The Outer Limits: The Bellero Shield
February 12, 2024 8:12 PM - Season 1, Episode 20 - Subscribe
From the first season of classic US TV sci-fi anthology show, The Outer Limits.
Scientist Richard Bellero (Martin Landau) experiments with a powerful laser, and unwittingly captures an alien creature who has a remarkable device that his wife, Judith (Sally Kellerman), and their weird housekeeper (Chita Rivera) try to steal. Also stars Neil Hamilton as Richard Bellero, Sr. and an unrecognizable John Hoyt as the alien.
The Bellero Shield seems to be one of the better regarded episodes of the show's two season run. And often referred to as a take on Macbeth. The episode also seems to have gained some notoriety as a supposed influence on Betty and Barney Hill and their claim of being abducted by aliens in 1961.
The Bellero Shield seems to be one of the better regarded episodes of the show's two season run. And often referred to as a take on Macbeth. The episode also seems to have gained some notoriety as a supposed influence on Betty and Barney Hill and their claim of being abducted by aliens in 1961.
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I was reminded of this episode by the recent passing of Chita Rivera, who has an undeniable presence in this episode.
I've been a fan of the show in general since I was a kid, and thought it was best when it went all in on some bizarre theme or concept. This is one of those episodes.
Almost nothing about the story is believable. It's all about mood and head scratching storytelling. Bellero's laser is pointed skyward for some reason. It becomes a pathway for an alien to slide down to Earth, somehow. Bellero is amazed and driven always, but feels a disappointment particularly to his father. Beller's wife, Judith, is ambitious to the extreme, willing to kill for the defensive shield the alien is able to call up at will.
But there is weirdness at every turn. They have a lethal laser pistol sitting around the lab for some reason. And the surprising star of the episode, IMO, is Chita Rivera, playing the housekeeper to the Belleros, Mrs Dane. She's a strange, shadowy figure, cutting a dark silhouette whenever on screen. In a black dress, lurking in dark corners, barefoot, with a pistol in her garter, her relationship with Judith is curiously loyal, just as ambitious, and menacing to everyone else. When Judith shoots the alien, Mrs. Dane drags the body into the cellar without hesitation.
There are some elements that I quite like. The alien is depicted sliding slowly down the laser beam into the lab, which seems... unimaginative. But it's explanation suggests the alien's existence is something incomprehensible to human understanding. Okay, I'll buy that. The shield it possesses is a technology that seems to rely on its biology to function, something Judith is unaware of when she takes possession. Every episode of The Outer Limits had a creature of some kind, often outrageous in appearance. Often referred to as the "bear" by the producers of the show, a device to catch they eye quickly. This alien is more sublime and civilized than the usual rubber monster that typically turned up on the show.
As far as the Betty and Barney Hill angle goes, I'm just kinda whatever. The Outer Limits was never short on outrageous aliens, including big eyed, large headed aliens that might very well have been gray even if they had been shot in color. An interesting anecdote regardless.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:09 PM on February 12