episode #44 - Keeper of the Purple Twilight

Episode #12 of 2nd season
Air Date: 12/5/64 writer: Milton Krims Director: Charles Haas

A frustrated human scientist (Warren Stevens of Forbidden Planet fame), who can't get a handle on his research & development due to what he perceives as distractions in his life (like a financier, Ed Platt, and a girlfriend, Gail Kobe), is visited by an alien named Ikar (Robert Webber when assuming human form). They work out a mutually-benefiting deal or so it seems: the alien gives the human the formulas for a disintegrating ray and also takes his emotions, which the alien doesn't have. The human, free of distractions like feelings, proceeds with his work, while the alien begins to get acquainted with things like love and pity, through interacting with the girlfriend. This works against the alien, especially when alien enforcers arrive to insure that these early steps in an invasion are going well.
This episode tackles the themes of individuality when compared against the hive-like existence of the aliens, whom the girlfriend compares to ants. There is a lot of discussion about the limitations of a society where all resemble each other and are divided into sub-groups (an early version of the Borg from Star Trek TNG, which shows that was not really a new concept). On the surface, it seems like a simple statement about the emotions which empower mankind, but it's actually more about the differences in the varied human beings as one result from all those emotions. If one reaches for a political statement here, there might also be commentary on the power of a democracy vs. a communist police state. This also has a surprisingly action-filled finale. BoG's Score: 7 out of 10
Outer Trivia: Star Trek TOS actor alert - Warren Stevens would play an alien in the episode By Any Other Name