Keeper of the Purple Twilight

Last updated
"Keeper of the Purple Twilight"
The Outer Limits episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 12
Directed by Charles Haas
Story byStephen Lord
Teleplay by Milton Krims
Cinematography by Kenneth Peach
Production code39
Original air dateDecember 5, 1964 (1964-12-05)
Guest appearance
Robert Webber
Episode chronology
 Previous
"The Inheritors"
Next 
"The Duplicate Man"
List of episodes

"Keeper of the Purple Twilight" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 5 December 1964, during the second season.

Contents

‘Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly bales’ is a line in Alfred Tennyson’s poem Locksley Hall (written 1835).

Opening narration

There is no limit to the extension of the curious mind. It reaches to the end of the imagination, then beyond into the mysteries of dreams, hoping always to convert even the dreams into reality, for the greater well-being of all mankind…

Plot

Scientist Eric Plummer comes under the sinister influence of a creature from outer space, capable of materializing in human form, but lacking human emotions.

As a prelude for the invasion of Earth by his kind, an extraterrestrial being, Ikar, studies the human race. The one thing he cannot comprehend is emotion. Meanwhile, obsessed scientist Plummer is nearing a nervous breakdown, trying to complete a magnetic disintegrator that will convert matter into pure energy. As Plummer's weapon would aid Ikar's invasion force if completed, Ikar makes a deal with Plummer (who is unaware of Ikar's purpose). He will help Plummer complete the invention by offering his technical knowledge to provide the new equations necessary for the invention's completion in exchange for the scientist's ability to feel emotions for a "test drive".

It is revealed that Ikar comes from a hive world with strictly defined roles, divorced from emotion and personal identity. Big brains (like himself) do the thinking, while soldiers do the fighting, and females produce the offspring as their only function.

Due to the interference of Plummer's girlfriend, Janet Lane, Ikar is unable to control or understand his adopted emotions. This causes the experiment to backfire. The alien has great difficulty in understanding such things as love and beauty - concepts utterly foreign in his world. Ikar's behavior comes to the attention of his superiors, who dispatch soldier-forms of his species to discipline him. Meanwhile, Plummer uses Ikar's data to harness a fantastic energy source and fashions a weapon capable of destroying all life.

Ikar, who has begun to experience emotions such as anger and desire for Janet (who compares Ikar's world to an ant colony) returns the scientist's emotions to him. Ikar is now being pursued by his own species, who regard him as a threat to the planned invasion. It is revealed the aliens' homeworld is overpopulated, and they have chosen Earth to be their new home. In the end, having experienced emotions and now feeling sympathy for Plummer, Ikar kills two of the soldiers but is himself disintegrated before Plummer destroys the last soldier. In disgust, Plummer destroys his weapon, erasing all traces of his work and evidence of the aliens.

Closing narration

The curious mind cannot be chained. It is a free mind, endlessly searching for the greater freedom that must eventually make every living being joyfully complete within himself; therefore at peace with himself and his neighbors.

Cast

Legacy

The creatures on this episode were adapted to Diener Industries' Space Creatures line. [1] [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street</span> 22nd episode of the 1st season of The Twilight Zone

"The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" is the 22nd episode in the first season of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. The episode was written by Rod Serling, the creator-narrator of the series. It originally aired on March 4, 1960, on CBS. In 2009, TIME named it one of the ten best Twilight Zone episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultra-Humanite</span> Fictional supervillain in DC Comics

Ultra-Humanite is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared as a recurring adversary of Superman, and was among the first villains faced by him. He was designed to be the polar opposite of Superman; while Superman is a hero with superhuman strength, Ultra-Humanite is a criminal mastermind who has a crippled body but a highly advanced intellect. The Ultra-Humanite served as Superman's nemesis until Alexei Luthor and his Silver Age counterpart Lex Luthor were introduced in the comics. The origins of the super-criminal known as the Ultra-Humanite are shrouded in mystery. Even he claims not to remember his true name or appearance and attributes his vast intellect and mental prowess to scientific experiments of an unknown nature.

<i>The New Adventures of He-Man</i> 1990s animated series

The New Adventures of He-Man is an animated series which ran in syndication in the second half of 1990 while Mattel released the toy line He-Man, an update of their Masters of the Universe line. The cartoon series was intended to be a continuation of Filmation's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, but Filmation's parent Westinghouse Broadcasting had shut down the studio a year earlier. Instead, while existing in the same continuity, a new central story was created for this series. It's also the first He-Man series to feature a Canadian voice cast.

