MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO SCREENING SERIES, THE:
ROD SERLING: THE TWILIGHT ZONE AND BEYOND, PACKAGE
12: THE DOOMSDAY FLIGHT & THE TWILIGHT ZONE: THE
JEOPARDY ROOM
Summary
Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone," which debuted in
1959, took viewers through a delirious dimension of
imagination and brought them back to earth again with a
humbling sense of themselves in a strange, alienating
universe. In creating the provocative parables that
elevated this fantastical series above mere escapist
fiction, Serling drew upon a decade of experience
writing for such live anthology programs as "Kraft
Television Theatre," "Playhouse 90," and "Climax!"
Beginning in 1955 he was awarded three consecutive
Emmy Awards for best teleplay writing ("Patterns," "The
Comedian," and "Requiem for a Heavyweight") and was the
first playwright recognized with a Peabody Award.
After "The Twilight Zone" ended in 1964, Serling
returned to the airwaves with "The Loner," "Night
Gallery," and the controversial television movie "The
Doomsday Flight." Astonishingly prolific and
indisputably influential, he was always on guard against
the threats of censorship and mediocrity. He is
remembered as both a vital force and a familiar face in
the affirmation of television as a showcase for artful,
relevant drama.
"The Doomsday Flight"
(1966; 90 minutes)
"The Twilight Zone: The Jeopardy Room"
(1964; 25 minutes)
Based on an incident related to Serling by his brother
Bob, an aviation journalist, "The Doomsday Flight" --
with Edmond O'Brien, Jack Lord, and Van Johnson --
imagines a bomb hidden aboard a passenger plane, set to
detonate when the aircraft dips below 4,000 feet. The
technically detailed scenario inspired a slew of copycat
crimes and crank calls, the first of which was phoned in
to an airline before the program had finished airing, as
well as the 1994 action-adventure film "Speed." "I wish
to hell I'd never written the damn thing," Serling told
reporters, later adding, "A writer can't be responsible
for the pathology of idiots." In the Cold War thriller
"The Jeopardy Room," Martin Landau is a defecting Soviet
agent locked in a room with an assassin's bomb.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 2001
- RUNNING TIME: 2:03:01
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: T:69692
- GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: Airlines - Drama; Bombings - Drama; Drama, mystery/suspense
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- For "The Doomsday Flight":
- Frank Price … Producer
- William Graham … Director
- Rod Serling … Created by, Writer
- Lalo Schifrin … Music by
- Jack Lord … Cast, Frank Thompson
- Edmond O'Brien … Cast, the Man
- Katherine Crawford … Cast, Jean
- John Saxon … Cast, George Ducette
- Van Johnson … Cast, Captain Anderson
- Richard Carlson … Cast, Chief Pilot Shea
- Don Stewart … Cast, Charlie
- Tom Simcox … Cast, Flight Engineer Chips
- Michael Sarrazin … Cast, Army Corporal
- Edward Asner … Cast, Feldman
- Malachi Throne … Cast, the Bartender
- Robert Pickering … Cast, Willoughby
- Jan Shepard … Cast, Mrs. Thompson
- Gregg Morris … Cast, FBI Agent Balaban
- Howard Caine … Cast, L.A. Dispatcher
- Edward Faulkner … Cast, Co-Pilot Riley
- John Kellogg … Cast, Seaton
- David Lewis … Cast, Mr. Rierdon
- Celia Lovsky … Cast, Elderly Woman
- Noam Pitlik … Cast, Air-Traffic Controller
- Dee Pollock … Cast, Speedjet Messenger
- Bert Remsen … Cast, Police Officer
- Don Wilbanks … Cast, Bomb-Disposal Man
- Martin Landau