It Came From Outer Space was a cheap sci-fi movie made in 1953. I somehow saw this movie when I was a little kid, and remember even then thinking it was kind of stupid. The bulk of the plot can be inferred from the title. There is an alien, and It does indeed come from outer space. Once It crash-lands on Earth, It starts taking over people until It has repaired Its spaceship. The movie features a lot of great fifties gimmicks, including the alien monster’s “3-D vision.” Of all the things in this movie this might be the most improbable given that It is a cyclops. The special effects are… certainly “special.” Over all, it’s a pretty corny movie.
Why am I bringing up this fifty-nine year old B-movie? Well, because something unexpectedly reminded me about it recently. This is the alien from It Came From Outer Space:
And these are the mascots for the 2012 Olympic games:
One of these was designed and built by a committee at the cost of thousands of pounds to be an accessible and welcoming symbol for London, sports, and world unity. The other was made on the cheap to scare the crap out of horny teenagers.
Who on Earth thought this was a good idea?
Originally Published Saturday, July 28, 2012