episode #29 - A Feasibility Study

Air Date: 4/13/64 writer: Joseph Stefano Director: Byron Haskin

For whatever reason, the first act or so of this episode reminded me, more than any other, of a Twilight Zone episode; perhaps it's the set-up: typical suburbia and its average citizens are thrust into an incredible situation. Thereafter, it veers into the O L style. One thing I didn't like in this one is that the entire plot is given away by narration in the first minute: aliens abduct a few residential blocks and its occupants to another planet, where the humans are meant to be slave labor, because the aliens have mobility problems. Since it's spelled out by the narrator, there's no chance for revelation - not as much as could have been.
Sam Wanamaker plays the main character, a doctor, and Phyllis Love is his wife, on the verge of separation, while David Opatoshu plays his neighbor. The episode goes a pretty grim route, as the kidnapped Earthlings face the prospect of nasty alien infection besides being torn from their homeworld. It's all a no-win scenario for these Earthlings, who are shown in a very noble light towards the end, choosing a form of sacrifice for the good of all - but it's nonetheless quite depressing.
BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10