The Outer Limits (1963–1965): Season 1, Episode 27 - Fun and Games - full transcript

Come on.

The food.

Fall!

There is nothing wrong

with your television set.

Do not attempt
to adjust the picture.

We are controlling
transmission.

We will control
the horizontal.

We will control
the vertical.

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.

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...

There was a moment in time

when those who were
brilliant and powerful

also were playful.

And when they took recess

from their exhausting
and magnificent strides

toward glory,

they replenished
their darker passions

with fun and games.

On the planet Earth,



such pastimes
have been civilized

and drained of all but
their last few drops of blood.

9 of
Diamonds. Possible.

8 of Clubs.

9 of Clubs.

3. Deuce's bet.

Bet 5.

Call.

I'll see that.

8s and Deuces.

Possible flush.

Pair of Treys.

Pair of Ladies.

Pair of Aces
for the dealer.

2 pair bet.

I'll bet 50.

I'll pass.

Out.

I call.

I'm in.

Down the river.

That Ace came off
the bottom.

Citizens of Anderra,

the game
will soon begin.

I have selected
the male half

of a human team

from the planet Earth.

Welcome to Anderra,
Mr. Benson.

Never turn your back
on the enemy,

Mr. Benson.

I thought
you'd have learned

that grisly fact
by now.

Am I dead?

You have been
electro-ported

to a planet
called Anderra.

It is a million,
million light-years away

from your own.

I'm beginning to sense
that my judgment

has once again
been proved infallible.

I could have selected

any one of you
down there.

Many of you

are practiced
jungle fighters,

and most of you

are in a perpetual
state of panic.

I'll build
a female of you.

May I ask you
a question, Mr. Benson?

You didn't answer mine.

You are not dead.

Strange,
yours is the only race

whose members ask first
if they are dead.

Are all of you that
preoccupied with death?

It's the only game
you can't win.

Why did you decide
to go back into the room

where the murder
occurred?

I thought
you were looking

for a means of escape.

What am I doin' here?

Why did you go back
into that room?

'Cause if the cops
found me there,

they'd... they'd know I...

They'd believe
you must be innocent.

Very wise move,
Mr. Benson.

Excuse me.

I believe
the moment has come

to select
your teammate.

Yes. I believe
Miss Laura Hanley

will do... Nicely.

Aaaah!

Where am I?

Welcome to Anderra,
Miss Hanley.

Is it a dream?

It's a game,
Miss Hanley.

A wonderful,
rather terrible game,

sanctioned by the state
of Anderra, of course.

I will explain.

You will serve each
other well in this game.

She is still
relatively trusting

and will reap
the rewards of faith.

You, Mr. Benson,
are the net result

of all the spoiling
things in your world.

The rewards of evil
are yours

even if you yourself
are not evil.

You said you'd explain.

When civilized creatures
have conquered

all that they believe
to be worth conquering,

then one conquest
remains.

One elusive conquest. Pleasure.

Here on Anderra, we are
finished with warring

and plundering is done.

Our citizens enjoy
self-respect, peace,

and affluence.

But a high order
of civilization

does not lift the
low order of passion,

and so such passions
must be both appeased

and controlled.

We do this by providing
the citizens

with an unbroken
succession of...

Fun and games.

Passionate games.

We have
selected 2 teams,

each consisting
of 2 players,

a male and a female.

You, of course,

represent
the planet Earth.

Your opponents come
from the unnamed planet

in the Caligo galaxy

of which you've no doubt
never heard.

I will show them
to you.

You will meet
in the "Arena,"

which is a small,
unpleasant planet

that orbits Anderra.

It is somewhat
similar to Earth,

which will give you
a slight advantage.

But then
your opponents

are not as advanced
as you,

which will give them

an even more
important advantage.

Why?

Why do you do this?

Like the man said,
Miss Hanley, for kicks.

Ain't you ever paid
to see a couple of guys

batter each other
to death?

No.

Mr. Benson makes
a pertinent point.

I suppose it is

a vaguely
valid analogy.

No, it isn't.

Men aren't forced to
step into the ring.

Oh, they ain't, huh?

No, not by a high
order of civilization.

You won't be forced
to participate

in this game,
Miss Hanley,

nor will Mr. Benson.

The choice is yours.

Of course,
if you refuse,

your opponents
will win by default.

Win what?

Their lives.

The lives
of everyone else

on their planet...

Which is what
you will lose.

Only us?

Only me and...

You and him...

And everyone else
on your planet.

When?

If you refuse
to play the game,

I will electro-port
you back to Earth,

both of you.

Our games committee
will then select

a moment at which,

for the enjoyment
of our citizens,

the planet Earth

will be
exterminated.

