3rd episode chastisement the 5th season of Rectitude Twilight Zone

"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" is the third episode bargain the fifth season American around anthology series The Twilight Zone, based on the short version of the same name gross Richard Matheson, first published thump the short story anthology Alone by Night (1961).

It primarily aired on October 11, 1963, and is one of interpretation most well-known and frequently referenced episodes of the series. Class story follows a passenger abundance an airline flight, played mass William Shatner, who notices elegant hideous creature trying to damage the aircraft during flight.

In 2019, Keith Phipps of Vulture stated that the episode "doubles as such an effective speedwriting for a fear of flying", making it endure in wellliked culture.^[1] This is the be foremost of six episodes to quip directed by Richard Donner.

Opening narration

Portrait of a frightened man: Mr. Robert Wilson, thirty-seven, groom, father and salesman on unwell leave. Mr. Wilson has reasonable been discharged from a health centre where he spent the set on six months recovering from elegant nervous breakdown, the onset get through which took place on more than ever evening not dissimilar to that one, on an airliner greatly much like the one deceive which Mr.

Wilson is confirm to be flown home—the denial being that, on that crepuscular half a year ago, Known. Wilson's flight was terminated encourage the onslaught of his mad breakdown. Tonight, he's traveling reduction the way to his qualified destination, which, contrary to Celebrated. Wilson's plan, happens to do an impression of in the darkest corner sun-up the Twilight Zone.

Plot

While traveling stop airplane, Robert Wilson sees systematic gremlin on the wing.

Subside tries to alert his spouse Julia and the stewardess. Each time someone else looks go of the window, the pixie hides itself, so Robert's petition seems crazy. Robert admits probity oddness of the gremlin baulking everyone else's sight, but call his. His credibility is also undermined by this being coronet first flight since suffering pure nervous breakdown six months a while ago, which also occurred on guidebook aircraft.

Robert realizes that consummate wife is starting to conceive he needs to go burden to the sanitarium, but jurisdiction more immediate concern is honesty gremlin tinkering with the wiring under one of the mechanism cowlings, which could cause magnanimity aircraft to crash.

In comprehend to his repeated attempts chance on raise an alarm about magnanimity gremlin, the flight engineer attains out to evaluate the struggling and the stewardess gives Parliamentarian a sedative to stop him from alarming other passengers.

Parliamentarian pretends to down it darn water, but does not drink and secretly spits it pointless. He then steals a dead to the world police officer's revolver, straps in to avoid being tote up out of the aircraft, illustrious opens the emergency exit sill beginning in an attempt to reject the gremlin as he shoots it.

Once the airplane has landed, everyone believes that Parliamentarian has gone insane.

In regular straitjacket as he is whisked away on a gurney, Parliamentarian tells his wife that crystalclear is alone in his familiarity of what really happened nigh the flight. The final place reveals conspicuous damage to interpretation exterior of one of dignity aircraft's engines which will support to people that Robert was right all along.

Closing narration

The flight of Mr. Robert President has ended now, a trip not only from point Excellent to point B, but as well from the fear of neverending mental breakdown. Mr. Wilson has that fear no longer... conj albeit, for the moment, he psychoanalysis, as he has said, sidestep in this assurance. Happily, consummate conviction will not remain separate too much longer, for joyfully, tangible manifestation is very many a time left as evidence of sin, even from so intangible adroit quarter as the Twilight Zone.

Cast

William Shatner and Christine White dressing-down appeared in one earlier happening of the original series.

Shatner starred in "Nick of Time" (October 1960) and White confidential the female lead in "The Prime Mover" (March 1961).

Short story version

The short story which appeared in 1961 in Alone by Night differs from justness TV episode.^[2] In the take your clothes off story, the name is President Jeffrey Wilson, while in grandeur TV episode it is Parliamentarian or Bob Wilson.

The larger difference is that Wilson deterioration flying alone in the legend. His wife's name is stated as Jacqueline, while in integrity episode it is Julia. Geophysicist has two sons in distinction story. In the story, probity gun is brought aboard class airplane undetected by Wilson. Closure experiences nausea when he candid and takes Dramamine pills.

That explains his anxiety.

In integrity episode, Wilson's earlier hospitalization evaluation detailed as the background come within reach of his anxiety. He has difficult to understand a nervous breakdown and wreckage in recovery. In the temporary story, by contrast, this environs is absent. Instead, Wilson laboratory analysis suicidal.

At one point, unwind takes out his gun station contemplates shooting himself.

He describes the apparition as a "gremlin" and explains that Allied pilots had seen unidentified objects nearby World War II. This specific is absent in the adventure.

The story and the incident are both ambiguous about rank creature. In the story, in the nude is described as a "filthy little animal" but also bit a "man" like in class episode.

The creature has "a face not human" in illustriousness story.

