History Recap / TheTwilightZoneS1E15IShotAnArrowIntoTheAir

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/i_shot_an_arrow_into_the_air.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Two decent astronauts and a CrazySurvivalist.]]

->'''Creator/RodSerling:''' Her name is the ''Arrow One''. She represents four and a half years of planning, preparation and training, and a thousand years of science and mathematics and the projected dreams and hopes of not only a nation, but a world. She is the first manned aircraft into space. And this is the countdown, the last five seconds before man shot an arrow into the air.

Air date: January 15, 1960

Manned space flight ''Arrow One'' crash lands on what its crew believe to be an uncharted asteroid. Only four of the crew survive, one of whom (Hudak) is barely alive. After Hudak dies, the three remaining men, Corey (Dewey Martin), Donlin (Edward Binns), and Pierson (Ted Otis), decide to trek into the barren desert to see if there is anything that might improve their chances of survival out there. When Corey and Donlin reconvene, it would seem that Pierson is dead and Corey filched his water supply from his dead body. Donlin, the commanding officer, forces Corey at gunpoint to lead him to Pierson's body.

They find Pierson, barely alive, who uses his last bit of strength to draw a primitive diagram in the sand. Corey then kills Donlin and sets out by himself, confident that he will survive longer now that he has all of the water. Scaling a hill, Corey eventually sees a sign for Reno, UsefulNotes/{{Nevada}}, as well as telephone poles, which were what Pierson attempted to draw before he died. Realizing that he and the others had never left Earth at all and that he killed his partners [[AllForNothing for nothing]], Corey breaks down weeping and begging for forgiveness.

Notable for being the only episode, possibly of ''anything'', based off an idea given at a party. Serling recounted in an interview how a friend had approached him and said, "What if a bunch of astronauts crash on what they think is another planet but it's really the desert outside UsefulNotes/LasVegas?" As Serling put it, "I paid him $500 on the spot. But it never happened again."

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!!I Shot a Trope Into the Air:

