History Recap / TheTwilightZone1959S1E20Elegy

* AdaptationalNameChange: In the short story, the caretaker of the cemetery asteroid and the most rational crewman are named Mr. Greypoole and Mr. Friden respectively. In the television adaptation, their names are Jeremy Wickwire and Professor Kurt Meyers.

In the year 2186, three astronauts land on asteroid orbiting two suns. On the asteroid, everything looks like mid-20th century America, only all the people there are frozen in place. Realizing that they can't leave the asteroid without fuel for their ship, they know they have to settle in this disturbing place. While moving through the town they finally encounter someone that moves and talks: Mr. Wickwire, the human-appearing robot caretaker of the asteroid. He explains that the asteroid was created as a place of peace, a graveyard where those who could afford it could "experience" the dreams they couldn't achieve in life, like being elected mayor or winning a beauty contest. A genial host, Mr. Wickwire serves the astronauts drinks while asking them about the news from Earth. They explain that there was an atomic war in 1985, and that Earth is still rebuilding. Mr. Wickwire asks them about their greatest desire, and the astronauts agree that what they want most is to return to earth in their ship. Then, as they begin to fall to the floor, they realize that they've been poisoned and ask Wickwire why he's doing this.

* LostCommonKnowledge: When the astronauts first arrive on the asteroid, they land at a farm and start exploring. Kirby and Webber both seem confused by the presence of a machine, which Meyers explains is called a tractor, a machine that was in use on Earth before WorldWarIII.

-->'''Rod Serling''': Kirby, Webber, and Meyers, three men lost. They shared a common wish, a simple one, really - they wanted to be aboard their ship, headed for home. And Fate, a laughing Fate, a practical jokester with a smile that stretched across the stars, saw to it that they got their wish, with just one reservation: The wish came true, but only in the Twilight Zone.

--> '''Wickwire:''' We have many sections. There's the Roman, the Egyptian, the Wild Western, but this is the most popular because it represents a period in American culture when creature comforts were most abundant and before peace on Earth became impossible.

In the year 2185, three astronauts land on asteroid orbiting two suns. On the asteroid, everything looks like mid-20th century America, only all the people there are frozen in place. Realizing that they can't leave the asteroid without fuel for their ship, they know they have to settle in this disturbing place. While moving through the town they finally encounter someone that moves and talks: Mr. Wickwire, the human-appearing robot caretaker of the asteroid. He explains that the asteroid was created as a place of peace, a graveyard where those who could afford it could "experience" the dreams they couldn't achieve in life, like being elected mayor or winning a beauty contest. A genial host, Mr. Wickwire serves the astronauts drinks while asking them about the news from Earth. They explain that there was an atomic war in 1985, and that Earth is still rebuilding. Mr. Wickwire asks them about their greatest desire, and the astronauts agree that what they want most is to return to earth in their ship. Then, as they begin to fall to the floor, they realize that they've been poisoned and ask Wickwire why he's doing this.

* BittersweetEnding: The three astronauts are poisoned to death by Wickwire, but they get what they desired in the end. On their ship on the way home.

!Contains examples of:
* AlternateHistory: Humanity was apparently advanced enough to colonize an asteroid in another solar system by 1973 and had an atomic war in 1985.

-->'''Creator/RodSerling''': The time is the day after tomorrow. The place: a far corner of the universe. The cast of characters: three men, lost amongst the stars, three men sharing the common urgency of all men lost - they're looking for home. And in a moment, they'll find home, not a home that is a place to be seen but a strange, unexplainable experience to be felt.

* GenreSavvy: One astronaut acknowledges sees the possibility they landed back in time as a legitimate possibility, until he takes notice of the 2 suns.

* GenreSavvy: One astronaut acknowledges sees the possibility they landed back in time as a legitimate possibility, until he takes notice of the 2 suns

--> '''Wickwire:''' We have many sections. There's the Roman, the Egyptian, the Wild Western, but this is the most popular because it represents a period in American culture when creature carpets were most abundant and before peace on Earth became impossible.

* ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: It's stated at the beginning that the astronauts are lost and at least 655 million miles away from Earth. That would put them well within the solar system, somewhere around the orbit of Saturn, yet they're in an entirely different star system with two suns.

* {{Irony}}: The astronauts crash land on an asteroid which is basically a ''cemetary''. With no way to escape or anyway to return home, they end up dying and being the new exhibits.

* StealthPun: The astronauts' final destination is a cemetary asteroid. They've reached a ''dead end'' on their journey.

* {{Irony}}: The astronauts crash land on an asteroid which is basically a cemetary. With no way off to escape or anyway to return home, they end up dying and being the new exhibits.

* FreudianTrio: Kirby is [[TheMcCoy emotional]], Meyers is [[TheSpock the logical, reasoning one]], and Captain Webber [[TheKirk leads and balances the two]].

* FreudianTrio: Kirby is [[TheMcCoy emotional]], Meyers is [[TheSpock the logical one]], and Captain Webber [[TheKirk leads and balances the two]].

* GenreSavvy: One astronaut acknowledges sees the possibility they landed back in time as a legitimate possibility, until he takes notice of the 2 suns

-->'''Rod Serling''': Kirby, Webber, and Meyers, three men lost. They shared a common wish, a simple one, really - they wanted to be aboard their ship, headed for home. And Fate, a laughing Fate, a practical jokester with a smile that stretched across the stars, saw to it that they got their wish, with just one reservation: The wish came true, but only in the Twilight Zone.

In the year 2185, three astronauts land on asteroid orbiting two suns. On the asteroid, everything looks like mid-20th century America, only all the people there are frozen, and don't move. Realizing that they can't leave the asteroid without fuel for their ship, they know they have to settle here in this disturbing place. While moving throughout the town, they finally encounter someone that moves and talks, Mr. Wickwire. He is the caretaker of the asteroid and is a robot that maintains it. He explains that this asteroid was created as a graveyard for those who could afford it, to achieve the dreams that they couldn't achieve in life for eternity, like being elected mayor or winning a beauty contest, and to be a place of peace. He asks what's going on in Earth while serving them drinks. They explain that there was an atomic war in 1985, and that they are still rebuilding. Mr. Wickwire asks what their greatest desire is, which they reply is go home on their ship to Earth. They start falling to the floor, realizing they have been poisoned, asking why.

The last shot is of Wickwire setting up their dead but preserved bodies outside their ship, setting up a flag, achieving their dream in death that they did not achieve in life.

-->'''Rod Serling''': Kirby, Webber, and Meyers, three men lost. They shared a common wish, a simple one, really - they wanted to be aboard their ship, headed for home. And Fate, a laughing Fate, a practical jokester with a smile that stretched across the stars, saw to it that they got their wish, with just one reservation: the wish came true, but only in the Twilight Zone.

In the year 2185, three astronauts land on asteroid orbiting two suns. On the asteroid, everything looks like mid-20th century America, only all the people there are frozen, and don't move. Realizing that they can't leave the asteroid without fuel for their ship, they know they have to settle here in this disturbing place. While moving throughout the town, they finally encounter someone that moves and talks, Mr. Wickwire. He is the caretaker of the asteroid and is mechanical device that maintains it.He explains that this asteroid was created as a graveyard for those who could afford it, to achieve the dreams that they couldn't achieve in life for eternity, being elected mayor or winning a beauty contest, and to be a place of peace. He asks what's going on in Earth while serving them drinks. They explain that there was an atomic war in 1985, and that they are still rebuilding. Mr. Wickwire asks what they're greatest desire is, which they reply is go home on their ship to Earth. They start falling to the floor, realizing they have been poisoned, asking why.

The last shot is of Wickwire setting up their dead but preserved bodies outside their ship, setting up a flag, achieving their dream in death that they did not achieve in life.