The crew of the M2 scans the surface of Mars...
...unaware of the terror hidden beneath the sands.
The Control Voice: In the vast immensities of cosmic space, bold adventurers streak their way to join battle with strange enemies on strange worlds — the alien, the unknown, perhaps even the invisible, armed only with Man's earthbound knowledge...
Astronauts on Mars are terrorized by an unseen enemy which turns out to be a monstrous, dragon-like "sand shark".
The Control Voice: Battle joined. Casualties? Yes. Resolution: Victory, of a sort. A painful step from the crib of destiny. On another day, a friend, perhaps, instead of a deadly peril — part of the saga of the space pioneers.
"Troper, get back to your vehicle!"
- Chromosome Casting: This is one of two Outer Limits episodes with all-male casts ("The Chameleon" is the other).
- The Film of the Book: It's based on a 1955 short story by Jerry Sohl.
- In Name Only: Sohl did the first draft of the script and is the only writer credited. However, multiple revisions (none of them by Sohl) led to many changes, although the basic plot of the original story is retained.
- Off-the-Shelf FX: As David J. Schow points out
on Facebook, the futuristic weapons used by the crew of the M2 bear a striking resemblance to modified versions of toy bazookas sold by Remco around the time the episode was made. - Sand Is Water: The creatures on Mars "swim" beneath the surface of the sand.
- Ten Little Murder Victims: The sand shark picks off the astronauts one by one until only Merritt and Buckley are left.
- Token Minority: Captain Johnson is one of the earliest African-American astronauts depicted on American television, although Lt. Willowmore from "Nightmare" and Lt. Travers from "Moonstone" got there first.
