Demon with a Glass Hand

[@llongone2]

One of the saddest scenes in TV history - wonderful performances by Culp and Martel...and of course a great story by Harlan Ellison.

[@cubehire3653]

This scene blew my mind when I was a kid. I am no kid now. I am telling you this blew my mind.

[@cliftonbowers2939]

Robert just past I belive

[@thomasauslander3757]

Closing narration: "Like the Eternal Man of Babylonian legend, like Gilgamesh, one thousand plus two hundred years stretches before Trent. Without love. Without friendship. Alone; neither man nor machine, waiting. Waiting for the day he will be called to free the humans who gave him mobility. Movement, but not life."

[@nealbradleigh5069]

Gave Serling and Co quite a run for the money. The quality of the writing chosen for the various episodes never waned. Decades later, we got the big-ticket mega-budget movie (heavily "borrowed" from the original short story) you know as the TERMINATOR. Yes, the production company brought the story to the screen with state-of-the-art tech of the '60s. These dramatic renderings did age quite well!

[@nealbradleigh5069]

@@cubehire3653 Great writing partnered with great artistic direction rivets you. Period. Serling rushed some episodes to quickly to meet deadlines, seasoned with unnecessary humor.. Great choices from various writers helped to give this show a leg up over the TWILIGHT ZONE. I want to be forced to think (with a large measure of fear), not laugh. I can watch comedy for that!

[@dublinboyo]

Rest in peace Harlan Ellison. One hell of a good writer . ..

[@historybuff66]

I had the good fortune to meet him in 1976…funny and irreverent on stage, gracious to us nerdy autograph hounds.

[@kzinful]

Travis Bickle + And I had the fortune to meet him at a book signing in Houston, Texas. His legendary temperament wasn't hype, I experienced it full blast, thank goodness it wasn't directed at me...( laughing )! He was a hell of a writer, one moment he would eviscerate you, the next he would heal you with empathy and kindness. I miss the SOB

[@michaelhall2709]

@@historybuff66 Okay, here’s my Ellison Encounter story that I sincerely hope you’ll enjoy. Many moons ago, around the time of the Early Cretaceous (1977) I was a young man who met Harlan at an SF gathering being held at the Anaheim Convention Center. I’d handed him to autograph my copy of the recently released “Six Science Fiction Plays,” which included the long-awaited publication of his original teleplay for “The City on the Edge of Forever.” I recall he was in a pretty genial mood that day, which may have saved my life: as he was scribbling his signature I grinned in probably the most loathsomely obnoxious fannish way possible and said, “Of course, I preferred the aired version.” To this day a half century later I still have no idea what got into me; it was like the moment in STAND BY ME when the bookish Geordi LaChance tells the town’s toughest young hoodlum to suck his big fat one. Like Geordi, I literally couldn’t believe what had just come out of my mouth, and unlike the case with that character it had been completely unprovoked. It wasn’t that I didn’t find Ellison intimidating; I was well-aware of his volatile reputation and even though I topped him by half a foot I have no doubt he could have dusted me in a matter of seconds - this writer who had run with street gangs in the toughest sections of Brooklyn and faced down Frank Sinatra and his mafia cohort and once broke the pelvis of an ABC executive over a script dispute. No, he definitely wouldn’t have found me much of a challenge, my scant martial arts training or no. So Harlan hands me back my book, gives me the Long Stare - and throws my pen into the trash. Up till that point I guess I was just filling in his eyes the role of the obnoxious SF fan-dweeb he routinely excoriated in convention speeches and in print for decades, even as he made quite a good living off of them. But what followed, I think, managed to surprise us both: instead of abjectly apologizing or even blabbering that I’d just been kidding (which was only the truth), I matched his stare and said, “I’d like my pen back, please.” And you know what? Possibly realizing he’d gone too far, he actually started digging through the wastepaper basket looking for that sucker. Did I mention that there were a couple of gorgeous young women behind that autograph table with him? Of course there were, and as Harlan continued his search one of them disgustedly told me that she’d GIVE me a new pen, but I demurred. Within a few seconds science fiction’s Angry Young Man came up with it, and that was that. Several years later I was in Thailand, working for WHO teaching Cambodian refugees the rudiments of English. I was riding the tailgate of a tuk-tuk in heavy Bangkok traffic on my way to class, groping the overhead bar for purchase with one hand while clasping a load of books with the other, one said book being that autographed copy of “Six Science Fiction Plays,” which for whatever godforsaken reason I had chosen among the hundreds of books I owned to bring with me to Asia. Then the tuk-tuk hit a bump in the road, loosening my grip on the overhead bar, and I had a split-second decision to let the books go so I could grab the bar with both hands, or fall into traffic with them. Well, like I said, it’s been fifty years, and I’d gladly pay $1000.00 or even more to get that book back.

