---SPOILERS---
I just watched this episode for the first time today, I wanted to comment on it now as we all tend to dismiss our feelings later.
For a story that takes place in barely 20 minutes, this is very powerful drama.
I thought Jack Warden played an excellent role as the "prisoner", for one moment I felt sympathy and another moment I felt contempt, and still later on I felt sympathy again. This TZ episode will be remembered when I see another film with Jack Warden; it's an excellent script and he plays an excellent role, well done for the makers to choose him, it's a great actor for this role of a man convicted of murder.
With that said, at first I was pretty nonchalant with this episode. The thought of sending men into space to serve a prison sentence alone seemed very absurd. And then having to supply them every three months had me rolling my skeptical eyes, but I let all of that go to dive into the story and I'm happy I did.
I'm also glad that I only had the description of a man in a space prison being given a robot for company. I was very surprised when the robot was a life like looking female robot. I had expected a robot like in the Outer Limit's episode of the mechanical man. For this being made in 1959 to me, is very cutting edge, maybe it still is.
I believe the ending was based on the morality of the day (even of today) that it is taboo for a human to love a machine as they would another human, the TZ couldn't have let him fly off with the robot, CBS would have had calls to cancel it on the spot! But with that being said, what ending is remembered better? A man and female type robot living happily ever after? Or a man torn apart by his love for a machine and having to see that machine destroyed? I thought the latter ending was much more memorable, and quite frankly I had not even expected it. The only alternatives to me were him staying, or him flying off, but "she" would be alive either way
I was surprised by the robots "murder" for you see, I had thought of the robot as being a real person as well, all in so short a span of time as 20 minutes.
I cried. Not just for the robot but for the man.
I find it hard to list any of the TZ episodes in a "top ten" for there are so many good ones, but to me, this is definitely one of the best ones made. I'm surprised I never saw it before when I have seen other episodes many many times over the course of 40 years of re-runs. Maybe it's too "weird" for TV as being the reason. I'm happy I saw it tonight for the first time, excellent sci fi drama. 10 of 10
I just watched this episode for the first time today, I wanted to comment on it now as we all tend to dismiss our feelings later.
For a story that takes place in barely 20 minutes, this is very powerful drama.
I thought Jack Warden played an excellent role as the "prisoner", for one moment I felt sympathy and another moment I felt contempt, and still later on I felt sympathy again. This TZ episode will be remembered when I see another film with Jack Warden; it's an excellent script and he plays an excellent role, well done for the makers to choose him, it's a great actor for this role of a man convicted of murder.
With that said, at first I was pretty nonchalant with this episode. The thought of sending men into space to serve a prison sentence alone seemed very absurd. And then having to supply them every three months had me rolling my skeptical eyes, but I let all of that go to dive into the story and I'm happy I did.
I'm also glad that I only had the description of a man in a space prison being given a robot for company. I was very surprised when the robot was a life like looking female robot. I had expected a robot like in the Outer Limit's episode of the mechanical man. For this being made in 1959 to me, is very cutting edge, maybe it still is.
I believe the ending was based on the morality of the day (even of today) that it is taboo for a human to love a machine as they would another human, the TZ couldn't have let him fly off with the robot, CBS would have had calls to cancel it on the spot! But with that being said, what ending is remembered better? A man and female type robot living happily ever after? Or a man torn apart by his love for a machine and having to see that machine destroyed? I thought the latter ending was much more memorable, and quite frankly I had not even expected it. The only alternatives to me were him staying, or him flying off, but "she" would be alive either way
I was surprised by the robots "murder" for you see, I had thought of the robot as being a real person as well, all in so short a span of time as 20 minutes.
I cried. Not just for the robot but for the man.
I find it hard to list any of the TZ episodes in a "top ten" for there are so many good ones, but to me, this is definitely one of the best ones made. I'm surprised I never saw it before when I have seen other episodes many many times over the course of 40 years of re-runs. Maybe it's too "weird" for TV as being the reason. I'm happy I saw it tonight for the first time, excellent sci fi drama. 10 of 10