"A Kind of a Stopwatch" is a 1963 episode of the

American television Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...

anthology series ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

''. In this episode, a man acquires a stopwatch which can stop time.

Opening narration

Plot

Patrick McNulty is a self-important, annoying man in his 40s. One day, he is summoned by his boss, Mr. Cooper. McNulty is delighted, believing that his frequent contributions to the suggestion box have earned him recognition. Cooper, however, says that all of McNulty's suggestions deal with fields of enterprise in which the company is not involved and fires McNulty for wasting his time. McNulty goes to Joe Palucci's bar, where he drives away the other patrons with his opinions about a sporting event. Palucci requests that McNulty patronize another establishment, but McNulty ignores him and buys a drink for the sole remaining patron, Potts, a drunk who spews various phrases from times long past. In return, Potts gives McNulty his stopwatch. Thinking it an odd gift, McNulty quickly discovers that it pauses time for everyone and everything except for the watch holder. McNulty tries to show Cooper the power of the stopwatch in the hopes of improving their company, but Cooper does not understand McNulty and dismisses him. Returning to the bar, McNulty tries to demonstrate the power of the watch to the customers, but does it in such a way that they do not understand again. McNulty steps into a bank with the intention of robbing it, but drops the watch, which breaks and permanently freezes time. With no way to repair it, McNulty frantically begs for help from the frozen people around him.

Closing narration

Cast

Richard Erdman Richard Erdman ( John Richard Erdmann; June 1, 1925 – March 16, 2019) was an American character actor and occasional film and television director. He appeared in more than 160 films and television productions between 1944 and 2017, mostly i ...

as Patrick Thomas McNulty * Herbie Faye as Joe Palucci, the bartender *

Leon Belasco Leon Belasco (born Leonid Simeonovich Berladsky; 11 October 1902 – 1 June 1988) was a Russian-American actor and musician who had a 60-year career in film and television from the 1920s to the 1980s, appearing in more than 100 films. Musi ...

as Potts, the drunk who gives McNulty the stopwatch *

Doris Singleton Dorthea "Doris" Singleton (September 28, 1919 – June 26, 2012) was an American actress, perhaps best remembered as Lucy Ricardo's nemesis/frenemy, Carolyn Appleby, in ''I Love Lucy''. Early life and career Singleton, born in New York City, ...

as Secretary to McNulty's boss Mr. Cooper *

Roy Roberts Roy Roberts (born Roy Barnes Jones, March 19, 1906 – May 28, 1975) was an American character actor. Over his more than 40-year career, he appeared in more than nine hundred productions on stage and screen. Life and career Born in Tampa ...

as Mr. Cooper, McNulty's annoyed boss *

Richard Wessel Richard Michael Wessel (April 20, 1913 – April 20, 1965) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 270 films between 1935 and 1966. He is best remembered for his only leading role, a chilling portrayal of strangler Harry "Cu ...

as Charlie, drinker in Palucci's bar *Ray Kellog as Fred, who delivers coffee to McNulty's office * Ken Drake as Daniel, last patron in Palucci's bar who tells McNulty, "Come on fella, we're trying to watch."
''Uncredited'': * Sam Balter: sports announcer on TV in Polucci's bar * Al Silvani: one of the drinkers in Polucci's bar One cast member, last-billed Ken Drake, had a credited bit part in an earlier episode of the original series, "

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" (April 1961).

Adaptation

The television episode was later adapted as an episode of ''The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas'' series under the title "A Kind of Stopwatch", featuring

Lou Diamond Phillips Louis Diamond Phillips ( born Upchurch; February 17, 1962) is a Filipino-American actor and film director. His breakthrough came when he starred as Ritchie Valens in the biographical drama film '' La Bamba'' (1987). For ''Stand and Deliver'' (19 ...

in the lead role.

Related works

Ideas from this episode were used in " A Little Peace and Quiet", an episode in the 1985 revival of ''The Twilight Zone''. The episode has been parodied by a number of animated series, including in the ''

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'' episode "The Day the Earth Didn't Move Around Very Much"; the ''

Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...

'' 2003

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episode "

Treehouse of Horror XIV "Treehouse of Horror XIV" is the first episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 2, 2003. In the fourteenth annual Treehous ...

"; '' The Garfield Show'' episode "Time Master"; and

the series finale "The Series Finale" is the ninth episode and series finale of the American television miniseries '' WandaVision'', based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It follows Wanda as she tries to ...

of ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...

''.

References

External links

The Rod Serling Archives
at Ithaca College, ''The Twilight Zone'', Season 5, Script 124, "A Kind of Stopwatch" * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kind Of A Stopwatch The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series season 5) episodes 1963 American television episodes Television episodes written by Rod Serling