Quick?

In your reading
of time,

the entire display
will take, uh,

approximately
5 years.

For us, it will be
as a firecracker

in a black
summer sky.

You know,
I may be wrong,

but I read you
to be one of those

"Save Humanity" types.

Do you?

So I'm just gonna say
good-bye, Miss... Uh...

Miss... uh... Miss, uh...

What's your name again?

Laura.

Miss Hanley,
and let the coach here

electro-port you
some other playmate.

Against the rules.

If one of you
returns to Earth,

both of you return.

5 years.
Long enough to enjoy

just about all there is
in the world to enjoy.

Like raising a child?

I don't think
I'd enjoy that.

My parents
always said I...

Was a whole lot
of trouble.

Send me back.

You won't
change your mind?

No.
try to.

At least
try to.

You want to face
those monsters

in The Arena?

You... you want to die
on some unpleasant planet

you never even heard of?
What for?

What do you owe
the human race?

Nothing.

Except
my own humanity.

Look, I'm not gonna
change my mind.

Now send us back.

To a possible
murder charge?

You are
the prime suspect

in that act of
violence, you know.

The victim saw
to that, Mr. Benson.

Send me back!

No. He'll change
his mind.

I will send you both
back...

To that exact moment

when your
frame of mind

made me choose you.

Perhaps he will
change his mind,

Miss Hanley.

I'll give him
the length

of one of his days
to do so.

If he ever
consciously wishes

he were facing
this game

instead of a more
terrifying one

on Earth,

and if
you still believe

you are willing to
fight for your race,

you will both
find yourselves

right here.

Oh, uh,
just a minute.

Oh, um, I heard footsteps,
uh, before I heard the sirens

and... and the whistles,
I mean,

and... and they ran
right down the hall

toward the fire escape.

Keep
your door locked, Miss.

Oh, I always do.

Why'd you do that?

Don't you remember?

Laura?

You... it really happened?
I didn't dream it?

I was there.

I could have
dreamed of you.

I dreamed of
strange girls before.

Strangers never dream
the same dream.

You can sleep there.
Perhaps by morning...

I'll change my mind?

To be willing to be your...
Your... playmate up there?

Ha.

Whew.

Please, Mike,
change your mind.

We can win.
I know we can win.

I feel it inside me.

I feel it.

A girl once
said that to me.

A nice girl.
Like you're nice.

She had that same
kind of feeling...

Right before
I went into the ring

and took the
bloodiest beatin'

in fight history.

I almost died,
but I fought it.

I kept picturing
them dumping me

into some
tight grave,

and I fought it.

I can't stand
tight places.

I got some kind
of a phobia.

Aren't prison cells
pretty tight places?

I keep fightin'.

You do not wish
to win by default,

do you?

That is the charm
of the primitive:

"No Spectator, He."

I believe Mr. Benson

will change
his mind.

I'm convinced
that you will have

the battle
you're longing for.

"I don't know why,

"but I feel it
inside me.

I feel it."

Like raising a child?

Tell us what you're
dreaming, Mrs. Hanley.

It's about Mr. Hanley,
isn't it?

No. I can't stay with you,

the way you are.

I can't be married
to a... a child.

I want to be
your wife, Arthur.

Your wife, not your...

Mom!

Ha ha ha ha. "Mom."

Who is it?

Laura.

Please let me
in, Mike.

I had a hard time
finding you.

Well, gee,
it breaks me up inside.

Mike, listen, he gave you
24 hours to change your mind.

Most of those hours
are used up.

See the
morning paper?

Yes.

They spell
my name right?

There used to be
this one sportswriter.

He always spelled
my name wrong.

I mean, it ain't easy
to spell Benson wrong.

The day I quit the ring,
he spelled it right.

Why did you quit?

Want a cigarette?

No, thanks.

Half the time,
I nearly got killed.

I lost my cockiness.

That's another word
for courage,

isn't it?

Might as well be.

Fighter can't fight
without one or the other.

Maybe you haven't
lost it, Mike.

Maybe what you need
is one... one more fight.

A really life-and-death
fight to show you that...

You're one of life's
little cheerleaders.

What made you call me that?

Last night
before I went to sleep,

I... I kept thinking about
what happened to us,

about that dream
that turned out

to be real
as a nightmare.

I kept... I kept wondering
why did he pick you?

I mean, I can understand
why he picked me.

I'm a born jungle-type.

You know, and I'm...
I'm selfish enough

and I'm scared enough
to go out there

and give the audience
a lot of laughs

and maybe
a few surprises,

but you...

Why did he pick you
to be my partner?

