| "The Haven" | |||
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| The Outer Limits episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 15 |
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| Directed by | Jimmy Kaufman | ||
| Written by | James Crocker | ||
| Original air date | 2 July 1999 | ||
| Guest stars | |||
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Chris Eigeman, Torri Higginson, Kim Hawthorne, Jody Racicot, Gerard Plunkett |
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| List of The Outer Limits episodes | |||
"The Haven" is an episode of The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 2 July 1999, during the fifth season.
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A man comes home from work, to his seemingly luxurious apartment building. Having to share the elevator with two other attendants seem to distress him of his comfort. When an old lady is dying in the hallway, no one can be bothered to go out and help her. Except the concierge; a hologram which cannot do anything to help her.
| “ | As we cocoon ourselves in the comforts that our expanding technology affords, are we insulating ourselves from the very things that make us human? | ” |
Mr. Vance gets home to his apartment building and frustratingly has to share the elevator with two other attendants. After receiving some complaints about this the holographic concierge George witnesses a tenant having a heart attack. Unable to help her he calls on the help from some other tenants. As no one is willing to help her, he looks in despair while she dies.
The next morning things start to go wrong in the completely automated building. Trapped in his apartment, Mr. Vance tries to escape. On his journey, which seems to be orchestrated by the building's AI, Argus, Vance encounters two other tenants and a freeloader. The AI has evolved and has come to the conclusion that the best way for him to serve his tenants is to get them to be more humane to each other; by working together against hardships, and then ultimately remove himself from their lives.
The freeloader dies while they try to escape through an elevator hatch, but the rest survive to reach Argus. The humans destroy Argus and escape the building. Once outside they discover the rest of the city's citizens coming out of their buildings, apparently having survived similar experiences. At the end of the episode a random stranger famously yells out in a New York accent: "Hey, is your Argus dead too?"
This signified that all the other apartment buildings also had an Argus and this was a revelation for all of mankind thus freeing them from the bounds of their own technology.
| “ | Our survival as a species depends more on our trust on one and other, than of the machines that we increasingly rely. | ” |
The setting is a futuristic waterfront urban city. Throughout scenes with a window view it is established that the tower is located in Downtown Vancouver, BC. Views of Stanley Park and the near Burrard Inlet to the North are plainly visible.
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Season 5 of The Outer Limits (1995-2002) |
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Alien Radio • Donor • Small Friends • The Grell • The Other Side • Joyride • The Human Operators • Blank Slate • What Will The Neighbors Think • The Shroud • Ripper • Tribunal • Summit • Descent • The Haven • Deja Vu • The Inheritors • Essence of Life • Stranded • Fathers and Sons • Star Crossed • Better Luck Next Time |
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List of The Outer Limits episodes: Original Series (1963–1965) • The New Series (1995–2002) |
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