Au-delà du réel Demon with a Glass Hand (1963–1965) Online

This well-regarded episode of the influential 1960's science fiction series "The Outer Limits", written by Harlan Ellison, tells the story of a man who awakens to discover he is being pursued by alien beings and has no idea why. Robert Culp plays Trent, the mysterious amnesiac whose only aid and link to his past comes in the form of a mechanized hand grafted onto his wrist. The hand is missing 3 of it's fingers which are actually components of it's computerized brain. Trent must retrieve these missing pieces to make the hand fully functional so it can fill in the missing pieces of his memory.

Though the talking hand's exposition in the first ten minutes is a bit of a chore to follow, the episode really takes off when Trent encounters his alien pursuers in a towering office building.

Much of the episode's appeal can rightly be attributed to the casting of Robert Culp as the mysterious Trent. He exudes intelligence, humanity and not an ounce of hysteria, but rather a quiet desperation as he dodges attack after attack during his dangerous search for answers. A quest further complicated when he encounters Consuelo (Arlene Martel in an excellent, heartfelt performance), an office worker who's also trapped in the building. She becomes Trent's ally and soon, amidst all the excitement and suspense, an engaging little love story develops here, too.

There are aspects of the production that, for some anyway, might not hold up so well since it first aired in the 1960's. For example, the aliens are supposed to be on Earth passing themselves off as humans, but for some reason they look like they are wearing a lot of eye shadow with stockings pulled over their heads. Also, for an advanced alien race you'd think they'd have come armed with something more sophisticated than ordinary revolvers. A teleportation device just looks like a funhouse mirror, and the scoring is, at times, quite jarring thanks to the plinking of an overbearing piano. However, these shortcomings do not overshadow the considerable appeal of it's intriguing story, exciting action sequences and the high caliber of it's lead performances.

Also quite a fascinating character in it's own right is the glass hand. A glittering piece of art with printed circuitry exposed beneath it's transparent "skin", this is one of the coolest props ever designed for a science fiction show and Robert Culp himself supplies the voice of the computerized appendage.

I met and talked with Harlan Ellison at an early '70s Star Trek Convention, and the conversation drifted to DEMON, and how he hated the way the writers butchered & disgraced his story. "Imagine", he said: "Creatures from a far-future century fist-fighting and shooting at each other with pistols! Gimme a break!" Its saving grace, apart from its being a terrific sci-fi story, was actress Arlene Martel, who later gained fame as Spck's wife in a Star Trek episode AMOK TIME. That's the one that truly made her famous, previous to that one, she was but a struggling young actress. Her role in DEMON I thought outstandingly underplayed.

I'm the eldest son of the Assistant to the Producer of this episode of The Outer Limits. It is in my opinion one of the best episodes he was involved in (the last year of production). The show aired Saturday night on ABC. On the Monday morning following the show, the phone in the producer's office rang and my father answered it. The voice identified himself as Ray Bradbury and asked to speak to Ben Brady the producer. My father at first thought it was a joke. It wasn't. Ray Bradbury told Ben Brady that he had watched the show on Saturday night and wanted him to know how much he enjoyed it. Not a bad sci-fi recommend I would think. Harlon Ellison (writer) also called Ben Brady and demanded his name be removed from "that piece of S***!" My father said Ben calmed him down, a little.

Please remember when you watch the original (B&W)Outer Limits that the budget was very limited $100k an episode I think. And that was for everything. So the aliens in this episode wore bathing caps and the "set" was the old Bradbury building in downtown LA. Shot the entire thing in one night. At least the run around the stairs, elevator scenes. For what it was and when it was done, it pretty good.

People occasionally ask,"do you know where the glass hand is?" I do not. I doubt it exists today. Most props are made in multiples, I would imagine there was more than one, and based on the budget limitations of the time, probably returned to a pop rental company. One more piece of trivia - the 1964 season of Outer Limits was shot at what was then called The Executive Producers Studio on Sunset Blvd. That is the original location where Al Jolson's The Jazz Singer (the first talking motion picture)was shot, and they had preserved the original stage he used. The studio has gone through several changes of ownership/function, its now called Sunset Bronson Studios. I had many a good craft services meal there (Dad hated to cook.)

