History Recap / TheTwilightZoneS1E14ThirdFromTheSun

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[[caption-width-right:350:[[HumanAliens Appearances aren't everything...]]]]

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': Quitting time at the plant. Time for supper now. Time for families. Time for a cool drink on a porch. Time for the quiet rustle of leaf-laden trees that screen out the moon, and underneath it all, behind the eyes of the men, hanging invisible over the summer night, is a horror without words. For this is the stillness before storm. This is the eve of the end.

Air date: January 8, 1960

Will Sturka, a scientist who works at a military base, has been reluctantly producing a great number of H-bombs in preparation for imminent [[WorldWarIII nuclear war]]. Will realizes that there is only one way to escape the upcoming nuclear holocaust: to steal an experimental, top-secret spacecraft stored at the base. He plans to bring his co-worker Jerry Riden, along with their wives and Sturka's daughter Jody. The two fine-tune their plan for months, secretly supplying the ship and making arrangements for their departure.

When production of the bombs sharply increases, Sturka realizes that time is running shorter than he though. He and Jerry decide to put their plan in action, taking their families to the craft to tour it, and then overpowering the guards and take off. Unfortunately, Sturka's superior Carling overhears the two men talking. Later that night, everyone gathers for a game of cards, where Riden reveals that he has found a place to go: a small planet 11 million miles away. During the game, Carling unexpectedly appears at the door. Though he smiles and acts polite, he makes it clear that he knows what the Will and Jerry are planning. He also hints at trouble: "A lot can happen in forty-eight hours." After he leaves, Will and Jerry inform the women that they must leave that very night.

When the five arrive at the site of the spacecraft, the men spot their contact, who flashes a light. When the contact steps forward, he is revealed to be Carling, armed with a gun. He forces Will and Jerry away from the gate and prepares to call the authorities. The women, who have been waiting in the car, watch in horror as Carling orders them out. Jody suddenly throws the car's door open, knocking the gun from Carling's hand and giving the men enough time to overpower him. The group rushes into the ship, fighting off the guards that rush them.

Later that evening, the quintent have safely escaped their doomed planet and are on course for their new home. Jerry comments how unbelievable it is that there is a planet full of people just like themselves. Will smiles as he points out on the ship's viewer their mysterious destination, 11 million miles away: the third planet from the Sun, "Earth".

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!!Third From the Tropes:

* AliensStealCable: Jerry mentions how he and Will have "picked up radio waves" of the similar planet with a similar language. It's Earth.
* BigBrotherIsWatching: {{Implied|Trope}}. Will and Jerry are plotting to steal an experimental spacecraft and settle on another planet in order to avoid an impending nucelar war. When Jerry comes over to Will's house to discuss their plans, Will turns some machinery in his workshop so the authorities won't be able to pick up on their conversation with listening devices they have presumably placed in his house.
* CanonForeigner: Carling does not appear in the short story by Creator/RichardMatheson, and was added to the episode in order to give it a villain.
* DaddysGirl: Teenaged Jody happily greets her father when he comes home, enjoys father-daughter dances with him, and coaxes him into talking about the problems that are clearly on his mind while showing a lot of sympathy and insight for them.
* DutchAngle: This episode makes extensive use of them.
* EarthAllAlong: The twist is an inversion and a straight example. The main characters aren't leaving Earth; they're ''escaping'' to it.
* EarthShatteringKaboom: The potential fate of Sturka and Riden's homeworld.
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: Within 48 hours, there's going to be a war that will wipe out all life on... whatever planet the characters live on.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Carling's idle chatter about whether or not there may be people just like them on one of the stars they see in the sky.
** Sturka's wife is named ''Eve''.
** Sturka and Riden's workplace is known as the "Ministry of Science", which is not something you'd see in the United States.
** There are very unusual sculptures located throughout Sturka's house.
** The music Jody is listening to when her father comes home sounds odd.
** The Sturka family car is clearly powered by something other than an internal combustion engine.
** The “telephone” answered near the end has an unusual shape and makes a beeping sound unlike contemporary telephones.
* TheGovernment: The government that runs the military base Will and Jerry work for seems to be totalitarian in nature. This is shown when Will gets a call from the head of his department, ordering him to come to work as the production begins to increase. There are also implications that anyone who disobeys them will face serious trouble.
* HomeworldEvacuation: A small-scale example, as two scientists and their families steal an experimental spacecraft to flee their homeworld before a nuclear war that will probably kill everyone else breaks out.
* HumanAliens: The people of this planet look, sound, and act like humans, but they aren't.
* JustBeforeTheEnd: The nations of the unnamed planet are on the verge of apocalyptic war. The main characters are trying to escape before the bombs start dropping.
* LastOfHisKind: Presumably the two families.
* ReluctantMadScientist: Jerry and Will make weapons of mass destructions for an oppressive government, but they hate doing it and feel trapped by how their work is only a small part of a big chain (making it beyond their ability to stop or control), as well as how their government comes down hard on dissent.
* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: Aliens living on an Earth-like planet say they're going to Earth, which is "11 million miles away".... or about 1/3 of the distance between Earth and Mars. Since it would be impossible for another Earth-like planet to be that close without us knowing about it, the writers must have thought that a planet 11 million miles away could be in another solar system.
* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: Will and Jerry decide to steal the experimental spaceship and leave with their families, as a potential planet-destroying war is just 48 hours away.
* SkewedPriorities: When they decide to leave, Eve decides to put the drinks away before she realizes there's no point.
* SleepingSingle: Two single beds in Mr. and Mrs. Sturka's bedroom.
* StockFootage: A shot of the C-57D cruiser in space is taken from ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet''.
* {{Tuckerization}}: Jody Sturka and Ann Riden are named after Rod Serling's daughters Jodi and Ann.
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->'''Creator/RodSerling''': Behind a tiny ship heading into space is a doomed planet on the verge of suicide. Ahead lies a place called Earth, the third planet from the Sun. And for William Sturka and the men and women with him, it's the [[TheEndOfTheBeginning eve of the beginning]] - in the Twilight Zone.

