The Long Morrow story
In 1987, an astronaut falls in love with a woman before going on a 40-year mission into space. Directed by: Robert Florey. Story by: Rod Serling.
11 total · 1 choice · 5 major · 5 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| ironic twist of fate | choice | The young lovers Douglas and Sandra did not wish for Douglas' upcoming 40 mission into space in a state of suspended animation to come between them. So unbeknownst to Sandra, Douglas had voluntarily disabled his suspended animation system six months into his journey, while, on the other hand, Sandra had placed herself into a state of suspended animation. As a result, when Douglas and Sandra were reunited, Douglas was an old man, and Sandra a young woman. Additionally: Advances in technology had enabled humans to overtake Douglas and survey the planet in half the time - and the planet was devoid of life at that - so his ordeal and sacrifice was in the end meaningless three times over. |
| interstellar space travel | major | Commander Douglas Stansfield was sent on a pioneering mission to explore a planetary system roughly 141 light-years from Earth. |
| sacrifice for a loved one | major | Douglas sacrificed his youth in order to be the same age as his love Sandra when he came back from his 40 year mission. |
| scientist occupation | major | Dr. Bixler was a scientist who recruited and coached Douglas. |
| suspended animation | major | Douglas was supposed to have been put into stasis for the better part of his 40 year mission to another star system, but he turned it off six months into the flight, so that he'd physically aged the full 40 years by the time he returned to Earth. Sandra put herself into stasis for a period of 40 years. |
| tragic love | major | Douglas and Sandra fell madly in love but fate intervened to wreck their prospects. |
| loneliness | minor | The tedium of Douglas spending 40 years awake and alone was described as "inconceivable loneliness". |
| long-distance relationship | minor | Douglas and Sandra planned to keep up their relationship during his 40 year voyage into space, but things went awry when radio contact with his ship was lost. |
| love at first sight | minor | Douglas and Sandra fell passionately in love with each other withing hours of having met for the firs time. |
| space exploration | minor | Douglas was sent to survey a planet roughly 141 light years from Earth. |