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The Outer Limits - Original Season 1 Episode 2

The Hundred Days of the Dragon

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7.6

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 9/23/63

"An oriental power" develops a radical medical advance that temporarily makes skin malleable. They then manage to replace a presidential candidate with one of their own.

Fan Episode Reviews (8)

Manchurian Candidate II

7.5

By OmarCayenne, Mar 10, 2013

A nicely eerie and atmospheric feel, with an obvious nod (or two) to The Manchurian Candidate. Of course here the Yellow Peril approach came off a bit on the--er, inscrutable side, and the mood was still quite paranoid and frosty from the Cold War, but even in these less polarized times the effect is sinister enough. Apparently it wasn't terribly difficult at all to get right up close and personal to a presidential candidate in those days: you just walked right into their hotel room and hatched your plot!moreless
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A ' What If? ' episode that makes you think....

8.4

By maritimer00, Apr 29, 2011

This episode will remind some of the movie ' The Manchurian Candidate' in many ways. The main plot of the episode is that a foreign country ( a thinly disguised allusion to China) wants to eliminate the leading candidate for the US presidency and replace him with a doppleganger who would serve their wishes. When you watch this episode, keep in mind that it originally aired before the wide use of cosmetic surgery and such.

All in all, a very satisfying episode to watch and one that makes you think that such an event is feasible in this day and age. Even if you're not one to put much stock in conspiracies, the good acting and unwavering focus by the agents behind this master plan makes for good watching. Recommended!!moreless
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Imaginative allegory of government infiltration using Jell-O molds. It's a classic and entertaining episode the likes of which we will never see again in these PC times.

10

By bbagnall, Feb 08, 2011

This episode is pure science fiction, like all Outer Limit's episodes. It explores the possibility of secret agents replacing our elected officials with people from hostile countries. Back in the 1950's and 1960's the Communist countries, which had the majority of the world's population in their grip, were looking for ways to expand into the United States. They knew they couldn't beat the US militarily, and they knew the people would reject overt Communism and Socialism, so they resorted to subversive tactics. Better to infiltrate their institutions and spread propaganda, misinformation, and disloyalty to the freest nation on earth. The result was the 60's decade.

In this scenario, Communist China has discovered a way to impersonate American politicians with their own people. You've seen Jell-O molds, right? Well, basically they take a Jell-O mold of the American president and squash it into the face of a Chinaman. Presto, instant Caucasian. The acting is pretty good, especially by the American president. At times he looks Caucasian, while other times when he's behind closed doors he starts to look Chinese again. They chose a unique actor to pull this off. In the end, too many anomalies by the new president finally alert people that something is off kilter and they out the conspiracy in front of everyone. Although this episode represents an overt infiltration of the USA, it makes you wonder how much of our enemies influence has snuck into this once independent and spirited country.moreless
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Intriguing Cold War spy tale with a scarily plausible SF premise and a tight plot.

8.5

By Tenebrous1, Feb 12, 2008

If all you see is the first minute, you might be tempted to write it off as another paranoid excess of the '60's. If you hold on, you'll find much, much more. This episode poses seminal questions -- how well do we know those around us? How much can even the best spy operation really tell us? Can we trust our eyes? Aren't our enemies just like us? The Chinese have mastered skin plasticity. With a drug and a few minutes of time, they can conform human skin into any shape that they desire. They quickly capture and replace the presidential front-runner and keep the secret until he has been running the country for nearly a year. Along the way, they replace other members as well, but are finally exposed by the canny vice-president, with the help of others who knew the president as a man instead of just as a public speaker. The plot is tight, leaving you in suspense until the very last minute. The characters are believable; the plot twists are unexpected; and the actors feel at home in their character's skins. A quality episode all the way around.moreless
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The Chinese government has discovered a secret chemical that makes human skin mallable. They launch a plan to replace US government officials starting with the president.