[@historybuff66]

@@michaelhall2709 What a delightful story that was a pure pleasure to read-a great way to start the day! It took some time to draft what you wrote and I very much appreciate your sharing your voluble story, tinged by irony. The ABC executive who endured a broken pelvis was Adrian Samish and I believe the row with him had to be related to Ellison’s teleplay to “The Price of Doom” for “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea”. Ellison famously refused to autograph any fan’s copy of the script in the wake of his unpleasant experience. Samish’s pelvis was broken by an 8ft model of the wall hung submarine Seaview falling directly on him I had read (!) Ellison was indeed one of a kind, an enigma at times. Irascible, indignant spiteful of a world filled with mediocrity and HUGELY protective of his work…and yet had a marvelous child like curiosity and a passion for the betterment of the human condition. Thanks again for sharing this wonderful memory!

[@Cove-o4d]

@@historybuff66 Demon With A Glass Hand, Soldier, and City On The Edge Of Forever, had one thing in common. Time travel. Did Harlan write any novels with that theme?

[@wayneheigl5549]

what a beautiful woman arlene martel was, i was in love with her from the start. the outer limits was the best. nothing on tv today was as good as this

[@charlesphillips430]

This spooked me as a kid! Great show, and acting was superb. RIP Robert and Arlene

[@cubehire3653]

Many living men live like this robot. Alone in the universe spending all their time with a computer. This episode was outstanding. The acting, the writing both outstanding.

[@charleswilson7371]

With all the phones laptops and other toys I'm not surprised to see more people become reclusive. It's a curse on mankind that we became so addicted to computers

[@michaelhall2709]

@@charleswilson7371 It’s actually much worse than that. With its algorithms that monetize tribalism and conflict, humans are being conditioned by social media to hate each other on a scale that hasn’t been seen in decades, if not centuries. This won’t end well.

[@grungepants]

Speaking deep truths

[@thomasvinciguerra9459]

An unforgettable episode. Harlan Ellison was irreplaceable. And Robert Culp, his friend, was beyond cool.

[@pretorious700]

Arlene Martel had an otherwordly beauty.

[@scottcarpenter9993]

That music is incredible. Such deep ideas back in the 1960s. And today, what have we achieved since then. So disappointing.

[@CousinBowling]

We've achieved more than they could ever imagine. Don't be one if those people..........

[@nunyabizness6595]

That is true. Look at the device you hold in your hands. In the 1960s people's minds would be blown. Camera, phone, computer. Also traveling telescopes of massive power. Who knows what they might find. It's important to look at the good things in life. Your soul will be better for it.

[@The22on]

Things i know now and things i didn't know. - I didn't know this was by Ellison. He also wrote the basic story for City on the Edge of Forever - my fav Star Trek TV episode. This Demon episode is my fav Outer Limits. - I read that Ellison wrote this with Robert Culp in mind. He told the producers to get Culp to star in this. - The story was supposed to take place on the Earth and another planet. When it became obvious that the cost of building the set of another planet was too high, they found this multi-story building. Rather than travel between planets, Culp runs from floor to floor. Personally, I love the building interior. It's a bit spooky, open, and offers great shots on the stair and stair landings. I like this because it lets you focus on the story line, instead of on the scenery. As a kid, I couldn't wait to find out what the 'glass hand' would reveal. What a cool idea. He kept asking the hand if it was complete enough to tell where the people of Earth were encoded. I thought they'd be in one of the fingers. The 'romantic' ending was also great. When she learned this 'hero' was a robot, she realized she could never love him. The look on Culp's face is interesting. He doesn't seem to be sad about her leaving. I guess his only feeling was that he'd have to spend centuries with no one to talk to. As a kid, I loved Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, Science Fiction Theater, Mr. Wizard, and those type of shows. I guess that's why I became a NASA engineer after I graduated college. Now I'm 'retired' and love watching these old shows.

