4x09 "Judgment at Serlingberg, Part II"

 

Submitted for your approval, part two of our epic study of Rod Serling’s World War II PTSD-demon-exorcizing Twilight Zone episodes. This time we’re neck-deep in the Pacific Theater side of things, which happens to be where Serling served---- so the episodes we’re covering (“The Purple Testament” and “A Quality of Mercy,” plus “The Encounter” for good measure) have an added bit of emotional and existential weight to ‘em. Listen with horror as host Craig tries to keep things light in the face of such grim thematic material. If nothing else, our old buddy Dr. Reba Wissner shows up to make it all worthwhile whilst sparking copious amounts of unbridled joy.

“Strange Girl” performed by Hubert Laws (from the album Flute By-Laws, copyright 1966 by Atlantic Records)

“Over There” performed by Bob Crosby and His Orchestra (copyright 1942 by Decca Records)

“Turning Japanese” performed by The Vapors (from the album New Clear Days, copyright 1980 by United Artists Records)

“America, Fuck Yeah” and “America, Fuck Yeah (Symphony Bummer Remix)” written and performed by Trey Parker (from the album Team America World Police: Music from the Motion Picture, copyright 2004 by Atlantic Records)

Main title theme from the film Detour composed and conducted by Leo Erdody (copyright 1945 by Producers Releasing Corporation)

Main title theme from the film Cry Terror! Composed and conducted by Howard Jackson (copyright 1958 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

 

The American Masters documentary on Serling, Submitted for Your Approval, in blurry low-resolution on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4ALNnImsmU

 

The Complete CBS Twilight Zone broadcast history, courtesy of The TZ Café’s Dan Hollis:

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/twilightzoneworfr/complete-cbs-twilight-zone-broadcast-history-with--t312.html

 

My 2013 study of The Twilight Zone’s legendary Lost Five:

http://mylifeintheshadowofthetwilightzone.blogspot.com/2013/02/special-report-lost-five.html

 

Articles on the tragic accident during the shooting of Twilight Zone: The Movie:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_Zone_accident

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/actor-and-two-children-killed-on-twilight-z

https://slate.com/culture/2012/07/the-twilight-zone-tragedy-how-vic-morrows-death-changed-the-way-films-are-made.html

 

The Twilight Zone is a trademark of CBS, Inc.

Between Light and Shadow: A Twilight Zone Podcast is a nonprofit podcast. Music clips and dialogue excerpts used herein are the property of their respective copyright owners; we claim no ownership of these materials. Their use is strictly for illustrative purposes and should be considered Fair Use as stated in the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. section 107.

Episode Spotlight: "The Encounter" (5/01/1964)

Season 5, Episode 31 (151 overall)

Originally aired 5/01/1964

Cayuga Production # 2640

Fifty years ago tonight, a restless ghost of a brutal war chose a hot summer day to rise up and exact its revenge.

“The Encounter” finds decorated WW2 vet Fenton getting plastered in his attic. Enter Arthur Takamuri, a young Japanese-American, who has heard Fenton might be looking for a gardener. Fenton hires him on the spot, then invites him up for a beer. Fenton commences needling Arthur with racial jabs, showing off a genuine Samurai sword he picked up off a dead Japanese soldier in Okinawa. He asks Arthur to translate the inscription on the blade, but Arthur claims he doesn’t know Japanese.

When Fenton leaves for a moment to get more beer, Arthur picks up the sword and is immediately transfixed by it, murmuring “I’m going to kill him.”

Fenton continues taunting Arthur, and things get progressively tenser. Arthur finds himself again mesmerized by the sword and menaces Fenton with it. He comes to his senses, but is now aware that the sword belonged to a Japanese soldier who had surrendered; Fenton killed him in cold blood. Fenton doesn’t deny it, blaming his superiors for his actions (the hoary “only following orders” Nazi bullshit). Arthur tries to leave, but finds the attic door locked. Fenton is unable to open it, which is odd considering the fact that the door has no lock.

Arthur describes his childhood in Hawaii, where his father tried to warn US soldiers of the imminent Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (shades of Serling’s “The Time Element”!); he then breaks down and admits that his father actually helped the Japanese. Fenton then reveals that he’s lost both his wife and his job in the past week due to his drinking problem, and he’s lost the will to live. He goads Arthur --- whose real name is Taro --- to kill him with the sword. They struggle, and Arthur ends up impaled on the sword… quite dead.

Taro takes up the sword, cries “Banzai!” and leaps through a window, presumably to his death. The episode ends with the attic door swinging gently open.

