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25 out of 33 people found the following review useful: Brilliant claustrophobic tale of paranoia!, 5 March 2006 Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England
I can't say I'm a big fan of The Twilight Zone; I used to watch it now and again as a kid but, to be honest, I've forgotten most of what I've seen. I've just seen this episode, however, and have just had a stark reminder of how good these twenty five minute episodes of terror can be! Nightmare at 20,000 feet is one of the most famous episodes of The Twilight Zone, partly because of the excellent Simpsons' parody of it. We follow an aeroplane passenger who has recently been the victim of a nervous breakdown. Upon peering out of the window, he spots a gremlin trying to take the plane apart - only problem is, it disappears whenever anyone else looks out; and nobody is willing to take his word for it! The reason why this little tale is so good is because of the way it draws us into the lead character's plight; this really is an impossible situation, and watching him get out of it is lots of fun, and often very funny! Almost the entire episode is set inside of an aeroplane, which gives the tale a very claustrophobic feel, which in turn helps it to be more frightening. This episode stars future Captain Kirk, William Shatner - who does a fine job as the paranoid lead, and an interesting little bit of trivia, is that it's directed by Lethal Weapon director Richard Donner. I cant say how this episode stands up to the best of the rest of The Twilight Zone - but in it's own right; it's damn good, and miles better than most of the rubbish they put on TV these days. Highly recommended viewing!
16 out of 18 people found the following review useful: A TV Classic. One of the best Twilight Zone episodes., 22 March 2007 Author: Danny Blankenship from Petersburg, Virginia
"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" directed by Richard Donner one of his first works, is just wonderful it features William Shattner as a panic stricken man on an airplane. This episode is wonderfully done, and well remembered for one of the Twilight Zone's best and is well known over the years in pop culture memory. The plot has the Shattner character as a man that's just recently gotten out of rehab, because he had suffered a mental and nervous breakdown, and getting on a plane will almost certain test his limits. In fact his last breakdown was due to a flight. And boy does his imagination take a turn for the worst when he sees outside on the wing of the plane a furry like creature! This creature stares him in the face! The big question is it really real, or just a test of imagination, because he's the only one to see it. Really a well done episode mostly remembered for Shattner and the terror on a plane with a creature on the wing, this episode just plays with your mind and imagination so well.
10 out of 12 people found the following review useful: A Coup for Shatner, 30 September 2008 Author: Hitchcoc from United States
This is part of Americana. That gremlin on the wing. William Shatner, the only one who can see it. He's suffered a breakdown and is on another plane with his cute wife. She manages to keep her calm for quite a while as he fidgets and twists in his seat. Obviously this episode is way before airline regulations. It wouldn't be hard for some nut case to do just about anything on an airplane. Shatner is pretty good. He is trying so hard to act normally, but the spirits are out to get him. It's a rainy night an he sees that furry thing on the wing, tearing up one of the engines. Things move along quite nicely where he gets so frustrated that he utters the words, "Even if we crash." But he will not be dissuaded. He manages to be a hero, even though no one may know it. This said, the one thing that I can't forgive is the monster. He is about as idiotic looking as one can imagine. He is obviously wearing some kind of pajamas with those feet that girls wore when I was in college. His face is more interesting, but that doesn't help much. I know I am nit picking but it has always bothered me. Match this up with John Lithgow's more frenetic performance in Twilight Zone; The Movie. That creature was a bit more threatening.
11 out of 15 people found the following review useful: NOT the Boy Who Cried Wolf., 2 January 2007 Author: cwoliver-1 from California
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
The Boy Who Cried Wolf did so when there was no wolf. Bob Wilson cries "wolf" . . . and there actually IS a "wolf" . . on the wing no less.Scared the HELL out of me when I was a kid; still brings shivers to me from time to time. To this day (some 40 years later) I can not look out a window at night without this episode coming to mind. It is especially strong when flying on an airplane at night (would be great for an in-flight movie ;-).God, Serling and the other writers were good! John Lithgow reprized the Bob Wilson (Shatner) roll in "Twilight Zone: The Movie" (1983). Almost as good as Shatner's and with improved creature effects. Worth making but I'll stick with the original - even with the "Teddy Bear" creature.The funniest send up of this Zone episode was on an episode of "Third Rock from the Sun" staring Lithgow and guest staring Shatner.Shatner's character was relating to Lithgow's how, on his flight that day, he had seen "something" on the wing of the airliner. Lithgow's response was an excited, ". . . the same thing happened to MEEE! Absolute brilliant writing and perfect delivery by both Shatner and Lithgow!!!! Classic moment. Laughed myself to tears.
6 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Shattner goes paranoid on an airplane!, 6 July 2006 Author: caveart-1 from United States
This is a TV classic!! I believe it will survive way into the future because it encapsulates so many aspects of sixties American culture. Shattner chews the scenery in the way he made famous on 'Star Trek.' An interesting note, now known only to us rapidly ageing early TV Sci-fi fans, is that Ed Kemmer played Commander Buzz Cory on 'Space Patrol.' Space Patrol was the top TV Sci-fi show of a generation earlier than Star Trek. Buzz Cory was the Captain James T. Kirk of an earlier generation. That show had the best production values of the top three in the early fifties. (The other two were 'Tom Corbett, Space Cadet," and 'Captain Video.'
