Twilight Zone - The Long Haul / I Shot an Arrow in the Air

 The fifteenth episode of the first season has been a favorite for years, but I think I've reached my limit with Corey, the unstable, greedy, self-absorbed astronaut who is immediately an unlikable, toxic, argumentative asshole so obsessed with his own survival that he will not even think about the needs of the others still alive in his party who made it out of the crashed ship alive. As I have said (as have others) before, I don't know how Corey made it through psychological testing and behavioral study to make sure he was mentally fit for the job. He's a jerk the moment we meet him and remains that way until he kills the last two astronauts so he could have their water. The ending is now very much TZ lore: they didn't crash onto an uncharted asteroid as Colonel Donlin (Edward Binns) had thought: they were not too far from Reno. How they vanished off radar and never got picked up by any scans remains a bit confusing, but for the twist effect the show was going for, that bit of "gotcha" shock and awe would have been undermined. And Corey will not be able to avoid what awaits him for killing two men in cold blood for their water. And shooting Donlin unapologetically, without remorse, having no qualms about it because it was all about him, pretty much casts this character as one of the most detestable pieces of shit ever to appear in The Twilight Zone.

The bouts with the water and how Corey could give a fuck about the dying (and eventually dead) astronaut, as he warns against any more water being wasted on him really sets him up for a good bit of audience hate. I guess some might look at it reasonably as desperation bringing out the worst in humanity as fighting for survival might alter how someone typically behaves. But I figure I'm not the only one who wanted Donlin or Pierson (Otis) to take a good swing and drop that dipshit on his ass with a sound punch. Corey has a face so due a fist.

I do often forget that there is a segment before we follow the three astronauts featuring a mission center for like a NASA team wondering where the "arrow" went, discussing those lost "some place". I just remain curious as to how they could have landed back on Earth without leaving signs to their crash site.

Corey so casually drinking Pierson's water, his canteen near full, taking nice gulps with even some of the water falling off his face into his jacket and shirt, really says a lot about how much of a nasty piece of work he really is. He takes gulps while Donlin takes sips, letting the water move about in his mouth to alleviate some of the thirst while maintaining his supply. Corey plots to grab a rock to hit him but is interrupted. The entirety of the episode, Corey is willing to stoop to any level for water. There is nothing he won't do. I give it to Dewey Martin...I wanted to see him dead by the end of the episode I hated him so much.