[@michaelhall2709]

No. The original story featured a chase that took place all around Los Angeles, not two planets, which “The Outer Limits” nevertheless still could not afford. Associate Producer Robert Justman, who went on to perform similar miracles for *Star Trek* a couple of years later, fortunately was able to talk Ellison into the idea of a vertical chase confined to a single building, which wound up working extremely well. Since you cite “The City on the Edge of Forever” as your favorite Trek episode you might want to check out Ellison’s original script, which like “Demon” won the Writer’s Guild award for Best Teleplay. It has been available in several formats for years now, including an audiobook version and a wonderful graphic novel adaptation put out by IDW Comics. (My letter to the editor, which ain’t bad, was published in the final chapter.) Both “Demon With a Glass Hand” and “The City on the Edge of Forever” appear on TV Guide’s “Best 100 Episodes” list, just a few spaces apart.

[@michaelgriffin6570]

Spot on Nate

[@michaelgriffin6570]

@@michaelhall2709 and thanks

[@JimFortune]

The building is The Bradbury Building. It's in so many sci-fi movies and TV shows, I once thought it had something to do with Ray Bradbury!

[@richardmattingly7000]

Of all TV SciFi this episode stands alone as my favorite, great series like The Twilight Zone and The OuterLimits at their core asked the most profound of human questions. About existence, purpose, prejudice, horror, and awe something that Scifi /Fantasy series as well as films has lost since Star Wars.

[@mrzone1111]

The Outer Limits was one of the best TV series, this is one of its finest episodes, finest writing, finest cinema of its time, Loved Culp and Martel acting and appearances. The depressing ending always puzzles me, He is the savior of man, yes a robot, he did not know he was a robot. Why leave him? I am sure she was shocked, yet I feel he loved her, maybe he was a Ro-bit with emotions ( Like Alicha from The Twilight Zone The Lonely). Anyone else hope Amazing Alluring Arlene comes back to him???????

[@jackiereynolds2888]

For many decades, possibly my favorite of all.

[@SuperOmnicronsj44]

Say it with me ... "TALK TO THE HAND!!!"

[@nicholasmaude6906]

LOL!

[@johnhebert3855]

We only had three channels back then, but with programming like this, three was enough.

[@carabela125]

One of the best Outer Limits episodes.

[@ufoengines]

I still dig the scene where the "Hand" tell her how to reboot Trent after he was seemingly shot dead. Bummer Trent was not allowed to meet Kirk, Spock, or Picard in in a Star Trek episode. THE MACHINES ARE EVERWHERE ! Patents 3057551, 3190554 , 672256, 547860 .

[@x.y.8581]

over rated a bit actually

[@rodewaryerlotus9077]

VERY impressive story, superbly written, presented and portrayed by Culp and Martel.

[@ericlemaire8524]

Incredible moment of television. I still rember it 50 years after I watched it.

[@frank1fm634]

I always liked Robert Culp.I was around in the60's and Culp was dressed like I use to dress.Notice the boat sneakers.We lost Robert Culp also.Yes,we all have an expiration date.

[@elgiron5600]

😂 child of a baby boomer, here. Were those kicks really called "Boat sneakers"? Remind me of what they wore on Gilligan's Island.

[@frank1fm634]

el Giron yes they were called Keds "boat sneakers" and I use to buy them at 5 and dime stores for $1.99 a pair.They were the best sneakers I ever had.I use to run track in high school and these are the sneakers I wore and so did the other people on the track team.

[@elgiron5600]

@@frank1fm634$2 shoes!!?? Awesome Frank! Culp's get up is still pretty fly 😎

[@tuberobotto]

Culp was probably in his early or mid 20s here, and he looks like he could get casted in West Side Story as one of the Sharks but I wouldn't know if he ever dances or sings. He does have a powerful presence on screen due to his stature and he seems to imbue more of a dramatic, serious roles player. - Boomer from the 🇵🇭 Philippines here.

[@KneelB4Bacon]

The Bradbury Building was a great shooting location. It's been used in a bunch of movies, particularly "Blade Runner."

[@williama.brownjr.8014]

And D.O.A. with Edmond O'Brian.

[@tuberobotto]

Where's the building located actually? Has anyone here ever set foot in there? I'm really curious.

[@michaelhall2709]

@@tuberobotto it’s located in downtown Los Angeles. I don’t believe it’s open to the public, unfortunately.

[@historybuff66]

@@michaelhall2709 It was open as of 2014. I especially made it a point to visit it on my trip to LA. What amazed me is how much smaller it appeared in real life.

