Steel

Surprisingly not from the typewriter of Rod Serling who liked boxing and wrote 'Requiem For A Heavyweight', but a story from Richard Matheson. Interesting as a vision of the future ('circa 1974') as being a time when boxing is banned as this was written during a classic era for the sport. The sight of Lee Marvin and Joe Mantell (Nervous Man In A Four Dollar Room, series two),shifting their robot fighter around would have seemed pretty weird then. The way both actors deliver the lines as though their automaton was a real boxer is impressive, with words like 'oil' in their dialogue. They even overcome a ridiculous 'springy' sound effect. Lee Marvin was the perfect actor to show gritty survival qualities in any society no matter what they ban.

Adds to the diversity of the Zone. The message is clear.