Summary:

Two astronauts land on a planet needing to make repairs, and one of them finds a civilization of tiny people, which he acts like a cruel god towards.

 

Bechdel Test:

  • Fails miserably
  • No women

 

Gender Roles of Important Characters:

  • Fletcher
    • Masculine (9)
      • Defends own beliefs, assertive, forceful, analytical, leadership ability, makes decisions easily, dominant, willing to take a stand, acts as a leader
    • Feminine (4)
      • Sympathetic, sensitive to others’ needs, understanding, compassionate
  • Craig
    • Masculine (15)
      • Self-reliant, defends own beliefs, independent, assertive, strong personality, forceful, analytical, willing to take risks, makes decisions easily, self-sufficient, willing to take a stand, aggressive, acts as a leader, individualistic, ambitious
    • Feminine (0)
      • NA

 

Analysis:

This episode certainly isn’t as strong as others in this season are, which I think has a lot to do with the fact that this is a space episode, and space (and STEM in general) are still male dominated today. There are no women in this episode, which I didn’t like, and the characters have less disrupted gender roles. Looking at this, though, Craig, who is very, very masculine, is made to be the bad guy. He is abusive, manipulative, and really a terrible human, as he often crushes the tiny people in order to make them his slaves. With these terrible actions, the audience hates him, and he is killed at the end (when giants come and accidentally crush him). Thus, he is punished for his behavior. Fletcher is mostly masculine, but he has some feminine characteristics. He tries to stop Fletcher, making him more admirable, but he ultimately gives up, making him far from a perfect character either.

Shared by: Grace White
Image Credit: The Twilight Zone, CBS via Netflix