This one I liked - from the very first time it was viewed. It has power - with powerful actors & actress. You "feel" the force of the episode - and brace for the surprise ending. When first viewed - it held me spellbound -all the way to the end. We just sat there & thought about it. It was awesome that people could's imaginations could bring this to the screen with such skill. It made me jealous - how they could dream this up & I couldn't. This episode endeared me to the "Outer Limits" forever. It's really incredible they could find just the "right people" in the right scenes with just the "right lines" - When VCR's came out - saw my chance to watch these episodes over & over again - and never tire of them. But - I still remember that night in the early 1960's - when we were held spellbound by this episode - a standard by which other episodes should be judged - absolutely loved it. Thank very much for the privilege of letting me comment.

Michael [email protected]

What sets the great episodes of 'The Outer Limits' apart from the others? First, the use of dark and mood setting lighting (totally absent from episodes like 'Expanding Human'); second, the use of music that complements or emphasizes the tone of the story (absent from episodes like 'Behold, Eck!'); good acting and direction (missing from 'The Architects of Fear,' and many others) and most importantly, a story whose tension builds to a strong ending (there are too many episodes that fall apart at the end, such as the intriguing 'Cry of Silence,' and 'Cold Hands, Warm Heart,' with William Shatner, etc., etc.)

This episode has it all. The 'Gilgamesh' story is retold as a dark science fiction tale (kudos to Harlan Ellison!); a master stroke to use the downtown Los Angeles Bradbury Building, darkly lit and other worldly looking, as the primary set. You can see the 'old' Bradbury Building in the film noir classic 'D.O.A' (1950), and the 'new' building with an enlarged glass skylight roof built for 'Blade Runner'(1982) in 'Pay It Forward' (2000). The setting and lighting really add to the theme.

The music is strikingly different from almost any other episode. It is mostly a percussive piano, like the flat deadly snap of a gunshot, that hammers away the stark theme -- all humanity has died 200 years in the future and warring aliens have traveled back in time to kill Trent, who holds the secret to the disappearance of the 70 billion gone.

A tympani, organ, and a theremin like cello provide most of the musical accents. The borrowed 'One Step Beyond' theme doesn't horn in at key moments, but is just hinted at musically towards the end. Harry Lubin does a great job of blending stark music with stark theme. Knowing Harlan Ellison's habit of fitting specific music in his scripts, I wouldn't be surprised if he had had a hand in shaping how the score would sound. That may be why it's so different from any other episode's score.

For those who watched these episodes when they first were shown on TV, some are never forgotten. This is one. Although it seems like Robert Culp wears the same hairdo, stove pipe white pants and tennis shoes in all three of his 'Outer Limits' appearances, he does a good job here, probably due to the no nonsense direction of Byron Haskin. Culp was merely embarrassing spouting nursery rhymes in 'The Architects of Fear,' but was better in 'Corpus Earthling,' and here, since he's really a robot--oops! I shouldn't have told you! -- his acting is more effective.

Then there's the great story! The tension keeps building, and new discoveries and layers of meaning are literally added as missing fingers are attached to his computer hand. This is real science fiction content. New revelations and surprises are added up to the very end of the story. No weak ending here! The only weak point: how easily Trent can dispatch the 'invincible' aliens. But so what? This is not just an 'all action' episode, but a gradual unravelling of a terrifying future, and ultimately, Trent's present.

Although it's true that James Cameron publicly admitted to having used Harlan Ellsion's ideas from this episode and his other one 'Soldier,' in developing 'The Terminator,' the traveling backward in time to kill someone to change the future theme was already an old science fiction story plot from at least the nineteen thirties! In fact, 'The Outer Limits' episode 'The Man Who Was Never Born' is specifically about this very theme.

No matter what, you can enjoy this stand out episode as one of the very best of the entire series. I give it a 9.

I beg you to remember that this was written when most TV fans thought of science fiction as Buck Rogers or Flash Gorgon. The ideas and concepts were way ahead of their time for TV. Today we laugh at the special effects and Cosme's but also remember that TOL was made on a very tight budget. lighting effects and camera angles were used with he music to try and add the confused feeling that Trent and Consuelo were enduring. All in all it worked by 60's standards.

You can poke holes or take exception to certain issues that were not addressed but hey, they only had an hour (about 48 minutes without commercials). All in all I feel this is one of the most ingenious and in some ways eerie plots in early TV scifi. It has rightfully earned its place in the hearts of scifi fans.

