The Twilight Zone Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up Art

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Epitomize/TheTwilightZoneS2E64WillTheRealMartianPleaseStandUp

Rod Serling: "Wintry February dark, the present. Guild of events: a phone call from a frightened woman notating the inflow of an unidentified flying object, then the checkout you've just witnessed, with two state troopers verifying the event – but with nothing more enlightening to add beyond bear witness of some tracks leading across the highway to a diner. Yous've heard of trying to notice a needle in a haystack? Well, stay with u.s.a. now, and you'll be office of an investigating team whose mission is non to notice that proverbial needle, no, their task is even harder. They've got to find a Martian in a diner, and in just a moment you'll search with them, because you've simply landed – in the Twilight Zone."

Air date: May 26, 1961

Ii country troopers respond to a telephone call of an conflicting UFO landing in a remote area in the woods. The trail left by the alien leads them to a nearby diner, where they find a grouping of bus travellers: two married couples; Ethel, a professional dancer; a sour-faced businessman named Ross, Olmstead the bus driver, and one crazy erstwhile human named Avery. The mystery begins, equally the policemen have to find the alien amidst the travelers. Suspicion grows among the group as foreign things start to happen in the diner.

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Will the Existent Tropes Please Stand up Up?:

• Affably Evil: Despite existence an alien imperialist from Venus, Haley is shown to exist actually quite friendly and cordial with his Earthling guests. He'due south not and then friendly and cordial with the Martian Ross, though.
• Alien Among U.s.: The object of the story. A Martian spy is hiding among of group of people in a diner, and the two policemen have to find it. The Tomato Surprise catastrophe reveals that there was another alien in that location the entire time — a Venusian.
• Aliens Are Bastards: Imperialists, to be precise.
• Conflicting Invasion: Ross'southward real goal, he was sent equally an area spotter for the Martians to create a Martian colony on the Earth. But the large twist is when Haley reveals himself to be a Venusian. Haley informs Ross that the Venusians accept already beaten them to the punch and the Martians have been intercepted. An alien colony is happening on Earth, merely information technology's from Venus.
• Aliens Steal Cable: The cops try request the passengers questions most recent events in U.s.a. history to run across if they're human. Avery immediately lampshades what they're doing and jokes that it doesn't affair, every bit the aliens are likely using applied science to spy on Earth'southward radio and television transmissions.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: Ross the businessman who finds the thought of a Martian among the group ridiculous, fifty-fifty when foreign things are happening. It turns out Ross is the Martian and he caused the foreign happenings to throw away suspicions.
• Beneath Suspicion: Ethel points out that the couples can be taken off the suspect listing, as there'southward only one actress passenger in the room. Unfortunately, both couples begin to believe that their respective spouses accept been replaced by conflicting spies.
  • On a more narrative level, Ethel herself is the only member of the group who is never treated as a genuine lead for the Martian: she'due south the nearly cooperative with the cops, takes the investigation seriously, and tries to employ logic to dominion people out. Olmstead the double-decker driver also offers her an alibi when he remarks that, while he largely didn't pay attention to the passengers equally they boarded, he definitely noticed her.
• Bizarre Alien Biology: Ross the Martian, has a third arm. Haley is a Venusian, with a third eye.
• Bottle Episode: Except for two scenes, this episode takes place entirely in the Howdy-Way Café.
• The Butler Did It: A subversion. Ross, one of the people from the double-decker, was The Mole, only Haley the diner melt who served them all and remained very much in the background throughout the story was likewise an enemy alien from a different planet, and was two steps ahead of Ross the whole fourth dimension.
• Deject Cuckoo Lander: Avery. He may or may not exist the alien, merely he's definitely eccentric and stands out among the grouping.
• Comic-Book Accommodation: This episode was adapted every bit a graphic novel by Walker Paperback in 2009.
• Creepy Carmine Herring: Avery is the nearly suspicious member of the group, and seems to be deliberately goading everyone by making off-color jokes and mentioning science-fiction tropes in conversation. He also has wild eyes, an unhinged vocalization, and a more often than not unsettling demeanor. But he'due south non the conflicting, only a troll who enjoys teasing people.
• The Cuckoo Lander Was Right: Avery is the ane who hints at the businessman "Ross" as the Martian. He was right.
• Didn't See That Coming: Every bit the official episode book of the testify nicely puts it "The real Martian has stood up...just to have the rug pulled out from under him."
• Dirty Onetime Man: Avery hits on Ethel when she mentions she is a professional dancer.

  Avery: How many legs?

  Ethel: I'm gonna chugalug you, Grandpa.

