Criminal Nature (The Outer Limits)

"Criminal Nature"

The Outer Limits episode

Episode no.

Season 4
Episode 1

Directed by

Steve Anker

Written by

Brad Markowitz

Production code

Original air date

23 January 1998

Guest stars

Gary Cole as Ray Venable, Lynda Boyd as Marie Venable, Jason Gray-Stanford as Dylan Venable, Louis Del Grande as Detective Renfro, Kavan Smith as Lt. O'Neill, Rachel Cronin as GRS Girl

Episode chronology

← Previous
"A Special Edition"

Next →
"The Hunt"

List of The Outer Limits episodes

"Criminal Nature" is an episode of The Outer Limits television show. It was first broadcast on 23 January 1998, as the first episode of the fourth season.

1 Introduction
2 Opening narration
3 Plot
4 Closing narration
5 Trivia
6 External links

Introduction

Genetic engineering of human beings is now commonplace, but not perfect. Detective Ray Venable is in charge of a team responsible for hunting down deformed children suffering from Genetic Rejection Syndrome.

Opening narration

“

With every scientific advance we grow closer to unlocking the mysteries of life and creation. But what have we gained if, in the process, we lose our humanity?

”

Plot

The GRS monster children are now adults who commit murders. Detective Ray Venable has a "secret" son with GRS, Dylan, who is harassing Ray's family. Ray injects himself with a serum to temporarily enhance his sensory abilities (like GRS people) in order to hunt him. He does this successfully - only to find out that it was a plot by his son, who placed the serum so that Ray would find it. His son forcefully injects more of the serum into his dad (and reveals to him that his rage/murderous intentions was not caused by the drug), so that Ray now has irreversible GRS and transforms into a monster. Ray kills Dylan, but his family no longer loves him because he looks like the other GRS monsters.