“The Encounter” is the fifth and final Twilight Zone episode that wasn’t included in the series’ syndication package (along with “Miniature,” “A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain,” “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” and “Sounds and Silences”). Accounts differ, but it’s been suggested that the idea that a Japanese-American citizen colluding with the enemy may have offended some viewers. I’m not going to dwell on this, except to say that it’s a work of fiction, for Christ’s sake. In any case, the episode was aired once and then cooled its heels in a vault someplace until it was released as part of the Treasures of The Twilight Zone VHS set around 1992 or so and, since then, it’s been included in every single home video release (Columbia House VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, Hulu, Netflix, etc.). As far as I know, it still isn’t aired on TV though.

“The Encounter” was written by Martin M. Goldsmith, who also contributed “What’s in the Box” back in March. This one certainly feels more like Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone, with its tense meditation on war and guilt. The dialogue is frequently riveting, certainly on par (or at least close) to similar work by Rod Serling. I think the problem for me lies in the ultimate fate of Taro, which I’ll talk about in a bit. In the director’s chair is Robert Butler, who also directed the terrible “Caesar and Me” just a few weeks ago; “The Encounter” is an opportunity for some atonement, and Butler makes good use of it. The attic setting is sufficiently claustrophobic without interfering with or distracting from the drama.

A taut script is one thing, but the episode’s success ultimately hinges on the performances; happily, both Neville Brand and George Takei are excellent (Takei in particular; watch the subtle change in his expression and demeanor whenever the sword casts its spell on him; not to mention his feverish reliving of the attack on Pearl Harbor, complete with his own sound effects).

The supernatural element in “The Encounter” is pretty subtle, so I suppose interpretations may vary. Here’s how I see it: the soul of the dead Japanese soldier couldn’t find rest until it avenged itself. Fenton tells Taro that his repeated attempts to get rid of the sword have inexplicably failed; the damn thing always somehow comes back to him. I believe the sword is a conduit from the spirit world to the real world, and when Taro --- who harbors guilt over his father’s treasonous actions --- touches it, that restless spirit is able to connect directly with him, at least partially controlling his actions.

I think we can all agree that Fenton is a racist pig who deserves to die (and his falling upon the sword of his victim is certainly fitting). However, Taro isn’t guilty of anything, and certainly doesn’t deserve his fate. I’m pretty sure The Twilight Zone’s cosmic justice roster doesn’t include a “sins of the father” qualifier; but then, this late in the series, the moral compass is spinning wildly out of control.

BEER CAN CONUNDRUM

Fenton uses a can opener (actually a can piercer, sometimes called a “church key”) to open the cans of Quality Beer™ that he and Taro enjoy, and we can plainly see that the labels are upright. We then cut to closer shots of each, and both of them are now holding the cans upside down. It gets goofier: we see both of them take a drink, and on both cans, the bottoms (actually the tops, since they're upside-down) have pull-tabs on them. 

Pull-tabs were pretty much standard by 1964 so, ignoring the obvious blooper, why was it necessary to have Fenton use an opener at all? I dunno, maybe it plays into an old-school-is-cool life ethic, like using a refillable Zippo Lighter instead of a disposable Bic (guilty), or collecting vinyl records instead of buying digital songs on iTunes (guilty). Fenton grew up using a church key, so by god, he’s gonna keep right on doing it that way.

Except.... 

In several shots, we can see empty cans strewn about that have the pull-top pulled. My head hurts now.

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THE MUSIC

“The Encounter” is stock-scored with pre-existing cues in the CBS Music Library. Recognizable bits include extracts from season two’s “King Nine Will Not Return” (Fred Steiner), season one’s “The Big Tall Wish” (Jerry Goldsmith), and Bernard Herrmann’s score for “The Moat Farm Murder,” a Mercury Summer Theater radio production from 1946. 

Tak Shindo’s intriguing and lovely In a Japanese Temple is also sprinkled throughout for exotic flavor and, speaking of vinyl, I happen to have a Shindo LP in my collection (1959’s Brass and Bamboo). Shindo was the music supervisor for several episodes of CBS’s Gunsmoke for part of 1957; he may have recorded In a Japanese Temple during this time (which would explain how it became part of the CBS Music Library in the first place; my research didn’t turn up anything definitive). Anyway, this patchwork of musical odds and ends can be enjoyed in isolated form on the Blu-ray release of season five from Image Entertainment (but not the DVD; if you haven't upgraded yet... well, feel the wrath of my disapproving scowl).

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DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Neville Brand (Fenton) had a long film and television career, so it’s rather surprising that The Twilight Zone is his only sci-fi/fantasy/horror credit. He did appear in several film noirs, however, among them D.O.A. (1950), Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950), and Kansas City Confidential (1952). Brand was a highly-decorated Army soldier in World War II (he received a Silver Star and a Purple Heart, among others), which is kinda eerie when you think about it (hopefully this gig didn’t bring up any bad memories for him).

Brand (left) with TZ alum Gary Merrill in Where the Sidewalk Ends.

