A nuclear lightning zombie invades our dimension...
...while Dr. Marshall, Laurel and Griffin wonder how they'll explain all this to OSHA.
The Control Voice: In recent years, nuclear physicists have discovered a strange world of subatomic particles, fragments of atoms smaller than the imagination can picture, fragments of materials which do not obey the laws of gravity. Antimatter composed of inside-out material; shadow-matter that can penetrate ten miles of lead shielding. Hidden deep in the heart of strange new elements are secrets beyond human understanding – new powers, new dimensions, worlds within worlds, unknown...
Malevolent energy beings enter through a portal opened by accident, and only a cowardly scientist can stop them.
The Control Voice: As Man explores the secrets of the universe, strange and inscrutable powers await him. And whether these powers are to become forces of destruction or forces of construction will ultimately depend upon simple but profound human qualities: Inspiration. Integrity. Courage.
Production and Decay of Strange Tropes:
- Another Dimension: Marshall says that the particles are "forcing their way in from an entirely new dimension".
- Cowardly Lion: Dr. Marshall is reluctant to tackle the nuclear monsters at first, but after Laurel gives him a pep talk, he eventually steps up and saves the day.
- Energy Beings: The aliens have no physical form until they kill the nuclear workers and occupy their suits.
- Large Ham: George Macready is often criticized for Chewing the Scenery in this episode.
- Last-Name Basis: Dr. Marshall's first name is never used, even by his wife, leading reviewer Craig Beam
to speculate that his full name is "Marshall Marshall". - Magical Particle Accelerator: An accident allows humans to get access to Another Dimension by concentrating two particle accelerator beams in a single point.
- The Teaser: Defied Trope. Unlike most first season Outer Limits episodes, this one lacks a teaser, beginning with the actual first scene instead of a preview showing the monster.
- Technobabble: It starts with the episode title, and just gets worse from there.
- Word Salad Title: Zig-zagged, since the title supposedly does make sense if you're knowledgeable about nuclear physics. It's derived from a 1956 paper published in Physical Review magazine called "Cloud-Chamber Study of the Production and Decay of Strange Particles."
- Zombie Apocalypse: The nuclearized workers aren't literally zombies, but their shambling gait and mindless, obsessive pursuit of their destructive goal are reminiscent of this trope.
