"The Brain Center at Whipple's" is episode 153 of the American television 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 15, 1964 on CBS.

Opening narration

Plot

In the future of 1967, Wallace V. Whipple, owner of a vast

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. ...

manufacturing corporation, decides to upgrade his plant to increase output by installing a machine named the "X109B14 modified

transistor upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch ...

ized totally automatic assembly machine," which leads to tens of thousands of

layoff A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing (reducing the ...

s. Some former employees try to convince him that the value of a man outweighs the value of a machine, but their protests fall on deaf ears. His plant manager, Mr. Hanley, reminds him that Whipple's father, who ran the factory for 40 years, while profit-driven, had a sense of responsibility to his factory workers, and their pride in their work. Whipple coldly responds that while his father only "doubled" his factory production, his competitors quadrupled theirs. Dickerson, an angry veteran foreman, tries to smash a machine but is shot and injured by Whipple. While Hanley visits Dickerson in the hospital, Whipple is only concerned about his equipment. Hanley confronts Whipple about it and is summarily fired after being shown the machine replacing him. Whipple proceeds to replace secretaries with automated dictation machines, thinking that powder room breaks and

maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" an ...

are inconveniences. Whipple eventually fires all his human employees after replacing them with machines, which then turn on him by spitting out the harsh demeaning recorded parting words of his former employees back at him over and over, driving Whipple to insanity. Eventually, the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit orga ...

find him neurotically obsessed with machines and retire him. Whipple joins Hanley at the bar opposite his factory and expresses deep sorrow at his misfortune as he rambles about how it isn't fair that machines are replacing men, his poetic justice for caring more about machines in the first place. He also admits that he's lonely because he's not married and has no family and that he feels cast aside like a used part. The last scene reveals Whipple's replacement to be a robot (

Robby the Robot Robby the Robot is a fictional character and science fiction icon who first appeared in the 1956 film ''Forbidden Planet''. He made a number of subsequent appearances in science fiction films and television programs, which has given him the d ...

), which swings Whipple's key on a chain the same way he used to.

Closing narration

Cast

* Richard Deacon as Wallace V. Whipple *

Paul Newlan Paul Emory Newlan (June 29, 1903 – November 23, 1973) was an American film and TV character actor from Plattsmouth, Nebraska. He was best known for his role as Captain Grey on the NBC police series '' M Squad'' and for his roles in films inc ...

as Walter Hanley * Ted de Corsia as Dickerson * Thalmus Rasulala (credited as Jack Crowder) as Technician * Shawn Michaels as Bartender * Burt Conroy as Watchman *

as himself

Production notes

The robot that ultimately replaces Mr. Whipple is "

" from the 1956 Sci-Fi film '' Forbidden Planet''. "Robby" appeared in two other episodes of ''The Twilight Zone''; Episode #2 " One for the Angels" (as a miniature toy) and episode #128 " Uncle Simon."

In popular culture

Sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge or sludge doom) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated through combining elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. It is typically harsh and abrasive, often featuring shouted vocals, heavil ...

band

Melvins Melvins (sometimes The Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Initially, they performed as a trio but later also sometimes appe ...

named a song on their album ''

Hostile Ambient Takeover ''Hostile Ambient Takeover'' is the fourteenth studio album by the Melvins, released in 2002 through Ipecac Recordings. Each song was released as a limited 7" vinyl single (limited to 2,500 copies each) that included exclusive B-sides, which ar ...

'' after the episode. *The episode was parodied in the ''

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 ...

'' episode "

Benderama "Benderama" is the seventeenth episode of season six of the animated sitcom '' Futurama'', and originally aired June 23, 2011 on Comedy Central. The episode was written by Aaron Ehasz and directed by Crystal Chesney-Thompson. American comedian Pa ...

". * The name Whipple can be seen in various episodes of the third revival series.

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. *Zicree, Marc Scott: ''The Twilight Zone Companion''. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brain Center At Whipple's, The 1964 American television episodes The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series season 5) episodes Television episodes written by Rod Serling Television episodes about termination of employment Fiction set in 1967 Works about automation