And When the Sky Was Opened

Last updated
"And When the Sky Was Opened"
The Twilight Zone episode
Jim Hutton Sue Randall Twilight Zone.JPG
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 11
Directed by Douglas Heyes
Teleplay by Rod Serling
Based on"Disappearing Act"
by Richard Matheson
Featured music Leonard Rosenman
Cinematography by George T. Clemens
Production code173-3611
Original air dateDecember 11, 1959 (1959-12-11)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Judgment Night"
Next 
"What You Need"
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series, season 1)
List of episodes

"And When the Sky Was Opened" is the eleventh episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone . It originally aired on December 11, 1959. [1] It is an adaptation of the 1953 Richard Matheson short story "Disappearing Act." [2]

Contents

Opening narration

Her name: X-20. Her type: an experimental interceptor. Recent history: a crash landing in the Mojave Desert after a thirty-one hour flight nine hundred miles into space. Incidental data: the ship, with the men who flew her, disappeared from the radar screen for twenty-four hours.

The narration continues after Forbes' introduction.

But the shrouds that cover mysteries are not always made out of a tarpaulin, as this man will soon find out on the other side of a hospital door.

Plot

USAF Lieutenant Colonel Clegg Forbes arrives at a military hospital to visit his friend and co-pilot Major William Gart. The two had recently piloted an experimental spaceplane, the X-20. During their voyage the craft disappeared from radar screens for a full day before reappearing and crash landing in the desert, leaving Gart with a broken leg. Forbes is agitated and asks Gart if he remembers how many people were on the mission. Gart confirms that only he and Forbes piloted the plane, but Forbes insists that a third man – Colonel Ed Harrington, his best friend for 15 years – accompanied them.

In a flashback, Harrington and Forbes are discharged from the hospital after passing their physical exams and visit a bar downtown. While there, Harrington is suddenly overcome by a feeling that he no longer "belongs" in the world. Disturbed, he phones his parents, who tell him they have no son named Ed and believe the person calling them is a prankster. Harrington then mysteriously vanishes from the phone booth and no one but Forbes remembers his existence. Increasingly desperate, Forbes fruitlessly searches for any trace of his friend.

Back in the present, Forbes finishes recounting the story to Gart and is dismayed by his friend's claim that he doesn't know anyone named Harrington. Forbes then glances at a mirror and discovers he casts no reflection, causing him to flee the room in terror. Gart tries to hobble after him only to find that Forbes has disappeared. Calling the duty nurse to ask if she saw where Forbes went, Gart is stunned by the nurse's claim that nobody named Forbes has been in the building and that Gart was the only man who was in the hospital room. Horrified, Gart also disappears.

An officer enters the building and asks the duty nurse if there are any unused rooms available to accommodate new patients. The nurse takes him to the now completely empty room which hosted the three astronauts, telling him that it has been unoccupied. The hangar which previously housed the X-20 is then shown, with the sheet that covered the craft lying on the ground. There is no trace of the plane, as if it and its crew never existed.

Closing narration

Once upon a time, there was a man named Harrington, a man named Forbes, a man named Gart. They used to exist, but don't any longer. Someone – or something – took them somewhere. At least they are no longer a part of the memory of man. And as to the X-20 supposed to be housed here in this hangar, this, too, does not exist. And if any of you have any questions concerning an aircraft and three men who flew her, speak softly of them – and only in – The Twilight Zone.

Episode notes

This episode is loosely based on the short story "Disappearing Act" by Richard Matheson. [2] The story was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (March 1953). [3]

Rod Taylor and director Douglas Heyes later worked together on the TV series Bearcats! [4]

Toward the end of the episode, Rod Taylor's character, Clegg Forbes, panics when he appears to cast no reflection when looking at a mirror in the hospital room. Due to what appears to be a production error in crafting this illusion, Taylor's right elbow is, in fact, visible in the mirror throughout the duration of this shot, with three fingers of Taylor's right hand appearing in the mirror as well when Taylor raises his hands in horror.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Matheson</span> American author and screenwriter (1926–2013)

Richard Burton Matheson was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres.

<i>The Twilight Zone</i> Media franchise based on an American television anthology series

The Twilight Zone is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering "the Twilight Zone". The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, supernatural drama, black comedy, and psychological thriller, frequently concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist, and usually with a moral. A popular and critical success, it introduced many Americans to common science fiction and fantasy tropes. The first series, shot entirely in black-and-white, ran on CBS for five seasons from 1959 to 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Where Is Everybody?</span> 1st episode of the 1st season of The Twilight Zone

"Where Is Everybody?" is the first episode of the American anthology television series The Twilight Zone and was originally broadcast on October 2, 1959, on CBS. It is one of the most realistic Twilight Zone episodes, as it features no supernatural elements and is based on fairly straightforward extrapolation of science.

The Last Flight (<i>The Twilight Zone</i>) 18th episode of the 1st season of The Twilight Zone

"The Last Flight" is the eighteenth episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. Part of the production was filmed on location at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, California. The vintage 1918 Nieuport 28 biplane was both owned and flown by Frank Gifford Tallman, and had previously appeared in many World War I motion pictures.

Mirror Image (<i>The Twilight Zone</i>) 21st episode of the 1st season of The Twilight Zone

"Mirror Image" is the twenty-first episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on February 26, 1960, on CBS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Stop at Willoughby</span> 30th episode of the 1st season of The Twilight Zone

"A Stop at Willoughby" is episode 30 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. Rod Serling cited this as his favorite story from the first season of the series.

