Humans are the only creatures that cage other creatures on Earth, but that is not to say that does not happen elsewhere…
The 25th episode of The Twilight Zone that originally aired on March 25th, 1960, examined this thought. “People Are Alike All Over” was adapted by Rod Serling for television from the short story “Brothers Beyond the Void” written by Paul W. Fairman, which was originally published in the March 1952 issue of Fantastic Adventures and later included an anthology collection Worlds of Tomorrow in 1953. Serling made some major changes from the original story when he adapted it to have a greater punch for television to heighten the impact and deepen the irony.
Opening Narration: “You’re looking at a species of flimsy little two-legged animal with extremely small heads, whose name is Man. Warren Marcusson, age thirty-five. Samuel A. Conrad, age thirty-one. They’re taking a highway into space, Man unshackling himself and sending his tiny, groping fingers up into the unknown. Their destination is Mars, and in just a moment we’ll land there with them.”
In this episode, two astronauts on a mission to Mars, One named Marcusson is a positive thinker who believes people are alike all over, even on Mars, and that they will be safe. The other spaceman, Conrad, has a more cynical view of human nature, even if it is interplanetary. The impact of their landing was so severe that Marcusson was critically injured. Knowing that he does not have long to live, pleads with Conrad to open the door to their ship so he knows what he has died for, but Conrad refuses as he is scared of what might be out there.
After Marcusson passes on and Conrad now alone, begins to hear banging on the hall of his ship. Expecting the worse, he is delighted to see once he opens the hatch that the Martians appear to be more human-like then he could have imagined. They have mind-reading abilities and give him the impression of being the most friendly and hospitable, especially a beautiful female named Teenya, who welcomes him and reassures him he is safe. They take Conrad in as their own and even fashion a home for him in a manner that resembles one that would have been on Earth, as he has no way to return home at this point since his ship was damaged beyond repair.
Once Conrad relaxes and settles in, he discovers that his home is windowless, doorless and he cannot leave. Then suddenly a wall slides up and it is reviled that he has become caged and in a Martian zoo on display. Conrad picks up a sign that sits outside of the bars and it reads “Earth Creature in his native habitat”. Resigned to his fate, and is reassured what he has always known and fear grips the bars and yells to the sky “Marcusson! Marcusson, you were right! You were right. People are alike… people are alike everywhere.”
Closing Narration: “Species of an animal brought back alive. Interesting similarity in physical characteristics to human beings in head, trunk, arms, legs, hands, feet. Very tiny undeveloped brain. Comes from a primitive planet named Earth. Calls himself Samuel Conrad. And he will remain here in his cage with the running water and the electricity and the central heat as long as he lives. Samuel Conrad has found The Twilight Zone.”
Starring Roddy McDowall as Conrad in his lone Twilight Zone appearance, he would later work with Serling again on The Night Gallery segment titled “The Cemetary” and most notably in the original Planet of the Apes in 1968, which Serling co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Wilson. Roddy McDowall had a long and versatile career that spanned six decades before he passed away in early October 1998. Planet of the Apes perhaps his most famous role, as he appeared in four of the first five films and the short-lived television series. This was, like many, the first time seeing the actor, but for many like myself, the next would have been “People Are Alike All Over” in The Twilight Zone.
The simple message of this episode is clear, at least for me, is that you can be either one side of a coin. On the one, you can be the most positive, optimistic person who always looks for the good in people and expects the best. Glass half full. The other side of the coin is a more negative, pessimistic, poor outlook on everything no matter the situation. Glass half empty. For me personally, I am more of a Conrad then a Marcusson. I look at things much more cynical and negatively. I expect the worse, then are pleasantly surprised when things go well, but I find that more often then not that does not happen. We all should aspire to be more like Marcusson but in the end, most people no matter where they come from are more often than not the same all over…
