of its time, that has been the real beauty of The Outer Limits.
Lots of interesting ideas and themes here, there's a real streak of cleverness in the writing, from the idea of the disease, to the very idea of what a 1960's housewife's life should look like, this does actually challenge the norm.
Very well acted, the standouts were Sam Wanamaker and David Opatoshu.
9/10.
I would imagine this episode is both well remembered and well liked by fans of the show. The opening sequences were terrific, and really do manage to grip the viewer, I can imagine they gave several people a sleepless night or two.
In so many ways this episode was way ahead of its time, that has been the real beauty of The Outer Limits.
Lots of interesting ideas and themes here, there's a real streak of cleverness in the writing, from the idea of the disease, to the very idea of what a 1960's housewife's life should look like, this does actually challenge the norm.
Very well acted, the standouts were Sam Wanamaker and David Opatoshu.
9/10.
A GREAT STORY AND A CLASSIC EPISODE
asalerno1021 June 2022
An extraterrestrial civilization performs an experiment with amazing characteristics. They abduct an entire neighborhood from Earth and transport it to their planet, they need to know if humans have antibodies to a virus that affects them. The inhabitants of the neighborhood begin to notice strange phenomena, lack of energy and disconnection of services among other things, but the worst will happen when they cross the limits of their streets and find horrified that they are on a dark and nebulous planet. A story of great creativity that over time has become an emblematic episode of this series and that was one of the few chosen to make a remake in the series of the 90s.
A great premise marred by daft aliens and needless relationship schmaltz.
fedor811 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
If you are a fan of TOL I am fairly certain that you always skip the opening scene spoilers - unless you know an episode inside-out.
However, that may not be enough in this case. The inept narrator stupidly informs us WHY the aliens are abducting the humans, and it's a classic bonehead move by writer Stefano because it eliminates a big component of the mystery. So if you haven't watched this episode yet, make sure you mute the narration after the first 2-3 sentences. (Then again, if you wanna avoid spoilers, why are you even reading this text!)
Without this terrible flaw, this could have been a much better episode.
Great direction and mood. Except for the dumb decision to film Ralph's goofy make-up from up close.
Early on, there is a soap-opera scene involving a marriage break-up because, as I mentioned often enough already, the producers were too insecure not to gear the show toward women as well. If I were a producer of a horror sci-fi TV show you could bet your Arsch that there'd be zero romance or relationship nonsense in it. Polluting and diluting sci-fi with housewifey sub-plots is a travesty.
I mean, Jesus wept: aliens had just abducted this entire town yet we are subjected to the breakup dialog between a whiny yenta and her robot husband! Gimme a break. Then, just as the story finally goes back to the RELEVANT plot, less than a minute later we go back to the couple discussing their breakup, and how the wife wants to "better the world". Frfckssakes! Now she's Gandhi too!
In an early scene Wannamaker says "let's get him to the hospital". Get whom? The neighbour had disappeared just a minute earlier.
Later on he says, "we have no advantage over them except mobility". Yeah, well, that's a big advantage. That's like saying we have no advantage over our basketball opponents except that we are a meter taller on average". A lot of these aliens can barely move and you humans can all run. Not a bad advantage, ey, Wannamaker?
The trouble with this episode is that the aliens completely - and without reason - reveal the entire plan to Wannamaker then actually let him go back to the others which is when he reveals this conspiracy to everybody. The aliens opt to do this despite having claimed beforehand that they don't want the experiment to be interfered with!
They also bragged about their allegedly incredible intelligence, yet they showed themselves to be fairly thick monsters; entirely naive and completely incompetent.
My guess is that Stefano, a sort of Serling of TOL i.e. The show's main writer but also the weakest one, lifted this idea from some pulp story or sci-fi comic-book anthology, but failed to adapt it to fit the film medium i.e. To make it more logical. For example, Wannamaker should have found out about the alien plan on his own - rather than get everything served to him on a plate which makes zero sense, and is a sign of poor writing.
However, that may not be enough in this case. The inept narrator stupidly informs us WHY the aliens are abducting the humans, and it's a classic bonehead move by writer Stefano because it eliminates a big component of the mystery. So if you haven't watched this episode yet, make sure you mute the narration after the first 2-3 sentences. (Then again, if you wanna avoid spoilers, why are you even reading this text!)
Without this terrible flaw, this could have been a much better episode.
Great direction and mood. Except for the dumb decision to film Ralph's goofy make-up from up close.
Early on, there is a soap-opera scene involving a marriage break-up because, as I mentioned often enough already, the producers were too insecure not to gear the show toward women as well. If I were a producer of a horror sci-fi TV show you could bet your Arsch that there'd be zero romance or relationship nonsense in it. Polluting and diluting sci-fi with housewifey sub-plots is a travesty.
I mean, Jesus wept: aliens had just abducted this entire town yet we are subjected to the breakup dialog between a whiny yenta and her robot husband! Gimme a break. Then, just as the story finally goes back to the RELEVANT plot, less than a minute later we go back to the couple discussing their breakup, and how the wife wants to "better the world". Frfckssakes! Now she's Gandhi too!
In an early scene Wannamaker says "let's get him to the hospital". Get whom? The neighbour had disappeared just a minute earlier.
Later on he says, "we have no advantage over them except mobility". Yeah, well, that's a big advantage. That's like saying we have no advantage over our basketball opponents except that we are a meter taller on average". A lot of these aliens can barely move and you humans can all run. Not a bad advantage, ey, Wannamaker?
The trouble with this episode is that the aliens completely - and without reason - reveal the entire plan to Wannamaker then actually let him go back to the others which is when he reveals this conspiracy to everybody. The aliens opt to do this despite having claimed beforehand that they don't want the experiment to be interfered with!
They also bragged about their allegedly incredible intelligence, yet they showed themselves to be fairly thick monsters; entirely naive and completely incompetent.
My guess is that Stefano, a sort of Serling of TOL i.e. The show's main writer but also the weakest one, lifted this idea from some pulp story or sci-fi comic-book anthology, but failed to adapt it to fit the film medium i.e. To make it more logical. For example, Wannamaker should have found out about the alien plan on his own - rather than get everything served to him on a plate which makes zero sense, and is a sign of poor writing.
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