The Outer Limits: Breaking Point

Work Title: The Outer Limits: Breaking Point
Medium: TV Episode
Episode Title: Breaking Point
Year: 2000
Writer(s): Grant Rosenberg
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: No
Summary:

A scientist travels to the future in a time machine, but learns a disturbing fact - his wife's been murdered. from comcast's description.

  • Self-Written?:
  • Source Name: Comcast
  • Source URL:
Era/Year of Portrayal: present_day
Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

Most of the action takes place in present day 2000.

Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: Time Machine
  • Description of the technology: A raised circular platform, about 10 feet in diameter. About 6 arms extyend about 4 feet from the grouns around its perimieters, shooting light rays at the user, standing in the center of the circle. As it works, light shooots from the ground around the user, hiding the user from view, encapuslatiing him in light. The time machine is immobile - the user uses it by standing on it.
  • Nature of task or activity: Time travel - forwards and backwards through time.
  • Performance of the Technology: Not all of the bugs have been worked out - after using it the first time, the user has a nervous break down. Also, it appears the blood vessels or hte blood itself sometimes grows hard, causing the vessel to noticeably stick out from the neck and head.
  • Description of creator(s): Dr. Andrew McLaren - white, 30's, a scientiest working for Anderson Technology.
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): to advance science.
  • Description of users of technology: Dr. Andrew McLaren, white, 30s.
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: both
  • Description of presence experience: It is unnerving, unusal, and upsetting. He witnesses traumatic events. The time travel itself is instantaneous, but seems a little painful.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: yes.
  • Valence of experience: unpleasant.
  • Specific responses: feelings of self-motion (vection), involvement, distorted memory and social judgments, emotional disturbances, nervous breakdown.
Long-term consequences:

Sad. Andrew goes back in time to try to stop his wife's murder. Since he killed her, he goes back in time and murders himself before he met his wife. However, since she never meets him, she kills herself.

Other:

Coder name: Amanda Scheiner
Coder email: amandags@temple.edu
Coder affiliation: Temple University