Air date: April 27, 1962
In the Mexican village of Madeiro, a spaceship crash-lands within the village's perimeter, revealing its pilot to be a human-looking alien. Two police officers called to the scene are terrified and attack the alien, who accidentally kills an officer in a Gun Struggle and is shot by the other. The alien stumbles into the local bar and collapses. A friendly doctor, having a drink, extracts the bullets from the creature's chest and treats his wounds. As he recuperates, the alien introduces himself as "Mr. Williams" to Pedro, an orphan boy who sweeps up the bar, sharing a bond with him. Mr. Williams gives Pedro a gift, which he claims he will explain later.
The bartender calls the army about the alien in town, prompting a mob of soldiers and villagers to storm the bar. Mr. Williams tries to explain that he comes in peace and tells Pedro to show the townspeople the gift, but the villagers swipe it from the boy and set it on fire. When Williams and Pedro try to reach for each other, the soldiers panic and gun Williams down until he dies, thinking that he was about to harm the boy. The doctor pulls what remains of Williams' gift from the fire. It reads, "Greetings to the people of Earth: We come in peace. We bring you this gift. The following chemical formula is a vaccine against all forms of cancer..." The rest of the gift is illegible from the burns. The doctor sadly notes that the people present haven't just killed just a man, but a dream.
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- Aliens in Cardiff: Williams' ship crash-lands in the vicinity of Madeiro, just over the border of Texas.
- Aliens Speaking English: Williams is able to speak perfect English.
- Bittersweet Ending: It's an especially bitter one this time. Williams is killed by the panicked mob, who learn far too late that his gift was a peace offering; a vaccine that could've cured all forms of cancer, which was burnt before they could understand what it was. The only thing that keeps this ending from being an absolute Downer Ending is that Pedro finally finds a home, as he's adopted by the doctor.
- Blind Musician: Ignacio, the guitarist in the bar, is blind.
- Children Are Innocent: Pedro immediately becomes friends with Williams because, as a mistreated orphan with no friends, he can easily relate to the stranger. Other than the doctor, he's the only person in Madeiro who believes that Williams is not a threat.
- Conveniently Interrupted Document: Williams' gift is burned away right at the point where the cancer cure's formula appears.
- Cure for Cancer: Williams came to Earth solely to provide humanity with a vaccine against all forms of cancer. Unfortunately, it's burned away by the people of Madeiro in a fit of paranoia, driving home humanity's mistrust towards anything they don't understand.
- First Contact: Humanity makes first contact with an alien race in the form of Williams, who intended to grant them a gift that could've helped them immeasurably.
- Human Alien: Williams is entirely human in appearance, but he has a stronger constitution than the average person. He is able to recover very quickly from two gunshots to the chest. According to the doctor, his pulse is also stronger than his healthiest patients'.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: Williams is killed by the paranoid and suspicious people of Madeiro, who believe him to be either the Devil or a practitioner of Black Magic.
- Innocent Aliens: Williams' goal in coming to Earth was to give humanity a Cure for Cancer, an entirely selfless and honorable act.
- No Name Given: The village's doctor is not named.
- Privacy by Distraction: When he's about to operate on Williams, the doctor sends Pedro out to look at the stars.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Ignacio gives a rather measured one to Manolo after hearing the latter belly-ache about Pedro, and how cheerless he is. To this, the guitarist questions what exactly an abused and impoverished orphan like Pedro should be cheerful for:Manolo: I ask you this: did you ever see him smile?Ignacio: (soberly) Why would he ever smile, the boy? What is there to delight him? His poverty? Why should he smile? Perhaps, Manolo... perhaps on some occasion, some festive occasion, instead of handing him a broom or a tray, extend him a hand.
- At the end of the episode, the doctor gives Manolo a more subtle subdued one when it's revealed that Williams had brought a cure for cancer.
Doctor: We have not just killed a man...we killed a dream. - Skip the Anesthetic: Williams catches the doctor as he's about to administer an ether anesthetic before surgery, and insists that he not use any anesthetic at all. His pain tolerance exceeds that of a human's, so it's largely unnecessary.
- Space Whale Aesop: Don't kill aliens and burn their gifts, or you might rob the world of a cure for cancer.
- We Come In Peace: Williams tells the mob that he has come to Earth in peace, shortly before they kill him. Similarly, the document he gave to Pedro even says, "We come as friends and in peace."
- We Come in Peace — Shoot to Kill: Type 1. Williams is a peaceful being with noble intentions. It's the humans who are aggressive.
- Whole-Plot Reference: The episode essentially functions a sci-fi version of the story of Jesus. Williams is an otherworldly visitor who has arrived on Earth with a gift for humanity, but he is killed and his gift is destroyed. The parallel is made clear when the doctor says that bartender Manolo, who has told the army of Williams' presence, should have been christened "Judas."