[@donfisher8035]

Can't describe in words the immense scope of camera lighting, shadow, perspectives, combined with a story twist and acting that's just heartwarming and heartbreaking. What a gifted writer H.

[@brianpaschal7755]

A most regrettably unfortunate ending but nonetheless excellent actors/actresses, plot, photography, storyline. Rest in both paradise & peace Mr. Harlan Ellison. I desire the same for another creatively great yet phenomenal writer known as Anthony Lawrence because some of his stories were things of legend for the OUTER LIMITS episodes as well.

[@Rickwmc]

Robert Culp was a fine actor, a handsome leading man who, although he never became a major star, was very well known on three TV series and a variety of movies. My favorite recollection of Mr. Culp was as the spy, Kelly Robinson, donning his white jeans and sneakers, on I-SPY (1965-1968).

[@christopherwood2290]

Great story, great directing, great acting. All on a shoe string budget.

[@undyingjman04]

When I was in my late teens one day I was hanging out with some friends and we had been tripping on LSD all day. When I had come down enough to act normal I went home and my dad was watching this episode on TV. I'm normally not in to classic black and white media, but since I was still high on acid I sat down and watched the whole episode. It definitely hit differently in a psychedelic headspace, and I have had an appreciation for these ford of movies and shows ever since.

[@charlesphillips430]

Sad ending. But great story and acting. RIP Arlena and Robert.

[@shaneilogo2100]

(in a robot voice) "Bend all of your fingers, except the middle one!" 😂

[@edp2260]

The story and the actors were great. Arlene Martel's reaction to finding out about Trent was moving. This is one of the best episodes. Robert Culp was in 2 other Outer Limits episodes. All great.

[@historybuff66]

The one episode he never really cared for was “Corpus Earthling”.

[@bharnden7759]

Arlene is best known as Spocks wife, T'Pring.

[@joesphgallo5534]

Best episode

[@ronniefarnsworth6465]

The first Blade Runner movie was made in that building !!

[@josephdrach7708]

Roadcaptainentertain,She was beautiful in yet another way in this episode.She was able to change her look so well.The nurse and flight attendant were Arlene Martel looking stunning in an amazingly different way.She was a beauty with talent too.

[@JackReynolds-w7g]

It always upset me that she left him.

[@TheAdorkableRJ]

This ending twist may have been foreshadowed pretty thoroughly by today's standards, but it's no less of a bittersweet gut-punch that leaves you awestruck and dejected at the end.

[@jeffdawson2786]

The most moving messiah short story adapted for TV on the 2nd best American science-fiction series with one of the greatest TV actors. Culp’s other incredible performance was in “Architects of Fear.”

[@michaelhall2709]

Unfortunately, “Corpus Earthling” was dreadful.

[@nunyabizness6595]

I thought it was great. The killer plants and the fish creature episodes were stinkers.

[@kencf0618]

They don't make 'em like this anymore.

[@sergioreyes298]

I can't imagime a more disheartening and devastating feeling than to discover that your identity is gone; or in this case, that you are not what you truly thought you were. The hopes and dreams you may have collected and looked forward to, gone, replaced by a terrible reality, that you are not even alive. Yet with emotions and sensations as if you were. Nothing could be worse in my opinion. An incredible script by Harlan, an awesome performance (as usual) by Culp, an absolutely top notch direction and photography. It just doesn't get any better than this, although DWAGH is about my fourth or fifth favorite OL episode. But nonetheless, an amazing achievement.

[@TricksterDa]

I remember watching this on network TV.

[@SignorNessuno65]

Been looking for that style golf jacket lately. I remember having one in my youth.

[@kencf0618]

This still hits.

[@thomasauslander3757]

Opening narration: "Through all the legends of ancient peoples - Assyrian, Babylonian, Sumerian, Semitic - runs the saga of the Eternal Man, the one who never dies, called by various names in various times, but historically known as Gilgamesh, the man who has never tasted death ... the hero who strides through the centuries ..." Closing narration: "Like the Eternal Man of Babylonian legend, like Gilgamesh, one thousand plus two hundred years stretches before Trent. Without love. Without friendship. Alone; neither man nor machine, waiting. Waiting for the day he will be called to free the humans who gave him mobility. Movement, but not life."

[@MichaeldeWeaver]

I remember this. In fact it was the first time I ever heard of Gilgamesh. But Elison got it wrong. Gilgamesh was not the immortal man. He was in search of the immortal man so he could learn to live forever.

