If you read the Richard Matheson short story this episode of "TZ" is based upon, there really is only one element that connects the two - disappearances... Or, more accurately, erasures.
In a way, the short story is far more frightening in that it could have happened to anybody. I highly recommend you read the original story, titled "Disappearing Act" to see what I mean.
But a particular element of that story would not have gotten past the CBS censors, and Rod Serling surely wanted to capitalize on the public's growing fascination with everything space related. So he revised the tale to be about three military pilots who went aloft in an experimental craft and survived some sort of incident where the ship left the RADAR screens, then reappeared.
The first (Charles Aidman) of these flyboys disappears, but more, nobody seems to remember him, except his crewmate (Rod Taylor). Even the third member of the team (Jim Hutton) seems to only remember two on the flight as even the newspaper headline and accompanying photo changed.
It is a true portrait in psychological upheaval to watch Taylor go through the rationalization, trying to convince people, including the family of his vanished colleague, that he even existed. And then the growing realization set in - is this going to happen to him, too?
There is a logic gap that remains unexplained - why would these men disappear one by one, and more importantly, why would the world forget they ever existed? That's another aspect of the short story that fits better, as none of the characters from the original text was a known public figure. Despite that issue, this is a highly watchable ep.
I give "And When the Sky Was Opened" an 8 out of 10.
In a way, the short story is far more frightening in that it could have happened to anybody. I highly recommend you read the original story, titled "Disappearing Act" to see what I mean.
But a particular element of that story would not have gotten past the CBS censors, and Rod Serling surely wanted to capitalize on the public's growing fascination with everything space related. So he revised the tale to be about three military pilots who went aloft in an experimental craft and survived some sort of incident where the ship left the RADAR screens, then reappeared.
The first (Charles Aidman) of these flyboys disappears, but more, nobody seems to remember him, except his crewmate (Rod Taylor). Even the third member of the team (Jim Hutton) seems to only remember two on the flight as even the newspaper headline and accompanying photo changed.
It is a true portrait in psychological upheaval to watch Taylor go through the rationalization, trying to convince people, including the family of his vanished colleague, that he even existed. And then the growing realization set in - is this going to happen to him, too?
There is a logic gap that remains unexplained - why would these men disappear one by one, and more importantly, why would the world forget they ever existed? That's another aspect of the short story that fits better, as none of the characters from the original text was a known public figure. Despite that issue, this is a highly watchable ep.
I give "And When the Sky Was Opened" an 8 out of 10.