THE LONELY, with Jack Warden and Jean Marsh, has always haunted me. It's the idea of leaving someone--or something--behind. Warden was sent to a barren asteroid, a hot wasteland with a shack to live in and supplies brought to him by astronauts(John Dehner, as Warden's affectionate friend, Captain Allenby, with an unsympathetic Ted Knight who blames the prisoner for having to travel to places like the asteroid which removes time with his own family, and James Turley), because of a homicide he claims was self-defense. Allenby brings along with him a female robot which looks--and feels--like a real woman(played by a plain but still lovely Marsh)so that Warden's Corry would not continue to be agonizingly lonely(he was sentenced to the asteroid for 50 years which he has served a mere four and is practically a basket case). At first Corry resists "Alicia" because she reminds him of a human companion he desperately longs for but realizes is a "fabrication" created by scientists. But because she is equipped with feelings and human characteristics that mimic human behavior so completely, Corry eventually falls in love with her. Allenby returns many months later with good news, but it will require Corry to leave behind something he has found so precious. The one complaint I have with this episode is that it spends little time with Warden and Marsh so that the overall impact of the tragic conclusion doesn't register on an absolute emotional gut level at it easily could've. There's quite a bit of Warden opining to Dehner about his excruciating loneliness and having to deal with the thought of another 46 years of it. Marsh gains sympathy through a few tears and an adolescent kind of approach to Warden who is riddled with bitterness, longing, and exhaustion. When we first meet Warden, he hops up from his bed with glee that Dehner's Allenby has arrived, excited about having a partner to play cards or chess, only to be denied because of the location of his prison world and the orbital problems which cause astronauts who come there to deliver supplies he stands in need of. I guess I was left in sorrow for Alicia. She serves a purpose and what is the result of how Alicia helps Corry? That is what continues to stay with me..what is a machine and what is human? I think it's easy to say you can differentiate the two if you actually see the nuts, bolts, and wires, but when she offers so much in return and appears in your life when she's needed the most, isn't Alicia worth far more than to be left to rust on some asteroid?
Review of The Lonely
