The Outer Limits: Sandkings!

The ‘90s reboot of The Outer Limits is another one of those shows that really captures the spirit of Dino Drac After Dark.

As I recall, it aired on weekends in an odd time slot. If you were home to see it, you were desperate for entertainment. A lot of those old syndicated weekend shows were like that. We didn’t necessarily count them among our favorites, but when we were bored to tears and totally without prospects, even a show we kinda sorta liked meant the world to us.

I could count on one hand the number of times someone’s mentioned this series to me in recent years, which is a shame, because so many of the episodes were creative, weird, spooky and surprising. Course, the show did kind of peak in its first episode:

The Sandkings kicked off the series in March of ‘95. Based on George R. R. Martin’s same-named novelette, it stars Beau Bridges as a guy who raises little martian creatures in a big glass tank, and becomes so obsessed with his research that he refuses to call it quits even after his cute little martian bugs — the “Sandkings” — display a certain bloodlust.

(Cute? I think so.)

I LOVE THIS EPISODE. (Well, it’s technically two episodes, but the point holds.) The effects were pretty good by mid ‘90s TV standards, and the adaptation is gripping. Someday I gotta read Martin’s original story to see how it compares.

The video is a bit fuzzy but still watchable. Try this one out, guys. It’s been a fave of mine for decades.