"Probe 7, Over and Out" is an episode of the

American television Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...

anthology series ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

''. Its plot is a shaggy God story.

Opening narration

Plot

Astronaut Colonel Adam Cook crash lands on a strange planet 4.3 light years away from their sun, with gravity and atmospheric conditions similar to those of his home world. Most of his equipment is destroyed in the crash and cannot be repaired due to a broken right arm and lack of resources. He contacts his home base and speaks with a subordinate officer and then with General Larrabee, but they have little encouragement for him — there is no replacement spacecraft to rescue him, and his home planet may be at war in a matter of hours. Larrabee adds that it may be possible to transmit instructions on how to repair the ship. In a subsequent communication, Larrabee reports that the enemy attacked and "our entire seacoast went" in 12 minutes after which there was retaliation "with alacrity and great effectiveness." Those at base will have to move soon, meaning Cook will have no one to contact. Cook leaves his ship at night and finds drawn patterns in the dirt. While looking for the source, he is hit by a rock from an unseen source, and knocked unconscious, not hearing Larrabee's last transmission that radiation from the attacks will kill any remaining survivors and ending with the words, "Whoever you meet there, however you meet them, I hope it can come without fear. I hope it can come without anger. I hope your new world will be different. I hope you'll find no word such as hate. I hope there'll be...". Upon regaining consciousness, Cook returns to his ship and is startled by a noise coming from a closet. Cook leaves the ship as a gesture showing that he means the alien no harm. A human-like female emerges from his ship. Not knowing each other's languages, they communicate through sketches in the sand and pantomime. He learns that she is also stranded; her planet left its orbit and she is its sole survivor. Her name is Norda. As they ready to look for food, Cook picks up a stick, which Norda interprets as a threat. She scratches his face and runs. Soon after, Norda returns and expresses remorse for her actions, which Cook happily forgives. They find a more fertile area, which Cook likens to a "

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

." He fully introduces himself as "Adam Cook," a man with a broken arm and a broken rib. Norda gives her full name as "Eve Norda".

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

begin a new life on this planet she calls "Earth". At this point she offers him a "''seppla''" (an anagram of the word "apples", which are artistically depicted as the biblical

forbidden fruit Forbidden fruit is a name given to the fruit growing in the Garden of Eden which God commands mankind not to eat. In the biblical story, Adam and Eve eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and are exiled from Eden. As a ...

). As they venture further, Rod Serling narrates that he presumes the place they are heading to is Eden.

Closing narration

Cast

Richard Basehart John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson in the television science-fiction drama '' Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1964–68). He also portrayed Wilton Knig ...

as Colonel Adam Cook * Antoinette Bower as Eve Norda *

Harold Gould Harold Vernon Goldstein (December 10, 1923 – September 11, 2010), better known as Harold Gould, was an American character actor. He appeared as Martin Morgenstern on the sitcom ''Rhoda'' (1974–78) and Miles Webber on the sitcom ''The Golden ...

: General Larrabee * Barton Heyman: Lieutenant Blane he dialogue does not indicate name or rank

Notes

"Probe 7, Over and Out" was intended to air a week after the premiere of " Night Call," which was scheduled for Friday, November 22, 1963New York Times television listings 11/22/63 — the previous episode, "

Uncle Simon "Uncle Simon" is an episode of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various gen ...

," having aired a week earlier on November 15. Hours before "Night Call" was to air though, President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

was assassinated in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

. Thus it was rescheduled, as were all of the other network shows. As a result, "Probe 7, Over and Out" immediately follows "Uncle Simon" in original broadcast order. "Night Call" was eventually broadcast on February 7, 1964. In the early 2000s, ''Twilight Zone'' historian

Marc Scott Zicree Marc Scott Zicree (born 1955) is an American science fiction author, television writer and screenwriter. Zicree has written for major studios and networks including Paramount, Universal, Disney, Sony/Columbia Tri-Star, MGM, New Line, CBS, NBC, ...

recorded a commentary track with director

Ted Post Theodore I. Post (March 31, 1918 – August 20, 2013) was an American director of film and television. Highly prolific, Post directed numerous episodes of well-known television series including '' Rawhide'', ''Gunsmoke'', and ''The Twilight Zone'' ...

discussing this episode. The commentary appears as part of the 2016 BluRay edition. The

radio adaptation Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

of this episode starred

Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an American actor. Born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, He had his stage debut at the age of 17, in a school production of '' You Can't Take It with You.'' Shortly after he successfully ...

References

*DeVoe, Bill. (2008). ''Trivia from The Twilight Zone''. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. *Grams, Martin. (2008). ''The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic''. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. *Zicree, Marc Scott: ''The Twilight Zone Companion''. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition)

External links

* {{Adam and Eve 1963 American television episodes The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series season 5) episodes Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve Television episodes written by Rod Serling Television episodes directed by Ted Post