"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" is one of TZ's better known episodes, 23 November 2009 Author: (chuck-reilly) from Los Angeles
Soon-to-be prolific big-budget director Richard Donner was at the helm of this episode which is one of the more famous ones in the series. William Shatner plays Bob Wilson, a white-knuckled passenger on a plane who has recently recovered from a nervous breakdown. With his overly active imagination working at full-speed, it doesn't take long for him to begin hallucinating during a violent and stormy flight. He swears there's some kind of monster (or gremlin) out on the wing of the aircraft and the darn thing looks like it's causing severe engine damage. Despite assurances from his wife (a sympathetic Christine White) and an equally concerned stewardess (Asa Maynor), old Bob is convinced that something has to be done to save the plane from certain destruction, and all the sedatives in the world won't change his mind. Maybe shooting the ugly thing off the wing will do the trick.Written by Richard Matheson, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" taps into man's fear of the unknown and especially the sense of helplessness when one is on a turbulent flight during the bleakest of nights. Until the final minute, viewers are kept in the dark about whether Shatner is dreaming up the whole thing in his mind or if a real monster is out there. Since this is the Twilight Zone, the latter makes more sense. This episode put Shatner's unique talent squarely on the map with US audiences and he's been going great guns ever since. It didn't have the same effect on Christine White's career, however. Except for a brief role in "Magnum Force" with Clint Eastwood, she hasn't been seen much over the years. Of course, Richard Donner went on to much bigger and better things with the "Superman" film franchise and a host of other Hollywood blockbusters.
0 out of 1 people found the following review useful: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery..., 3 October 2009 Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida
This is one of the most famous episodes of "The Twilight Zone" and has been parodied several times--most notably on "The Simpsons". In addition, when they made the TWILIGHT ZONE MOVIE, this episode was remade with John Lithgow reprising the same role originally done by William Shatner on TV. Needless to say, it's an important part of our culture.The episode is very simple. There's a nervous guy on a plane (Shatner) and he keeps seeing a horrible monster running about outside the plane as it's flying! The monster is tearing apart the wing and will bring down the plane. However, nobody will believe him, so he decides to take action. The film ends with an excellent twist.Overall, a great episode. The only serious problem is that the creature is pretty silly--sort of like a guy dressed up in a teddy bear costume! Still, it's enjoyable from start to finish and did will with Shatner's ability to extremely emote!
6 out of 18 people found the following review useful: one of the great modern re-tellings of the boy who cried wolf, Twilight Zone style of course, 31 December 2006 Author: MisterWhiplash from United States
Amazing to say, I had never seen the original Twilight Zone episode Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, even as it's one of the most notorious/popular episodes (two sides of the same Rod Serling coin). Needless to say I already knew what was coming- it's a major credit to the episode that the episode spurred on many imitators and homages (I saw it first redone on the Simpsons during one of the Treehouse of Terror segments). In its original form, with the "gremlin" that appears on the wing about as hokey as a third-rate Halloween costume (albeit with a decent job with the face makeup). But it's sort of crucial for the period for it to be a very simple creature, as it may (or may not) all be in Bob Wilson's consciousness (or subconsciousness). Today they would've done the episode in CGI, with an overly terrifying costume and makeup job, or at the least using an animatronic character. As goofy and at first unintentionally funny it is, it works really well as a springboard for Bob's visions. The real focus isn't the gremlin, anyway, but the reactions to the claim being made, and the mounting apprehension to it, and just outright 'what?' attitude to him. It's not to say that a lot of this is outright scary; Shatner isn't the only one who over the passing of time has laughable facial expressions (the wife, played by Christine Wilson, gives a few glances that inspire laughter more than complete terror). But there is always an underlying tension though, and supplied by Richard Matheson the buildup and climax does work to an intense effect. The line does straddle from displaying the paranoia and mind-set of this guy and being silly, and luckily directed by Richard Donner there's always a clear enough story with a few great images (Shatner almost flung out of the plane, shooting the gun, is an indelible image). Sure, it's gone tame, sure it's got Shatner pre-Star Trek going through dialog like it's all his own to chew, and sure the conclusion is a given. But it's got a deft skill all the way.
11 out of 30 people found the following review useful: Stewardess, Pass Me the Revolver, 16 June 2006 Author: dougdoepke from Claremont, USA
Pity poor William Shatner. He's just been released from the laughing academy, so now he's on his way home, a little shaky but apparently cured. Except, of course, he's boarded a flight on Twilight Zone Airlines. Trouble is there's a non-paying passenger on board, who looks like the abominable snowman and prefers riding on the wing instead of sampling the delights of the airline's dinner tray. Even worse, he's heck-bent on tearing the wing apart so he can get a look at what makes this 10-ton tin coffin tick. And, naturally, only the recovering looney Shatner sees him. You can imagine the strain.Rather amusing exercise in personal paranoia as Shatner delivers convincing performance-- still and all, it's hard to take the drama seriously since the snowman appears to have wandered away from a Disneyland parade of warm and fuzzies. And then there's the cop-out ending. For some reason this is one of series' most celebrated entries. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because some of us have had a similar experience after romancing our favorite 12-pack.
5 out of 28 people found the following review useful: Far, far, far from the best TZ, 21 September 2007 Author: rnp1975 from United States
For the life of me I've never understood the appeal of this. As a stand-alone story of irrationality (Wilson's or the world's, take your pick) it's OK.But the best TZ episodes have an interior logic, a sense that even as you're agreeing with the people on screen "This can't be happening", you know that somehow, somewhere, it could.This, however, is so simplistic and artificial - how long do you have to watch before realizing that no one else is going to see the creature? And more importantly, that the writer and director are so palpably engineering it that they might as well be visible - like boom shadows - on the screen.Lame, lame, lame. The stars are for Shatner.
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