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"Demon with a Glass Hand" is a widely referenced episode of The Outer Limits television series, the second to be based on a script by Harlan Ellison. Ellison wrote the script specifically with actor Robert Culp in mind for the role. It originally aired 17 October, 1964, and was the fifth episode of the second season.
Introduction
A man with a glass hand attempts to discover who he is.
Opening narration
- "Through all the legends of ancient peoples — Assyrian, Babylonian, Sumerian, Semite — runs the saga of the Eternal Man, the one who never dies, called by various names in various times, but historically known as Gilgamesh, the one who has never tasted death... the hero who strides through the centuries..."
Synopsis
Trent is a man with no memories of his life beyond ten days ago. His right hand, made of glass, seems to be a speaking artificially intelligent computer. Three fingers are missing and they must be found so that Trent can discover what his purpose is. In the meantime, he is being hunted by human-looking aliens called the Kyben. One of them tells Trent that he and the aliens are from 1000 years in the future where Earth has been conquered, a plague has destroyed all life, and all humans have mysteriously vanished. Trent successfully recovers the three missing fingers, and discovers that he is not actually a man, but a robot. Within his abdomen, digitally encoded on a gold wire, are the human survivors of the alien invasion of the future, whom he must safeguard until 200 years after the invasion has passed, when the plague will have dissipated.
Closing narration
- ''"Like the Eternal Man of Babylonian legend, like Gilgamesh, one thousand plus two hundred years stretches before Trent. Without love. Without friendship. Alone: neither man nor machine, waiting. Waiting for the day he will be called to free the humans who gave him mobility. Movement, but not life.""'
Trivia
Copyright issues
Harlan Ellison took James Cameron to court for plagiarism with the film The Terminator. Cameron settled out of court. One of the conditions of the settlement was the addition of a notice to all future versions of The Terminator, acknowledging Ellison's work.Aside from the influence on The Terminator, there is also quite a parallel to the Marvel Comics character Cable: both are soldiers who are displaced in time with little working memory of their origins and previous life, who must prevent a tragedy of epic proportions from befalling mankind. Both are guided by a semi-sentient artificially intelligent computer attached to the wrist.
Babylon 5
During the run of Babylon 5, series' creator J. Michael Straczynski often said that Ellison would write a sequel to this story (possibly called Demon In The Dust or Demon on the Run) to air as an episode of that series. As Ellison was a creative consultant on the series, this rumor seemed wellfounded, however, Ellison has since said that he never had any such intentions and it was just his friend Straczynski's wishful thinking/prodding.Blade Runner
The building in which most of this episode is shot is the same building used for the final scenes of Blade Runner.Cast
- Robert Culp – as Trent
- Arlene Martel – as Consuela Biro
- Abraham Sofaer – as Arch
- Bill Hart – as Durn
- Rex Holman – as Battle
- Robert Fortier – as Budge
- Wally Rose – as Kyben #1
- Fred Krone – as Kyben #2
External links
- Detailed episode guide by 'Monsieur Vincent'
- Episode at TV.com
- scifilm.org synopsis
"Demon with a Glass Hand"