Will Sturka, a scientist who works at a military base run by the government, has been producing a great number of H-bombs in preparation for imminent [[WorldWarIII nuclear war]]. Sturka realizes that there is only one way to escape—steal an experimental, top-secret spacecraft stored at the base. He plans to bring his co-worker Jerry Riden, along with their wives and Sturka's daughter Jody. The two plot for months, secretly supplying the ship and making arrangements for their departure.

When production of the bombs increases, Sturka realizes that time is running short. He and Riden decide to put their plan in action—take their families to the craft to tour it, and then overpower the guards and take off. Unfortunately, Sturka's superior Carling overhears the two men talking. Later that night, everyone gathers for a game of cards where Riden reveals that he has found a place to go—a small planet 11 million miles away. During the game, Carling unexpectedly appears at the door; though he smiles and acts polite, he makes it clear that he knows what the group is planning. He also hints at trouble: "A lot can happen in forty-eight hours." After he leaves, Sturka and Riden inform the women that they must leave that very night.

When the five arrive at the site of the spacecraft, Sturka and Riden spot their contact, who flashes a light. When the contact steps forward, though, he is revealed to be Carling, armed with a gun. He forces Sturka and Riden away from the gate and prepares to call the authorities. The women, who have been waiting in the car, watch in horror as Carling orders them out. Jody suddenly throws the car's door open, knocking the gun from Carling's hand and giving the men enough time to overpower him. The group rushes into the ship, fighting off the guards that rush them.

Later that evening, the group has safely escaped their doomed planet and are on course. Riden comments that he cannot believe that there is a planet full of people like themselves. Sturka smiles as he points out on the ship's viewer their mysterious destination, 11 million miles away—the third planet from the Sun, called "Earth".

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': Behind a tiny ship heading into space is a doomed planet on the verge of suicide. Ahead lies a place called Earth, the third planet from the Sun. And for William Sturka and the men and women with him, it's the [[TheEndOfTheBeginning eve of the beginning]] - in the Twilight Zone.

* AliensStealCable: Riden mentions that "We've picked up radio waves" of the similar planet with a similar language. It's Earth.
* BigBrotherIsWatching: {{Implied|Trope}}. William Sturka and Jerry Riden are plotting to steal an experimental spacecraft and settle on another planet in order to avoid an impending war. When Riden comes over to Sturka's house to discuss their plan, Sturka turns on the machinery in his workshop so that the authorities won't be able to pick up on their conversation with the listening devices that they have presumably placed in his house.
* CanonForeigner: Carling does not appear in the short story by Creator/RichardMatheson. He was added to the episode in order to give it a villain.

* DutchAngle: This episode makes extensive use of Dutch angles.
* EarthAllAlong: The twist is an inversion and a straight example. They're not leaving Earth; they're escaping to it.
* EarthShatteringKaboom: The likely fate of their world.
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: Within 48 hours there's going to be a war which wipes out life on...whatever planet they're on.

** Carling's idle chatter about whether or not there may be people just like them, on one of the stars they see in the sky.

** The sign outside the military site saying, "Ministry of Science", which is not something you'd see in the United States.
** Sturka's phone looks futuristic.
** The characters' names are very unusual.
** There are very unusual sculptures located throughout the house.
** The music Jody is listening to when Sturka comes home sounds odd.
** The family car seen in the episode is clearly powered by something other than an internal combustion engine.
* TheGovernment: The government that runs the military base Sturka and Riden work for seems to be totalitarian. As shown when Sturka got a call from the head of his department ordering him to come to work as the production begins to increase. There are also implications that anyone who disobeys will face serious trouble.
* HomeworldEvacuation: A small-scale example, when two scientists and their families steal an experimental spacecraft to flee their home world before a nuclear war that will probably kill everyone else on the the planet.
* HumanAliens: The people look, sound, and act like humans, but they aren't.
* JustBeforeTheEnd: The nations on the unnamed planet are on the verge of an apocalyptic war. The main characters are trying to escape before the bombs start dropping.

* ReluctantMadScientist: Sturka and Riden make destructive weapons for an oppressive government but hate it and feel trapped by how what they are doing is only a small part of a big chain (making it beyond their ability to stop or control) and their government comes down hard on dissent.

* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: Riden and Sturka decide to steal the experimental ship and leave with their families, as a potential planet-destroying war is just hours away, 48 hours at most.
* SkewedPriorities: When they decide to leave, Sturka's wife Eve was about to put the drinks away when she realized there's no point.

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* AluminumChristmasTrees: The futuristic telephones used in the episode is the Ericofon, which was commercially available at the time the episode was filmed.

* DaddysGirl: Teenaged Jody happily greets her father when he comes home, enjoys father-daughter dances with him (in a non-incestuous way) and coaxes him into talking about the problems that are clearly on his mind while showing a lot of sympathy and insight for them.

* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: Aliens living on an Earth-like planet say they're going to Earth, which is "11 million miles away".... or about 1/3 of the distance between Earth and Mars. Since it would be impossible for another Earth-like planet to be that close without us knowing about it, the writers must have thought that a planet 11 million miles away could be in another solar system.** since they are aliens, who says their miles measure the same as ours?

* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: Aliens living on an Earth-like planet say they're going to Earth, which is "11 million miles away".... or about 1/3 of the distance between Earth and Mars. Since it would be impossible for another Earth-like planet to be that close without us knowing about it, the writers must have thought that a planet 11 million miles away could be in another solar system.