"The Elevator" is the first segment of the sixteenth episode from the first season (1985–86) of the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

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 segment, two brothers search for their mad scientist father in his hidden lair. The title has a double-meaning, referring both to the literal elevator that the two brothers used to ride and that reveals the twist, while also to the scientist's status as an "elevator", elevating the size and status of animals, and disrupting nature in the process (e.g. moving a spider to the top of the food chain). The segment was written by

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

, making it one of just two segments of the series (the other one being " Button, Button") to be written by a writer for the original ''

''. Bradbury wrote the original series episode " I Sing the Body Electric".

Plot

Late at night, brothers Will and Roger arrive at a closed factory in search of their missing father, who is undertaking secret experiments to solve

world hunger Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissue ...

. Though Roger is skeptical of his father, Will defends his experiments. Upon entering the building, they use flashlights to follow a set of footprints in the dust to a room that Will was warned never to enter. Going inside, they find a trail of gigantic dead rats. These are followed by the bodies of a domestic cat and a

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

, both also of enormous size. Roger believes that whatever food their father created must have increased the size of the animals. Will sees a mass of strands in one corner that apparently are pure

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

. Concluding that something even larger killed the cat and the dog, Will and Roger follow the footsteps to an old elevator. Roger thinks that the elevator is broken, but Will pushes the button again and they hear it moving. When it reaches the ground, they realize it is not the elevator but a huge

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

, explaining the dead animals and the white strands, which is actually webbing. The spider snatches the brothers and drags them upward into the darkness. Moments later, their flashlight crashes to the floor, along with several drops of blood.

External links

*
Postcards From The Zone – episode 1.39 The Elevator
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elevator, The The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series season 1) episodes 1986 American television episodes Fiction about size change Works set in elevators fr:L'Ascenseur (La Cinquième Dimension)