The Best Episodes Of The Outer Limits Ranked

Episode 1, "The Galaxy Being," was first seen by audiences who were, perhaps, unprepared for the series' eerie atmosphere. This installment is the perfect opening salvo, as it sets the tone for all that follows. Its slower-paced story establishes the show's "monster of the week" formula, which sets it apart from its contemporaries. It also eschews any stunning twists, instead telling a thought-provoking story about an alien who becomes curious about planet Earth.

Starring Cliff Robertson, whom modern audiences will recognize as Uncle Ben from Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" movies, "The Galaxy Being" begins with a radio engineer who becomes obsessed with a strange signal he detects coming from a distant star. Tuning his equipment to just the right frequency, he makes contact with a strange being who exists beyond the third dimension. As the two have lengthy conversations, the engineer learns that beyond our solar system lies a distant inhabited world whose people have been forbidden from contacting Earth because of humanity's violent tendencies. But when he mistakenly increases his transmitter's power, the fourth dimensional alien is transported to Earth. Will he be welcomed?

While there had been other sci-fi stories with similar social messages about our worst nature when this episode debuted, "The Galaxy Being" warns viewers of mankind's hubris in remarkably unsubtle terms. This  direct approach is memorable, even if it's not the best the series has to offer.