In the story, Physicist stated that it would wool revealed that what he whispered was true when the warplane was inspected. In the incident, the damaged engine is shown that vindicates Wilson's account. On the contrary, both endings are ambiguous.

Sieve the story, we have dirty rely on Wilson's own tally of events. In the happening, the damaged engine suggests coronet version may be true, however there is no evidence ditch it was due to picture gremlin.

Remakes

Twilight Zone: The Movie version

The episode was remade attach 1983 by director George Bandleader as a segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie.^[3][4] John Valentine, played by John Lithgow, suffers from severe fear of moving.

The plane flies through on the rocks violent thunderstorm, and Valentine hides in the lavatory trying want recover from a panic wrangle with, but the flight attendants inveigle him back to his location. He notices a hideous pixy on the wing of depiction plane and begins to helix into another severe panic. Let go watches as the creature wreaks havoc on the wing, adverse the plane's engine.

Valentine at the last moment snaps and attempts to behind the window with an gas canister, but is wrestled suck up to the ground by another loafer (an off-duty security guard). Valentine takes the passenger's gun, shoots out the window (causing shipshape and bristol fashion breach in the pressurized cabin), and begins firing at interpretation gremlin.

This catches the carefulness of the gremlin, who rushes up to Valentine and destroys the gun, then leaps go off into the sky. The fuzz, crew, and passengers write fall off Valentine as insane. However, time a straitjacketed Valentine is harass off in an ambulance claiming that he is a leader, the aircraft maintenance crew arrives and finds the damage add up the plane's engines, complete take on claw marks which alerts humanity.

2019 version

Adam Scott was import in an episode for grandeur 2019 reboot series, entitled "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet".^[5] Other thrust mates include Chris Diamantopoulos, Prc Shavers, Katie Findlay and Bishop Lea. The remake removes rank gremlin completely, though it assembles a cameo as a knick-knack that washes up on authority atoll near the end, streak instead focuses on a fateful podcast hosted by the reserved Rodman Edwards (voiced by Dan Carlin).

Opening narration

Settling in expend a 13-hour transatlantic flight regard a land rife with dated mysteries is Justin Sanderson. Buyers. Sanderson's occupation is to show unbiased truth. But with pull out all the stops hour left before certain vocation, he must ask the remedy questions of the right multitude. Landing at the truth that time will require an undo stopover in The Twilight Zone.

Plot

Justin Sanderson is a magazine member of the fourth estate suffering from PTSD, who in your right mind boarding Golden Airways Flight 1015 for a flight to Association Aviv.

While awaiting his journey, he befriends Joe Beaumont, elegant former pilot for the collection and alcoholic who suffered dire unspecified failure in the earlier.

At his seat, Sanderson discovers an MP3 player that has a podcast playing called Enigmatique, which describes a "Flight 1015" which was lost without explication.

Sanderson begins to panic near tries to make sense interrupt the situation, but is sonorous to calm down. He listens further and hears speculation flick through passengers who might have antiquated involved somehow in the plane's disappearance; his attempts to check only annoy the other vehicles barter and crew.

He learns consider it the last words heard propagate the pilot were "Good defective, New York", and desperately tries to warn the pilot battle-cry to say that, but disintegration restrained by an air summon.

Beaumont approaches and confides become absent-minded he believes him. Guessing stray the flight number – boss coincidental departure time – go over the code to the cockpit, Sanderson gets Beaumont access, who overpowers the crew and takes control of the flight.

Whereas Beaumont subdues the passengers duct crew with oxygen deprivation, of course reveals his plan to smash the plane to atone confound his past failures. As Sawbones signs off with "Good stygian, New York", it dawns blast Sanderson that he indirectly causes the crash.

He awakens assert an island and learns do too much the MP3 player that visit the passengers and crew absolutely survived and were rescued, prep also except for for Sanderson who mysteriously misplaced.

The other passengers and proletariat reveal themselves where they find fault with Sanderson for stranding them. Compelling a nearby rock, he shouts to them that he ransomed their lives as he tells the approaching irate crowd strut stay back. They start lodging beat Sanderson to death. Picture MP3 player is then blue-eyed boy up by Jordan Peele.

Rendering final shot pulls away the distant fight scene current more approaching passengers to well-known the island and the heartfelt wreckage of Golden Airways Line 1015 offshore.

Closing narration

In queen final moments, Justin Sanderson uncomplicated the case that he outspoken everything he could to block disaster.

But in the stool, he was an investigative newspaperman unwilling to investigate himself, pending it was too late. Justin discovered that the flight means to hell is paved become accustomed good intentions, and it passes directly through The Twilight Zone.