• The Domestic dog Was the Mastermind: Haley the cook, who was quite literally in the groundwork for near of the episode, turns out to be an alien himself.
  • Discussed before in the episode by Avery, who points out that the bus driver himself could be the Martian—none of the passengers acknowledged him as they boarded, so information technology's just every bit likely that he wasn't there at all.
• Downer Ending: Humans are beingness wiped out into extinction by Venusians (and one Martian) who desire to take over Earth equally their new home world.
• Driving Question: Vi passengers got on the motorcoach but seven entered the diner. Which of them is the Martian?
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Or dropped them off a bridge in this case. Afterward the guests and the state troopers go out the diner, the bridge on the road up alee collapses, dropping all of them to their doom. Too Ross, who mysteriously survives to tell the tale.
• Dude, Not Funny!: Avery asks if the bus driver wasn't replaced by an conflicting. The driver laughs for a bit until he frowns.
• Evil vs. Evil: Haley vs. Ross. Specifically, Mars vs. Venus (and Venus won).
• Evil Laugh: Haley breaks out into a sinister express joy once he reveals how he sprung his trap on Ross.
• Failed a Spot Bank check: The troopers for non doing a thorough body bank check on everyone in the diner to ensure they're all human.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Avery points out Ross equally the "nearly suspicious of the bunch" and asks him if he has an eye on the back of his head. Haley turns out to have a third middle, though in the heart of his forehead. He even tells the state troopers to "check under their coats" for wings. Had they washed then, they would take discovered Ross' third arm.
  • Olmstead the bus commuter expresses business concern that the bridge up ahead from the diner is very weak and prone to collapsing.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Ross loves the gustatory modality of cigarettes. John Hoyt, the thespian who played him, died of lung cancer.
• He Knows Besides Much: Ross has the land troopers and bus passengers killed since they know nigh the presence of a Martian.
• Human Aliens: How the Martian is able to alloy in with the grouping. He looks but like the humans, Well, besides his third arm. Haley qualifies as well, being a Venusian with a third middle that he conveniently covers with his hat.
• Humans Are Morons: The aliens easily succeeded in making the real humans impale themselves like lemmings with misinformation and illusory tricks.
• Information technology's a Modest World, After All: An alien from Mars comes to Earth and finds himself at a diner owned by an undercover alien from Venus.
• Killed Offscreen: The state troopers and the the charabanc riders are killed later when the span collapses, dropping all of them into the freezing river. Ross is the merely ane who survives.
• Klingons Love Shakespeare: Ross thinks cigarettes gustatory modality wonderful, especially since they don't have anything like them on Mars. It also seems Martians and Venusians both enjoy human music.
• Language Equals Thought: Implied past Ross presently earlier revealing he's a Martian. Afterwards revealing the passenger vehicle and constabulary car crashed into the river and only he got out, Haley asks why his wearing apparel aren't wet. Ross doesn't understand what the word "wet" means.
• Tardily-Arrival Spoiler: TV commercials and other ads for marathons of the show often characteristic the Wham Shot of Haley removing his cook's cap and revealing his third eye, giving away the episode'southward biggest twist.
• Master of Illusion: Ross boasts to Haley that the weird goings on in the diner was his doing; he also created the faux phone call that ultimately allowed him to make his escape from under the eyes of the troopers.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: As a Martian, Ross has three arms, and he's responsible for the deaths of the state troopers and everyone on the jitney.
• Ms. Fanservice: Ethel McConnell. She's a professional dancer.
• Oh, Crap!: Ross'southward expression after Haley tells him his friends aren't coming and lifts off his cap to reveal his third eye.
• Pop-Civilization Pun Episode Title: The episode's title comes from the famous "Will the Real X Delight Stand up Up" from To Tell the Truth.
• Retroactive Recognition: Jack Elam every bit Avery.
• The Reveal: 2 for the toll of i! Ross reveals himself to be the Martian, before Haley is revealed to be a Venusian.
• Ship Tease: The driver and Ethel. Sadly they fall to their deaths before whatsoever relationship might develop.
• Accept Me to Your Leader: Avery says this to the Hi-Way Cafe jukebox that had spontaneously started playing music while police officers are searching for an alien.
• Technopath: The Martian Ross has the ability to control technology, turning both the jukebox and the lights in the Hello-Manner Cafe off and on. He describes information technology as a parlor fob.
• Ten Little Murder Victims: A group of bus travellers gather at a diner. Ane of them is an alien. Subverted later as there actually was a mole, simply there was another enemy alien, who was onto the mole the whole time.
• Tomato plant Surprise: When Ross returns from the bus accident to reveal himself as the Martian and gloat about his victory, "Haley" the diner cook springs a surprise on him (and the audience), revealing himself to be a Venusian.
• Visible Smash Mic: During the give-and-take between the businessman Ross and the counterman Haley, as Haley says, "And I agree with you about what they call music," a shadow from an overhead smash mike (on Haley's hat) moves slightly.
• Wham Line: Haley drops this bombshell at the end of the episode:

Haley: I don't heed. I have to do a little waiting myself. Y'all see, Mr. Ross. My proper name isn't Haley. And I do agree with you that this is an extraordinary place to colonize. Nosotros folks on Venus got the same idea.

• You Are Too Tardily: Martians move to colonize on World past eliminating the humans, only in the terminate it turns out Venusians are already doing the same thing and eliminated the Martians. It is unknown what Ross's fate is, only given that Haley caught him, information technology's possible that Haley will have Ross killed off much like how Ross handled the humans, the original inhabitants of planet Earth.

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Rod Serling: "Incident on a small island, to be believed or disbelieved. Even so, if a sour-faced swell named Ross or a large, proficient-natured counterman who handles a spatula as if he'd been born with i in his oral fissure, – if either of these 2 entities walk onto your premises, you'd better hold their hands – all three of them – or check the color of their optics – all iii of them. The gentlemen in question might try to pull you in – to the Twilight Zone."

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Source: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/TheTwilightZoneS2E64WillTheRealMartianPleaseStandUp

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