TCM is showing "Spencer's Mountain" tonight, in which Mimsy Farmer has a supporting role. This started up my memory churn as I recalled her appearance in my favorite episode of "Outer Limits" - "Second Chance" - which was originally broadcast in March 1964 (she was born in 1945 so do the math on the age).
A carnival space ride becomes frighteningly real when an alien secretly rigs it to fly. The ominous bird-man carefully picks his unknowing crew including the carny ride captain who's a closet intellectual, an angry middle-aged man, and a star quarterback accompanied by his adoring buddy and his steady girl. The plot involved persuading a group of people whose lives were absolutely miserable (for a variety of reasons) to undertake a mission which would save the earth from destruction sometime in the distant future. The alien was confident that the humans would grab this last chance for personal redemption, he calls it their second chance, especially after being shown that they had nothing to lose given their hopelessly miserable lives on earth. The episode had little good to say about the human race and philosophically plays even better today than it did in 1964.
A carnival space ride becomes frighteningly real when an alien secretly rigs it to fly. The ominous bird-man carefully picks his unknowing crew including the carny ride captain who's a closet intellectual, an angry middle-aged man, and a star quarterback accompanied by his adoring buddy and his steady girl. The plot involved persuading a group of people whose lives were absolutely miserable (for a variety of reasons) to undertake a mission which would save the earth from destruction sometime in the distant future. The alien was confident that the humans would grab this last chance for personal redemption, he calls it their second chance, especially after being shown that they had nothing to lose given their hopelessly miserable lives on earth. The episode had little good to say about the human race and philosophically plays even better today than it did in 1964.