Air date: April 7, 1961
In 1847, Christian Horn (Cliff Robertson) is leading a small wagon train from Ohio to seek a new life in California. Their journey has been long, arduous, and perilous thus far. Supplies are running low, morale is sagging, and to make matters worse, Christian's son Christian Jr. has come down with a severe illness and has been battling a fever over the past week. In search of water, Christian decides to scale a nearby hill a hundred yards away, but when he gets to the top of the rim, he finds himself standing on a concrete road with tall telephone poles, nearly getting hit by a truck as he stands in the road, accidentally discharging his rifle and grazing his arm.
Overwhelmed and confused by his surroundings, Christian stumbles into a roadside gas station and cafe down the road owned by Jeff and Mary Lou, a couple who seem rather skeptical with how old-fashioned the man is dressed, and the antique flintlock rifle he carries, but still agree to help him the best they can, offering him water, which the incredibly dehydrated Christian gulps down gratefully, and bandaging his wound, with Mary Lou offering Christian a bottle of penicillin to stave off infection. Jeff informs Christian that they get their water from a natural spring located nearby, Christian eagerly asking if there is game present there, which Jeff answers yes to, somewhat confused. A moment of immense shock comes for Christian when he sees a calender hanging in the store with the year 1961 on it, remarking openly that it should be 1847, which brings an even greater deal of concern to Jeff and Mary Lou's faces.
Later on, Jeff phones the local doctor to come and take a look at Christian, worried about the man's mental state. The doctor finds him physically sound, but shares the couple's concern about the man's seemingly delusional story, and calls the police to come and collect him. Christian comes back into the room with an encyclopedia he has found, remarking with amazement that he has found his son's name listed in it, who according to his brief biography winds up doing important work in the study and combat of diseases affecting children as a doctor in California. Convinced that he was brought to this place with an important purpose, Christian leaves to return back to the rim, thanking the couple for their help, taking the bottle of penicillin with him.
Pursued by the local sheriff, Christian stumbles his way towards the rim, dropping his rifle in the dirt before making it over the rim's edge. The sheriff passes over it moments later, only to find that the man has vanished without a trace. Later in the diner, the sheriff comes in to tell Jeff and Mary Lou about the strange occurrence, bringing in the man's rifle, which to the couple's shock, appears to have now been lying in the desert for over a century, rusted and brittle.
Meanwhile, upon cresting the rim, Christian finds himself looking at the familiar sight of his wagon train, realizing that he is now back in 1847. Returning to his group, he tells them all that he has spotted a natural spring not too far from here, which lifts the spirits of the other members of his group immensely. He then pulls out the bottle of penicillin, handing it to his wife, telling her to give two tablets to Christian Jr. every day, saying he thinks it'll help with the boy's fever. Confused, his wife nonetheless agrees. Later on, as the group prepares to leave, Christian turns back from his driver's seat, smiling at his son, who already appears to be in much better health, telling the group he's confident that they will make it to California, for his son has a lot of things to look forward to there. A whole lot.
A Hundred Tropes Over The Rim:
- Dramatic Drop: Mary Lou drops the glass of water she was giving Christian when the man says he's come from 1847.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: Christian Horn, being from the days of Westward Expansion, is frightened by automobiles, and is shocked to find telephone poles sticking out of the ground. He is, however, able to use modern penicillin to heal his ill son.
- The Future Is Shocking: After arriving in 1961, Christian is shocked by the sight of a truck, which almost runs him over. When he meets Joe and Mary Lou, he tells them his belief about how the truck was some kind of monster.
- Happy Ending: Christian returns to his family in 1847. With the modern medicine he acquired from 1961, he cures his ailing son's sickness and carries on with his expedition with a renewed purpose. His trip to the future also gave him knowledge of nearby water and game, ensuring that the expedition will survive.
- Injun Country: Charlie, a member of Christian's wagon train, is worried about being attacked by the Apache, as the train is approaching their territory.
- Newspaper Dating: Christian realizes that he has entered the future when he sees a calendar dated 1961 in Joe's diner.
- No Immortal Inertia: Christian leaves his gun behind when he returns to the 1800s. As soon as he disappears, the gun suddenly undergoes a century's worth of decay in a matter of seconds.
- Stable Time Loop: Christian's eight-year-old son Christian Jr. is dying of an illness in 1847. When he goes forward in time to September 1961, Christian finds an encyclopedia which states that Dr. Christian Horn, Jr. was a pioneer in vaccine research for childhood diseases, who died in 1914. After returning to his own time, Christian tells his wife Martha to give Jr. a dose of penicillin that he obtained in 1961, which cures his illness.
- Time Travel Episode: A simple search for water sends pioneer Christian Horn to 1961, 114 years into the future.