* AllForNothing: The astronauts never left Earth, so Corey killed his crewmates for nothing.
* AlmostDeadGuy
** Hudak, who was seriously wounded in the crash, is on death's door by the time the episode begins.
** Corey and Donlin find Pierson dying of a fatal head wound. He uses the very last of his strength to draw a symbol in the sand before he dies.
* ArtisticLicenseSpace: After launching from Earth, ''Arrow One'' goes off course and ends up on the surface of an unknown celestial object. Even though the object has Earth's standard gravity, a breathable atmosphere and a sun that appears to be the same size in the sky as it is on Earth, the astronauts somehow conclude that they've landed on an asteroid. This is impossible, and the astronauts should have known it: in order for the object to be an asteroid, it would have to be the size of the Earth, and certainly would have been already seen by astronomers.
* ChromosomeCasting: This episode has an all-male cast.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Corey's betrayals, meant for him to survive in the unknown.
* ColdEquation: Corey murders his colleagues to save himself, but he breaks down when he realizes none of it was necessary.
* CompleteTheQuoteTitle: The unsaid part is, "It fell to Earth, I know not where", similar to what happens to the astronauts.
* DownerEnding: Corey killed his surviving crewmates to keep all the remaining water for himself, only to discover the crew was stranded in the Nevada Desert the whole time. Corey breaks down weeping and begs his former partners to forgive him. It gets worse when you realize Corey may face future criminal charges for his actions...
* EarthAllAlong: The "asteroid" the crew is stranded on was actually the Nevada Desert on Earth.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Not long after the intro, Corey asks how much water they have. When he hears that they have about five gallons, he then asks "Why waste it?" when Donlin and Pierson are giving some to the badly injured Hudak.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Pearson draws something on the sand before he dies. It turns out to be a telephone pole.
** Both Pierson and Donlin notices that the sun appears to be the same size as on Earth.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Corey gives this excuse, before TheReveal.
* JerkAss: Even Rod Serling himself can't help but give a rare mid-episode monologue about the depths Corey has gone to just to live.
* KilledMidSentence: Donlin, when he learns Corey [[AlmostDeadGuy attempted to kill Pierson]].
-->'''Colonel Donlin''': You killed Pierson, didn't you, Corey? You killed 'im! You're demented, Corey! You're out of your mind! You already killed once! You already-
* LaughingMad: Corey, when he discovers the truth. His laughter gradually turns to crying.
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: To Creator/HenryWadsworthLongfellow[='=]s "The Arrow and the Song":
-->I shot an arrow into the air,\\
[[SpoilerTitle It fell to earth]], I knew not where;…
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Corey, after TheReveal.
* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: PlayedForDrama. Donlin exposits that ''Arrow One'' was the only one of her kind, and it took four and a half years to build. He grimly remarks that if help ''does'' come, they're going to have to build another one first.
* NotSoRemote: The trio think they're on an asteroid. They're actually somewhere in the Nevada desert, 97 miles from Reno.
* NotWhereTheyThought: PlayedForDrama and tragedy. A manned space flight crash-lands on what the crew believe to be an unknown asteroid. Corey, desperate to survive, kills the others and takes all their water. Then he learns that they've been on Earth all along — specifically, the Nevada desert, just outside Reno.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: While Corey is traversing the mountainous terrain all by himself, Rod Serling himself starts maliciously mocking the character, letting his words drip with venomous disgust as he sarcastically encourages him to keep moving. Normally, Serling's narration is impartial and expository, but Corey is apparently such a despicable human being that he can't hold his vitriol against him.
* ShutUpKirk: Corey is having none of Donlin's speech and shoots him dead mid-sentence.
* TitleDrop: After the ''Arrow One'' is lost, Langford says, "I shot an arrow into the air, it landed I know not where..."
* TooStupidToLive: Donlin has the men dig graves for their dead crewmates in the scorching desert heat, ignores the obvious mental breakdown of the survivors crew, abandons the gun he was holding on a suspected murderer (Corey), and then tries to verbally berate a man holding him at gunpoint.
* VillainHasAPoint: 97 miles to Reno in the Nevada heat, which can top one-hundred degrees Fahrenheit ''at night'', may very well have been too far for three men with limited water. However, cars can be seen driving by in the distance.
** Some of Corey's minor acts (like questioning giving water to a dying man when their supplies are so limited) are potentially justified given the situation he thinks he's in. However, nothing justifies his sensless murder of his partners.
* VillainousBreakdown: The episode ends with Corey suffering one after finding out he killed his partners for nothing.
* VillainousBSOD: Corey does ''not'' take the fact he killed his crewmates for nothing well at all, as well as facing possible discipline in the future for his actions. He lowers his head down into his arms and cries as the episode ends.
* WhamLine: "We never left the Earth."
* WhamShot: After Corey climbs over a cliff, he throws his gun down, screams Pierson's name and starts laughing. The camera pans over the empty desert to reveal... a road, telephone poles, and a sign for Reno, Nevada.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Under the belief he's stranded on a desert asteroid with little to no water, Corey proves to be a desperate man who will do anything for the sake of survival, even if it means killing his crewmates. This sinks in for him when he learns they were still on Earth.
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->'''Creator/RodSerling:''' Practical joke perpetrated by Mother Nature and a combination of improbable events. Practical joke wearing the trappings of nightmare, of terror, and desperation. Small human drama played out in a desert ninety-seven miles from Reno, Nevada, U.S.A., continent of North America, the Earth and, of course...the Twilight Zone.

A manned space flight crashlands on what the astronauts believe to be an unknown asteroid. Their expectations of survival or rescue are bleak. Only four of the crew survive, one of whom is barely alive. After he dies, the three remaining men, Corey (Dewey Martin), Donlin (Edward Binns), and Pierson (Ted Otis) decide to trek out into the barren desert to see if there is anything that might improve their chances of survival. When Corey and Donlin reconvene, it seems that Pierson is dead and Corey filched the water supply from his dead body. Donlin, the commanding officer, forces Corey at gunpoint to lead him to Pierson's body.

They find Pierson, still barely alive, who with his last bit of strength draws a primitive diagram in the sand with his finger. Corey then kills Donlin and sets out alone, confident that he will survive longer now that he has all of the water supply. Corey later sees a sign for Reno, UsefulNotes/{{Nevada}}, and then sees telephone poles, which were what Pierson had attempted to draw before he died. Realizing that they had in fact never left Earth and that he had killed his partners [[AllForNothing for nothing]], Corey breaks down weeping.

