In a 1963 episode of The Outer Limits called “The Sixth Finger,”
Gwyllm Griffiths (David McCallum) volunteers for a scientist who has
found a way to advance man’s evolution by over one million years, thereby
creating human supergeniuses with an aptitude for rapid learning and
enhanced mental capacity. The final script was ten minutes too short for
its time slot, so the production team had to come up with an inexpensive
way to fill that space. Since Gwyllm has mastered mathematics, series
co-creator Joseph Stefano felt that the next logical step would be mastery
of music. Stefano immediately wrote a five-page insert in which Gwyllm
plays several preludes and a fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book I
since he felt they represented musical genius. The production team chose
Glenn Gould’s then-new recording of the pieces, notable for Gould’s
rapid performance speed. Gwyllm then mimed playing at this accelerated
pace to represent his sudden musical adeptness.
Studies have been conducted on Bach as a musical genius, the
virtuosity necessary to play his music, and Gould’s virtuosic, intellectual
performances of Bach’s music, but none have examined all three in
tandem, especially in the context of a television episode. This essay
discusses Bach’s music as an embodiment of virtuosity and as a cultural
representation of genius in “The Sixth Finger.” The choice to use Bach’s
music in the visual context of television adds another dimension to the
concept of genius, exemplifying both virtuosity and a specific composer
whose music transcends time.