Out
of This World: Little Lost Robot
DVD
release from British Film Institute
Review
by Adrian Smith
(This review pertains to the UK Region 2 DVD release)
Alongside
the recent BFI release of the BBC television series Out of the Unknown
comes this oddity; the only completely surviving episode of Out of This World,
a science fiction series produced in the early 1960s by independent television
channel ABC. The series was created by Irene Shubick and produced by Leonard
White, who would achieve lasting fame through his co-creating The Avengers.
Like other anthology shows before it such as Armchair Theatre, this was
conceived as an opportunity to present a variety of quality writing to
mainstream audiences. It was Shubick's belief that science fiction contained
some of the 'most original and philosophical ideas' in modern fiction.
Boris
Karloff was employed as the presenter for the show. By this time he was
seventy-five but was still regularly working in both the US and the UK despite
deteriorating health. He was no stranger to the anthology format, having
previously hosted the shows The Veil (1958) and Thriller
(1960-1962), the latter running to sixty-seven episodes. Out of This World
itself only ran to thirteen episodes, despite being a success at the time.
Irene Shubick was poached by the BBC where she was able to spend the next
several years working on her love for science fiction by producing the
aforementioned Out of the Unknown, that time not using a presenter.
Sadly,
due to budgetary constraints, it was common for television recordings to be
erased after broadcasts, so only one episode of Out of This World
remains, an adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Little Lost Robot. As with all
of Asimov's robotic tales, the story deals with the problems that arise when
the rules governing robot behaviour are tampered with. When an irritated
engineer tells a highly-sophisticated robot to, "Get lost!" this is
exactly what it does. Obeying every instruction, it proceeds to blend in with a
hanger full of identical robots. However, as this robot had its rule to not
allow harm to come to humans revoked, this poses something of a problem for
those in charge. Dr Susan Calvin, a robot psychologist, is called in to devise
a series of tests which will allow her to flush out the real lost robot in
order that the whole batch need not be destroyed. Despite the small sets and
slightly laughable robot costumes, it is an intriguing tale.
Fragments
of other episodes have survived, and in attempt to be the most complete release
possible the BFI have included them here: an audio recording of Cold Equations,
starring Peter Wyngarde and Jane Asher, and an incomplete audio recording of
Imposter, an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story which would later become a
Hollywood movie in 2001. Also included is the shooting script for Dumb Martian,
adapted from John Wyndham, and a brand new audio commentary with the series
producer Leonard White. White, now aged 98, is on remarkable form and has an
excellent memory for his work in British television. Rounding out the DVD
package is a booklet containing a full history of Out of This World
including plot details for each episode.
This
latest BFI release is the last in their current "Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and
Wonder" season and is a must for completists and genre fans, and
demonstrates that TV science fiction in the 1960s could be more than just
Doctor Who.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON UK
