Despite I like the fine premise about manipulation (via an ordeal of emprisonment and enemy's interrogatory, Earth authorities with the help of a foreign power [Ebon], test their own soldiers' behaviors under drastic psychological conditions—which refers to the the brainwashing treatment undergone by U.S. militaries during the Korean War and the informer syndrome [the "psychological surrender" attitude]; for cinematic reference, watch the dreamlike scene from John Frankeinheimer's "The Manchurian Candidate") and an atomic explosion to open the prologue, the script's adaptation falls flat. The first act succeeds in but the rest is terribly redundant, talky and masochist with characters which have sudden, almost mechanical, emotional instability. I must confess I find the Ebonites much too naive (a blend of the traditional representation of the Devil combined with WWII's German helmets). The set is bare as a stage and director John Erman is incapable of delivering a solid dramatic piece without the support of a gifted and daring cinematographer. Too bad, Conrad Hall wasn't available. Only Whit Bissell, Ed Nelson, James Shigeta and Bernard Kates (watch closely his short collaborator-"head shrink" incarnation in the line of Don Siegel's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers": "You wanna die, unconsciously, of course. Don't let those unconscious drives win out Dix... Fight them, fight them and live... And you will live, if you cooperate.") save the whole "game" from catastrophy. Casting Whit Bissell is a good choice because he used to play a head Psychiatrist in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", a medical Officer in "The Manchurian Candidate" [Editor's Note: two other OL actors used to play in this feature film: Douglas Henderson and Henry Silva], will be a putschist Senator in "Seven Days in May" and a General again on Irwin Allen's "The Time Tunnel". Even writer Joseph Stefano was unsatisfied with the first cut and made a complete re-editing (see the five quick cuts of the cut-zoom in done with the cheap technique of the optical zooming on the face of the Ebonite guard which reveals the heavy grain of the picture's texture, during the end of Act IV). The concept of "Unified Earth Force" is somewhat ethnocentric because it implies that this "Brave New World" is dominated by one single language: english, and all these soldiers encapsulate the Pan American model. This is the typical anti-militarist thesis, full of complencency as evidences: physical and mental torture with some "hallucinatory-inducing drug" (here, thanks to the water), cruelty, sadism, guilt-regression-humiliation (see the cases of the late German Lt. Krug with his heart-attack and private Dix who has a nervous breakdown; two other soldiers underwent tortures: Lt. Willowmore who is temporarily blind and, detached and almost cynical Major Jong ["Human beings kill!"] whose right arm is desensitized and "pulverised"). I think this episode should be titled "Open hell" as Capt. Brookman asserts it or simply "The Mad House" or worst: "The House of Pain". This is the first episode which deals with the death penalty question (here, the accusation is treason), its method (strangulation: "By bare hands", said Capt. Brookman; "We have no other weapon", said Col. Stone) and its moral consequences ("No, no. We must not let them do this to us. We must be human beings, we must hold under that. (...) I am not an executioner", said Capt. Brookman). Finally and by accident, Brookman's "swift settling solutions" addict shoots down a plotter officer: in a way, this ending represents the revenge of the persecuted soldiers which punish their hangman. This is Martin Sheen's first appearance on TV and he plays an insecure and infantile ("... too much Mum in those eyes", said Commanding General) private Dix who stammers and that is easily broken. The Ebonites' look may be naive but their distorted authoritative voice that is heard via a mobile translator is impressive. The sound effects of the Ebonite's wand which erases the five senses (as the Chinese communists) is from "Forbidden Planet". The original and innovative electonic music—listen to John Elizalde's built instrument: the "Onafets" (Stefano's reversed name)—remains the good point of this classic one; you can hear music snippets—which are often used for the Control Voice's opening narration—in "Specimen: Unknown", "The Mutant", "Fun and Games", "Moonstone", "The Guests", "A Feasibility Study", "Production and Decay of Strange Particles". TV Analogy: The basic elements (militaries tortured by stoic aliens through interrogatories and mirages, shot in minimalistic sets) of this narrative forestalls a season 3 episode of "Star Trek" entitled "The Empath", also directed by John Erman but co-produced by Robert H. Justman. Notes: This is the first episode where you can witness the face of British actor Ben Wright—who plays devotee of the past General Benton who complains about the means ("now, it's just, computers and technical magic!") of the modern-day war to his boy Terry—also known as the many alien voices that are heard all along that season and returns in "Wof 359". For the anecdote, actor Sasha Harden is typecasted as a proud German officer because of his work on the WWII series "Combat!" but here, he plays the opposite role: the German soldier punished by his conscious. Paul Stader is the Ebonite guard. The haunting people, fashioned by the soldiers' subconcious, are: Lillian Adams as Dix's mother, Martin Brandt as Krug's Grandfather and Lisa Mann as Krug's Governess. James Shigeta returns as a military in the two parter "The Inheritors".