On Thursday We Leave for Home
- Episode aired May 2, 1963
- TV-14
- 51m
The first human space colony is about to be rescued from the forsaken planet they've been on for three decades. But their leader's having a hard time accepting that change will happen when t... Read allThe first human space colony is about to be rescued from the forsaken planet they've been on for three decades. But their leader's having a hard time accepting that change will happen when they get back to Earth.The first human space colony is about to be rescued from the forsaken planet they've been on for three decades. But their leader's having a hard time accepting that change will happen when they get back to Earth.
- Jo-Jo
- (as Daniel Kulick)
- Colonist
- (as Anthony Benson)
- Narrator
- (uncredited)
- …
- Colonist
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen the rescue ship from Earth arrives, several colonists ask about various places on Earth during a meeting between the ship's crew and the colonists. One of the questions is about the Finger Lake District of New York. This area had a special significance to script writer Rod Serling. It is located close to his home town of Binghamton, he and his family vacationed there frequently, and Serling named his company that produced "The Twilight Zone," Cayuga Productions, after one of the lakes. He later taught at Ithaca College for the last five years before his death.
- GoofsThe colony is said to be on a planet in a binary star system a billion miles from Earth. However, a billion miles away would still place them well within our solar system, somewhere between the orbits of Saturn (746 million miles away) and Uranus (1.2 billion miles away).
- Quotes
Captain Benteen: Now listen to me. I want to tell you some things about the Earth that you haven't heard before. Things that are ugly. Things that are wrong. Things - that cannot be lived with. There is violence on Earth. There are hatreds! And jealousy! Now listen to me, listen to me and listen carefully. The Earth is a place we do not know. The Earth is a place we have never lived in. It is a society we do not belong in. If we leave here, we will die. We will *die*! We'll be committing suicide, if we go back to Earth. We will die of a misery we have never experienced before. Loneliness. Loneliness like animals in a zoo. We do not belong there.
[points to Col. Sloane]
Captain Benteen: We do not belong to his kind. We do not belong *there*. We do not belong *there*.
Col. Sloane: Captain Benteen! Why don't you let your "children" vote on it?
Captain Benteen: Only if they know what's waiting for them! Only if they know that the Earth is not a garden. Never was a garden! And it never will be a garden!
Col. Sloane: [Stepping forward] Fair enough! Fair enough! Then I'll tell you what Earth is. It's a race of men - struggling for survival. Just as you have survived. And Captain Benteen is quite right when he tells you it isn't a place of all beauty. We may yet have wars. And there still remains prejudice. And I suppose as long as men walk, there'll be angry men, jealous men, unforgiving men. But it has one thing that you don't have. One thing. It lets every man be his own master. There won't be any Captain Benteens down there for you. There won't be anybody to tell you when to eat, and when to sleep, and when to meet. There won't be anyone to tell you when to dance or what to sing or how to play. And instead of the thirst, you may feel hunger. Instead of heat, you may feel cold! But you'll be men and women. You won't be sheep. You won't be a kindergarten. And when you pray to God, his name won't be "Benteen"!
- ConnectionsEdited from Forbidden Planet (1956)
A superbly crafted script, beautifully shaped and proportioned, with not a single word of padding, in my opinion. Everything flows and seems instinctively RIGHT, a perfectly designed 50-minute chamber play that manages to probe the complexity and depths of one man's nearly maniacal obsession to control.
But it's so SUBTLE...so real...so natural, and James Whitmore's superb performance demonstrates just how awesome a truly talented actor is, who can quickly learn and completely absorb a lengthy, challenging role, then deliver a flawless performance on a short, tightly-budgeted schedule.
Serling's GRADUAL, expertly paced control over the script's CONFLICT between Whitmore and Tim O'Connor---starting with O'Connor's innocently addressing Whitmore as "MR" Benteen before being gently but firmly corrected--- is a marvel to behold. I especially appreciated the carefully designed scene between Whitmore and O'Connor in his office aboard the ship, which begins cordially, but soon confirms the inevitable deterioration of their personal and professional relationship. This, of course, will lead logically to the big confrontation scene where O'Connor, his patience exhausted, confronts Whitmore in front of the colonists and forces them to vote on their own fate.
One of the IMDB reviewers described the tragedy of William Benteen as Shakespearean--- an entirely appropriate observation, I believe. All the more impressive an achievement for Mr. Serling, breaking the bonds as it were of the creative pressure-cooker into which he had placed himself with his beloved series.
A superb achievement in the annals of TV drama...1.) script (Serling) 2.) acting (Whitmore and O'Connor) and 3.) Direction (Kulik).
Only problem is the so-obviously fake scenic backdrop, something which you just have to accept and ignore. LR
- lrrap
- Jun 9, 2019
Details
- Runtime51 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1