<i>It Conquered the World</i> 1956 film by Roger Corman

It Conquered the World is an independently made 1956 American science fiction film produced and directed by Roger Corman, and starring Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef, Beverly Garland, and Sally Fraser. Shot in black-and-white, It Conquered the World was released theatrically by American International Pictures (AIP) as a double feature with The She-Creature.

"The Architects of Fear" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on September 30, 1963, during the first season.

"O.B.I.T." is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 4 November 1963, during the first season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. O. Morrow</span> Comics character

T. O. Morrow is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is responsible for the creation of the Red Tornado, Red Inferno, Red Torpedo, Red Volcano, and Tomorrow Woman androids, the last of these with the help of Professor Ivo.

<i>Edisons Conquest of Mars</i> 1898 novel by Garrett P. Serviss

Edison's Conquest of Mars is an 1898 science fiction novel by American astronomer and writer Garrett P. Serviss. It was written as a sequel to Fighters from Mars, an unauthorized and heavily altered version of H. G. Wells's 1897 story The War of the Worlds. It has a place in the history of science fiction for its early employment of themes and motifs that later became staples of the genre.

<i>Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four</i>

Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four is a four-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics. It was published in May - August 2007, written by Jeff Parker and illustrated by Mike Wieringo shortly before his death.

Stuart Fell is a professional actor and stuntman. Prior to this career, Fell served in the Parachute Regiment. He has appeared on British television many times, with his earliest role being in the LWT comedy series Hark at Barker, in which he plays the driver of a car that crashes when he's distracted by Ronnie Barker carrying a mannequin. In 1971, he appeared as an uncredited extra in the Doctor Who serial Terror of the Autons, and his last role came in 1998, as a stuntman in Duck Patrol.

<i>JLA: Age of Wonder</i> Comics mini-series

JLA: Age of Wonder is a 2003 two-issue mini-series of comics from DC's Elseworlds imprint. Taking place from 1876 to 1913, the comics follow Clark Kent and Lex Luthor as they use superpowers to create technical innovations. The comics also follow the creation of the League of Science, a superhero league dedicated to spreading these innovations for the good of mankind. The series was written by Adisakdi Tantimedh, with art by P. Craig Russell and Galen Showman.

<i>The Ultimates</i> (comic book) 2002–04 Marvel limited series

The Ultimates is a 2002-2004 thirteen-issue comic book limited series written by Mark Millar with art by Bryan Hitch. The series introduces the titular Ultimates, the Ultimate Marvel incarnations of the Avengers.

Metroid is a series of nonlinear science fiction action games published by Nintendo, featuring side-scrolling, metroidvania, and first-person shooter elements. The player character and protagonist of the series is Samus Aran, a space-faring bounty hunter who battles Space Pirates and a species called the Metroid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Blaisdell</span> American artist and visual effects creator (1927–1983)

Paul Blaisdell was an American painter, sculptor and visual effects creator, best remembered for his work in science fiction and horror B movies of the 1950s.

Biological warfare (BW)—also known as bacteriological warfare, or germ warfare—has had a presence in popular culture for over 100 years. Public interest in it became intense during the Cold War, especially the 1960s and '70s, and continues unabated. This article comprises a list of popular culture works referencing BW or bioterrorism, but not those pertaining to natural, or unintentional, epidemics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oats Studios</span> Independent film studio

Oats Studios is an independent film studio started in 2017 by Oscar-nominated South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp. The studio was created with the goal of distributing experimental short films via YouTube and Steam in order to gauge the community for interest and feedback as to which of them are viable for expansion into feature films. Actors featured in the films include Sigourney Weaver, Carly Pope, Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Kellan Lutz, Michael Rogers, Jose Pablo Cantillo, and Dakota Fanning.

<i>Ape vs. Monster</i> 2021 kaiju film

Ape vs. Monster is a 2021 American science fiction monster film directed by Daniel Lusko and produced by The Asylum.

References

  1. https://flashbak.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/flashbakerasers3-658x1024.jpg [ bare URL image file ]
  2. "Diener Space Creatures revisited".