February 1, 1965
7223
A robot-probe sent on a mission to deep space returns to earth and is picked up by the Seaview.
Write a Recap »This is another good, creepy episode. The implacable menace of the robot slowly clanking its way around the sub is quite chilling. hide show
Dr. Brand seems like a caricature of a mad scientist--not bad, just mad. His creation has been out in deep space for months at least--more likely years--but he can't wait for the relatively short time it will take to get the robot properly secured. He's gotta have all that information right NOW!
With the robot on the rampage, you have the usual conflict between the scientist frantic to save priceless knowledge and the more pragmatic crewmen concerned with staying alive. The problems keep mounting up, the damage toll increases, until Nelson (of course!) figures out that the way to disable the robot is to deprive it of energy--namely, light. Nelson takes it on himself to lure the robot into the dark chamber, which took a lot of guts. Personally, I would have made sure that all the hatchways between me and the final chamber were unlatched and open.
There was a very nice special effect while they were hunting the robot. One man takes a shot at it, and the bullet bounces straight back and hits him. You instantly see a bloody patch appear on the back of the man's shirt. Considering all the times people get shot on this show without a mark to show it, this was rather remarkable.
One problem with the danger of the robot is that it was, in fact, so slow. Nelson, who is hardly the most athletic man on the ship, was able to outmanuver in the robot in fairly close quarters and escape. Four other younger men were unable to do so. This is especially noticeable with the three men in the crew's mess, which was a pretty large room with lots of space to move around in.
One part of the show I did not like at all. Dr. Brand has been sent to properly deactivate the robot. First off,it doesn't occur to Nelson to go with Brand or at least send someone with him. Considering how obsessive Brand has been about the knowledge locked in the robot, this was very foolish. It also doesn't occur to Nelson or Brand to simply disable the robot by removing its arms and legs. Brand ends up reactivating the robot, which promptly attacks him. I want to know why it didn't kill him. It's clear that the robot's sole purpose now is to kill--so why didn't it kill Brand? By reactivating the robot, Brand is directly responsible for the deaths of three crewmen. You can see by his reaction to the news of their deaths that he is aware of this--but he never admits anything. And Nelson never thinks to ask just how the robot got reactivated.
At the end, of course, the robot must be destroyed with all the information still trapped inside. It's a very tense, exciting scene--but how, exactly, did that heavy robot FLOAT free from the submarine? Not to mention the question of how that big chunk of metal managed to slide through the hatchway sized for human divers?
I would dearly have liked to see Captain Crane react harder than he did to Brand's placid announcement that he was going to start all over again.
crazyrhythm
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ssosmcin
Retired
dkhenderson1
Harlann
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