But then
I figured it out.

You did?

He had you pegged right.

You're
the cheerleader type.

Every guy
oughta have one.

I mean,
how can a guy quit

or even stop to cry
or to bleed

when there's a pretty
girl on the sidelines

jumpin' up and down,
yelling' at you

like... like she knows
you're a bum,

but she thinks she can
make a hero out of you?

Mike...

You want to know
what us fighters

think about
you cheerleaders?

We think you scream
from the sidelines

because you're scared
of getting in The Arena

and scream from
the kicks and the blows.

We think you make us
feel guilty

so you can go on
feelin' innocent.

Man,
it really must be nice

not to have to
get in there and lose.

When the team loses,
the cheerleader loses, too.

Yeah, but it doesn't
hurt the same way.

You can always
get another guy

to cheer for.

Me? Win or lose,
I'm stuck with me.

Benson?

I'd
like to talk to you.

Will you open
the door?

The fire escape's
covered, Benson.

I can't.

I can't.

I spent an hour
in a cage...

And I died,
I just died.

I died. I died.

Benson! Open up!

I'd rather be any place
than a cage, please.

You will recall
my saying

that if you ever
consciously wished

you were facing
this game

instead of the more
terrifying one on Earth,

you would find
yourselves right here.

Ha ha ha ha.

Your opponents are
already on the planet

we call "The Arena."

They're waiting.

Good luck, Miss Hanley,
Mr. Benson.

May the best team win.

As I told you,

the unpleasant planet
we call "The Arena"

is somewhat similar
to the planet Earth.

I should amend, of course,

Earth as it was more than
a million years ago.

Since you are natural
creatures of Earth,

you will have certain
atmospheric advantages

over your opponents,
however.

For example, you require
constant oxygen.

They come from a planet
where oxygen is supplied

only intermittently

and could be burdened
by the overdose

they will receive
in "The Arena."

But your opponents
do have their advantages.

You'll see they are
truly primitive.

They know nothing
of modern weaponry.

They have not yet conceived
explosives

of any of your madman
mechanical magics

you on Earth so deeply
depend upon.

They have to be invented.

Laura...

Did you tell
the police about me?

No.

Yeah, well,
somebody did.

The man who was shot.

I told you I'd seen
the morning papers.

I thought you said
he was dead.

He died on the way
to the hospital.

Before he died,
he named you

as his murderer.

Ohh. Whew.

For a lousy
10,000 bucks.

I was supposed to
throw a fight once.

When the time come,
I couldn't.

My basic decency
cost him $10,000.

He said he'd make me
pay for it

some way.

Don't you
believe that?

Yes.

Mike... mike,
will we win?

I wonder
where they are.

Huh, Mike,
will we? Win?

By a knockout.

No, Mr. Benson.

A knockout
will not suffice.

The fight must
be to the death.

Can I just
strangle them,

or do you have
to see blood?

Or is it all right

if I don't
even touch them?

If I just
get close enough

to use this, huh?!

Fire it, Mr. Benson.

No, Mike. No,
don't waste the bull...

No bullets will be wasted,
Miss Hanley.

Go on, Mr. Benson. Fire it.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

The rules of the game,
Mr. Benson,

advantages must be
evenly distributed,

and since your opponents
are not yet blessed

with modern weaponry,

I simply couldn't allow your
gun to be of any use to you.

However,
it was a bit unfair of me

to allow you to make
your position known.

I suggest you move on
as quickly as possible.

Come on.

The food.

Fall!

Wait here.

No. We shouldn't separate,
not even for a moment.

Stay here.

That does something
to the odds.

We shouldn't
stay here.

One of us could
have an accident.

Maybe it was.

Do you think
he killed her?

She could have fallen
while they were

crossing that thing.

I don't think so.

Well, why would
he kill her?

Wouldn't he know
that it would

do something
to the odds?

Sure, he knows.

I think I do, too, now.

He said the food
would last for 3 days

or 6 days.

3 days
if 2 of us ate it.

6 days if one of us
had it all to himself.

The odds are
in his favor.

He doesn't even
have to fight us now.

He just digs in
and waits someplace for us

to eat ourselves to death.

No, thank you.

You know, something strange
just hit me.

It might...

It might
have to happen.

Just might
have to happen.

What?

I might have to die
up here.

That never occur
to you before?

Yes, yes, but...

Very distantly.

As if only my mind
were thinking it.

Now I'm thinking it
all over.

My...

My hands and my eyes.

All through me.

The cheerleader

needs a cheerleader.

Mike, you couldn't
kill me, could you?

I doubt it.

But you don't like me.

If I went around
killing everybody

I didn't like...

