Season 4, Episode 16 (#118 overall)
Cayuga Production # 4868
Originally aired May 2, 1963
He’s their everything: leader, doctor, counselor, moral compass, father figure, priest. For thirty years he’s presided over them like a watchful shepherd and, in that time, developed into a gentle dictator of sorts. His name is William Benteen and, fifty years ago tonight, his reign came to a fitful, heartbreaking end.
Rod Serling’s “On Thursday We Leave for Home” drops us on V-9 Gamma, a desolate, lifeless planet and invites us to observe a pitiable band of colonists who have been stranded there for three decades. It’s a cruel, ugly place, with two merciless suns that never set and horrific, deadly meteor storms that arise out of nowhere. The colonists’ morale is at an all-time low, as evidenced by the latest in a string of suicides.
“Captain” Benteen is apparently the only thing standing between civilization and total anarchy. Colonist Al demands his freedom at the girl’s funeral, but is placated (probably for the umpteenth time) by Benteen’s promise that a ship is most certainly coming to save them. The crowd chants “there’s a ship coming!” over and over in a desperate form of liturgy that’s both moving and a bit disturbing (the whole Jesus-is-coming-back-someday vibe is palpable).
The funeral is interrupted by a meteor storm (man, these people can’t catch a break), forcing them to take refuge in a large cave (their usual assembly place). As their wounds are tended to, Benteen regales them with a touching description of the earth he remembers, and again promises that help is indeed coming. Then, as if on cue… a ship arrives to take them home at last.
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Sparks almost immediately start to fly between Benteen and Colonel Sloane, commander of the earth ship Galaxy VI. Sloane doesn't quite recognize or respect Benteen’s authority, which is apparently unofficial (the history of the colony is vague, and one can’t help but wonder how his absolute rule over the colonists evolved in the first place); Benteen, meanwhile, is very clearly threatened by Sloane’s actual authority. It’s a bit of a power struggle, and Benteen becomes increasingly hostile and irrational as the ship’s departure date nears. It becomes very evident that, as much as the colonists have needed and relied upon him, he’s needed his power over them even more (a very telling moment comes when he tells Sloane that the colonists are essentially children who will literally die without his leadership, even after they’re safely back on earth!). As the colonists’ loyalty to him dissolves, Benteen’s grip on reality begins to dissolve as well.
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The shots of the earth ship descending (and later ascending) are re-purposed from
“Death Ship” and yes, it’s the beloved United Planets C-57D Space Cruiser from
Forbidden Planet in its seventh and final
Twilight Zone appearance, here called the Galaxy VI. We see LOTS of it here, as much of the action in the second and third acts takes place in and around the landed craft.
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But the
Forbidden Planet connection doesn't end there: the earth crew wears the same outfits, caps and all, as those worn in the 1956 film (we saw these uniforms, sans caps, in season three’s
“The Little People” and the more recent
“Death Ship”). I suppose the case could be made that this episode takes place in the same universe as
Forbidden Planet, and both ships are part of earth’s interstellar fleet (for that matter,
“Death Ship” could be included here as well). The barren, rocky V-9 Gamma scenery closely resembles the film’s Altair IV landscape (which was shot at MGM, where
TZ was also shot, so they’re likely the same cycloramic backdrop; the same goes for season one’s
“People Are Alike All Over”). Further, the Altair IV landscape may very well have inspired the more minimalist rock-studded background from TZ’s first season opening sequence.
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Check out the gigantic cave set, in which the colony’s equivalents of town meetings take place. It looks familiar, but I can’t place where I might’ve seen it before. The colony’s communication tower, with its rotating telemetry dish, is impressive as well… anybody out there know where it came from?
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This is Emmy-award winner James Whitmore’s only
TZ role, but his work stands as one of the greatest performances in the entire series. As Benteen, Whitmore is a natural leader, alternately staid and gentle, then hard and authoritative as situations dictate. It’s apparent very early on that the colonists have survived as long as they have thanks solely to the strength of his will and determination that they do, in fact, survive. Unfortunately, he’s come to view himself as the colonists’ ultimate authority and savior (in other words, he’s bought into his own hype), which probably would've been fine had their remote bubble never been disturbed. It’s fascinating to watch the layers of delusion melt away as his hold on his people weakens, particularly in the devastating final scene. Whitmore is probably most recently remembered for his heartbreaking turn in 1994’s
The Shawshank Redemption.
