"Shadow Play" is episode 62 of the American television 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 ...

''. It originally aired on May 5, 1961 on CBS.

Opening narration

Plot

A jury finds Adam Grant guilty of murder, and the judge sentences him to death. Grant laughs with despair, then exclaims that he refuses to die again. He frantically tries to tell those present – including

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a ...

Henry Ritchie and newspaper editor Paul Carson – that he is dreaming, and if he is executed they will all cease to exist. Locked up on

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution ...

, Grant describes the experience of dying in the

electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...

, to fellow prisoner Jiggs in graphic detail. Later, a drunk Carson shows up at Ritchie's house. He has been speaking to Grant, and fears the convict might be telling the truth. Ritchie's wife Carol, annoyed by Carson's outburst, goes to bed early, telling her husband that there are steaks almost ready in the oven. Carson argues to Ritchie that their lives seem impossibly perfect, and encourages him to explore his own doubts. Back at the prison, Grant waits for Ritchie to arrive, noting the implausibility of Jiggs having a watch to tell him the time. Ritchie comes, and they have a conversation Grant has claimed to have had before with other DAs, enough times to mouth the man's words as he says them. Ritchie asks Grant why he cares about dying if it's all a dream, and Grant explains that he's tormented by having this same nightmare every night. As Ritchie leaves, Grant tries to prove that they're in a dream, by predicting that the steak Ritchie's wife had cooked will be something else. Ritchie rushes home, and finds a roast in the oven. Jiggs suggests to Grant that he try to get a psychiatric exemption from execution. To prove his sanity to Jiggs, Grant points out logical errors accepted as normal by those around him, such as the fact that his trial, sentencing and execution are happening on the same day. Meanwhile, at Ritchie's home, he and Carson wait for midnight, debating the likelihood that the execution time matches the one shown in movies. As Grant waits to be taken to the electric chair, Father Beaman visits him. Grant vaguely recalls him as a real priest who died when he was a boy. He further remembers that Carson is really the young priest who replaced Beaman, but struggles to place Ritchie. Carson finally persuades Ritchie that either Grant is right or he's insane, so he calls the governor for a

stay of execution A stay of execution is a court order to temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order. The word "execution" does not always mean the death penalty. It refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is being stayed and i ...

. But the call comes seconds too late, Grant is executed, and the world blinks out. Grant finds himself back in the courtroom. He is being convicted and sentenced to death for murder, again. The same people surround him in the courtroom, but their identities and roles have changed: Jiggs is now the judge, Carson is the jury foreman, Phillips is Grant's

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

Closing narration

Production notes

Although no source material appears on screen, the episode is likely adapted from writer Charles Beaumont's short story "Traumerei" (which roughly translates from the German as "daydream" or "reverie") which originally appeared in the February, 1956 issue of ''Infinity Science Fiction''. Beaumont's teleplay features passages taken wholly and unchanged from his earlier story.

Adaptations

This episode was remade under the same title as part of the 1980s series in which

Peter Coyote Peter Coyote (born Robert Peter Cohon; October 10, 1941) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, author and narrator of films, theatre, television, and audiobooks. He worked on films such as ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), '' Cro ...

played Adam Grant. It was also adapted for radio under the same title as part of '' The Twilight Zone Radio Dramas'' in which

Ernie Hudson Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. His roles include Winston Zeddemore in the '' Ghostbusters'' film series, Sergeant Darryl Albrecht in '' The Crow'' (1994), and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's '' Oz'' (1997–2003) ...

played Adam Grant.

References

*DeVoe, Bill. (2008). ''Trivia from The Twilight Zone''. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. *Grams, Martin. (2008). ''The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic''. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shadow Play (1961 The Twilight Zone Episode) 1961 American television episodes The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series season 2) episodes Television episodes about nightmares Television shows written by Charles Beaumont Television shows based on short fiction Television episodes about dreams