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Director James Goldstone's, THE INHERITORS, is
the only two part "Outer Limits" episode. It is also one of
the best episodes.
In a Far East war, four soldiers receive what should have been fatal
bullets to the brain. Their brain waves indicate a second, alien brain
to be controlling them. When a government official, Robert Duvall, ("Apocalypse
Now"), explaining all this to the Secretary of Science, superimposes
slides of all four men's alien brain waves over each other, they are
all identical. As Duvall explains it, "Just one pattern. Just one
alien brain"
The alien presence in the men's brains has had a dramatic effect on
their intelligence. "Three of these men developed I.Q.'s over 200",
Duvall exclaims.
Soon, three of the four soldiers disappear. The fourth, (Steve Ihnat),
who's in a hospital recovering from his head wound, has an armed guard
outside his room. Soon, however, the fourth man also vanishes.
Robert Duvall brings an amazing amount of concentrated energy to his
role, as the dedicated assistant to the Secretary of Science. Under
Goldstone's dynamic direction, Duvall is a tightly coiled wire, just
waiting to explode.
As the leader of the alien brain controlled team, Steve Ihnat ("Star
Trek"), gives an effectively offbeat performance. Handsome and
frequently smiling, Ihnat's eyes seem slightly unfocused, as if he's
looking somewhere beyond, into an invisible realm. He makes us believe
he's under the power of an alien force.
The scrip,t (Teleplay by Seeleg Lester and Sam Neuman; Story by Sam
Neuman, Seeleg Lester, and Ed Adamson), is complex without being confusing.
The writers seem to have relished the opportunity of having two hours
to tell an "Outer Limits" tale, instead of the usual sixty
minutes, and rose to the occasion.
My favorite scene takes place at the end of the episode, when Duvall
finds out what the alien controlled soldiers are really up to. His transformation,
from driven and tough, to dazed and amazed, is a delight to behold.
Director of Photography, Kenneth Peach, delivers powerful visuals. Particularly
good is a shot of in Ihnat's hospital room, with horizontal Venetian
blind "stripes" across Duvall's chest.
The music varies between effective and weird/hokey. Harry Lubin gets
the credit/blame.
THE INHERITORS should be highly watchable for most Sci-Fi viewers. Duvall
fans will have a field day. BACK TO: EPISODE
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