There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling the transmission.

From the introduction to The Outer Limits, ca. 1963

If people know anything about the series, they know about the main title. So we did not mess with that; it is a signature for the series. We’ve attempted to find that same elegance and simplicity.’

Mark Stern, executive producer for Trilogy Entertainment Group, The Outer Limits

When the new Outer Limits anthology series debuts this month after a 30-year hiatus, a large audience of visually sophisticated viewers will be watching with high expectations. In the age of digital effects, the ‘we are controlling’ message from the opening sequence of The Outer Limits has never meant more.

The $30 million series, coproduced by Toronto-based Atlantis Communications and Trilogy Entertainment Group of l.a., began filming in Vancouver in August. As the producers prepare for the March 26 premiere, a two-hour production titled The Sandkings, the pressure for bleeding-edge effects has been relieved by Toronto’s C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, working under the supervision of visual effects supervisor John Gajdecki, to bring the title characters to life.

While this story just wouldn’t work without digital wizardry, Trilogy executive producer Mark Stern says The Outer Limits is about much more than effects.

‘Shows like Star Trek have elevated the level of visual effects to such a high degree that I don’t think you could get away with simple appliances and makeup anymore. You need to enhance effects with brand new digital technology. But the show is the situations and the stories; they are, at their core, good, strong dramatic episodes. And so it’s not just about tuning in to see cool effectsÉwe are servicing the story,’ says Stern.

‘We are trying to make this an homage to the old series in many waysÉthe old series was thought-provoking, and had a strong moral thematic running through it at all times. It was also very scary. That’s in essence what we’re trying to do. All the stories have parables, and hopefully say something about the human condition,’ he adds.

James Nadler, one of two supervising producers of The Outer Limits at Atlantis (the other is Jamie Paul Rock), describes the series as ‘original teleplays, or teleplays based on short stories.’

A strong group of acting talent will appear in round one of The Outer Limits, including Rebecca DeMornay, Timothy Busfield, Helen Shaver, Kim Coates, Rae Dawn Chong and Sonja Smits.

Stories in the first round of production include Second Soul, which Nadler describes as a ‘first contact’ story about a dying alien race which comes to Earth. ‘What they need are new bodies, and they’re trying to broker a deal with Earth authorities to use the bodies (of dead humans). It deals with the reaction of people who see their loved ones die, then come back to life but with a second soul; another person’s persona within.’

Another original in the first round is Blood Brothers, written by Outer Limits story editor Brad Wright. It is the story of two brothers who are trying to find the secret of eternal life. ‘Like all good science fiction, there is a message, and a warning, in all the stories,’ says Nadler.

Nadler describes the coproduction as ‘a really good match. What we’re bringing to the shows is television production expertise. Trilogy’s background is primarily in feature film, and what they’re bringing is their connections in Los Angeles, and the ability to bring a star such as Lloyd Bridges to a Canadian anthology series.’

Enter The Sandkings

In fact, three generations of the Bridges acting family – Lloyd, Beau and Dylan – were recruited for The Sandkings, an adaptation by Melinda Snodgrass of a truly creepy George Martin sci-fi tale about a scientist obsessed with alien soil samples and the creatures they contain.

The challenge faced by the Outer Limits production team was how to bring the creatures in The Sandkings to life – the story leans heavily on the realism of these intelligent, aggressive, scorpion-sized aliens.

Visual effects supervisor for Outer Limits, Gajdecki came to the series after handling effects for the TekWar series of made-for-television movies. Gajdecki recruited C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, the Toronto-based effects company which grew out of the TekWar effects team, to collaborate with The Outer Limits producers on the visual design of the creatures, then create, animate and integrate the digital beasts with live footage.

The c.o.r