[@buggles_mcgee]

Don't be that way baby, I'm a fully functional LUV MACHINE! 🤖❤🔧

[@johnhorne3052]

I even vibrate ;)

[@derby1884]

Such a carefully crafted series, was The Outer Limits. Complex stories, each with a message. Better than anything before or since. This particular episode is certainly one of my favourites, though the best of them all has to be "The Forms Of Things Unknown" which is almost Shakespearean in its dialogue. What each episode did have was a unique atmosphere and some terrific direction. Compare this to the dross that's on the TV today and I despair at where "entertainment" is heading.

[@historybuff66]

I had the good fortune to meet Arlene Martell in 1976…charming and elegant lady. On another note, Lubin composed a wonderfully timeless original score for this episode, certainly a high water mark for the entire series.

[@purefoldnz3070]

The Bradbury building where they shot Bladerunner.

[@xcalibur1011]

season 1& 2 of the b&w classic sci-fi tv show the outer limits should be in color with it,s amazing stories and wonderful special effect for an enjoyable series which is available on dvd and blu-ray disc from kino lorber corporation. please let them know you care fans.

[@randall7004]

Love the General Hospital soap opera scene from Culp and Martel. They remind me of Luke and Laura.

[@Steveunnie2798]

Arlene martel!!!!

[@iggbowmon3171]

Day-um. She straight up dumped him as soon as she found out he was a robot. That's cold. Blatant discrimination. Speciesist? Organismist? Whatever. Hella cold.

[@charlesmoore7349]

shot in the Bradbury building in LA. Ridely Scott used the same location in BLADERUNNER

[@tgomez16]

I like the Members Only jacket.

[@SNESfan8]

2:20 the ending of this episode was kinda depressing… She fell out of love pretty quick 😂

[@deacondavis5098]

There’s a movie version of this very episode in the works.

[@delavalmilker]

This wasn't filmed on a set. It was shot in the iconic Bradbury Building in downtown LA. The wrought iron, multi-level stairs formed the perfect "mood" for this episode.

[@andymsunem]

3:28 Harry Lubin - Sullen Mood (Full Mix) [Album: TRAGEDY AND ROMANCE]

[@AlexDraco]

1200 years of friendless, loveless vigil. And for what, in the end? Very likely to see himself dismantled by the future humanity when he'll have fulfilled his mission... Admitting history does not, in fact, repeat itself endlessly, since it does sound like a time paradox.

[@michaelwertzy9808]

I used to have a pair of oxen! But the landlord said "get rid of 'em, now! So I had to get rid of him. Aahh, life is good! One of them was "bluish" so I just named him "Babe"!

[@michaelhall2709]

In Ellison’s teleplay there’s a postscript after the Control Voice sign-off where Trent voiced his hope that when humanity is restored they’ll go ahead and shut him off. It was cut, either for being off-format or (more likely) due to time.

[@xcalibur1011]

(?) where is the demon with a glass hand prop of the outer limits worn by actor Robert Culp?

[@BelRiose2000]

So good

[@lewisner]

It's a shame they didn't give him a role in The Terminator.

[@guildx700]

My VERY fav Outer Limits. Yeas back I wrote a poem about the Golem, Gilgamesh, the Sentry. An amazing idea to say the least.

[@stevenpilling5318]

I thought I saw all those episodes. Somehow, I missed that one.

[@tuberobotto]

If it were remade today, the man would be heard saying "Siri...." and siri would be telling him the grim facts in a cheerful voice 🤔🤪

[@angelareele858]

+ loads of unnecessary cgi....... To add to the existential dislocation. +loads of inappropriate illogical casting.

[@nicholasmaude6906]

I've watched this episode however I was familiar with Robert Culp as FBI agent Bill Maxwell in the Greatest American Hero.

[@EricA-xd9fn]

She just walked away from the perfect husband. Never need to wash his underwear or socks. Reliable. Programmable. Won't stay out all night drinking, partying and chasing other women. What a dummy.

[@charleswilson7371]

And he can't get her pregnant so--NO kids to drive her mad.

[@gagarinone]

@@charleswilson7371 If he is really smart, he has the knowledge to build "children". A human body is made up of atoms. It is important to know how to put them together.

