And When the Sky Was Opened
- Episode aired Dec 11, 1959
- TV-PG
- 25m
Three astronauts return to Earth after seemingly having made an encounter that dooms them and their craft to erasure from existence itself.Three astronauts return to Earth after seemingly having made an encounter that dooms them and their craft to erasure from existence itself.Three astronauts return to Earth after seemingly having made an encounter that dooms them and their craft to erasure from existence itself.
- Major William Gart
- (as James Hutton)
- Nurse
- (uncredited)
- Investigator
- (uncredited)
- Mr. Harrington
- (uncredited)
- Officer
- (uncredited)
- Girl in Bar
- (uncredited)
- Bar Patron
- (uncredited)
- Narrator
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRod Serling wrote a scene for the crash landing of the spaceship in the original script, but it was determined to be too expensive to film. The script was subsequently modified, and the crash was described by Mr. Serling in the opening narration.
- GoofsMajor Gart was hospitalized with a broken leg, established early in the show. Near the end he jumps out of the hospital bed and runs to the door, but nothing seems to be wrong with his leg and no cast is visible.
- Quotes
Rod Serling - Narrator: [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.
- ConnectionsEdited into Twilight-Tober-Zone: And When The Sky Was Opened (2020)
As the astronauts are released from the hospital, the world as they know it turns upside down, one astronaut at a time. By the time the episode ends, the viewer is left questioning basic premises of our existence, such as memory, observation, existence itself.
Rod Taylor's character is strong and confident, then confused and unsure, and finally desperate and panicky as he tries to figure out what is happening to everyone's memory.
The story poses large, existential questions, of "another dimension," worthy of portrayal in the Twilight Zone.
- philhodgman
- Sep 21, 2008
Details
- Runtime25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1