This is by far the best piece of 60's television that I have ever seen... and not only in the genre of sci-fi(sorry, Harlan, "fantasist") or episode of the original The Outer Limits. You can tell that it is by Ellison, and the part this(and the almost as good Soldier) played in inspiring The Terminator is impossible to ignore; I am a fan of Cameron, and I doubt he intended to plagiarize. The story is compelling, engaging, has stunning twists and turns and is smart without being convoluted or difficult to follow. This has amazing pacing, moves fast and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time, not overstimulating you at any point. The action is incredible, and this is exciting, suspenseful and tense throughout it. This has a chilling and unforgettable ending, and in spite of when this was made, nothing looks silly. The effects are rather well-done, and this was ahead of its time in its concepts and the way it explores them. This has excellent cinematography and editing. The acting is marvelous, and Culp, as well as everyone else, is spot-on. There is a bit of disturbing content in this. I recommend this to any and all fans of science fiction. 10/10

I met Robert Culp in 2010 at the Palm Springs Film Noir Festival. He had white hair, but was still unmistakable.

He was having dinner and was rather angry I interrupted. I said, "Mr. Culp. please forgive me for interrupting you dinner, but this is probably the only chance I'll have to get an autograph." I guess my humble tone of voice was enough to calm his anger. I didn't mention "I Spy," or "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," which everyone thought would make him a star. I said "the one thing I've never forgotten was your performance in "The Demon With A Glad Hand." He replied "Oh, yes." Then he looked up at me rather pensively--thinking I was going to start a long conversation. I had already been told not to do that. I said "Thank you Mr. Culp, I love your work," and walked away. He evidently had a short fuse and I wasn't going to provoke a scene. Ten stars for "The Demon" and ten stars for the man.

Robert Culp with an oddball hand is chased by oddball villains.

Please don't "not useful" me for saying this, but for decades I hated this hour! The look of the guys in masks, the hand, some story elements, it just turned me off!!!!!!!!!! But now I love it!!

I will never know why some Limits shows require added screenings before they really grow on you??

Yes, I agree with the other posters, this is a knockout and one of the best episodes of the series. Too bad the writer was not totally pleased with the end product, but who cares, I love it, and so do most others. Perhaps the best thing Robert Culp ever did.

***SPOILERS*** Finding himself back in 1964 in the what seems like the totally deserted Barbuary Building in L.A "Two Fingers" Trent, Robert Culp, is chased by a number of strange raccoon like looking aliens who want to not only kill him but get their hands his glass left hand. It's that hand when it has it's three other fingers, which the aliens have, attached to it will have all the knowledge of the universe. Including where the 70 billion human beings who survived a war, some 1,000 years in the future, between the human race and their Kybean invaders have hidden themselves!

Trent gets unexpected help from the cleaning woman in the near deserted building Consuelo, Arlene Martel, who has no choice but to help the two fingered guy in realizing that the fate of all humanity, which will be complete annihilated, is at stake if Trent is ever caught and killed by the Kybans! The Kybans lead by their leader Arch, Abraham Sofaer, go back and forth in time only by two's with the help of this "Time Mirror" that's in the building that Trent is commanded, by his glass hand, to destroy.

It's in the end after Trent's completes his mission and Consuelo falls in love with him the the truth about him and the mission he's been sent on as well as the missing 70 million human beings comes out! And it turns out to be a shock to he system to everyone involved! Trent Consuelo and all of us watching the movie!

***SPOILERS*** Interesting and well thought-out sci-fi episode from the "Outer Limits" written by Harilan Ellison which is considered to be one of the best of the series. Robert Culp as Trent the man from the future has no idea what he's, or those who sent him, have got in store for him. It's that very fact of Trent not knowing what his mission really is and even far far more important what he has to do with the missing 70 billion future human beings he would not have been able to carry it out. That's in Trent knowing that what he's to do, like risking his life, to save all of humanity really has nothing at all to do with him at all. It's that very fact of Trent not knowing exactly who and what he is that made him successfully complete his mission! A mission he would have failed in if he knew the truth about himself!