->'''Creator/RodSerling:''' Practical joke perpetrated by Mother Nature and a combination of improbable events. Practical joke wearing the trappings of nightmare, of terror, and desperation. Small human drama played out in a desert ninety-seven miles from Reno, Nevada, U.S.A., continent of North America, the Earth and, of course...the Twilight Zone.

* AllForNothing: The astronauts never left Earth, meaning that Corey killed his crewmates for nothing.

** Hudak, who was seriously wounded in the crash, is on death's door by the time the episode begins. He doesn't last long.
** Corey and Donlin find Pierson dying of a fatal head wound. He uses the very last of his strength to draw a symbol in the sand before he shuts down for good.
* ArtisticLicenseSpace: After launching from Earth, a space ship goes off course and ends up on the surface of an unknown celestial object. Even though the object has Earth standard gravity and a breathable atmosphere and the Sun appears to be the same size in the sky as it is on Earth, the astronauts somehow conclude that they've landed on an asteroid. This is impossible, and the astronauts should have known it: in order for the object to be an asteroid, it would have to be the size of the Earth, and certainly would have been already seen by astronomers.

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Corey's betrayals.
* ColdEquation: Corey commits the cold-blooded murder of his colleagues to save himself, but breaks down when he realizes none of it was necessary.
* CompleteTheQuoteTitle: The unsaid part is, "It fell to Earth, I know not where", which is what happens to the astronauts, who are on Earth the entire time.
* DownerEnding: Corey has killed his surviving crewmates to keep all the remaining water for himself and survive, only to discover the crew was in the Nevada Desert the whole time. Corey breaks down weeping with guilt. It gets worse when you realize Corey may face future military discipline and criminal charges for his actions...
* EarthAllAlong: The "asteroid" was just the Nevada Desert on Earth.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Not long after the introduction, Corey asks how much water they have- around five gallons- and then asks "why waste it?" when Donlin and Pierson are giving some to the badly injured Hudak.

** Pearson draws something on the sand before he dies. It was a telephone pole.
** Both Pierson and Colonel Donlin notices that the sun appears to be the same size as on Earth.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Corey, before TheReveal.
* JerkAss: Even Rod Serling can't help but give a rare mid-episode monologue about how evil Corey is.
* KilledMidSentence: Donlin, when he learns Corey killed Pierson (Or [[AlmostDeadGuy mortally wounded him]]).
-->'''Colonel Donlin''': You killed Pierson didn't you, Corey? You killed 'im! You're demented, Corey! You're out of your mind! You already killed once! You already-
* LaughingMad: Corey when he learns the truth. His laugh gradually turns to crying.

* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: PlayedForDrama. Donlin exposits that the ''Arrow One'' was the only one of her kind, and it took four and a half years to build. He grimly remarks that if help does come, they're going to have to build another one first.
* NotSoRemote: They think they're on an asteroid. They're actually somewhere in the Nevada desert 97 miles from Reno.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: While Corey is traversing the mountainous terrain all by himself, Rod Serling himself starts maliciously mocking the character, letting his word drip with venomous disgust as he sarcastically encourages him to keep going on ahead. Normally, Serling's narration is impartial and expository, but Corey is apparently such a despicable human being that he can't hold his vitriol against him.

* TooStupidToLive: Colonel Donlin has the men dig graves in the scorching desert heat, ignores the obvious mental breakdown of his crew, abandons the gun he was holding on a suspected murderer (Corey), and then tries to verbally berate a man holding him at gunpoint.
* VillainHasAPoint: 97 miles to Reno in the Nevadan heat that can top one-hundred degrees Fahrenheit ''at night'' may very well have been too far for three men with limited water. However, cars can be seen driving by in the distance.
** Some of Corey's minor acts (like questioning giving water to a dying man when their supplies are so limited) are potentially justified given the situation he thinks he's in. However, nothing justifies murder.
* VillainousBreakdown: The episode ends with Corey suffering one.
* VillainousBSOD: Corey doesn't take it well when he learned he killed for nothing, and facing possible discipline in the future for his actions. He lowers his head down into his arms and cries as the episode ends.

* WhamShot: After Corey climbs over a cliff, he throws his gun down, screams Pierson's name and starts laughing. The camera pans over the empty desert to reveal...a road, telephone poles and cables and a sign for Reno, Nevada.

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* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: PlayedForDrama. Donlin exposits that the Arrow One was the only one of her kind, and it took four and a half years to build. He grimly remarks that if help does come, they're going to have to build another one first.