On Thursday We Leave for Home

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The Twilight Zone Original series Season four (1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5) January 1963 – June 1963 List of The Twilight Zone episodes
Episodes: In His Image The Thirty-Fathom Grave Valley of the Shadow He's Alive Mute Death Ship Jess-Belle Miniature Printer's Devil No Time Like the Past The Parallel I Dream of Genie The New Exhibit Of Late I Think of Cliffordville The Incredible World of Horace Ford On Thursday We Leave for Home Passage on the Lady Anne The Bard

“On Thursday We Leave for Home” is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.

[edit] Details

Episode number: 118
Season: 4
Production code: 4868
Original air date: May 2, 1963
Writer: Rod Serling
Director: Buzz Kulik
Producer: Bert Granet
Music: uncredited

[edit] Cast

Role	Actor
Captain William Benteen	James Whitmore
Colonel Sloane	Tim O'Connor
Al	James Broderick

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

An expedition stranded on planet V9-Gamma in a four-star system is finally rescued after 30 years. Its leader, Captain Benteen, refused to allow his people to give up hope in the harsh, desolate environment by maintaining strict discipline. However, he has trouble relinquishing his iron control when it is no longer necessary. He tries to convince the others not to return to Earth. When everyone else eventually chooses to go home, he attempts to destroy the rescue ship, but is stopped. He alone stubbornly elects to stay behind. Tragically, he comes to his senses moments too late.

[edit] Trivia

James Whitmore's character shares the same last name and rank as Captain Frederick Benteen, who was one of the commanding officers at the Battle of the Little Bighorn and is discussed at length in Serling’s “The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms”. The original Benteen was also a stern sort who successfully guided his men through a time of mortal peril.

[edit] Critical response

Rod Serling quoted in The Twilight Zone Companion:

Our shows this season were too padded. The bulk of our stories lacked the excitement and punch of the shorter dramas we intended when we started five years ago and kept to for a while. If you ask me, I think we had only one really effective show this season, “On Thursday We Leave for Home”... Yes, I wrote it myself, but I overwrote it. I think the story was good despite what I did to it.