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Writer/Director Leslie Stevens', THE PRODUCTION
AND DECAY OF STRANGE PARTICLES, is an unusual tale of nuclear experimentation.
George Macready ("Peyton Place") plays the head of a scientific
lab at a nuclear reactor plant, where his technicians mix odd matter
from outer space with Earth-bound, radioactive materials. The result
turns nuclear technicians into powerful energy creatures, and sets in
motion a chain reaction in the nuclear pile that threatens to blow the
area sky high. Maybe this guy should have stuck to his chemistry set!
George Macready, brings an impassioned, breathless delivery to lines
like, "The ultra large out there, the ultra small boiling up in
our reactor. Their radioactivity is greater than your wildest dreams,
like a hole torn in the universe... something seeping in." Initially
on target, Macready's performance, under Stevens' indulgent direction,
gradually ends up going over the top, much like the reactor's rising
core radiation level.
Stevens' screenplay has some good, scientific-type dialogue. At one
point Macready, discussing the source of the strange matter from outer
space he's experimenting with, states, "Quasi-stellar radio sources.
They radiate, they pulse, but they're not galaxies and they're not stars.
They break every rule in the book."
Leonard Nimoy ("Star Trek") shows up briefly as a nuclear
technician, taken over by radioactive matter from outer space. It's
a small role, but it's nice to see the future Vulcan in action.
The FX in this episode involve lightning, smoke, fire, and explosions,
all connected to the episode's radioactive experimentation. Special
Effects person, Si Simonson, as well as Project Unlimited, Inc., get
the credit.
Much of the music in this episode is the standard, obvious brassy stuff,
going up an octave at a time to build tension. Naturally, Dominic Frontiere
is, once again, the responsible party.
Director of Photography, Kenneth Peach, gives us clever screen imagery.
At one point Macready holds up a photo of the radioactive matter that
has burned a hole from another dimension to ours: we see Macready through
a clear spot in the photo. This is my favorite scene.
THE PRODUCTION AND DECAY OF STRANGE PARTICLES should be fairly watchable
for most Sci-Fi viewers. Those expecting the usual kind of "Outer
Limits" alien monster episode may be disappointed. BACK
TO: EPISODE
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