The Outer Limits is an anthology television series. Each episode starts with an unseen control voice which set the tone for the series which ties to show the awe and mystery of the universe. Most episodes have some basis in science fact and many have some type of monster designed to create terror.
There have been two incarnations of the Outer Limits. The first series (original Outer Limits henceforth referred to as OOL) aired from 1963 to 1965 on ABC. The second series (new Outer Limits henceforth referred to as NOL) started airing in 1995 and 7 seasons of episodes were produced. The Showtime cable channel had the first 6 NOL seasons done. After Showtime cancelled the series in May of 2000 the Sci-Fi Channel picked up NOL for another season of 22 episodes.
In the U.S. the TNT cable channel had the exclusive rights for many years to air the OOL. The Sci-Fi cable channel aired OOL starting in January 2002. However the Sci-Fi cable channel has not aired any OOL episodes since December 2004.
In the U.S. NOL episodes air on the Sci-Fi cable channel. Showtime has also recently run NOL episodes but is not presently doing so. NOL ran in national syndication for 12 years but this stopped in September 2007. It might be possible for individual stations to pick up NOL for syndication but I am not aware of any doing this. The NOL has also run in Canada and the U.K. Airings I know about are listed on the schedule section of the Info page.
Syndication is where TV shows are sold to individual stations rather than a single network. This means the NOL might air on any station in your area if one purchases it. I do not know of any stations presently airing NOL in syndication but the search function of these online TV schedules. can be used to check if NOL airs where you live.
The last new episode was made in 2001. I have not heard of any plans to make more new episodes but one can never tell what the future might bring.
The NOL is filmed on location in British Columbia, Canada. Here is the filming schedule I found on an I.A.T.S.E. (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists, and Allied Crafts) web page, and other places.
| Start | Wrap | |
| Season 1 | fall 1994 | ? |
| Season 2 | September 6, 1995 | May 22, 1996 |
| Season 3 | September 4, 1996 | May 6, 1997 |
| Season 4 | September 24, 1997 | May 1998 |
| Season 5 | September 1998 | ? |
| Season 6 | ? | ? |
| Season 7 | November 2000 | June 2001 |
In the U.S. there were 2 theme based NOL DVDs released on September 3, 2002
followed by 4 more theme based DVDs on June 21, 2005.
The first season of NOL was released on DVD on November 1, 2005.
These were to have been followed by other seasons in 6-9 month intervals
but this has not happened.
For the details see the
NOL DVD page.
In Canada there have been 3 box sets of NOL DVDs. These are reported to
have the syndicated versions of the episodes rather than the Showtime versions.
What I know about these releases is listed on the
NOL DVD page.
Season 1 and some of the theme based DVDs have also been released
in the U.K.
MGM has not given any indication of when more NOL DVD's might be released. The best source I know of for when U.S. TV show DVDs will or might be released is TVShowsOnDVD
In the U.S. eight 2 episode videos of first season episodes were released in 1996 but nothing has been come out since. They are out of print now. The only laserdisc released was Sandkings. For the details see the NOL video page.
In the U.K. there were sixteen 2 episode videos. They are out of print now. The details are also on the NOL video page.
In the U.S. OOL season 1 was released on DVD on September 3, 2002 and season 2 on September 2, 2003. More recently these were re-released on DVD in 3 volumes. There have also been OOL DVD releases in Australia and the U.K. For details on what is in all the releases see the DVD section of the OOL video page.
In the U.S. all of the episodes were released on video. Some can still be found used on places like Amazon. There are 4 boxed sets of laserdiscs, each set has 6 or 8 episodes. For the details see the OOL video page.
In the U.K. there were eight 2 episode videos.
The only suggestion I have is to try to find someone to trade episodes with. The alt.video.tape-trading usenet newsgroup is for this purpose. You might also try the alt.tv.outer-limits newsgroup. The FAQ and tape trading tips for the newsgroup has some info about how to do trading. There is also a video tape trading webring.
There is one CD of NOL music and one CD of OOL music. For the details see the Outer Limits music page.
There is the Outer Limits Companion. There are 3 novel books each with 4 stories from both the NOL and OOL. For younger readers there is an ongoing series of story books, some adapted from the series and some original stories. For the details see the Outer Limits books page.
In the U.S. there have been articles in Starlog, Cinefantastique, Sci-Fi Universe, Science-Fiction Explorer, Visions, and Filmfax. In the U.K. there have been articles in Starburst, Dreamwatch, TV Zone, and Shivers. Someday I plan to compile a list of articles.
Script City has scripts for a number of episodes.
Over the years lots of people have asked about this. Unfortunately I have not found anyone who knows. If anyone can answer this please inform me so I can pass it on.
It is Return to Innocence by Enigma.
This song was written for the episode possibly by one of the NOL music staff. If anyone has details please send me an email.
MGM: http://www.theouterlimits.com/
For other sites see the Outer Limits links page.
For comments about Sci-Fi Channel's airings.
Sci-Fi ChannelFor comments about the series.
1230 Ave of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
The Outer Limits
c/o MGM
2501 Colorado Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90404
It all started with the NOL episode guide which was first posted to the internet in July 1995. My original web site opened on June 18, 1996. The pages were moved to this web host on October 1, 1998.