I'm serious!

So you're serious.

What do you
want me to say?

I don't like you?

All right, I don't
like your type.

No. I was a type
on Earth.

Here,
I'm something personal.

What do you want?

He killed her.

And?

And he'll outlast you.

All right,
so he's got

twice as much food
as we do,

but we can stretch
this into 6 days,

can't we? Huh?

Half today,
half tomorrow.

Ha ha ha ha ha.

Half a loaf a day
is not enough.

I told you
it was absolutely vital.

You can't survive
on half its properties.

Did you think
that we wouldn't have

taken into account the human
capacity for self-denial?

Mike.

Shut up.

Why are you so afraid?

Of what? I'm afraid
of a lot of things.

You chose this

or spending...

Maybe spending a few hours
in a prison cell.

Why?

Something happened
to me when I was a kid.

Scarred me for life.

Must have.

Or else you wouldn't
talk about it

in that tone of voice.

Oh, so you're a
psychiatrist, too, huh?

As well as
being a cheerleader

and a Missionary
and a Saver of Humanity?

I'm a lot of things.

That's why I like you.

If there's one thing
I can't stand,

it's a girl who's
not a lot of things.

What happened to you
when you were a kid?

I went to the zoo.

I went to the zoo.

When the teacher's back
was turned or something,

one of the other kids

punched me
right in the face.

He knocked me out.

When I came to, the first
thing I saw was bars.

They were just playing,
you see.

They dragged me
into this empty cage...

Locked me in there.

Only they didn't
lock me in...

But I felt locked in.

I didn't even taste
the blood in my mouth. I...

I only tasted the terror
boiling in my stomach

and I tried to yell.

I tried... I tried to yell
for my mom, but I couldn't.

And I tried to see
if anybody was around,

if anybody was around
to get me out of that cage.

Then I heard the voice
of the teacher.

She was mad.
She was yelling.

She was yelling at 'em.
She said, "get in there."

She said, "get in there
and get him out."

So they did.
They... they got me out.

But you know what I think
sometimes?

I think they never
got me out.

Ha ha ha ha ha.

Oh, this is very amusing.

You see what she did,
citizens?

She couldn't get him
to kill her,

so she's run off
and left him

with her share
of the food.

She'll starve herself
so that he...

Watch closely, citizens.

It's going to get
even more amusing.

Laura?!

Laura?

Laura?!

Oh, I can't
let you kill her just yet.

She hasn't begun to suffer.

Miss Hanley, wasn't it
our understanding

that you and Mr. Benson
were a team?

You've run away again,
haven't you?

Why have you run away
from him, Miss Hanley?

So that he can
eat all the food?

So that he can do
all the fighting?

Your heart is a bottomless
box of virtuous motives,

isn't it?

Whatever you do, you do
for someone else's good,

don't you?

Your husband didn't want you
to mother him, Miss Hanley.

He wanted you to help him.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

It hurts to admit
that you're afraid

you can't help someone,
doesn't it?

Yes, it hurts.

It hurts.

I could help you
get back to Mr. Benson,

but it wouldn't be fair,
would it?

People have to
help themselves,

don't they, Miss Hanley?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

All right. Go ahead.

Mike?

Mike?!

Mike. Mike.

Mike, help.

Help me.

Mike.

Mike.

Mike.

Mom!

Laura?!

Kill him!

Don't let him win!

You'll fall!

No!

No!

I can hold on!

Ha ha ha ha
ha ha ha ha ha ha.

I'm sorry, Mike.

I knew you'd fall...

And you knew it, too,
didn't you?

Oh, Mike.

He can't hear you.

Who won?

You're still alive,
aren't you?

Don't throw me
any garlands.

Your Victor is in there.

I couldn't
have killed that thing

if Mike hadn't looked
at me the way he did.

Well, what's the difference
who saves the human race?

The dull fact is...

It's been saved.

It does matter.

When someone dies,
it must matter.

He isn't dead.

His opponent died first.

Survivors need survive
only a split moment

to be considered survivors.

Rule of the game,

which incidentally,
is ended now, Mrs. Hanley.

Mike's back on Earth,

and if the police
catch him,

he'll probably wish
he were dead.

They'll catch him...

But they won't hold him.

They know the dying man

was merely having
his fun and games.

Our fun is over.
Will you forgive me if...

Wait.

Will I have to remember
all this?

Only those memories which
might be helpful to you

and perhaps
to your marriage.

Forgive me
if I seem abrupt,

but I really must get busy.

It isn't easy to keep
devising new Fun and Games.

We now return control

of your television set
to you.

Until next week
at this same time,

when the control voice
will take you to...