Season 1, Episode 15: I Shot an Arrow into the Air
 

Season 1, Episode 15: I Shot an Arrow into the Air

Airdate: 15/01/60
Writer: Rod Serling (Based on a story by Madelon Champion)
Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Starring: Dewey Martin, Edward Binns, Ted Otis

When a spaceship crashes on a deserted planet, the crewmen must survive on limited supplies, but the biggest problem they face is each other.

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I think when Serling wrote Planet of the Apes it was this story that he was grafting the apes onto. Not a bad episode, but I found the twist easier to swallow in Planet of the Apes.

This is one of the rare occurances where I could see the twist coming a mile off.

That moment where they look at the sun and say how it looks like they were on an asteroid the same distance from the sun as earth was such a giveaway, amongst other things.

Great location, but probably one of my least favourite of the season so far.

Would you believe that I was watching this one while I was doing something at the same time on my laptop, and I still figured out what was going on. Probably my least favourite so far, along with episode 1.

I found this to be one of the weaker episodes in the series so far as the ending was utterly predictable and I didn't care much for any of the central characters. Even if you know how the ending, you need to like the main characters and the interactions between them so, in that respect, this one failed as far as I'm concerned.

Ugh. I am surprised that, even in its day, this episode was produced. Granted, the TZ is full of improbable, implausible, and impossible situations -- but, as Zicree laments in the Companion, that we are asked to believe three (presumably) highly trained astronauts can't recognize that they're still on Earth -- let alone the fact that the space administration can't track a crashing rocket? No one would be watching the launch? No amateur astronomers in this reality? No other governments with telescopes and radar? -- It just fails on every level. Not even the performances (way over the top, in my opinion) can salvage such a ludicrous premise.

Can an asteroid even have an atmosphere? Again, ugh.

No airplanes flew overhead in all that time? Ugh ugh.

And, as Tom pointed out -- "Gee, I guess the most logical conclusion is that we're on an asteroid in the same orbit as Earth." Really? Ugh to the third power.

Also, Serling's Act Two narration (prior to the closing narration) is exceptionally cringe-worthy.

So, no, I don't like this one. I do, however, like Tom's interpretation on the podcast of the poem from which the title comes! Your evaluation of the episode is far more charitable than mine. :-) Unlike you, though, I really do think the major problem is the premise. As you say, I simply can't buy that these characters are that stupid. And I kind of resent that Serling thought the viewers would be stupid enough to fall for it. Very unlike him, since he talked a lot about respecting the audience's intelligence... but this episode doesn't.

:) I can't really remember what I said, although I thought I was pretty harsh! I think that the only way for the premise to work is to add something so completely "out there" that the characters can't help but discount the evidence that they're on earth. So it's like "well, it looks like Earth, it's got air like earth, but it can't be because that talking ape just tried to kill me, and we don't have talking apes on earth!"

Like you say, there's nothing like that in this one, so I'm with you! Although I do like the "Serling as conscience" bit ;)

"Serling as conscience." If I were an artist, I would draw a mashup of Rod Serling and Jiminy Cricket -- but I'm not, so I won't! (Anyone out there want to take up the challenge?) ;-)