TV Reviews : ‘Outer Limits’ Brings New Creepy-Crawlers

Bug-eyed monsters ain’t what they used to be. And so into the breach steps--or should we say, creepy-crawls--a cable revival of “The Outer Limits,” due in weekly installments on Showtime.

The original mid-1960s series was distinguished from that other science-fiction staple of the period chiefly, of course, by its producer’s insistence that each week’s show be written to incorporate a full-makeup creature. (Only a few episodes somehow slid by with an all-humanoid cast.) The new series’ creators haven’t made any such promises of unbending monstrosity, but Sunday’s premiere, with its cast of dozens of alien scorpions, at least has its heart in the right heebie-jeebie place.

Up to a point, said creatures are easily what’s best about “Sandkings,” the opener, based on a George R.R. Martin novella. Beau Bridges stars as a researcher kicked off a project in which eggs that have lain dormant for millions of years in Martian sand are being hatched back on Earth. Being latently mad, the scientist steals a little soil and sets up incubatory shop in the barn on his back 40--not fretting too greatly that the li’l critters seem more than intelligent enough to find their way out of his oversize aquarium.

The usually good Bridges is miscast as a lunatic, and supporting appearances by his real-life father, Lloyd, and son, Dylan, add up to distracting stunt casting. It’s up to the creatures to save the day here, and the computer-generated bugs look positively terrific en masse, although later close-ups of gnarly puppet faces undercut the effectiveness some.

At a lethargic 1 1/2 hours, “Sandkings” is also clearly twice as long as it needs to be, which makes it a relief when “Outer Limits” slips into its regular hourlong time slot Friday with the better-paced “Valerie 23.”

“Valerie”--a love triangle between a disabled man (William Sadler), his physical therapist (Nancy Allen) and his very jealous android companion--is predictable to an untoward extreme, too, but does have its moments as a sci-fi “Fatal Attraction.”

This male fantasy benefits most from a good, wily performance by singer Sofia Shinas as the title robot, whose lithesomeness in a jumpsuit nearly compensates for her homicidal co-dependency. (Attention parents: These not being the ‘60s, nakedness happens.)

* “The Outer Limits” premieres at 8 tonight on Showtime, with regular weekly airings to follow on Fridays at 10 p.m.