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The Outer Limits - The Hundred Days of the Dragon
episode 1.2
USA 1963
produced by Joseph Stefano, Leslie Stevens (executive) for Villa Di Stefano, Daystar Productions
directed by Byron Haskin
starring Sidney Blackmer, Phillip Pine, Joan Camden, Nancy Rennick, Mark Roberts, Clarence Lung, Richard Loo, James Hong, Aki Aleong, Richard Gittings, Ron Chovance
written by Allan Balter, Robert Mintz
TV-series Outer Limits, Outer Limits (original series)
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Major Ho Chi-Wong (Clarence Lung), the leader of some Mongolian Empire
of Evil, is very evil indeed, as he exchanges Selby (Sidney Blackmer)
who's running for president for his own agent, made to look exactly like
Selby by molecular rearrangement in living organisms. And wouldn't
you know it, a few days later, Selby - Ho Chi-Wong's Selby that is - is
really elected president.
At first there are no indications that Selby is really a foreign agent,
but when he invites Ho Chi-Wong, an enemy of the state, over to
Washington, his vice president Ted (Phillip Pine) begins to have his
doubts, all the more so when he plans to offer Ho Chi-Wong a treaty that
would virtually mean admitting defeat.
Ho Chi-Wong though has taken the vice president's doubts into account,
and already made one of his agents make like Ted via molecular
rearrangement in living organisms. However, when this agent wants to
stop by Ted's to kill him and take his place, by chance Selby's daughter
Carol (Nancy Rennick) and her hubby Bob (Mark Roberts) stop by to express
their concerns about their father/stepfather. And when by chance Ted
stumbles over his double while they're here, everything becomes crystal
clear - especially since Bob is an expert on molecular rearrangement in
living organisms (my, what a fortunate coincidence).
And in the end, the false president is arrested, and Ted, now
commander-in-chief, is asked if he wants to attack Ho Chi-Wong's country
... but Ted prefers peace at any price ...
As a piece of Cold War-nostalgia, this episode of The Outer
Limits (like so many pieces of Cold War nostalgia) is of course
rather funny, but taken by its own merits, its badly and stupidly written
trash with even some racist undercurrents. If you can accept that as a
sign of the time though, you might be mildly entertained.
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