One of my favorite episodes of the Twilight Zone is "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" from 1963. This episode is based on the short story by Richard Matheson. Does anyone think of this episode when they look out the window of a plane? I have to admit that the Gremlin did look a little rediculous as the budget for special effects and costumes was not big for the Twilight Zone, but the stories were always great.
I have included a review with parodies and other information below from Wikipedia.
Bob Wilson (William Shatner) is a salesman on an airplane for the first time since his nervous breakdown six months earlier during a plane ride. He spots a gremlin on the wing of the plane. Every time someone else looks out the window, the gremlin leaps out of view, so nobody believes Bob's seemingly outlandish claim. Bob realizes that his wife is starting to think he needs to go back to the sanitarium, but also, if nothing is done about the gremlin, it will damage the plane and cause it to crash. Bob steals a sleeping policeman's revolver, and opens the window marked "Auxiliary Exit" to shoot the gremlin, succeeding despite the fact that he is nearly blown out of the plane himself. Once the plane has landed, although he is whisked away in a straitjacket, a final shot reveals evidence of his claims: the unusual damage to the plane's engine nacelle—yet to be discovered by mechanics.This episode was remade into a segment of the 1983 movie version of the series, with John Lithgow portraying the main character, who has been renamed John Valentine. The story is somewhat shortened, but the plot in general is the same, although with some differences. In this version, Valentine travels alone, and his fear of flight seems to be more emphasized, as the segment begins with an almost hysterical Valentine hiding in the bathroom. When he eventually spots the gremlin, he reacts more strongly than the original incarnation of the character. He yells at the flight crew and his fellow passengers on several occasions. At the end of the segment, in a scene not shown in the original 1963 TV episode, the mechanics discover the severe damage done to the plane.The original gremlin was an ape-like creature which seemed to be driven by curiosity rather than a will to cause damage. In the movie, the gremlin more resembles an alien, with slimy beige skin and a frightful grin. It seems more intelligent and menacing, beginning to dismantle one of the jet's engines, rather than curiously roaming about as the original gremlin did. It taunts Valentine several times, holding up a piece of wing and demonstratively tossing it inside the engine to damage it. When Valentine tries to shoot the gremlin, it runs over the wing to Valentine, grabs his hand holding the gun, and promptly bites the gun in half. At that moment the lights of the landing field appear below. The gremlin grabs Valentine's face, seemingly about to kill him, but stops and then waves its finger in a dismissive "tut-tut-tut" manner. It then leaps away, off into somewhere else. The original gremlin never made physical contact with Wilson.
The epilogue features Valentine being driven to the sanitarium by the passenger from the prologue (played by Dan Aykroyd), who is actually a demonic creature who killed his driving companion (Albert Brooks) at the beginning of the movie after asking, "Want to see something really scary?". He poses the same question to Valentine just as the film ends.
Parts of this episode's plot have been repeated and parodied several times in popular culture, including television shows, films, radio, and music. For example, the Treehouse of Horror IV episode of The Simpsons features a segment called "Terror at 5½ Feet". It takes place on a school bus rather than an airplane, and puts Bart Simpson in the role of Bob Wilson.[1] In an episode of Muppets Tonight that guest starred Whoopi Goldberg, Miss Piggy sees a gremlin outside on the wing of her plane, and pleas for help. William Shatner appears next to her and comments that he's been complaining about the same guy for years. William Shatner later appeared on an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun opposite his film counterpart John Lithgow, and they both refer to something terrible that happened to them on an airplane. In season one, episode 12 of 3rd Rock from the Sun, an angst-ridden Dick Solomon is on a plane with Mary and he parodies his character in the film with a comment about something being on the wing, albeit before the flight took off. Saturday Night Live parodied the plot of the original, but having the gremlin doing a series of hilarious stunts, such as exercising and hanging out with Pearl Jam, and ending with the gremlin actually having been a locked out passenger.
Reception
Richard Matheson, in The Twilight Zone Magazine, called this episode one of his favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone, praising Richard Donner's direction and William Shatner's performance, though criticizing the appearance of the monster, comparing it to a "surly teddy bear."[verification needed]
Please see the video clip I have posted. If you have a chance, pop some popcorn set back and see the complete episode for fun in flight fright! I will review "The Invaders" in my next post. This episode features little robots that make a surprise visit to a lady who lives alone. Please post any comments about this episode or any other "Twilight Zone" information on my blog.
References
^ Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers. pp. 124–125. ISBN 0-00-638898-1.
[edit] Sources
Zicree, Marc Scott: The Twilight Zone Companion. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition)
DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-136-0
Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9703310-9-0
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