Forgotten TV: The Outer Limits - 'Decompression'

 We're still in the Top 5 here with The Outer Limits.

Does this one deliver as well as the last ones?

In 'Decompression,' a man- Bruce Boxleitner- is a Senator who just won his first Presidential Primary.

What could go wrong?

A mysterious woman- CCH Pounder- appears on his plane and tells him that he'll die in less than an hour.

His plane will crash!

The catch: nobody can see her when he calls in help.

She keeps appearing to him, but him talking to her behind closed doors is worrying people.

It gets worse as he doesn't have the panache that Sam on Quantum Leap has with this.

Pounder says that she's a Time Traveler (another one!) who is appearing only to him to keep him alive, in order to save the future.

Also on the Plane is a Reporter, who is quick to jump on what appears to be the Senator having a breakdown in mid-air.

Is he correct?

As the ticking clock winds down, Boxleitner is convinced that the only way to survive is to shoot out the window and take a leap of faith!

He does it, whereupon Pounder reveals that HE was the future Dictator and she was sent back to stop him.
He crashes to his death, surprisingly not looking like what happens when you spill an entire tray of lasagna!

A dark version of Quantum Leap that I'm all on board for.

This is a nice example of how there's still good Episodes buried deep in the run of this Show.  We're in Season 6 and this is really good.

Boxleitner is good as a Politician that seems good...to a point.  With a different Actor, it might not have worked.
He would have seemed either too evil or too good.

CCH Pounder is great too, being menacing and helpful in alternating lines/Scenes.

This is about corrupt Politicians, so it will always be topical (as long as we still have Elections).  This is from 2000, so any similarity to real people now is just a coincidence.

Even so, this was a good Episode and I'm looking forward to seeing how the Top 10 rounds out.

Next time, an Episode about Time Traveling (yes, again), causality loops and...a Pandemic.  I'm really glad that I got back into this Show in 2026 and not 2020!