The Origin of Species

I thoroughly enjoyed the two-part episode of Outer Limits. I have watched it often and derive different lessons from it.

What makes this special episode compelling was the aura of complete mystery until the final minutes reveal the entire arc of the story.

The acting especially by Ron Rifkin, Kathleen Duborg and Tara Spencer-Nairn was compelling and always sounded true to the tensions of the story.

The story is complicated but it takes one beyond what the viewer may imagine. It winds around a premise of pure discovery and comes out an exercise in hope's possibilities.

This is the continuation of the excellent Double Helix episode from the previous season. The story picks up right where its predecessor left off, and shows to what extent the human will remains unscathed aboard a ship that traverses distances. Unfortunately this continuation is not up to the original, its development is slow and its dialogues bland. The most redeemable is the fact that the production has been able to reunite the original cast again.

This is a sequel to a previous episode about a group of carefully selected young people on a mission to the home planet of a race that has contacted Earth. During their time on their space ship they are tested over and over. The ship looks like an expanded lightning bolt and has numerous cells. Two characters die, one from a disease caused by his experimentation and another, a young man. The older woman on board, named, strangely, Hope, seems the one willing to face off with the testosterone laden young man who tries to assume control. Most of the episode has to do with a willingness to make contact with the alien culture and confront what is out there. They are at times isolated and apparently being educated in their future roles in maintaining their species. The problem is trust because most of them are scared to death. I'm afraid the conclusion is pure schmaltz. I will leave it up to you to decide what you think.

Too much over-acting by a few of the actors. Feigned outrage, no comaraderie among the actors trying to present a story. Interesting story, performances might have been improved had Will Smith given each actor a good slap before the first take.