To Serve Man 

An alien race comes to Earth, promising peace and sharing technology. A linguist and his team set out to translate the aliens' language, using a book whose title they deduce is "To Serve Man".

Director:

Richard L. Bare

Writers:

Rod Serling (teleplay by), Damon Knight (based on a story by)

Stars:

Lloyd Bochner, Susan Cummings, Richard Kiel

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Lloyd Bochner	...	Michael Chambers
Susan Cummings	...	Patty
Richard Kiel	...	Kanamit
Hardie Albright	...	Secretary General
Theodore Marcuse	...	Citizen Gregori
Bartlett Robinson	...	Colonel #1
Carleton Young	...	Colonel #2 (as Carlton Young)
Nelson Olmsted	...	Scientist
Robert Tafur	...	Señor Valdes
Lomax Study	...	Leveque
Jerry Fujikawa	...	Japanese Delegate (as J.H. Fujikawa)

Storyline

Michael Chambers recounts recent events on Earth after the arrival of a alien space craft. The aliens, known as Kanamit, seem friendly and assure everyone they have nothing to be afraid of. In fact, they offer to share wonderful technology that will provide limitless energy, cure all disease and convert deserts into lush gardens. For the people of Earth, paradise has arrived. Chambers is an encryption specialist and they try their best to decrypt a book the Kanamit left behind. The book's title seems benign - but it's not what they think it is.

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Plot Keywords:

alien | linguist | based on short story | ulterior motive | decipherment | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Japanese Spanish

Release Date:

2 March 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

To Serve Man

Filming Locations:

United Nations - First Avenue at 46th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cayuga Productions, CBS Television Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Thirty-two years later, Lloyd Bochner would parody his role in To Serve Man in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991).

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Goofs

When the Kanamit first arrives and addresses the United Nations, he's holding his book. During a close-up, the top edge of a page is visible with the word "National" printed.

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Quotes

Kanamit: Please, Mr. Chambers, eat. We wouldn't want you to lose weight.

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Connections

Referenced in NewsRadio: Space (1997)

User Reviews

You can't get any better than this....

The episode begins with a race from another planet coming to Earth and offering to make all our problems disappear. Despite our natural distrust of such claims, the planet soon becomes a paradise--with plenty to eat, peace throughout the land and humans praising these well-intentioned beings. However, despite the windfall, two translators who work for the United Nations doggedly try to unlock the alien language contained in one of their books. So far, they only have been able to translate the title, "To Serve Man", but the rest alludes them.

When it comes to the excellent show THE TWILIGHT ZONE, you can't find a better episode than this one--and that's saying a lot because they made quite a few gems. That's because this one is based on a short story that is so gosh-darn clever that you can't help but admire the episode. Plus, the acting, sets and mood is so well created that it just screams "quality television".