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Director/Writer Leslie Stevens' THE BORDERLAND
is an unusually convincing tale of inter-dimensional travel.
Mark Richman ("The Probe") is compelling as a man determined
to explore another dimension, even at the risk of his life. With his
glittering eyes and lean, muscular face, Richman, under Stevens' taut
direction, brings just the right degree of intensity to lines like,
"And what we have discovered, in this invisible field, is a doorway,
a doorway into the fourth dimension."
Actress and acting coach, Nina Foch ("Tales of the City")
is vivid as Richman's mathematician wife. She is convincing, as being
both a dedicated scientist and as a woman, very much in love with her
knowledge seeking, risk taking husband.
Veteran character actors, Gladys Cooper ("The Twilight Zone")
and Alfred Ryder ("Star Trek") play two phony psychics, determined
to wreck Richman's authentic attempt to reach the other side. As representatives
of the "old school" of extra-scientific investigation, Cooper
and Ryder seem right at home.
Director Steven's Teleplay achieves a balance rare in Sci-Fi fables.
The character development and the pseudo-science stuff are given equal
time.
The episode's chief FX involves things "whiting out" and reversing
as they travel into another dimension and back. The serviceable, if
not dazzling, FX are courtesy of Butler-Glouner, Inc.
My favorite scene takes place at a dinner party at the home of a wealthy
man. After explaining that he put his left hand into another dimension,
Richman puts his hands on the table, revealing two right hands!
Director of Photography, John M. Nickolaus, Jr., is resourceful. Visually
striking is an overhead shot of Richman's dimensional chamber, and it's
nearby horse-shoe shaped control panel.
The music is mostly recycled stuff, including the trumpet-flavored score
usually heard over the series' end credits. Dominic Frontiere is the
responsible party.
THE BORDERLAND should be fairly watchable for most Sci-Fi viewers. Those
interested in tales involving attempts to contact or reach the "other
side" will be fascinated. THE BORDERLAND will knock you dead! BACK
TO: EPISODE
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