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This is Tim O'Conner’s only
TZ appearance (as Colonel Sloane), but he ventured into
The Outer Limits twice (“Moonstone” and “Soldier”). He’s all business here, not quite able to grasp Benteen’s resistance to what amounts to the salvation of the colonists, and he serves as a great foil against Benteen’s increasingly-irrational machinations. Genre fans will fondly remember O’Conner as Dr. Huer on TV’s
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979-1980).
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Lots of friendly and familiar
TZ faces to see here. Colonist George is played by Paul Langton, who appeared in season one’s
“Where Is Everybody?” while fellow colonist Julie is played by Jo Helton from season three’s
“The Shelter.” The child, Jo-Jo, is played by Daniel Kulik, last seen in season three’s
“Cavender is Coming” (he probably got these gigs because his father was Buzz Kulik, who directed both that episode and this one).
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Lew Gallo (Lt. Engle) completes a
TZ trifecta, having previously appeared in season one’s
“The Hitch-hiker” and season two’s
“The Rip Van Winkle Caper.” Russ Bender (colonist Hank) also appeared in
“The Hitch-hiker,” as well as season three’s
“The Fugitive.” And finally, Shirley O’Hara (hard to spot as an unnamed colonist; I had a helluva time spotting her) also showed up in
“The Rip Van Winkle Caper” riding in that cool futuristic car (which, incidentally, was a
Forbidden Planet prop!). O’Hara visited
The Outer Limits twice (“The Human Factor” and “Expanding Human”).
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This episode’s musical score is comprised mostly of stock cues by Bernard Herrmann and Fred Steiner; however, one particular cue by Nathan Van Cleave stands out: “Quiet Western Scene,” which is heard during Benteen’s reminisces about earth just before the rescue ship arrives, is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever heard on the show. It’s never been released on any music format, but I’m happy to report it’s available in isolated form on both DVD releases (volume 38 and the Season Four Definitive Collection) as well as the more recent blu-ray release. Or… you can just listen to it right here:
“On Thursday We Leave For Home” is powerful and moving, and the tragedy that unfolds in its final scenes is frankly unforgettable. Like the best science fiction offerings on The Twilight Zone (and elsewhere), the episode uses a fantastic and alien setting to frame a very down-to-earth human tale. In a season in which Serling’s contributions were disappointingly inferior to those of his peers, he manages to deliver one of his best scripts of the entire series here. Very highly recommended.
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As I scanned the episode to harvest screen captures, I made a connection that, oddly, had never occurred to me before. In some ways (more thematic than actual) this episode ends where season one’s
“The Lonely” begins. It led me to imagine a sequel in which Benteen leaves the empty colony site to explore different parts of the planet, and discovers the inert body of the robot Alicia. He sets about repairing her, succeeds, and they keep one another company for the rest of his days. Yes, I’m aware that
“The Lonely” takes place on an asteroid and not a planet (not to mention several other fairly irreconcilable differences between the two stories), but isn't impossibility one of the cornerstones of
The Twilight Zone? I know, it’s a goofy idea… or is it…?
Seven days hence:
a bickering couple takes a cruise and has a terrible time. I mean, it’s not Carnival levels of terrible, but still…
10 comments:
While listening to "Quiet Western Scene", which is really helping me out after a tough day at work, I just want to say what a great idea you had about Alicia. I always assumed Benteen had no other recourse but suicide, like Henry Bemis a few seasons earlier. You found a way to give him hope. It's such a testament to Whitmore's acting and Serling's script that we're made to care about this character and what happens to him, even after the final fadeout.
This was actually the first episode of TZ that I ever saw. Such a great one to start with! I was immediately hooked.
I love the idea of him finding Alicia. :)
Bill: Glad I could help. :o)
Courtney: My first episode was "Jess-belle," followed by "And When the Sky Was Opened," so I got lucky. If I'd seen "Mr. Dingle, the Strong" first, I might've never become a fan.