[@f12mnb]

Arlene Martel - the actress who played the woman, played the logical but sly T'Pring - the bethrothed of Spock in Amock Time (1967). Great episode: Culp, written by Ellison and with Martel. She later was in a Columbo episode with Culp but her scene was dropped . The location is a classic: The Bradbury Building - it will appear in the movie, The Artist. The unique internal staircase and layout makes it a great location.

[@nunyabizness6595]

She was great in Trek, Limits and Zone but later when i saw her in mission: impossible and six million dollar man i thought: man, she is wasted on this tripe.

[@josephgehen7400]

bummer all alone in a big strange world

[@gooberclown]

Well, he can always get on the Internet.

[@billthestinker]

Keep that glass hand away from Mr Happy 😆

[@historybuff66]

No worries…if one is a robot to begin with.

[@yeeluvspizza]

That actress played T'Pring, Spock's wife in Star Trek(Amok Time)

[@johnwriter8234]

. Today . sad ..Harlon Ellison passed away .

[@zanichbug]

Does anyone here know why the entire episode is no longer posted? it's a great story.

[@donkeyhanger]

Maybe she,s a Bot

[@PETERJOHN101]

This was my favorite episode as a kid. How interesting that he is described as neither man NOR machine. This appears to foreshadow the concept of AI as a lifeform. But no computer program, however sophisticated it may be, and regardless of its ability to mimic a human being, is alive.

[@lewisner]

The scientific definition of a living thing is that A) It finds fuel B) It stabilises its own entropy C) It interacts with its environment It doesn't need to be made of flesh or have DNA.

[@AllenMacCannell]

Major Sonja from I Dream of Jeannie!

[@pressureworks]

Tiger braved the Gestapo countless times, dangerous missions, capture, imprisonment, torture, but just couldn't deal with a Robot. Poor Trent.

[@historybuff66]

She also didn’t care to be married to Mr. Spock…

[@EdMcStinko]

Interesting, although the people who built him ultimately get nothing out of this. They will only be copies, completely separate from the originals.

[@dummydummy3100]

Copies of mankind housed in an artificial man. Appropriate.

[@Fred-mp1vf]

I hate it when I find out I'm only a robot and that my whole life was just an illusion!

[@ufoengines]

I'll always dig Martel rebooting Trent.

[@BeachsideHank]

Arlene Martel; she cuckolded Spock too, it takes one hell of a woman to do that. ☺

[@joesphgallo5534]

Where the full episode 😢

[@beyond_the_infinite2098]

The woman has affection for the man until she finds out he's an android [robot]. Obviously the relationship would change but why would she leave? He's basically the same guy.

[@johnhorne3052]

He's not a guy at all.

[@georgehenderson7783]

0:18 The fingers of his left hand are moving just like normal flesh and blood fingers 😅

[@eduardo_corrochio]

There's something about really sad endings and plot points in fantasy and/or science fiction. The more haunting, the more I enjoy them. That's rather bleak of me, I know. I have an affinity for stuff like the 1982 movie Blade Runner ... when human identity comes into play and the hero may not be what he, or we, thinks he actually is. This episode is excellent. Originally, as written it was supposed to be a sprawling chase story through countrysides but the show's budget had to make the setting much more tiny. At least we get to see the Bradbury Building. Just like in Blade Runner. Were I Trent and I had received this terrible news, I would have cried. But then, do robots weep?

[@The_Sharktocrab]

How could someone find the full version of this?

[@activeagent1074]

Why so many deleted episodes. My favorite is The pit.

[@meathead6155]

Dr. Breen!

[@lorrainenappa6142]

they saved the best for the last

[@jamesvincent1434]

I relate to Trent on an emotional level. Seriously I do

[@cdhearn14hearing38]

Talk to the hand girlfriend

[@nukliozz]

The Black Mirror of the 60's

[@nunyabizness6595]

Black Mirror is way too grim and depressing. Technology bad. I get it already! I'm a boomer and i think tech is great.

[@robertdix8515]

This is classic. It a shame that talent and imagination is mostly lacking in these times. Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein , E.E. "Doc" Smith and others knew how to tell a story and humanity's part in it both good and bad, hope and disparities, good plots, plausible futures often realized or on the way of being fulfilled. These days in the society of political correctness, hate mongering, et al societies have traded advancement in all areas of human society for complacency and apathy. People need to wake up before they lose their freedom and nation and take it back before it is too late. On of the best of those stories was "The Day the Earth Stood Still". It's lessons are still applicable today.

