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)
One of the early episodes that set the standard. Interesting now as its a fantasy drama made at a time when space exploration was new. That is not to say that its dated as a mysterious sci-fi tale. The concept came from a Richard Matheson story called 'Disappearing Act' and this was the first of sixteen of his to be used for the Zone. In this case Rod Serling took the idea and created his own very different and absorbing teleplay. The three men are shown together briefly in flashback in a spirit of devil-may-care esprit de corps and in contrast as somewhat shaken by the weird goings-on in the main body of the story. Rod Taylor turns in perhaps his best performance-no Hitchcockian birds-no Morlocks- but instead something inexplicable and profoundly scary.
Just a thought. There's a William Gart in this, and a Gart Williams as main character in 'A Stop At Willoughby'.
- darrenpearce111
- Jan 22, 2014
Details
- Runtime25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1