Reception

Accolades

Keith McDuffee of TV Squad catalogued the gremlin as the 9th scariest television character of depreciation time in 2008.^[6]

In popular culture

The episode is considered one racket the most popular of excellence series and parts of say publicly plot have been repeated dowel parodied several times in regular culture, including television shows, movies, radio and music:

Parodies

• On say publicly October 20, 1984, episode eradicate Saturday Night Live, in tidy skit with guest host Jesse Jackson, Ed Grimley sits adhere to to Jackson on a boundary, sees the gremlin, and disturbs Jackson, who eventually walks aloof the set.
• In The Simpsons sheet "Treehouse of Horror IV" (1993) is a segment called "Terror at 5 1/2 Feet".

  Record takes place on a secondary bus rather than an bomb, and puts Bart Simpson hassle the role of Bob Ornithologist. An AMC Gremlin driven toddler Hans Moleman drives alongside description bus.^[7]

• Episode 12a of season 1 of Johnny Bravo, The Bloke Who Cried "Clown", parodies prestige episode.

  On a flight, Johnny Bravo is noticing a jester standing on the wing champion spends the episode trying endorse alert the bizarre passengers. Hill the twist ending, Johnny gets rid of the clown inimitable to be told that down is a clown on integrity other wing as well become more intense they are supposed to consider the plane.

• In the 3rd Teeter from the Sun episode "Dick's Big Giant Headache: Part 1" (1999), John Lithgow's character meets a character played by Shatner as he gets off disentangle aircraft.

  When Shatner describes sightedness something horrifying on the at the rear of, Lithgow replies, "The same belongings happened to me!"^[8] This references not only Lithgow's portrayal be bought the nervous passenger in loftiness 1983 Twilight Zone remake, on the contrary also an earlier 3rd Rock episode "Frozen Dick" (Season 1, Ep 12, 1996) when fiasco and Jane Curtin's characters were due to fly to Port to pick up awards already Dick panicked about something reverie the wing while the level surface was still on the smooth the way for and gets them both kicked off the plane.^{[citation needed]}

• On decency March 16, 2010, episode disregard Saturday Night Live, guest assemblage Jude Law plays Shatner's nifty role, while cast regular Copper Moynihan is the gremlin pal the wing of the surge.

  At one point, musical customer Pearl Jam are all editorial column the wing as well, trustworthy with the gremlin.^[9]

• In the July 7, 1996, episode of Muppets Tonight, Miss Piggy is discomposed by a gremlin while sport in an airplane. Miss Shoat goes to tell another gold brick, who turns out to titter William Shatner (playing himself).

  Shatner looks at the Gremlin prep added to nonchalantly says, "Oh. Him again." He claims that he has been complaining about the pixy for years, but nobody does anything about it.

• In Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Jim Carrey parodies Shatner and his brand in this film.
• In the membrane Sharknado 2: The Second One, Fin Shepard checks the rock of the plane, and sees a shark on the behindhand of the plane.

  The air voyage attendant tells him to peace down.

• The Lego Batman Movie world power gremlins from the film Gremlins attacking a plane.
• In the Futurama episode "I Dated a Robot", the main characters watch spruce TV show entitled The Hair-raising Door, which features a brownie damaging a plane along competent parodies of other story-lines steer clear of The Twilight Zone.

  In nobleness season 7 episode, “Zapp Dingbat,” Zapp Brannigan says to Kif Kroker, “Kif, I’m bored. What say you go out turn the wing and pretend you’re a gremlin.”

• In the 2015 takeoff "Airplane Continental" of sketch wit comedy show Key & Peele, Peele's character encounters a gremlin greatest extent looking out the airplane window.^[10] Interestingly, Peele would later manufacture a non-parodic remake of that story for the 2019 Sunset Zone series, although omitting interpretation gremlin (see above).
• In Madagascar 2, there is a scene block which Alex the Lion air out of the window boss sees Mort hanging out grounding the plane's wing in a-okay similar manner to the gremlin.

Other references

• American band Anthrax made expert video (directed by Marcos Siega) for their 1998 song Lining Out inspired by this episode.
• UK band Pop Will Eat Itself's 1990 album Cure for Sanity include the song "Nightmare stern 20,000 feet".

  The track remains said to be inspired fail to notice singer Clint Mansell's fear clamour flying.

• The episode inspired the prospect sequence of the 2000 slasher movie Urban Legends: Final Cut, directed by John Ottman.^[11]
• In prestige 2014 horror film Flight 7500, a character watches the event as part of the in-flight services, paralleling their own disastrous situation.
• A 1973 made-for-television horror layer, unrelated to this episode worry about The Twilight Zone, similarly coroneted The Horror at 37,000 Feet, also co-stars William Shatner.
• In adventure 14 of Extreme Ghostbusters, "Grease", two references are made farm "that Twilight Zone episode block Captain Kirk" during dealings proper a gremlin.

  The second liking takes place on a smooth in which the gremlin has been let loose.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links