Space probe returns with three astronauts. However, strange things start happening to them as they glory in their triumph.
One of series' spookiest entries. It's fascinating to watch the byplay between the fun-loving astronauts spiral away from flyboy hijinks into the nervous hysteria of brave men caught up in the inexplicable. Some fine group performances, especially Rod Taylor's whose mounting panic reminds me of Kevin Mc Carthy's unhinged doctor in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The brief shot of this cool professional coming unglued while posed against a cosmic starscape could serve as an icon for the entire series. Note also the clever touch of posing Charles Aidman against a faintly blinking neon, implying that his stay on earth is shaky at best. Speaking of the bar scene, watch the busty babe's amusing what's-his-line-gonna-be reaction to Taylor's aggressive approach. It's this contrast between the seemingly normal and the emerging paranormal that heightens the show's effect. One teasing question presented is how much our sense of reality depends not only on what our five senses tell us, but on how much we can agree on. That is, a reality composed not only on what we've seen, but on what we can agree on having seen. Put the two in conflict and worlds, like Taylor's, come apart.
Outstanding episode. One of the series' best.