The Premonition

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Premonition
Series = The Outer Limits


Caption =
Season = 2
Episode = 16
Airdate = January 9, 1965
Production = 47
Writer = Sam Roeca (teleplay)
Ib Melchior (teleplay & story)
Director = Gerd Oswald
Photographer = Kenneth Peach
Guests = Dewey Martin
Mary Murphy
Episode list = List of "The Outer Limits" episodes
Prev = The Brain of Colonel Barham
Next = The Probe"The Premonition" is an episode of the original "The Outer Limits" television show. It first aired on 9 January, 1965, during the second season.

Opening narration

:"On the fabulous spawning grounds of Man's ever-increasing knowledge of science and technology, ancient, half-forgotten legends seemingly have no place. Except one: The legend of the Gordian Knot, a knot so intricate and convoluted that no man could untie it. For there are problems so perplexing that they are seemingly impossible to solve, when Man ventures to the outer limits of his experience..."

Plot

An X-15 rocket-powered research aircraft pilot and his wife become trapped 10 seconds ahead of their time and watch time unfold to catch up with them at about 1 second every 30 minutes. In the time left before returning to synch with normal time, they see that their daughter is about to be hit by a truck. But to stop the accident could mean to stay forever stuck in time. They must be back in the positions they were in five hours ago before time "catches up" with them.

After dealing with a phantom (exposed as a negative image) who experienced the same situation some time back and did NOT make it out in time, Jim finally hits upon a way to save his daughter from death. He attaches a car's seatbelts from the back wheel to the handbrake of the military truck. With no time to spare, he and his wife hurry back to their original placements. When time catches up, the truck groans, rolls forward, and the rear-wheel/seatbelt solution pulls the emergency brake, stopping the truck. Their daughter is safe, the world returns to normal, no one except Jim and his wife are the wiser.

Closing narration

:"Man is forever solving the most perplexing problems as he ventures ever further into the unknown. But where are the outer limits of his ingenuity? Will he ever encounter a problem, a Gordian Knot, which he cannot ultimately cut?"

Cast

* Dewey Martin - Jim Darcy
* Mary Murphy - Linda Darcy
* William Bramley - General Baldwin
* Dorothy Green - Matron
* Emma Tyson - Janie Darcy
* Kay Kuter - "Limbo Being"
* Coby Denton - Sentry

Trivia

This episode's original title was Gordian Knot. The Gordian Knot is a legend associated with Alexander the Great. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem, solved by a bold stroke.

External links

* [http://membres.lycos.fr/tmcr/daystar/tol_s2/tol_eps48.shtml Detailed episode guide] by 'Monsieur Vincent'
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