5.0

By HogggWild999, Jul 02, 2007

This is not one of the better episodes for this series and its almost like they lost their direction before the season got off to a rolling start. Its like its a filler episode where they just tossed an idea out there and hurridly finished it up to meet the next deadline. The episode starts with some asian men being taken to a medical lab. Once there the leader is given a seat, and the scientist starts exlaining his plan. He explains to the top official that the American presidential candidate Selby is a sure to win candidate, and the best way to beat the United States is from within, by planting their own people in high levels of government. The problem is that, well, asians look asian. So the scientist explains how he has developed a chemical that when injected would make the human skin into plastic that can be moulded into any shape one desired for 2 minutes. They proceed by brining in a man who already closely resembles Selby. The scientist points out the similarities between the subject and the real Selby. They produce a recording of Selby, and the man mimics it exactly impressing the chinese official. The scientist then injects the man with the serum, and after a minute is able to mould his face into grotesqe shapes. They then press a mould onto the mans face and when they pull it away, he is the splitting image of Selby perfectly combed hair and all. The official asks about the finger prints and they show him a mould for them as well. The chinese official is impressed and gives the OK to proceed. Next we see the man flying into Chicago and getting a ride to a hotel. At the same time the candidate Selby, his daughter, and the vice presidential candidate amongst others arrive and head to their rooms. In the room across the hall the chinese agent is waiting. A car pulls up in the back alley and the man gets out with his suitcase and goes to the room where the chinese agent awaits. He makes his transformation. In the mean time Selby is getting ready to relax with a book after the vice presidential candidate and his daughter retire for the evening. The chinese imposter enters Selbys room and enters the bedroom. He subdues Selby, and swaps his finger prints and face with a strangers using the serum. He then sits the real Selby in a chair climbs into bed and then shoots the real Selby to death. The bogus Selby puts on a good show for the press and police making like he shot a stranger after a short struggle. He continues his acting and wins the election. Although he has been highly trained in every aspect of Selbys life he cannot duplicate Selbys love and emotions. This is first noticed by his daughter. With one man in power, the chinese decide to move to phase two, and also swap out the vice president. They have their man ready, but he blows the swap trying to sneak into the vice presidents place where he is confronted by a very freightened vice president before running and escaping. When aasked if he recognized the man the vice president could not believe it was actually him that he saw. Once this started to come out the chinese plan starts to unravel. The daughter had been confiding in the vice president about her fathers lack of affection and the lack of desire for things he usually loved. It was all becoming quite suspicious, and they were putting two and two together. Eventually they set a trap and figured out the plan, and caught the second imposter with the medical kit and moulds. The gig was up. The vice president come up with a plan. At a gala event he has the secret service drag the vice presidential imposter into the event shocking the Selby imposter. He puts on a show to show who is real, and tells the crowd how he knows this, and how they did it. He accuses the fake Selby to be a fraud and a murderer. He injects the man and after a minute is able to manipulate his face. This actually proves nothing, the serum works on anybody even the real Selby. Anyway, having proven the president was a fraud by the chinese government, his men ask if he wanted them to start the process and make a few calls. (They wanted to get his Ok to go to war.) He said no, that even though they killed Selby in the service to his country that it was still not enough to go to war over. The show ends with the narrators prophetic tale of man and hate and a daughters love.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Vic Perrin

The Control Voice

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Aki Aleong	Su Lin	Guest Star
Joan Camden	Ann Pearson	Guest Star
James Yagi	Li Kwan	Guest Star

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (1)
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- The children in the movie "Mrs. Doubtfire" are watching this episode of The Outer Limits.
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QUOTES (2)
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- Control Voice: (closing narration) To Theodore Pearson not even so monstrous a crime as the assassination of William Lyons Selby justifies an act of war, because there is no war as we knew it, only annihilation. A great American has been killed in the service of his country. Now it is the job of those who continue to serve to carry on guarding our freedom with dignity and unrelenting vigilance.
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- Control Voice: (opening narration) Somewhere south of the Mongolian border and north of the Tropic of Cancer in that part of the world we call the Orient a slumbering giant has shaken itself to wakefulness. Passed over in most histories as a nation forgotten by time its close-packed millions in the short span of twenty years have been stirred to a fury by one man Lee Ching Sung a benevolent despot in his homeland Sung stands as an irresponsible threat to peace in the eyes of the rest of the world rest of the world. William Lyons Selby, candidate for the presidency of the United States, predicted by every poll, survey, and primary to be a certain winner in the forthcoming election.
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