Twilight Zone: “And When the Sky was Opened” [Season 1, Episode 11] / Z-View
Twilight Zone: “And When the Sky was Opened” [Season 1, Episode 11]
Original Air Date: December 11, 1959
Director: Douglas Heyes
Writer: Rod Serling based on a short story by Richard Matheson
Starring: Rod Taylor and Jim Hutton
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Astronauts Lieutenant Colonel Forbes [Taylor], Major Gart [Hutton] and Colonel Harrington are piloting an experimental rocket ship’s initial flight. Upon reentry the ship crashes in the desert. Gart suffers a broken leg and is hospitalized. Forbes and Harrington visit Gart and share the newspaper with a headline declaring the three of them as heroes.
After the visit Forbes and Harrington go to a bar to celebrate. Harrington suddenly begins to fill ill and decides to call his parents. His parent answers and tells a shocked Harrington that they have no son! Harrington instantly disappears and the newspaper headline changes to two astronauts as heroes.
Forbes didn’t see Harrington disappear and begins to look for him. Everyone in the bar says that Forbes came in alone. Forbes remembers the newspaper headline and gets it to show the bar patrons.
Shocked to see the headline has changed, Forbes rushes back to the hospital and to tell Gart what has happened. Gart shocks Forbes by saying there were only two of them on the flight. Forbes suddenly begins to feel ill…
Final Thoughts: Rod Taylor sells the episode. The ending is a bit of a letdown but everything leading up to is excellent.Rating:
