There Is Nothing Wrong with Your Television Set Quiz

Answer: ABC

"The Outer Limits" appealed especially to a younger demographic and established itself a loyal cult following during its first season. ABC effectively killed the show by moving it from Monday nights to Saturday nights for the second season; forcing competition with the more popular CBS-broadcasted Gleason Show.

None of the other options existed when "The Outer Limits" originally aired. FOX launched in 1986 and UPN in 1995. The basic cable and satellite television channel, Sci-Fi Channel (afterwards called SF, Sci-Fi, and Syfy), came on the scene in 1992. The revival show did air on Sci-Fi Channel from 1999 through 2002.

Answer: Control Voice

The full text of the opening narration was as follows: "There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to - The Outer Limits." Later versions of the introduction were condensed. The epilogue identified the narrator: "We now return control of your television set to you. Until next week at the same time, when the control voice will take you to - The Outer Limits". Vic Perrin was the only regular cast member on the show.

"Keeper of the Purple Twilight" was a name of a second season episode.

Answer: viewers might fear an air raid

ABC executives were sensitive to the fact that America was dealing with the Cuban Missile Crisis and that the proposed title might disquiet viewers. In the revival series (1995-2002), the Control Voice would say "Please stand by" on either side of each commercial break in tribute. The network also rejected "Beyond Control" before finally settling on "The Outer Limits".

Answer: oscilloscope

The Control Voice narration was played over an oscilloscope display in "The Outer Limits". It was as if your television set became an oscilloscope while the enigmatic narrator controlled the horizontal and the vertical. It's actually quite possible to turn your television set into an oscilloscope, unless of course you've upgraded to LCD, plasma, or another type of unit that does not use a cathode ray tube (CRT) as its display element. Pre-digital oscilloscopes also used CRTs.

It was hardly unusual to see oscilloscopes in movies and television shows in the 1950s and 60s.

They were the scientific equipment stand ins de jour.

Answer: Chemosphere

Chemosphere, once called the "most modern home built in the world", was an engineering marvel. It was designed as a single story octagonal building perched atop a five-foot-wide thirty-foot-tall concrete pole on a 45 degree slope. The saucer-shaped house was included as a futuristic residence in "The Duplicate Man". Exterior shots were filmed on location, while interior scenes were shot on a sound stage set designed to resemble the home's interior.

Hearst Castle is a grand mansion designed by architect Julia Morgan for publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. It's located on the beautiful Central California coast near San Simeon. The Winchester Mystery House is a curious Victorian style mansion located in San Jose, California. After the death of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester, his widow directed continued construction on the house until her own death. Legend is she believed she could only appease the ghosts that haunted her by continuously building. The result was one bizarre house with doors leading to nowhere and other such oddities. It's a very interesting tour if you're ever in the neighborhood. Finally, Xanadu 2.0 is the earth sheltered home of Bill and Melinda Gates in Medina, Washington.

Answer: "I, Robot"

In the original series (1963-1965), Nimoy played a role in "Production and Decay of Strange Particles" (season 1, episode 30) and the part of reporter Judson Ellis in "I, Robot" (season 2, episode 9). He also played defense attorney Thomas Cutler in the remake of "I, Robot" (season 1, episode 18 of the 1995 reboot) under the direction of his son, Adam Nimoy. The "I, Robot" episode actually parallels the unrelated movie version in quite a few interesting ways. For one, both stories feature a robot accused of murder.

"I Am Legend" was not an episode of the show. "The Galaxy Being" was the very first episode of the series and "The Chameleon" was the penultimate episode of the first season.

Answer: DeForest Kelley

DeForest Kelley played Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy on "Star Trek". He did not have a role in "The Outer Limits".

William Shatner played astronaut Brigadier General Jefferson Barton in "Cold Hands, Warm Heart" (season 2, episode 2). His character worked on something called "Project Vulcan". Speaking of "Vulcan", Leonard Nimoy played Konig in "Production and Decay of Strange Particles" (season 1, episode 30) and reporter Judson Ellis in "I, Robot" (season 2, episode 9). James Doohan appeared in a supporting role as a policeman in "Expanding Human" (season 2, episode 4). Interestingly, the transporter effect in "Star Trek" was borrowed from the "ion storm" first seen in "The Outer Limits" episode "The Mutant" (season 1, episode 25).

Answer: Gerd Oswald

Fifteen directors were credited episodes in the original series. Gerd Oswald took the lion's share with 14 of the 49 total. Byron Haskin had 6, and each of the remaining 13 directed between 1 and 4 episodes. Oswald also directed 2 episodes of "The Twilight Zone". John Brahm, who directed the most "Twilight Zone" episodes (12), also directed 2 for "The Outer Limits".

While all German-born, none of the other options would have been quite old enough to have participated in the direction of the original series. Roland Emmerich (born 1955) directed several Hollywood blockbusters, including "Independence Day" (1996), "The Patriot" (2000), "2012" (2009), and "White House Down" (2013). Til Schweiger (born 1963) is one of the most successful German filmmakers. He is probably best known in the United States for his acting role in "Inglorious Basterds" (2009). Marc Forster (born 1969) made his directorial breakthrough with "Monster's Ball" (2001) and his directing filmography includes successful pictures like "Finding Neverland" (2004), "Quantum of Solace" (2008), and "World War Z" (2013).

Answer: "The Inheritors"

"The Inheritors" aired as episodes 10 and 11 in the second season. Robert Duvall guest starred in both parts and earlier played a part in "The Chameleon" (season 1, episode 31). I do hope the hint worked for you (inheritors are beneficiaries). The following is the closing narration for the two-part episode: "The Inheritors are on their way. In a universe of billions of stars, there are places of love and happiness. On this Earth, in this spot, magic settled for a moment. Wonder touched a few lives, and a few odd pieces fell smoothly into the jigsaw of Creation".

In the first season, "Corpus Earthling" was the ninth episode and "The Form of Things Unknown" was the last (32). "The Probe" was the final episode (17) of the original series to air after the show was cut midway through the second season.

Answer: whole

The Control Voice offered these words of wisdom in "The Man Who Was Never Born" (season 1, episode 6). The show was full of such gems as each episode drove at the question "What is the nature of man?" in one way or another.