Three astronauts - Corey (Dewey Martin, "The Thing from Another World"), Colonel Bob Donlin (Edward Binns, "The Verdict"), and Pierson (Ted Otis, "The Best of Everything") - crash land on an asteroid after their spacecraft was launched. The practical Donlin has to contend with an angry, selfish, argumentative Corey, who stops at nothing to ensure his survival. The environment is forbidding - mountains, rocks, and sand in every direction - and they have to ration their water, although Corey greedily downs as much of it as he can. They will have to live like this for God knows how long since NASA has no idea what happened to them, and can't track them.
Scripted by Mr. Serling from a story by Madelon Champion, this is a good, solid episode for most of its running time. The character of Corey is a real case study of a human being resorting to his basest and most selfish impulses, with seemingly no regard for his fellow man. With this episode being filmed in Death Valley, it does an excellent job of capturing the foreboding nature of this terrain. The acting is truly superb from top character actor Binns and especially Mr. Martin. Corey may be a heel, but is not exactly impossible to relate to. Who's to say that some of us might not behave in the same manner under the same circumstances?
And then we come to the classic 'The Twilight Zone' big reveal at the end, which isn't as impactful as it might have been given that it's really no surprise. But it does serve the purpose of underscoring just how completely unnecessary Corey's descent into evil was. People under an extreme level of pressure (or who *think* they are) are perfectly capable of being irrational.
The best bit: Corey and Donlin trying to decipher the image that Pierson draws in the dirt.
Eight out of 10.
Scripted by Mr. Serling from a story by Madelon Champion, this is a good, solid episode for most of its running time. The character of Corey is a real case study of a human being resorting to his basest and most selfish impulses, with seemingly no regard for his fellow man. With this episode being filmed in Death Valley, it does an excellent job of capturing the foreboding nature of this terrain. The acting is truly superb from top character actor Binns and especially Mr. Martin. Corey may be a heel, but is not exactly impossible to relate to. Who's to say that some of us might not behave in the same manner under the same circumstances?
And then we come to the classic 'The Twilight Zone' big reveal at the end, which isn't as impactful as it might have been given that it's really no surprise. But it does serve the purpose of underscoring just how completely unnecessary Corey's descent into evil was. People under an extreme level of pressure (or who *think* they are) are perfectly capable of being irrational.
The best bit: Corey and Donlin trying to decipher the image that Pierson draws in the dirt.
Eight out of 10.