An astonishing episode. I've seen dozens of Outer Limits eps and really had no idea one could be as intriguing, profound, and even tragic as this. I've now watched it a second time and the plot was as gripping as the first, plus a lot of details stand in clearer relief now. It certainly doesn't lack for atmosphere either!

No need to belabor the details of the narrative (others have completed that task) but in my view this ep redeems the entire series. It's made with the quality and care one normally associates with motion pictures, and the storyline and theme stand the test of time quite well, unlike so much sci-fi and fantasy-fi from the era.

A pleasant surprise, highly recommended.

PS: Don't read any spoilers!

While there are a few minor, minor quibbles I could have with this one, "Demon With a Glass Hand" is among the best episodes of "The Outer Limits". According to the episode's writer, Harlan Ellison (who is a VERY strange man in all the interviews I've seen him give), the ideas in this show (and some of his other work) was stolen or at least 'creatively borrowed' by the folks who made "The Terminator". While I am not sure I'd go quite that far, I would agree that there are some strong similarities.

The show begins with a man (Robert Culp) on the run from some goofy looking aliens in present day Earth. The beings are trying to kill Culp--to stop him at all costs. Yet, again and again, Culp is able to take them out one after another--but they keep coming. His only companion during much of this episode is a weird computerized hand--one that is missing several digits. And, when Culp asks the hand questions, he realizes that how much he can be told by this machine is based on how many fingers he recovers--and some of the aliens have these parts and he must get them. If it all sounds very weird, that's because it is. This is one seriously strange and highly creative episode and it grows on you the further you watch. What exactly is happening, who he is and who these aliens are will all be answered by the end of the episode.

The show gets VERY high marks for creativity and uniqueness. While I could see a lot of the Terminator films in this episode, I've seen nothing or practically nothing before it that was like "The Demon With a Glass Hand". Unusual, gripping and haunting--this is one to see.

Oh, and what are my minor quibbles? The aliens are simply guys with nylons on their faces and goofy black eye shadow (looking a bit like the Joker)! Also, why didn't these folks EVER gang up on Culp and attack him in a rational manner?! They were amazingly stupid and easy to beat for aliens!

I was a great TV watcher in those days. I longed for the next, at least decent, episode of whatever. Understand, we were limited in those days, everything black and white. I loved SciFi...

In those days I watched Twilight Zone, and later, Outer Limits, because they were it.

Sometimes, on TV or elsewhere, I'd see something that did it. Something for me. Something gorgeous SciFi.

It's not that I'm picky. I enjoy all kinds of TV, and elsewhere. It's just that sometimes an idea reaches out, takes hold, demands attention, and a teenager wakes up.

I know it's just old black and white TV. It's heavy. Watch it anyway.

Robert Culp stars as Trent, a man who awakened ten days ago with no prior memory of who he is, or what's going on, other than that he has a computerized glass hand that gives him limited information, and he is being chased by strange looking humans who turn out to be invading aliens from the future who are seeking the glass hand which is missing three fingers that they have possession of, and will tell them where the 70 billion missing future humans are when attached, which it turns out is closer than anyone realizes... Atmospheric episode with a fine performance by Culp maintains viewer interest throughout, with some ingenious ideas, though the aliens look distressingly shabby! Still memorable regardless, with a striking ending.

Robert Culp is given the task of saving 70 billion earth people who have gone into hiding. To manage this, he must fulfill his destiny by confronting a series of entities from the future who are sent to kill him, thus preserving their society. Culp has a glass hand which is missing fingers; this means the master computer necessary to complete his defense is missing part of its memory. He joins forces with an innocent Hispanic woman as he confronts each of the forces. Some carry with them fingers that he can add to his hand. Once completed, it will allow him to free those that have gone into hiding. I have to say that it is not entirely clear why this mechanism is employed, but Culp is masterful in attempting put together the pieces and accomplish his goal. A good writer like Ellison (who is also the screenwriter of "City on the Edge of Tomorrow," arguably the best Star Trek episode) can make a story ring where others create a dull thud.