"A World of His Own" is episode thirty-six of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It was the last episode of the show's first season and essentially comedic in tone. It originally aired on July 1, 1960, on CBS.

"King Nine Will Not Return" is the season two premiere episode, and 37th overall, of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on September 30, 1960 on CBS.

"Eye of the Beholder" is episode 42 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on November 11, 1960, on CBS.

Twenty Two (<i>The Twilight Zone</i>) 17th episode of the 2nd season of The Twilight Zone

"Twenty Two" is episode 53 of the American television series The Twilight Zone. The story was adapted by Rod Serling from a short anecdote in the 1944 Bennett Cerf Random House anthology Famous Ghost Stories, which itself was an adaptation of "The Bus-Conductor", a short story by E. F. Benson published in The Pall Mall Magazine in 1906. It was one of the six episodes of the second season that were shot on videotape in a short-lived experiment aimed at cutting costs, and was directed by Jack Smight.

"The Arrival" is the second episode of the third season and 67th overall episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It was written by the series' creator and showrunner Rod Serling, and was directed by Boris Sagal.

"It's a Good Life" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American television series The Twilight Zone, and the 73rd overall. It was written by series creator/showrunner Rod Serling, based on the 1953 short story "It's a Good Life" by Jerome Bixby. The episode was directed by James Sheldon, and is considered by some, such as Time and TV Guide, to be one of the best episodes of the series. It originally aired on November 3, 1961. The episode was one of four from the original 1959 series which formed the basis of the 1983 film Twilight Zone: The Movie.

"Little Girl Lost" is episode 91 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It is about a young girl who has accidentally passed through an opening into another dimension. Her parents and their friend attempt to locate and retrieve her. It is based on the 1953 science fiction short story by Richard Matheson. The title of the episode comes from a poem by William Blake, from his collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience.

<i>The Twilight Zone</i> Tower of Terror Drop tower dark ride at Disney parks

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, or simply Tower of Terror, is a series of similar accelerated drop tower dark rides located at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Tokyo DisneySea, Walt Disney Studios Park, and formerly located at Disney California Adventure. The attraction is inspired by Rod Serling's anthology television series, The Twilight Zone, and takes place in the fictional Hollywood Tower Hotel in Hollywood, California. The Tokyo version features an original storyline not related to The Twilight Zone and takes place in the fictional Hotel Hightower. All versions of the attraction place riders in a seemingly ordinary hotel elevator, and present a fictional backstory in which people have mysteriously disappeared from the elevator under the influence of a supernatural element many years previously.

The Silence (<i>The Twilight Zone</i>) 25th episode of the 2nd season of The Twilight Zone

"The Silence" is episode 61 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. The plot of this episode was based in part on the short story "The Bet" by Anton Chekhov. It's "the story of possibly the strangest bet ever to occur in the annals of chance." It originally aired on April 28, 1961 on CBS. It is one of the few Twilight Zone episodes to feature no supernatural or sci-fi elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Last Night of a Jockey</span> 5th episode of the 5th season of The Twilight Zone

"The Last Night of a Jockey" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. In this episode, a diminutive jockey's wish to be a big man is granted. Rod Serling wrote the episode specifically for Mickey Rooney, who is the only actor to appear in it.

<i>Twilight Zone: The Movie</i> 1983 American science fiction horror anthology film

Twilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 American sci-fi horror anthology film produced by Steven Spielberg and John Landis. Based on Rod Serling's 1959–1964 television series of the same name, the film features four stories directed by Landis, Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller. Landis' segment is an original story created for the film, while the segments by Spielberg, Dante, and Miller are remakes of episodes from the original series. The film's cast includes Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Scatman Crothers, John Lithgow, Vic Morrow, and Kathleen Quinlan. Original series cast members Burgess Meredith, Patricia Barry, Peter Brocco, Murray Matheson, Kevin McCarthy, Bill Mumy, and William Schallert also appear in the film, with Meredith assuming Serling's role as narrator.

"The Parallel" is episode 113 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. In this episode an astronaut returns from a voyage to find the world not quite the same as he remembers it. It was an early example of the concept of mirror or alternate universes. The Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Mirror, Mirror" was another example, although the differences between the characters in the two Star Trek alternate universes were quite noticeable. The concept has also been used by both DC Comics and Marvel Comics in their comic books and cinematic universes.

<i>The Twilight Zone</i> (1959 TV series) American TV anthology series (1959–1964)

The Twilight Zone is an American fantasy science fiction horror anthology television series created and presented by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from October 2, 1959, to June 19, 1964. Each episode presents a standalone story in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering "the Twilight Zone", often with a surprise ending and a moral. Although often considered predominantly science-fiction, the show's paranormal and Kafkaesque events leaned the show much closer to fantasy and horror. The phrase "twilight zone" has entered the vernacular, used to describe surreal experiences.

"Eye of the Beholder" is the 39th episode of the sci-fi anthology television series The Twilight Zone. The episode aired on April 30, 2003 on UPN. It is a remake of the episode from the original Twilight Zone written by Rod Serling about a woman with bandages covering her face hoping that a last-chance surgery will allow her to fit in with society, lest she be sent to a community of people with her 'deformity'.

References

  1. "Watch The Twilight Zone Season 1 Episode 11: And When the Sky Was Opened - Full show on CBS All Access". CBS. Archived from the original on 2016-12-01. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  2. 1 2 Zicree, Marc Scott (1982). The Twilight Zone Companion (second ed.). Hollywood: Sillman-James Press. p. 61.
  3. "Contents". Internet Speculative Fiction Database . 11 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  4. Stephen Vagg, Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood, Bear Manor Media, 2010 p69

Bibliography