Both: Maybe I should write a fan-fiction teleplay....
Great post Craig, some deep research here, I love the spotting of the woman from Rip Van Winkle. Truly great episode. And I agree, that score cue is awesome. There are a few problems of logic in this ep (if the colonists have received a signal from a ship that seems legit, why are they in such despair!?) but overall its great, and Benteen is awesome. Fourth Season gem. - Fred (from the Twilight Pwn). p.s. sidenote: in addition to being a Forbidden Planet costume, Sloane's hat looks exactly like the Miami Heat cap...google it.
I also like the idea of Benteen finding Alicia. At the end of "The Lonely" I always have the thought that it's a zone ep that could have a great sequel - someone coming across this destroyed robot, this antique car, this shack, and the cigarette butts of space prison wardens, and trying to figure out what the explanation could be.
I think you pretty much nailed it here; to me it is unambiguously the best 4th season episode, and arguably the best in the entire series (certainly among the best), but there I don't wish to rush in where angels fear to tread. And, yes, I agree, nice touch as to his coming across Alicia. To my mind, she would certainly be at least a little disfigured after repair, yet her appearance would not be off-putting, but rather seem appropriate to the circumstances.
I liked this one very much; it’s an interesting psychological study of an unstable character. Benteen seems like a strong, capable leader in the opening scenes; perhaps a bit harsh, but also sympathetic and fair. But it soon becomes apparent that he suffers from a messiah complex. He has become so used to being in control, he doesn’t know how to react when the world he created is being dissolved and he’s left adrift, no longer having any clear purpose or role in the new world that lies ahead.
I felt more than a little annoyance with him during much of the episode, but that changed to sympathy at the very end; a tragic ending for him, to be sure. You have to wonder what he did next; did he commit suicide in the end, or struggle on as long as he could? (I don’t know how long he would have been able to keep going in a practical sense, since the machinery that kept everyone alive seemed to be breaking down; could one person even run everything for an extended period of time?)
I particularly liked the music in this episode; I’ll have to listen to the isolated score soon.
Decent effects for the meteor shower. Though it did seem odd that when confronted with things falling from the sky (something which apparently had happened before), the colonists just hunkered down on the ground holding their heads, instead of sensibly running directly into the safety of the cave. Surely they weren’t THAT child-like, that they had to have instruction to keep themselves from being clonked on the noggin...
The saucer that rescues them seems quite cramped for a large group---you have to wonder how 180+ people would even fit in it, much less live there for an extended period. But perhaps it was just a shuttle to a larger ship.
More easily avoidable sloppy science here. They kept talking about earth being a billion miles away, but I believe the very nearest star to our own sun is about 25 trillion miles distant? I don’t know why the scriptwriters can never seem to get the distances right.
This episode wins a “Dark Shadow Award for Obvious Appearance of a Boom Mic” in an early scene. It did seem odd that the goof was left in, but I suppose it wasn’t too noticeable during the original broadcast, what with the overscan and rounded screens of early 1960s television sets.
Thank you for posting "Quiet Western Scene" in its entirety on here. It's strange that this piece has become more associated with "The Twilight Zone" rather than the film for which it was originally composed, "The Lonely Man" in 1957 . Only a small portion of the piece is actually used in the film and the rest of the score is so fantastic that this is hardly a stand out in the film, so I'm glad that it finally got its due via "The Twilight Zone". Thanks again!
Just discovered your OL and TZ posts and these are great. Thank you!
I'm gratified that so many are concerned with Benteen's fate. Possible solution: the planet is now on the space charts . Some media opportunist will be on the way to get...The Rest Of the Story , and Benteen.
Was also wondering about Saucer Size on TZ. The Forbidden Planet design is perfect. Obviously several sizes:
1. Scout Ship, as in Death Ship, and Agnes Moorehead s Invaders.
2. Larger Expedition Type, like Forbidden Planet's cruiser.
3. Cargo/Colonizer , a much larger ship. This could be Tim O Conners Galaxy 6.
As another contributor noted, "mother ships" can also answer a lot of questions in a lot of other episodes and TV shows.
PS. Now, one can speculate about just what PILGRIM 1 looked like...
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