Carling is an antagonist in "Third from the Sun", the fourteenth episode of The Twilight Zone's first season, which aired in 1960. He is a jingoistic alien military scientist who served the government of an unidentified nation on an unnamed planet in a system close to Earth. Like the rest of his species, Carling is externally identical to a human, wearing a suit resembling typical men's formal wear of the 1950s United States. The episode was framed in a way to trick the audience into believing that Carling and the other characters were humans living in an unidentified point in the future, until the twist was revealed at the end.
He was portrayed by the the late Edward Andrews.
Biography[]
Carling dutifully served his nation, working in a plant that created weapons of mass destruction for an impending war. He was an overly patriotic man who was more than willing to go to war, boasting that their nation's power could easily overcome their enemies. However, his views were not shared by a fellow military scientist named Will Sturka, who held a negative outlook of the impending nuclear war, and secretly planned to escape the planet with his test pilot friend Jerry Riden and their families, using an experimental spacecraft Riden secured. One day, Carling found that the war would commence in as little as 48 hours, and spoke to Sturka about it after they left the plant, growing suspicious of Sturka's pessimistic, albeit realistic, views. Carling warned Sturka to watch what he said and thought as Sturka left, deciding to put his escape plan into action immediately. Carling decided to follow Sturka home, secretly eavesdropping on Sturka and Riden while they discussed their plan.
That night, Carling visited Sturka without notice while Sturka, Riden, and their wives were playing a game of cards, which was actually a cover for going over the plan. Carling hinted that he knew their plan, but did not directly address it, even while he picked up a paper with the flight plan, although he did not see the side that the plan was written on. Carling then left, and immediately drove to the airfield where the spaceship was being kept, taking the place of a contact Riden had stationed at the field. When the Sturkas and Ridens arrived, Carling led them to the gate with a flashing light, but then revealed himself, with a pistol drawn. However, when he ordered them to leave the car, Jody, Sturka's daughter, threw the door open right into Carling's hand, knocking the gun away and allowing the men to knock him out. They left him on the ground as they got to the ship and took off for their destination, Earth. Behind them, their homeworld was soon engulfed in nuclear war, presumably killing Carling.
