The Long Morrow

Description: Season 5, Episode 15

Air Date: January 10, 1964

Plot Summary: An astronaut embarks on a journey across time and space while longing for the girlfriend he had to leave behind.

Review: Hmm...this episode probably would have made more sense during season 4 with the hour long time to flesh out the ideas. There's too much going on, the romance is rushed, and the ending is unrealistic due to the time constraint. I understand and can appreciate the story they were trying to tell, but the epic journey is merely alluded to rather than shown.

Through the magic of science fiction, 1960s astronauts can now do 70x the speed of light! Goddamn! The goal is to reach a similar solar system to Earth. The lone astronaut making this journey, Stansfield, will be put into suspended animation for the vast majority of the trip which is estimated to take 40 years in total (including the return). The episode is mostly told through flashbacks while Stansfield sleeps in the stasis. In the months leading up to the launch, Stansfield comes across a scientist, named Sandra, and the two instantly fall in love. Okay, the way Stansfield asks Sandy out is kinda creepy, but, in fairness, that weirdo practically says she's in love with Stansfield after three whole hours of knowing each other. These lunatics were made for one another.

Obviously the difficult part of the journey is that Stansfield will still be young when he returns, and Sandy will be an old woman at that point. Wanting to preserve their love, both of these fools do the opposite of what they said without letting the other know. Seriously, these two deserve each other! Stansfield decides to not enter the suspended animation so that he ages the whole time, and Sandy chooses to enter suspended animation on Earth. Didn't anyone ever tell you guys the key to a good relationship is communication?! Sure enough, Stansfield returns as an old man, and Sandy awakens as a young woman. Instead of resolving anything, Stansfield just tells her to leave, and she obliges without much struggle. Making matters worse, they say that Stansfield's entire mission was pointless! My goodness...this guy can't catch a fucking break.

The only consolation to this entire story is that one guy says he's proud to know Stansfield. Gee, thanks, random dude. In all seriousness though, this is not how the story would play out. Sandy and Stansfield needed closure to this relationship. Likewise, the irony is not emphasized, the epic journey of Stansfield for 40 years is downplayed, and the profound love of the characters is lost. Come on, this is supposed to be some next level, across time and space love--you can't simply brush over that. I wouldn't go as far as to say this episode is bad, because it's not, they just didn't prioritize plot elements. In fact, there was probably enough material here to make a decent sci-fi/romance movie. Oh well.