episode #27 - Fun and Games

Air Date: 3/30/64 writers: Robert Specht, Joseph Stefano Director: Gerd Oswald

Two disparate Earthlings are plunged into a most dangerous game or contest by an alien games-master. The male (Nick Adams) is a cynical boxer, from the shady parts of life, and not interested in risking his life for Earth. The female (Nancy Malone) is the altruistic one or, as the man calls her, the cheerleader. The game does not begin immediately; the two are given a choice - if they don't participate, Earth will be destroyed in about 5 years. They don't make it to the alien planet for the contest until the 2nd half of the episode. Once there, they are pitted against 2 aliens in a to-the-death struggle.
This episode is regarded as the earlier version of the Star Trek TOS episode Arena, which was sort-of based on the sf short story by Fredric Brown, involving the distillation of warfare down to just 2 individuals. The O L episode here is less effective, too cluttered and preoccupied with the psychology of the two main characters, which never gets too deep. This also goes the obvious route at the start by referring to the old days of the Roman Empire (stock footage) and the old-style coliseum games as a connection. The shadowy, mysterious manipulator is prone to laughing fits for some reason - it is a game to him, after all - but it gets tiresome quickly. And, there's not much action in light of the plot to such a story. BoG's Score: 6 out of 10


Outer Trivia: actress Malone played a more cynical character who also gets shanghaied by aliens in the Twilight Zone episode Stopover in a Quiet Town