The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone (1959)

45 mistakes in season 3 - chronological order

(9 votes)

One More Pallbearer - S3-E17

Continuity mistake: After sounding the "alert" for his guests, Raden turns around to fully face them, and as he addresses the Reverend, from the back his hand is gripping the arm of the chair. In the the next moment, there is a frontal shot, and Raden's hands are folded on his lap.

Movie Nut

Showdown with Rance McGrew - S3-E20

Continuity mistake: The car Rance drives onto the set can be seen in the street from inside the saloon, but disappears when Rance, in character, comes through the swinging doors. It's visible again in the very next shot, but vanishes anew when Jesse James comes through the doors, after which it yet again reappears in the very next shot. (00:04:30 - 00:07:20)

Jean G

Showdown with Rance McGrew - S3-E20

Continuity mistake: Rance McGrew's white horse is tied up with its head just a few inches from the hitching rail, but a moment later is untied and several feet away from the rail. Next shot, it's tied up close again, though no one's touched it. Finally, it's completely loose, and at the episode's end, is wandering into the street. (00:22:00 - 00:23:30)

Jean G

Showdown with Rance McGrew - S3-E20

Factual error: Throughout this episode, the TV western supposedly being filmed lacks several essential elements. There are no clapboards to mark the scenes; the modern-day car is constantly in shot through the swinging doors; and the set is located inside the "real" saloon when it should be on a sound stage.

Jean G

To Serve Man - S3-E24

Other mistake: Chambers asks what time it is on Earth, a strangely vague question to which the Kanamits grant an equally odd answer: on Earth, it is noon. It can't be noon everywhere on Earth at once. While it can be fancifully explained away ("They somehow knew to answer for the time zone he was taken from"), it still jars the viewer, because neither Chambers nor the aliens, both highly intelligent, should make this sort of imprecise mistake. Both director Richard Bare and Damon Knight, author of the original short story, confirmed this as a scriptwriting error that should have been caught before shooting began. (00:02:15)

Jean G

To Serve Man - S3-E24

Revealing mistake: Stock footage used here is far too obviously borrowed from several old movies. While the episode is set in the 60s, people's clothing and all the cars are noticeably many years out of date. (00:03:05)

Jean G

To Serve Man - S3-E24

Factual error: Author Damon Knight was happy with Rod Serling's TV adaptation of his short story - except for the change that allowed the humans to translate the Kanamit language as though it were a code. Said Knight, "Without some sort of interplanetary Rosetta Stone, deciphering an unknown language would be impossible." (00:22:10)

Jean G

To Serve Man - S3-E24

Factual error: As well as the obvious problem with translating an unknown language as if it was a code, there is no chance that the word "serve" would have the same double meaning in English and Kanamit. It would be like the word "dope" and its French equivalent meaning "idiot" and "illegal drugs" in both languages.

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Suggested correction: Just as astronauts on the International Space Station and the Shuttle before that had to.

The Fugitive - S3-E25

Other mistake: Old Ben duplicates Jenny so she can accompany him to his home planet. As he can turn into anything, he should be able to approximate her height. When the now twins walk out, the girl on the right is a couple of inches taller than the girl on the left. Not only that, but her hair is noticeably darker.

Movie Nut

Little Girl Lost - S3-E26

Audio problem: For reasons unknown, the child's voice throughout this episode is played by an adult actress trying to sound childlike - and the unconvincing imitation is painfully obvious. (00:19:25)

Jean G

Hocus-Pocus and Frisby - S3-E30

Visible crew/equipment: When Frisby tells the two travellers that they're looking at the grandad of the American automobile, we can see the reflection of a crewmember wearing a suit, possibly the director, who stands up from a directors chair (also seen in a following shot). Then as Frisby tries to locate the gas tank, the shadow of the moving boom mic is visible on the store's doors. (00:06:20)

Super Grover

Hocus-Pocus and Frisby - S3-E30

Revealing mistake: Make-up for the space aliens was apparently changed after the closing scene in the store was shot and before any footage of the aliens' "true appearance" was actually taken. This resulted in Frisby, who is now telling the truth and finding no one to believe him, saying that the aliens had a single eye in their foreheads, when in fact, the aliens each had two eyes, in the traditional location. (00:24:00)

Jean G

The Obsolete Man - S2-E29

[A bomb in Wadsworth's room is seconds from going off, causing the Chancellor to panic].
Chancellor: Please, please let me out. In the name of God, let me out. Let me out! Let me out!
Wadsworth: Yes, Chancellor. In the name of God, I will let you out.

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A Game of Pool - S3-E5

Trivia: Johnson's script originally featured an ending in which Jesse loses the game and yet finds himself still alive. Seeing this, Fats explains that he will die "as all second raters die: you'll be buried and forgotten without me touching you. If you'd beaten me, you'd have lived forever." This ending was eventually filmed when this episode was remade in 1989, during the first revival of The Twilight Zone.

More trivia for The Twilight Zone

Answer: It's explained in the episode. The aliens are experimenting to see how humans react to various scenarios. This just happens to involve them using super strength.

Thanks. It's been a long time since I saw the episode so I forgot.

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