A gang of Zanti fugitives poses for their wanted poster.
The Control Voice: Throughout history, compassionate minds have pondered the dark and disturbing question: what is society to do with those members who are a threat to society, those malcontents and misfits whose behavior undermines and destroys the foundations of civilization? Different ages have found different answers. Misfits have been burned, branded and banished. Today, on this planet Earth, the criminal is incarcerated in inhumane institutions, or he is executed. Other planets use other methods. This is the story of how the perfectionist rulers of the planet Zanti attempted to solve the problem of the Zanti misfits.
Coerced by the planet Zanti, Earth becomes a penal colony for its criminals. However, the situation goes awry when a bank robber and his girlfriend enter the area designated for that purpose.
The Control Voice: Throughout history, various societies have tried various methods of exterminating those members who have proven their inability or unwillingness to live sanely amongst their fellow men. The Zantis tried merely one more method; neither better, nor worse than all of the others, neither more human, nor less human than all others, perhaps merely... non-human.
The Zanti Mistropes:
- Aliens Speaking English: Played with. We hear the Zantis speaking their native language, but a translating device lets them communicate with humans.
- Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: The Zanti are incapable of executing any of their own species, so they dupe humanity into taking care of their undesirables for them.
- Asshole Victim: The first human the Zantis kill is Ben Garth, a murderous criminal.
- Batman Gambit: The entire plan of the Government of the Planet Zanti hinges on their observation that humanity is a race of "practiced executioners" who can't tolerate co-existing with such alien creatures, and that we can therefore take care of their "misfit" issues for them.
- Furthermore, their threats of retaliation against interference are only to ensure that our very human fears will be what motivates the characters, despite the fact that the Zanti Government never intended to act upon any of them.
- The Ending Changes Everything: Specifically, The Reveal of the real reason the Zantis sent their criminals to Earth.
- Foreshadowing: Early in the episode, Grave flicks an ant off the wooden column of one of Morgue's buildings, presaging the battle yet to come.
- Ghost Town: Morgue, California, where the military has set up a secret base to monitor and respond to the Zanti ship.
- Humans Are Warriors: Which is why the Zantis choose us to kill their criminals.
- Insectoid Aliens: The Zantis are ant-like creatures with human-like faces.
- Outlaw Couple: Ben Garth and Lisa Lawrence, although Ben fits the "outlaw" part much better than Lisa does.
- Stop Motion: Used to animate the ant-like aliens.
