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THE PRODUCTION & DECAY OF STRANGE PARTICLES
George Macready, Signe Hasso, Rudy Solari, Joseph Ruskin,
and Leonard
Nimoy.
Outer space particles are mixed with radioactive elements in an Earth
lab, with bizarre results.
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QUICK SCAN...
Ever wonder what would happen if you mixed weird matter from
outer space with radioactive earth matter? Well, this is the episode
for you! George Macready (The Invisibles) gives a broad, hammy,
performace as the head of a nuclear reactor science lab. Note
Leonard "Mr. Spock" Nimoy, as a doomed nuclear technician.
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SYNOPSIS...
At a nuclear lab, some matter from space is mixed with radioactive
elements. The resulting mixture turns a technician into an alien being.
More technicians are turned into energy beings. A chain reaction begins,
involving nuclear fission, which may result in a nuclear explosion.
The local community is evacuated to fallout shelters. The head of
the lab sets off a controlled fusion explosion, reversing the deadly
process and ending the nuclear crisis.
REVIEW...
Writer/Director Leslie Stevens', THE PRODUCTION
AND DECAY OF STRANGE PARTICLES, is an unusual tale of nuclear experimentation.
George Macready ("Peyton Place") plays the head of a scientific
lab at a nuclear reactor plant, where his technicians mix odd matter
from outer space with Earth-bound, radioactive materials. The result
turns nuclear technicians into powerful energy creatures, and sets
in motion a chain reaction in the nuclear pile that threatens to blow
the area sky high. Maybe this guy should have stuck to his chemistry
set!
George Macready, brings an impassioned, breathless delivery to lines
like, "The ultra large out there, the ultra small boiling up
in our reactor. Their radioactivity is greater than your wildest dreams,
like a hole torn in the universe... something seeping in." Initially
on target, Macready's performance, under Stevens' indulgent direction,
gradually ends up going over the top, much like the reactor's rising
core radiation level.
Stevens' screenplay has some good, scientific-type dialogue. At one
point Macready, discussing the source of the strange matter from outer
space he's experimenting with, states, "Quasi-stellar radio sources.
They radiate, they pulse, but they're not galaxies and they're not
stars. They break every rule in the book."
Leonard Nimoy ("Star Trek") shows up briefly as a nuclear
technician, taken over by radioactive matter from outer space. It's
a small role, but it's nice to see the future Vulcan in action.
The FX in this episode involve lightning, smoke, fire, and explosions,
all connected to the episode's radioactive experimentation. Special
Effects person, Si Simonson, as well as Project Unlimited, Inc., get
the credit.
Much of the music in this episode is the standard, obvious brassy
stuff, going up an octave at a time to build tension. Naturally, Dominic
Frontiere is, once again, the responsible party.
Director of Photography, Kenneth Peach, gives us clever screen imagery.
At one point Macready holds up a photo of the radioactive matter that
has burned a hole from another dimension to ours: we see Macready
through a clear spot in the photo. This is my favorite scene.
THE PRODUCTION AND DECAY OF STRANGE PARTICLES should be fairly watchable
for most Sci-Fi viewers. Those expecting the usual kind of "Outer
Limits" alien monster episode may be disappointed.
 
 
 
 
 
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