![]() It’s now available on home video box sets and occasionally airs on TV as part of marathons, but mostly it’s become another rarely seen episode of The Twilight Zone. But when it came time for syndication, the episode was withheld, presumably because the original purchase didn’t cover unlimited rights. This turned a fine film into a cost-effective episode. An additional $5,000 was spent shooting Serling’s introduction and editing him in. The haunting film won the Best Short Subject award at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival and the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film at the 1963 Academy Awards.Īt a time when the average Twilight Zone episode cost $65,000 to make, the producers of the show were able to secure the rights for An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge for $20,000. The film is silent, other than background bird noises and the occasional military order. Set during the American Civil War, it’s a surreal story about the last moments of a civilian who is to be hanged by Union troops. ![]() This was accomplished by buying the rights to An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, a 1961 French short film based on the classic short story by Ambrose Bierce. So it’s not surprising that near the end, Serling looked to outsource an episode. Serling not only wrote so many of the episodes but also acted as producer, showrunner, and the show’s only recurring star as the on-screen narrator. But who could blame them? The show averaged over 30 episodes per season, which is almost unheard of today. Even the most dedicated fans tend to agree that Serling and company were running out of gas a bit at this point. Like “The Encounter,” the episode “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” was from the tail-end of the original Twilight Zone’s run, coming late in the final season. 9 Winner at the Cannes Film Festival and the Oscars Still, it’s fascinating to see a long-hidden episode of an iconic series make a return to TVs. Viewed through modern eyes, it’s clear “The Encounter” was trying to make a statement about the horrors of war and racism but indulged in too many stereotypes instead. CBS responded by pulling the episode from summer re-runs and later from the syndication package. In the end, Arthur plays into Japanese stereotypes and commits suicide by jumping out a window.Įven in a time before America had passed civil rights legislation, viewers found the episode insensitive and deeply offensive. Unfortunately, this leads to some uncomfortably racist conversation, Fenton’s PTSD played for laughs, and the sword supernaturally influencing Arthur to kill Fenton. Fenton wants to show Arthur the samurai sword he took from a Japanese soldier he killed in the war. Takei plays Arthur, a young Japanese-American man sharing a beer with World War II veteran Fenton (Neville Brand). And that’s because it was a very controversial episode from the start. Although the episode has always been included on DVD and Blu-ray releases of Season 5, its absence from broadcast TV lasted for 52 years. “The Encounter” first aired on May 1, 1964, and then promptly disappeared until the SyFy channel included it as part of a Twilight Zone marathon on January 3, 2016. Related: Top 10 Truly Terrible Television Series 10 Episode Hidden Away for 52 Yearsīefore he became Sulu on Star Trek, George Takei starred in what is perhaps the most controversial episode of The Twilight Zone. Today, we take a look at ten of the best Twilight Zone episodes that are nearly unknown. Whether these episodes were withheld from syndication, hidden away due to controversy, or simply lost to time, they have been unjustly forgotten. However, a large number of worthy episodes are all but unknown, except to the most dedicated of fans. But if you tune in to an episode today, it seems like it’s one of a handful of old standbys: Burgess Meredith breaking his glasses in “Time Enough at Last,” a beautiful young woman being treated by pig-faced doctors in “Eye of the Beholder,” or an overworked businessman making “A Stop at Willoughby.” Serling oversaw 156 episodes over five seasons, writing a whopping 92 of them himself. Rod Serling’s original series, which ran from 1959 to 1964, still ranks highly on lists of the greatest TV shows of all time, even in today’s era of peak prestige TV. Long ago, The Twilight Zone became a cultural institution.
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