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Cry havoc and let loose the ants of war!  A prison ship, filled with intelligent insects from outer space, lands on Earth.  The aliens promise "Total Destruction" to anyone who invades their privacy.  Of course, somebody invades their privacy.

Personally I think this is one of the most unnerving hours of television ever put on the airwaves. Those Zanti Misfits are creepy as hell. And I love the early stuff with Bruce Dern. Here's a portion of what I had to say about it in the TV Files back in the day when they existed: ""The Zanti Misfits" are not for the weak of heart...these creepy critters will make your spine crawl, your body itch, your fear rise...you may even look around your room nervously as cold shivers run up and down your spine as you witness their revolting form and their hideous actions (so much so they entirely overshadow the forgettable regular cast). The bizarre humming whine they make and the scratching sound of their feet as they approach is something that will stay with you whether you want it to or not...so why did the perfectionist civilized Zanti inhabitants send these Misfits to our world? Well the answer says more about humanity maybe than we would ever want to admit about ourselves."

 :buggedout: Interesting!

Didn't know there were shows like this even in the 60's
I will check this series.

Meat Beat Manifesto included excerpts from this episode on screen during their live show a couple years ago. They will be in my town again in about a month and I'm excited.

Meat Beat Manifesto, I mean, not the Zanti.


PS (Meat Beat Manifesto goes from punk industrial hip hop to funky electro jazz (( mixes that USUALLY never work)) over the course of almost two decades and I recommend them to everyone regardless of their taste in music.) 

Is there some reason the front page only shows this getting 1 drop instead of 4?

That would be me, screwing up.  Thanks for pointing that out.

Ah the outer limits...science fiction for pure science fiction's sake.  Is there a show on TV now that is willing to do what the old Outer limits did? Tell a story just because it was interesting? Some might have had some half assed moral lesson, but the best were just an interesting tale. Even the newer Outer Limits seemed to have missed the point of the old series.

Funny thing about the Outer Limits... it manages to get the mix of campy/bizarre/ thought-provoking almost right every time. It's the kind of show that I always preferred over the Twilight Zone for its odd touches. I caught this episode on TV once right in the middle of the epic showdown and I couldn't stop laughing. To me, it's both weird and silly. Episodes like "Moonstone" & "Specimen Unknown" seemed to have a deeper message... but this one... heh, just good fun. The only weirder episode I've ever seen would probably be "Don't Open 'til Doomsday". Giving a blank box with a tiny peephole in it a sense of menace is something that either borders on being very creative or being just weird.

Hmm, don't know how anyone can not see the brilliance in the original Outer Limits, particularly that Lovecraftian inspired classic "Don't Open Till Doomsday". Its plot may seem simple (Box Demon if released upon the world will send out a signal that will start a chain of events meaning doomsday) but there's some many symbolic undertones at work in that episode, especially sexuality and repressed sexuality, it's disturbing.

SPOILER WARNING: The Zanti Misfits ultimate fate suggest we're far bigger monsters perhaps than ever they were as humanity was in fact their chosen exterminators.

Ahh! This was my favorite Outer Limits episode. Those little buggers freaked me out as a kid. B&W film is so undervalued as a medium. I grew up with color, but looking back at B&W it works so well. Modern technology is as much as a shackle as a key.

The only reason the zantis sent their crinimals to earth is becuase they knew we couldnt stand their looks and would squish them becuase the zantis cant exicute their crinimals and they came in a toy sized space craft

Nice...but can you get a Zanti modle kit anywhere?
Be great for your ant farm!

I remember when this episode first came on. I had nightmares for more than a week afterwards and wouldn't open the closet door, sure that they were in there waiting! In retrospect, it is now one of my favorite Outer Limits episodes.  

TOL season 1 is the TV show of my lifetime.  The most scary part of the show and thus the most important was the intro where they mimicked civil defense drills.  We were short on nuclear attacks but did learn how to duck and cover.  I lived in the tornado area where we had CD warnings weekly and the siren was the same for nuclear attacks.

I liked this ep alot...

I have a hang up about one of the minor actors.... one soldier man looks alot like Chuck Woolery, alot like him.  I checked the credits and Mr. Woolery's bio but no, no mention of the role.   

I'm not giving up.   

What do you think?

d

I'm with dulouz. I just saw a scene from the episode and had the same reaction -- that's Chuck Woolery!

Anyone else think the zanti misfits looked like beatniks?