User Reviews

Yes, I am an old fart, and watched the episode when it first aired back in 1957. I was 8 years old then, and found this a particularly scary program. If yiu don't remember, we were in the "duck and cover" era with recent knowledge Russia now had "the bomb".

Nuclear power was still in its infancy, but the general public was excited about all the "clean" energy this new fuel could provide.

Anyway, at the end, Matthews risks his life and saves the day. Interesting anomaly because Nimoy, as Spock, goes on to save the day and the Enterprise while giving his life after nuclear exposure so others could live in Star Trek Ii, The Wrath of Kahn.

The storyline is unbelievable. First, one would think that a business that handles radioactive material would hire someone with more maturity and not a "kid" as Matthews called him. Secondly, one would think that such a business would train its worker on how to handle the material and the dangers associated with exposure so that the worker would be competent enough to transport the cannister and would not have misconceptions about the effects of exposure, should that happen. Third, no business like this would have just one worker, and a rather immature one at that, left alone to do the job without at least a second or third person or supervisor doing some oversight and support. At least, one would hope. Fourth, the lab worker Harry Wells (played by Leonard Nimoy) is such a bungler that he almost makes Larry, Moe, and Curley of the Three Stooges look professional by comparison.