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The Twilight Zone
S1.E20
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IMDbPro

Profile in Silver/Button, Button

  • Episode aired Mar 7, 1986
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
502
YOUR RATING
The Twilight Zone (1985)
DramaFantasyHorror
"Profile in Silver": After preventing the assassination of President Kennedy, a historian from the future faces the consequences of his act. "Button, Button": A couple receives a box with a ... Read all"Profile in Silver": After preventing the assassination of President Kennedy, a historian from the future faces the consequences of his act. "Button, Button": A couple receives a box with a button -- and an unusual offer."Profile in Silver": After preventing the assassination of President Kennedy, a historian from the future faces the consequences of his act. "Button, Button": A couple receives a box with a button -- and an unusual offer.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
502
YOUR RATING
    • John D. Hancock(segment Profile in Silver)
    • Peter Medak(segment Button, Button)
  • Writers
    • Rod Serling
    • J. Neil Schulman(segment Profile in Silver)
    • Richard Matheson(teleplay by)
  • Stars
    • Lane Smith
    • Andrew Robinson
    • Louis Giambalvo
    • John D. Hancock(segment Profile in Silver)
    • Peter Medak(segment Button, Button)
  • Writers
    • Rod Serling
    • J. Neil Schulman(segment Profile in Silver)
    • Richard Matheson(teleplay by)
  • Stars
    • Lane Smith
    • Andrew Robinson
    • Louis Giambalvo
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 8User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Brad Davis and Mare Winningham in The Twilight Zone (1985)
    Basil Hoffman in The Twilight Zone (1985)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Lane Smith
    Lane Smith
    • Prof. Joseph Fitzgerald (segment "Profile in Silver")
    Andrew Robinson
    Andrew Robinson
    • President John F. Kennedy (segment "Profile in Silver")
    Louis Giambalvo
    Louis Giambalvo
    • Raymond Livingston (segment "Profile in Silver")
    Barbara Baxley
    Barbara Baxley
    • Dr. Kate Wange (segment "Profile in Silver")
    Jerry Hardin
    Jerry Hardin
    • Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson (segment "Profile in Silver")
    Mark L. Taylor
    Mark L. Taylor
    • Inspector (segment "Profile in Silver")
    • (as Mark Taylor)
    Charles Lanyer
    • TV Anchorman (segment "Profile in Silver")
    David Sage
    • Professor (segment "Profile in Silver")
    Ken Hill
    • Presidential Aide (segment "Profile in Silver")
    Huck Liggett
    • Texan (segment "Profile in Silver")
    Gerard Bocaccio
    • Student (segment "Profile in Silver")
    Mare Winningham
    Mare Winningham
    • Norma Lewis (segment "Button, Button")
    Brad Davis
    Brad Davis
    • Arthur Lewis (segment "Button, Button")
    Basil Hoffman
    Basil Hoffman
    • Mr. Steward (segment "Button, Button")
    J. Neil Schulman
    J. Neil Schulman
    • ER Doctor (segment "Profile in Silver")
    • (uncredited)
      • John D. Hancock(segment Profile in Silver)
      • Peter Medak(segment Button, Button)
    • Writers
      • Rod Serling
      • J. Neil Schulman(segment Profile in Silver)
      • Richard Matheson(teleplay by) (based on the short story by) (segment Button, Button)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      As Raymond Livingston and a United States Mint inspector converse, a CBS television announcement is heard: "We will now return to our regular programming" and the theme of The Twilight Zone (1959) is played. Night Call (1964) was scheduled to air on November 22, 1963 but, due to the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy, it was rescheduled for February 7, 1964.
    • Goofs
      The crowd in Dealey Plaza are shown panicking and diving to the ground when the gunshot sounds, but in reality most people who were present reported that it sounded like a car exhaust backfiring and nobody reacted in the manner shown.
    • Quotes

      Norma Lewis: So, what happens now?

      Mr. Steward: Why, you spend the money, and I hope you enjoy it. The button unit will be reprogrammed, and offered to someone else, with the same terms and conditions.

      Norma Lewis: Someone else?

      Mr. Steward: Yes. I can assure you it will be offered to someone... whom you don't know. Good day.

    • Connections
      Featured in Atop the Fourth Wall: Top 15 1980s Twilight Zone Episodes - A Quick Look At... (2016)

    User reviews8

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Profile in Silver: A can-opener
    An interesting episode this one – the second part (which I didn't watch) also exists as a recent film called The Box and, like Profile in Silver, has an interesting concept behind it. It was Profile that I came to watch though because I have an interest in the work of J Neil Schulman – an interest it is worth me declaring. I know him from a low-budget film of his that I thought was terrible and since then I have read one of his books and now also watched this Twilight Zone story which he wrote. Schulman for those that don't know has been a writer for decades and in certain circles is well respected for his sci-fi writing and his libertarian writings. Personally i don't see it myself but part of me checking him out is me looking for the things that others seem to see. Unfortunately I ended this episode still unable to see them but happy to say that he did a "solid" job here.

    The plot is a time-travelling historian is sent back on a mission to study his specialist time in history (North America, early 1960's) but, on the day of the assassination, finds that he is unable to prevent himself shouting out an emotional warning and inadvertently saving the President. It is not long before the ramifications of this are all too clear to him. The set-up is a good one but unfortunately it is far too practically written and lacks anything in the way of bite and impact. I recently read Alongside Night and i found the same thing in the writing there – dialogue was often too practical and explanatory and it didn't flow with a natural air. This is how it felt here too – and it gets to that stage very quickly in the opening discussion between the professor and his time-colleague. The dialogue there just dumps everything onto the viewer and it is rather unsatisfactory and unnatural. The rest of the story plays out like this – with ideas just delivered but not refined in a way that makes them work well.

    Functional. It is a word I thought before and it is a word that applied here – everything about this story was functional and it didn't engage me and it never let my mind run with it because it just seemed to be matter-of-fact with not much to offer beyond the initial idea. It is a shame because the idea deserves much more but it isn't given the words or the direction to do so in a script that is entirely functional and lacking in flow. Functional – it is a good when discussing a can opener, not so much when it comes to story-telling.
    helpful•1
    11
    • bob the moo
    • Mar 27, 2012

    Details

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    • Release date
      • March 7, 1986 (United States)
      • English
    • Production companies
      • Atlantis Films
      • CBS
      • London Film Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour
      • Color
      • Stereo

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