[@lewisner]

I have a book by Walter Tevis called Far From Home and if you haven't read it you ought to. He has a great time paradox story where a guy accidentally phones his own number and gets connected to himself in the future.

[@michaelhall2709]

If you really think the biggest threat facing humanity today is “political correctness,” you understood nothing the authors you cite were trying to tell you.

[@sergioreyes298]

The guardian of the human race. But she cannot bring herself to love a...machine. And I don't blame her. When AIs become like Trent some day, they will still to me be simply that, machines.

[@gagarinone]

We are also a type of machine, made up of proteins. When our level of technological knowledge is so high, it will be quite possible to build an AI with a human body, or for us to do the same, to choose the type of body we desire.

[@josefzack4617]

I remember two different TV networks each having "The Twilight Zone" with Rod Sterlinig and this here "The Outer Limits"; running almost simultaneously. in The Twilight Zone, generally speaking, there was always some sort of moral the the story had as a theme. with the endings mostly able to be seen, after one got used to the format of Buck Houghton, [I think his name was]. The Twilight Zone also presented many later famous TV/movie acors/actresses. Elizabeth Mongomery, Shatner, Charles Bronson, and many more. one, maybe two episodes even had Spencer Tracy as the principle character. The Outer Limits , on the other hand, didn't really have the above described. most if not all episodes in the Outer Limits incorporated a "shit just happens - sometimes" kind of a theme, throughout the various episodes. also The Outer Limits did not have as many years on TV as did the Twilight Zone. nevertheless, both were FAR BETTER, and in fact, supremely SUPERIOR, than the shit now shown on TV under the guise of Sci-fi. and that is for certain. but then again, I disconnected the TV from cable more than half a year ago. so I don't see, the political propaganda, the anti-religion hate, and the rest of the mess, even by accident. It WAS a tough decision to make, but I made it. now I don't miss TV at all. then again, TV has become so putrid, that I am not missing much anyways. so there that is. 'nuff said. then end

[@CousinBowling]

"anti-religion hate" yuck....

[@Jman417]

Where is this hand? It gotta be in the Smithsonian institute. It was partly the inspiration for the blockbuster hit movie "The Terminator".

[@calebprenger3928]

I'm really confused. Where is she going? she seems to be the only human left.

[@zacharyjohnson598]

Comet tv promo brought me here.

[@cccalll]

While creating AI(artificial intelligence) these prophetic episodes should remind men to ask themselves(should we create something that may one day destroy humanity?)!

[@christopherjames9843]

Is there a novelization or short story? I can't seem to come up with any answers?

[@michaelhall2709]

No novelization, though there is a graphic novel version that Ellison didn’t much care for even though it included portions of his script that ended up getting cut. The TV version is the definitive one.

[@nunyabizness6595]

Ellison did do some novellas that had the kyben in it though.

[@ThePyramidone]

I remember seeing this episode when it originally aired. I was disturbed but didn't understand when Martel's character just walked away. As I grew older I came to understand. I thought that the aliens' makeup and costumes were very clever and budget conscious. But the title always threw me off. Why did Ellison call the robot (android) a demon? Unless the aliens considered him one.

[@MichaeldeWeaver]

That's exactly the reason. Trent was a demon to them.

[@noneofyourbeeswax01]

What is the narrator on about? Gilgamesh wasn't friendless, he had his best pal Enkidu and they did all kinds of crazy shit together!

[@michaelhall2709]

But Enkidu dies early in the poem, leaving Gilgamesh (like Trent) alone and bereft.

[@sheiladawg1664]

So she'd rather be totally alone herself instead of with him? Doesn't make sense.

[@jonp4846]

Doesn't it? Think about it.

[@sheiladawg1664]

@@jonp4846 I have, that's why I asked. Maybe if you'd thought about it, you'd have a differing viewpoint to share. Think about it.

[@bedadays1763]

@@sheiladawg1664 maybe she needed time to come around and it appears there’s plenty of that in this episode

[@jensmitchell6999]

Shallow comment - No one wore with chinos better than Culp,

[@Jolly-Green-Steve]

I'm surprised that Harlan didn't also try to sue the Waynes brothers for Scary Movie 2 because the butler character is complete plagiarism of this episode just like The Terminator was. See the lady in this scene? she has the exact type of female features as Sarah Connor. Hair... breasts.... lips.... complete plagiarism!! Robert while filming the scene was thinking the phrase Skynet in his head over and over again and James Cameron obviously picked up on this and ripped that off as well.