This episode is legendary in the respect that so many find this to be the diamond in the rough. If set against the rest of Outer Limits Season 2 that could be a fair approximation. However, it doesn't quite make it when set against many of Season 1's episodes. There are logistic problems that prevent this. Gone are the geniuses that made Season 1 what it was. Gone is the clever imagination and ever so subtle nuance that propelled potential pretension, cliché, and mediocrity into something awesome and mysterious. I admit that I was ready to give up on Season 2 after the 4th confounding and benign episode during the original broadcast. I was 7 years old. So, it was with some apathy that I began to watch this issue. All Robert Culp had to do was narrate was that he was born 10 days prior, etc., that I surmised immediately he was some kind of android. The glass hand sort of clinched it. So, if being a robot of some kind was supposed to be a surprising revelation at the end of the issue, it wasn't for me. I continued to watch assuming that this would be incorporated into the plot somehow in a fancy way. Instead the writers started to try and downplay this 'tell' and made every attempt to cleanse my precognition by emphasizing his alleged humanness. As a result, I became more confused and really couldn't get around that glass hand. It was there and a significant part of the plot line, after all. Culp has no memories of anything prior to the previous 10 days, admits he hasn't slept in that time (most humans die after 4 days), and doesn't seem concerned that he has a glass hand or why. He talks to it, it talks back. Therefore, if he reveals himself to be a mechanical being at the conclusion of the episode as if that is supposed to be the 'big surprise' then I would suggest he'd be the only one who didn't already know this. Anyway, I digress. So, during my original viewing decades ago, as soon as his 'futuristic' pursuers are visually revealed, I chose to find something else to occupy my evening. White face, blacked eye sockets, a modified shower cap, an occasional nylon stocking pulled over the head and a piece of cheap costume jewelry are not what this 7 year old wanted to see as the 'monster' in an Outer Limits episode. Simply dreadful, tired and completely disappointing. I understand the budget issues surrounding OL episodes, yet, once again, the season 2 team seems to have no imagination - or it doesn't come across that they even tried to do something unusual with the makeup. (I did discover after finally watching all of the way through recently that you could tell which of the aliens was the boss because he had a small cape - >insert underwhelmed wow<) Arline Martell is on hand as....well, to provide assistance when needed (yank necklaces from aliens attacking Culp, resurrecting Culp from the semi-dead, and, of course, to fall in love with Culp). How much different this episode would have turned out of Martell wasn't part of the story. I suggest Culp would have lost and the 70 billion missing human beings would never see the light of day again. That's a huge number, isn't it? We have over 6 billion today and we suffer greatly from those things that over-population and bad government would promote. There's no telling what problems 70 billion people would have, but apparently these aliens trying to exterminate them was first and foremost. Like I said, I finally was able to get through this recently. I have a feeling that the original story simply had to be better than this representation. I also hear that Ellison was very unhappy with the liberties taken with the final product. So, I won't blame him for the failure hear to maximize the potential. Once again the blame rests solely on this season's production staff. The story is or could have been very worthwhile. Instead it is very mundane as it takes place almost entirely in some ornate old abandoned office building. The mazelike confined atmosphere tends to frustrate and grate on the nerves as the run from room to room and staircase to staircase. The fact that advanced futuristic aliens would be shooting revolvers is tremendously distracting and, again, unimaginative. I won't even mention how Culp's partially assembled gloved hand manages to act like a complete appendage when convenient. Oops. too late. The bottomline for me is whether I felt 'awe and mystery'. Nope. Not quite. A let down. Then Culp is revealed to be exactly what I thought he was the first 5 minutes into the episode. I won't reveal what happened to the 70 billion people. You might even be able to guess it on your own like I did. For me the best part is when Martell walks away from Culp after he is revealed to be a robot after all of her professed love of him. Thus, he is left alone. This combined with the rest manages to pull this episode into the 'not worthless' category. I would recommend it despite my apparent condemnation here. But it currently sports a 9 in IMDb. That's way too high - considering all things.

I doubt that the film I'm frantically trying to remember and to watch is not this film But Google keeps bringing me here, so maybe one of you know the answer. I was watching some science fiction show with my dad when I was 7-8 years of age back in the early '60's. All I remember is a guy who was stuck in a room. The room seemed to have rows of computers....blinking lights. I remember him being really afraid, like he was hiding from someone who was in pursuit. At the end of the show the man removes a glove that covered his hand/fingers. There I think I saw, in place of finger digits, electronic tubes.....like the ones in old tv sets. That's all I remember. No story line. Outer Limits, Twilight Zone? I don't know. Does any of this sound familiar? I would love to find this film! Thanks!