Popcorn Martini

I Shot an Arrow into the Air

The four of them are dying! Haha, see what I did there? I played the title of a couple episodes ago.  But really, four astronauts land on some deserted planet/asteroid and fight for survival. This episode dives into human desperation during a near death situation.

This episode aired on January 15th, 1960.

SO, Arrow One is a space shuttle that takes off, only to be soon lost on the radar. The base doesn’t know where it went, neither do the crew of the ship. Looking around, all you can see is a barren desert.  One man is dying, so they argue about whether they should waste water on him.  The whole episode is about the survival of these remaining men and how crazy you can get when the hot sun is beating down on the back of your neck, and you are merely moments from dehydration.

The sun’s heat and insanity get to them.  One by one, they betray each other, and kill each other. The law of nature, I guess.  Then when there is only one man left, he walks; he walks until he can’t walk more. Then he finds something interesting.

There you have it. Another simple twist, interesting, but the rest of the episode lacked that tension that Third from the Sun had between Sturga and the man in the white suit. Plus, this main character has it coming. Nobody wants to cheer for him.

Next time on The Twilight Zone: The Hitchhiker