George Takei (Taro) needs no introduction, as anyone with even a passing interest in sci-fi knows him as Lieutenant (and later Captain) Hikaru Sulu from Star Trek. Over the last five years or so, Takei has developed a formidable online presence across multiple social networking platforms (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), and has emerged as one of the internet’s foremost proponents of gay rights (and human rights in general). I just love the guy. I should also note that he participates in a commentary track on the Blu-ray with director Robert Butler, which is moderated by my nemesis, Marc Scott Zicree.

"The Encounter" is a true gem, easily my favorite of the "Lost Five." The conflict is real and raw, and the performances are excellent.

Now that the “Lost Five” have been revealed, we have another quintet to deal with: The LAST Five. That’s right, kids, you can count the remaining episodes on one hand. The end isn't just in sight... it's racing up to meet us.

Next week:

A modern day Lazarus tries to con some rural types out of their cash.

Special Report: The Lost Five

The original five-season run of The Twilight Zone is comprised of 156 episodes.  After the series ended in 1964, 151 of these episodes were assembled into a syndication package and began airing in local markets around the country.

But wait, that’s five episodes short.  What gives?

First, let’s list the missing episodes. 

(originally broadcast 2/21/1963)

(originally broadcast 12/13/1963)

(originally broadcast 2/28/1964)

(Originally broadcast 4/03/1964)

(Originally broadcast 5/01/1964)

Cayuga Productions accepted outside teleplay submissions for consideration; however, they rejected a great many of them.  Unfortunately, there were subsequent lawsuits filed by some of the aspiring writers they’d turned down.  Theoretical example:  Dick Johnson submits a script about a rampaging army of telepathic squirrels, which gets summarily rejected.  Serling then later writes a script that happens to incorporate a telepathic squirrel, which gets produced.  Dick Johnson believes Serling stole his intellectual property, so he screams plagiarism and files a lawsuit.  Of course I’m simplifying this some, but that’s the basic gist of things. At the time the series’ syndication package was put together, three episodes were stuck in mid-litigation (“Miniature,” “A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain,” and “Sounds and Silences”) and were therefore held back. 

“The Encounter,” meanwhile, contained some fairly heavy racial content, so it too was omitted (which is kinda odd, since it was allowed to air in the first place).  “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” was left out because it wasn’t really a Twilight Zone episode at all… but we’ll delve into that particular story when we get to it (a little over a year from now).

Aside from “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” getting a repeat broadcast during the summer of 1964, these five episodes essentially disappeared.

Fast forward 20 years. To celebrate the show’s 25^th anniversary in October 1984, a feature-length syndicated special was aired which resurrected three of “The Lost Five”:  “Miniature,” “A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain,” and “Sounds and Silences” (coincidentally the same three that had been previously suppressed for legal reasons; presumably their respective lawsuits had either been dismissed or otherwise dealt with by 1984).  The special was hosted by Patrick O’Neal (who had starred in “A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain”).  Here’s a link to the New York Times’write-up.  

I think the episodes may have suffered some minor editing (we’re talking about syndication, after all), but they seemed relatively unscathed… except for “Miniature,” the fate of which we’ll address later this week.

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and “The Encounter,” meanwhile, first reappeared on VHS in 1992 in the two-tape Treasures of The Twilight Zone set.  The set also included “The Howling Man,” “Eye of the Beholder,” “The Masks,” and “Where Is Everybody?” This release was later broken up into two separate DVD volumes in 1999 (Treasures from The Twilight Zone and More Treasures from The Twilight Zone; incidentally the first two TZ DVDs ever released; both "Lost Five" episodes appear on the first volume).

“The Lost Five” formally rejoined the series for the first time when the entire 156-episode run was presented on VHS by Columbia House.  You had to join the club, and wait impatiently as the volumes trickled out once a month but, at the time, this was the only way for a collector like me to acquire the entire series… at a pretty enormous cost (with shipping, I ultimately paid close to $1,000.00 to complete my set; it still amazes me that the entire series can be bought now, in pristine high definition with copious bonus features, for a mere fraction of that… in 2013 dollars, no less!).

Offer no longer valid... but hey, it might be fun to try.

At some point, probably in the early 2000’s or so (I’m totally guessing here), “Miniature," "A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain" and "Sounds and Silences" were added to the syndication package, reducing "The Lost Five" to "The Lost Two." Despite the fact that "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "The Encounter" remain MIA from the syndication package to this date, all 156 episodes are easily available on both DVD and blu-ray (and via streaming: all 156 are available for free on Hulu, while paying members of Netflix can view all the half-hour episodes); in other words,“The Lost Five” aren't really lost at all these days.  Their unique history is little more than a footnote now, but for those of us who pre-date the digital age, “The Lost Five” were once frustratingly out of reach, and therefore hold a special unique place in the legacy that is… The Twilight Zone.

*Speaking of plagiarism claims levied against The Twilight Zone… well, stay tuned.  I’m working on a pretty big expose that I hope to publish in the next month or two.  You might find it quite eye-opening.