Judgment Night (The Twilight Zone)
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"Judgment Night" is the tenth episode of the
American television Television is one of the Mass media in the United States, major mass media outlets in the United States. In 2011, 96.7% of households owned television sets; about 114,200,000 American households owned at least one television set each in August ...
anthology series ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
''. In this episode, a passenger aboard a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...
has no memory of how he came aboard, and is tormented by unexpected clues to his true identity and a sense that the ship is headed toward impending doom.


Opening narration


Plot

Carl Lanser is a passenger aboard the SS ''Queen of Glasgow'', an isolated British
cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...
crossing the Atlantic in 1942, but has no idea of how he got aboard or who he is. Sitting with the captain and several passengers, Lanser dismisses fears of the ship being hunted by a
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
" wolfpack", saying only one U-boat would be necessary and it would not bother using a
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
on the ship. He is unable to explain how he knows any of this and recalls only that he was born in
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, but says he finds the ship, its crew and passengers oddly familiar. When called to the bridge by the captain, he cannot provide proof of his identity. Still confused, Lanser is sent back to his cabin with a steward, where he finds a ''
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...
'' officer's cap among his possessions with his name written on the inside. The captain is forced to stop the ship for repairs when the overworked engines break down. Lanser becomes increasingly restless, haunted by an inescapable sense of impending doom. Convinced that everyone aboard the ship will die at 01:15, Lanser panics and runs through the passageways, attempting to raise an alarm. He finds the ship is mysteriously empty. When he finally locates some of the passengers, they silently stare at him as he implores them to abandon ship. At exactly 01:15, a searchlight illuminates the ship and a surfaced U-boat, commanded by
Kapitänleutnant , short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...
Carl Lanser, opens fire with its deck cannon and machine guns. The ship quickly sinks, leaving no survivors. A bit later, Captain Lanser is at his cabin aboard his U-boat, recording that night's kill. His second-in-command, Lt. Mueller, is deeply troubled by what the U-boat crew has done, not warning the people on board the ship before firing upon them, and wonders "if we are not damned now". Lanser dismissively says he is sure the
British Admiralty The Admiralty was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral of the ...
thinks so, but Mueller clarifies that he meant damned in the eyes of
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
. Despite Lanser's skepticism and sarcasm, Mueller grows more convinced that their crew could one day answer for their crime by reliving the act for all eternity. Granted his own private
hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...
as the man who ordered the massacre, Lanser reappears on the deck of the ship and the nightmare repeats itself.


Closing narration


Production

In the first 18 episodes, Serling only had one minor conflict with CBS regarding episode content. In an interview with
Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade car ...
on September 22, 1959, Serling said, "We changed, in eighteen scripts, Mike, we have had one line changed, which, again, was a little ludicrous but of insufficient basic concern within the context of the story, not to put up a fight. On a bridge of a British ship, a sailor calls down to the
galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...
and asks in my script for a pot of tea, because I believe that it's constitutionally acceptable in the
British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
to drink tea. One of my sponsors happens to sell
instant coffee Instant coffee is a beverage derived from brewed coffee beans that enables people to quickly prepare hot coffee by adding hot water or milk to coffee solids in powdered or crystallized form and stirring. The product was first invented in Inver ...
(
Sanka Sanka is a brand of instant decaffeinated coffee, sold around the world, and was one of the earliest decaffeinated varieties. Sanka is distributed in the United States by Kraft Heinz. History Decaffeinated coffee was developed in 1903 (see Dec ...
), and he took great umbrage, or at least minor umbrage anyway, with the idea of saying tea. Well, we had a couple of swings back and forth, nothing serious, and we decided we'd ask for a tray to be sent up to the bridge. But in eighteen scripts, that's the only conflict we've had."


Short story adaptation

The episode was adapted into a short story (by
Walter B. Gibson Walter Brown Gibson (September 12, 1897 – December 6, 1985) was an Americans, American writer and professional magic (illusion), magician, best known for his work on the pulp magazine, pulp fiction character The Shadow, and as a ghost-writer ...
) in the 1963 collection ''Rod Serling's Twilight Zone''. The short story reveals how Lanser died, showing that his U-boat was sunk by a British destroyer after a crewman on the ''Queen of Glasgow'' radioed for assistance. It also adds a final scene, set 20 years after the episode, in which Barbara Stanley (revealed to have survived the sinking of the ''Queen of Glasgow'' by boarding a lifeboat) sees the ghosts of Carl Lanser and Lt. Mueller. Mueller does not share in Lanser's punishment but is doomed to witness it over and over for eternity.


See also

* " White Bear" – a ''
Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology series, anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Most episodes are set in near-future dystopias containing Science fiction, sci-fi technology—a type of speculative fiction. The series i ...
'' episode with a similar plot and surprise ending


References

*Zicree, Marc Scott: ''The Twilight Zone Companion''. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition) *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. *Broadcasting (1960) ''Broadcasting Publications'' pg 42


External links

* {{The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) episodes 1959 American television episodes The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) season 1 episodes U-boat fiction Television episodes written by Rod Serling Fiction set in 1942 Television episodes about the afterlife Television episodes about death Television episodes set in the 1940s