History Recap / TheTwilightZone1959S3E24ToServeMan

Sometime later, humans are volunteering for trips to the Kanamits' homeworld, which is portrayed as a paradise. With nothing else to do, Michael signs up for an excursion to this planet. As he is boarding the ship, Patty runs up to him, but she is stopped by a Kanamit guard. She desperately calls out what she's discovered:\\\

Based on the original short story by Creator/DamonKnight, this is the {{Trope Namer|s}} for ToServeMan. Let's be real here: [[ItWasHisSled you know the twist already]]. But, for the heck of it:\\\

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Kanamits weigh each passenger boarding their ships, moments before the WhamLine.

* HarsherInHindsight: Chambers remarks that once the full impact of the Kanamits influence settles, Earth will become a "Garden of Eden." When their true intentions are know, Earth becomes more of a breeding ranch.

Based on the original short story by Creator/DamonKnight.

The {{Trope Namer|s}} for ToServeMan.

First aired on March 2, 1962.

Let's be real here: [[ItWasHisSled you know the twist already]]. But, for the heck of it:

The episode opens with Michael Chambers lying uncomfortably on a cot in some type of futuristic room. A voice implores him to eat something, but he refuses to comply. After he asks what time it is on Earth and hears that it's 12:00 noon, he begins to tell the viewers that he's aboard a spaceship, as well as the story of how he came to be there.

The Kanamit ambassador telepathically reveals to the United Nations that his people are a benevolent race, who have landed on Earth to lend their assistance in humanity's salvation. There is a bit of resistance at first, but slowly, the nations of the world come to trust the Kanamits when lie detectors are unable to locate ulterior motives to their intentions. Having gained mankind's trust, the Kanamits promptly put end to many of Earth's greatest woes; new forms of energy are now available at rock bottom prices, all nuclear weapons are rendered harmless and defunct, and the world's deserts have even grown into big, blooming fields, with soil nutritious enough to resolve world hunger.

Michael, back then a codebreaker for the United States government, attempts to decipher the Kanamit language from a book the ambassador had left behind at the UN. One of his employees, Patty, has managed to decipher the title: ''To Serve Man''. Michael's team seems to be satisfied with this, and with world peace declared, Michael no longer has any real work to do, but Patty is still trying to work out the meaning of the text of ''To Serve Man''.

Sometime later, humans are volunteering for trips to the Kanamits' homeworld, which is portrayed as a paradise. With nothing else to do, Michael signs up for an excursion to this planet. As he is boarding the ship, Patty runs up to him, but she is stopped by a Kanamit guard. She desperately calls out what she's discovered:

->'''Michael''': (''to the audience'') How about you? You still on Earth? Or on the ship with me? Well, it doesn't make very much difference. Because sooner or later, we'll all of us be on the menu. ''All of us.''

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': The recollections of one Michael Chambers, with appropriate flashbacks and soliloquy. Or more simply stated, the evolution of man, the cycle of going from dust to dessert, the metamorphosis from being the ruler of a planet to an ingredient in someone's soup. It's tonight's bill of fare on the Twilight Zone.

** Regarding time: Both Michael and his supposedly super-intelligent captors apparently forget that time zones are a thing when he demands to know ''"What time is it on Earth?"''

The TropeNamer for ToServeMan.