TV Chat
Related: About this forumOn this day, October 11, 1963, The Twilight Zone first aired "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet."
Mon Oct 11, 2021: On this day, October 11, 1963, The Twilight Zone first aired "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet."
President Kennedy might have sat down to watch this episode.
William Shatner with Nick Cravat (not in full costume) as the gremlin
Episode no.: Season 5, Episode 3
Directed by: Richard Donner
Written by: Richard Matheson
Based on: "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" by Richard Matheson
Original air date: October 11, 1963
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) (season 5)
List of episodes
"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" is episode 123 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, based on the short story of the same name by Richard Matheson, first published in Alone by Night (1961). It originally aired on October 11, 1963 and is one of the most well-known and frequently referenced episodes of the series. The story follows the only passenger on an airline flight to notice a hideous creature wandering around the wing of the plane while it is in flight.
In 2019, Keith Phipps of Vulture stated that the episode "doubles as such an effective shorthand for a fear of flying", making it endure in popular culture. This is the first of six episodes to be directed by Richard Donner.
{snip}
Closing narration
The flight of Mr. Robert Wilson has ended now, a flight not only from point A to point B, but also from the fear of recurring mental breakdown. Mr. Wilson has that fear no longer... though, for the moment, he is, as he has said, alone in this assurance. Happily, his conviction will not remain isolated too much longer, for happily, tangible manifestation is very often left as evidence of trespass, even from so intangible a quarter as the Twilight Zone.
{snip}
Turn on the lights before you watch this clip.
68,701 views Mar 7, 2019
The Twilight Zone
6.61K subscribers
Airline passenger Bob Wilson (William Shatner) spots a creature on the wing of the airplane - but nobody believes him. Check back each Thursday for more Twilight Zone Classic videos. Stream The Twilight Zone on CBS All Access.
The Twilight Zone YouTube channel
SergeStorms
(19,312 posts)It scared the bejeebus out of me. I'd never flown before then, but I can't say it had any effect on me when I did take my first flight.
Just the sight of that creature on the wing.....👹
lark
(24,149 posts)I love that episode, it is one of the best from a great series.
SergeStorms
(19,312 posts)Later on, of course, he became the biggest star in the universe on Star Trek.
Yeah, the Twilight Zone was must watch TV. The Outer Limits.... eh, some were good, but it couldn't match the Twilight Zone.
lark
(24,149 posts)I did like Twilight Zone better, though.
multigraincracker
(34,075 posts)when the pilot announced the space flight explosion in Florida. Everyone looked out their windows.
Yep, so did I.
Auggie
(31,798 posts)The Outer Limits too.
usonian
(13,790 posts)And enjoy the revisionist history provided by the internet.
(shuts down browser to edit some images ......)
None of the above are my handiwork.
The GOOD NEWS is that gremlins can't survive above 20,000 feet, which is why jets fly at 29,000 feet and above (speculation)
LIVED for Twilight Zone and Outer Limits.
Reality Distortion? These are a big reason that I majored in physics.