"The Twilight Zone" The Road Less Travelled (1986)

Director:

Wes Craven

Writers:

Michael Cassutt (staff writer)
George R.R. Martin (written by)
(more)

TV Series:

"The Twilight Zone" (1985)

Original Air Date:

18 December 1986 (Season 2, Episode 7)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller | Horror

Plot:

Vietnam-era draft dodger Jeff McDowell sees something familiar about a wheelchair-bound man who has appeared in his house unexpectedly. |

Plot Keywords:

Draft Dodger | Appearance | Alter Ego | Disappearance | Fire

Cast

Cliff De Young	...	Jeff McDowell (as Cliff DeYoung)
Margaret Klenck	...	Denise McDowell
Jaclyn-Rose Lester	...	Megan McDowell
Clare Nono	...	Susan
John Zarchen	...	Jock
Christopher Brown	...	Grunt
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Aidman	...	Narrator (voice)

Directed by
Wes Craven

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michael Cassutt		staff writer
George R.R. Martin		written by
Rod Serling		creator

Produced by
Howard Brock	....	associate producer
Harvey Frand	....	producer
Anthony Lawrence	....	supervising producer
Nancy Lawrence	....	supervising producer
Hali Paul	....	associate producer
Ken Swor	....	line producer

Original Music by
Dennis McCarthy

Cinematography by
Bradford May

Film Editing by
Greg Wong

Production Design by
John B. Mansbridge		(as John Mansbridge)

Set Decoration by
Robert L. Zilliox		(as Robert Zilliox)

Costume Design by
Robert M. Moore		(as Robert Moore)

Makeup Department
Gloria Montemayor	....	hair stylist
Jack Wilson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Ann Kindberg	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dawn Easterling	....	second assistant director
Bob Roe	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Jim Zemansky	....	property master

Sound Department
John Adams	....	sound editor
David Cantu	....	sound editor
Lowell Harris	....	production sound mixer
Mickey Hart	....	sound designer
Phillip Seretti	....	sound re-recording mixer
Rand Wetherwax	....	sound designer (as Rand Weatherwax)

Visual Effects by
Bruno George	....	visual effects
Fred Raimondi	....	compositor

Casting Department
Gary M. Zuckerbrod	....	casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Judith Grant	....	costumer
Bob Moore Jr.	....	set costumer

Music Department
Marius Constant	....	composer: original theme
Robert Drasnin	....	music supervisor
The Grateful Dead	....	composer: new title theme
Merl Saunders	....	composer: new title theme
Robert Takagi	....	music editor (as Robert Y. Takagi)

Other crew
Cosmas P. Bolger	....	post production executive
Bernadette Caulfield	....	production coordinator
Kenneth Gilbert	....	script supervisor
Orin Kennedy	....	location manager
George R.R. Martin	....	story editor
Denis McCallion	....	location manager
Rockne S. O'Bannon	....	story consultant
Rebecca Parr Cioffi	....	story editor (as Rebecca Parr)
Martin Pasko	....	story editor
Paul Tucker	....	production executive
Reid Reilich	....	craft service (uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
William Bermender
Rod Serling		creator
Marc Scott Zicree

Original Music by
J.A.C. Redford		(1986)

Cinematography by
Robert E. Collins		(3 episodes)

Film Editing by
Howard Brock

Makeup Department
Allan A. Apone	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lisa Atkinson	....	second unit director

Art Department
Carlos Caneca	....	carpenter trainee

Sound Department
John Agalsoff Jr.	....	boom operator
Scott Purdy	....	sound re-recording mixer
Don White	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
James Cummins	....	special effects
Andrew Miller	....	special effects
Larry Odien	....	special mechanical effects assistant

Visual Effects by
Doug Campbell	....	motion control DP cameraman

Stunts
Bud Davis	....	stunt coordinator
Steve Kelso	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Dale Alexander	....	key grip
Susan Shaw	....	camera trainee

Music Department
Mickey Hart	....	special musical effects
Jeff Vaughn	....	score mixer

Other crew
Adam Hill	....	breakaway set construction: CBS/MTM Studios (1 episode)
Kayla Popp	....	craft service
Norman S. Powell	....	vice president: executive in charge of production, CBS

Production Companies

• Persistence of Vision Films (I)
• CBS Entertainment Production

Distributors

• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1986) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• Colossal Pictures  titles

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Persistence of Vision Films (I)

Trivia:

Has no opening narration.

Movie Connections:

Features The Thing from Another World (1951)

The one he left behind

***SPOILERS*** It's when little Magen, Jaclyn-Rose Lester, began seeing this stranger in her bedroom that things started to unravel for her father Jeff McDowell, Cliff De Young, who felt that his past as a Vietnam War era draft-dodger was finally catching up him. Feeling somewhat guilty in what he did by dodging the draft and service for his country Jeff has hidden his skipping out of the country and into Canada to avoid the draft secret from everyone but himself and his wife Danise,Margaret Klenck, who checked out to Canada, even thought she wasn't draft eligible, along with him. But now his past has finally corralled him and Jeff is more terrified of that then he was of being drafted and sent to "Nam".

As we and Jeff soon find out that he was in fact sent to that jungle hell in South-East Asia not on this plane of existence but in a parallel universe. And it was there that the man he left behind, himself, from going there was chopped up in a Viet Cong ambush and left crippled for life. It's that man, Jeff's twin, from a parallel universe who's been trying to get in touch with him through little Megan to show Jeff how things would have turned out if he in fact went to "Nam" as he was supposed to.

****SPOILERS**** As we soon find out Jeff's twin wasn't at all bitter at being the one who ended up crippled for life in a wheelchair from his injuries in Vietnam. He in fact was glad that Jeff indeed fled the country to avoid ending up the way he did. As things turned out it wasn't anything courageous on Jeff's part, he always considered himself to be a coward, at what he did but it was the right thing for him to do. For himself as well as his twin or double in the parallel universe. At least now Jeff's twin can share the same things in life that Jeff has like a loving family and good health that the Vietnam War, in his being crippled by it, denied him. Even if it's billions of miles or a universe away!