Outer Limits trading cards

Zak sez, "Here's some artistic renditions of many of the wonderful, creepy and sometimes rubbery creatures of the Outer Limits, along with the cards' backs! The page links to another site about 1950s/60s monster cards (including MARS ATTACKS) in all their deeply unsettling glory."

These have been online since 2006. They're stupendous.

The Outer Limits!

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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planettom

Before the pilot episode of THE OUTER LIMITS (“THE GALAXY BEING”) aired in September 1963, magazines like TV GUIDE had an ad featuring this artwork. This was reprinted in the 1977 STARLOG #4.
fergus1948

Just a reminder of Keith Bates’s hi-res scans of his full set of Mars Attacks cards.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31558613@N00/sets/72157625601126001/show/
- http://lemoutan.blogspot.com/ Lemoutan
  
  I remember the bubblegum turning to ashes in my mouth as they banned them.
heni nuraeni

i don’t understand about this picture , can you help me to desribe this picture ??
http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby

Great artwork, but what’s with the diabolical copy?
- Preston Sturges
  
  I rebuke you Sans Serif and your demonic kerning!
snagglepuss

I remember being in 3rd grade, showing some of these cards around my catholic school before class began and some tattletale jeebus-freak fellow student turning me in for it, as if the cards were acts of blasphemy. All the kids who’d gaped at them clammed up and left me to hang.

Cards were confiscated, never returned, and I was punished for bringing “filth” to school. I remember thinking afterwards, “I’d rather have this fake TV show than this phony “school”.”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefan_e_jones/ Stefan Jones

These must have been just a bit before my time. I remember Mars Attacks cards (probably a reprint series, late 60s) and event he first run of Wacky Packages (on cardstock).

The guy with the big eyes isn’t technically an alien. He was a human settler who became a big-eyed “Mutant” when doused with rain on a colony world. Spent most of the episode wearing oversized sunglasses.
- Preston Sturges
  
  Like “Signs,” people forget to take their umbrella to protect against the lethal rain.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  I thought that was Peter Lorre.
Preston Sturges

Here’s one of many monster compilation from TOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDKRzs5dC8I

I liked the Zanti Misfits, and the The Demon With A Glass Hand featuring Robert Culp in a Harlan Ellison story set in the Bradbury Building.
Mister44

The opening from “Do Not Open Until Doomsday” still creeps me the hell out.
- sdnative1958
  
  Agreed, and one of my top favorite episodes to show people who never saw The Outer Limits – it’s one of the most odd and disturbing things ever to be on television. Although only 5 years old when the series began, I’m grateful that reruns introduced me to TOL later on in my youth, and the series now holds a place of honor on my DVD shelf. I never tire of it.
  
  Oh, the MUSIC throughout can still elicit goosebumps!
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Norm-Tedford/1220611758 Norm Tedford
  
  I can see a prepubescent David Lynch having nightmares from this particular episode. Nightmares which proved to be excellent fuel for his later film oeuvre.
  - http://www.facebook.com/people/Norm-Tedford/1220611758 Norm Tedford
    
    Mea culpa. I should have done my research before the above post. Turns out, David Lynch was eighteen years old when the episode came out, and would not be “prepubescent”, unless he was an exceedingly late bloomer.
Halloween_Jack

That bug-eyed dude used to give me nightmares, not because I’d actually seen the episode (I wasn’t allowed to watch shows like The Outer Limits at that age) but because the TV station had aired a promo for it which contained the big reveal, when the guy takes the goggles off to show his eyes. This would have been after the original run of the show by at least a few years, so I guess that they would have decided, “Hey, no need to worry about spoilers, here’s something to scar your kids for life, ha ha.”
Brad Cleveland

I didn’t see the Megasoid listed.

That episode was actually about a man making an (illegal) clone of himself and was kind of deep. A little supsension of disbelief was in order because the memories are also copied over and the duplicate is similarly aged.

The overall point was: by having your appearance and your memories is he really you (or maybe a better one?)

Too bad the kind of stupid ‘bear’ or monster of the week requirement sort of watered this down.

Maybe in the episode ”they” labeled the Megasoid as dangerous for political reasons. (ha ha). It could communicate telepathically. Not, “Me hungry. Eat human.” but something thought provoking.
- Preston Sturges
  
  Megazoid don’t care, cause Megazoid is crazy. Megazoid hungry? Megazoid just takes, cause Megazoid’s badass. Megazoid don’t give a shit. Oh look, he’s running in slow motion…
  - Brad Cleveland
    
    I think that is the Honeyzoid Badger…in the Outer Limits Reboot.
CognitiveDissident

Great show!
I’m on Season 2, Disc 3 the last disc :-(
Sometimes cheesy makeup/special effects, but usually GREAT stories.
Ol’ Bug Eyes/Homer-Simpson-Wannbee in the picture is none other that Warren Oates.