episode #30 - Production and Decay of Strange Particles

Air Date: 4/20/64 writer and Director: Leslie Stevens

I get the impression, after watching this episode, that someone (Stevens maybe) read up on some of the latest theories on sub-atomic particles in the science magazines of that time (the sixties) and concocted a tale such as this as a fanciful interpretation of the possibilities. Of course, this interprets the fearsome aspects of such, otherwise it wouldn't be... a scary O L episode. It also copies some of the sf movies of the Golden Age, the ones concerning science going too far or uncovering more than we bargained for. This one involves an experiment on such particles at a research facility and the energy creatures which take over or replace most of the personnel there (including Rudy Solari, Joe Ruskin, Barry Russo, Robert Fortier and Leonard Nimoy).
George Macready (another sf film veteran-The Alligator People) actually has the main role as the man in charge, yet who becomes consumed by fear and needs his wife (Signe Hasso) to bolster him in solving the problem. This has some pretty spooky elements, mainly the scenes of the various men in their radiation suits getting consumed by some kind of energy, which then animates the suits. This then surprises by pointing towards an apocalyptic climax, including stock footage of a city getting evacuated. The science goes a little crazy at the end, involving time going backwards for about a minute, but overall it's an eerie suggestion of cosmic forces we may not be able to control after we discover them. BoG's Score: 7 out of 10


Outer Trivia: Star Trek TOS actor alert - this episode easily has the largest collection of actors soon to play roles on TOS; Nimoy, of course, would soon begin to essay the regular role of Spock; Solari appeared as an American Indian in The Paradise Syndrome; Ruskin was in The Gamesters of Triskelion; Russo appeared in 2 TOS episodes - The Devil in the Dark & The Ultimate Computer; and Fortier, back from Controlled Experiment, would show up in By Any Other Name.