A World of His Own - Twilight-Tober Zone

"A World of His Own" has a great premise, Keenan Wynn's odd performance, a live elephant, and an ending bit that carried this episode to memorable status. Join Walter as continues his deep dive into the Twilight Zone.
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"A World of His Own" is episode thirty-six of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It was the last episode of the show's first season and essentially comedic in tone. It originally aired on July 1, 1960, on CBS.
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What did everyone think of A World of His Own? Watch more Twilight-Tober Zone here - bit.ly/TwilightToberZone Follow Walter on Twitter - twitter.com/Awesome_Walter Follow us on Twitch - www.twitch.tv/channelawesome

[@kevinlane1219]

That episode was okay as a comedy, but I like this episode of the Twilightober Zone because it takes about what it means to be a fiction writer.

[@ThePkmnYPerson]

Great, relatable episode. Also, best The Twilight-Tober Zone video of the year so far.

[@rogue7723]

I loved it 😍. It had a great plot and I thought it had an _amazing_ commentary on how creators feel like by crafting stories and characters they figuratively literally bring those characters to life even though others say they aren’t real. I don’t know if that was intended on the writers’ or Rod Sterling’s part or that’s just my takeaway from this episode. On the subject of Rod, I _loved_ how when Keenan’s character chucked the envelope into the fire, instead of panicking and screaming, Rod just _sat there perfectly calm_ about vanishing into thin air, he was all like “Oh this is inconvenient. But y’know when you’re licked, you’re licked. The show’s been renewed for a 2nd season anyway, so I’ll be back.”

[@trinaq]

It was wonderful to see Rod Serling ACTUALLY be part of the story, and interact with a character, which is definitely a novel touch!

[@carealoo744]

It reminds me of how I wish Stan Lee gave some sort of minor help to defeating Thanos End Game

[@roguebritgravy1]

My thoughts exactly

[@LucyLioness100]

I wish he had done that again just once more, but this story made the most sense for him to interact 😄

[@Holy-Rowlo88]

Serling. Repent

[@christianali5431]

Author created the twilight zone. That is literally the whole joke.

[@justanotherchannelonyoutub126]

Can you imagine how many anime waifus would be running around if this technology existed?

[@LegendStormcrow]

So many catgirls....

[@demi-fiendoftime3825]

So many hot demons and elder gods 0_0

[@therealgrixly5592]

You people need Jesus

[@triforceofcourage100]

Considering how scum humans can be Earth would be gone after a week due to an overabundance of evil planet busters so probably none

[@joevenespineli6389]

@@therealgrixly5592 Yes a lot of Jesuses too

[@ronaldeliascorderocalles]

The ending of this episode will forever be one of my favorite moments of all the Twilight Zone Shows.

[@trinaq]

I really love the twist of Victoria being a creation as well, plus it's fantastic that they were actually able to get a real life elephant for that brief shot. Very impressive, especially for the early 60's!

[@gianinabadami5341]

The elephant part reminded me of when my parents told me about stage performances that managed to transport a live animal (elephant or horse) on stage decades ago

[@TheAlps36]

I was sure it was some sort of superimposition - amazing that they brought the real animal on set!

[@fromthesidelines]

Sidney Sheldon staged a similar scene in the 1966 "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" episode "The Permanent House Guest". When Doctor Bellows sees an elephant in Tony's bedroom, he grimaces, "l can't *wait* to hear your explanation....of what you're doing with an elephant in your bedroom."

[@jamesgarrett8833]

“The cast was make up of three people, technically four, but will get to that” When he said that I knew he was talking Rod Sterling making that legendary cameo at the end of the episode

[@glennrollinson3806]

I thought he meant the elephant!

[@axismic4253]

@@glennrollinson3806 same

[@57highland]

​@@glennrollinson3806Five, counting the pachyderm (elephant).

[@wstine79]

Rob expected to be the last man on Earth, but he found out he's forever trapped with Brad Jones and a stack of "Norm of the North" DVDs. His day will forever be ruined in the Twilight-tober Zone

[@gianinabadami5341]

Don't forget the cheesy talking animals movies

[@brandonprater4613]

👏😂

[@TristanOrlando478]

It literally blew my mind when I first watched the episode that rod sterling actually was INSIDE an episode and not just narrating it. Because most of the time, nobody in the backround really focused on him and it really surprised me a lot.

[@Omar-wq9dz]

I like how the episode becomes meta in the end, when Rod Serling is a part of the writer’s creation

[@trinaq]

Me too, it really adds to the surrealist nature of the episode, and I love how Rod is added onto the concept.

[@wstine79]

I personally enjoy the more comedic episodes of The Twilight Zone. They can be just as creepy as they are hilarious. Plus, Rod Serling breaking the 4th wall before it was cool is great.

[@sarafontanini7051]

plus it shows the show had more range, as having never watched it I just thought it was purely horror

[@OptimusMaximusNero]

*Fun fact:* This episode inspired Stephen King for his short story "Word Processor of the Gods", who was later adapted as an episode of "Tales from the Darkside"

[@trinaq]

Neat fact, King was influenced by the Twilight Zone for many of his stories, it seems!

[@hollowman7168]

Really? Huh

[@jamesgarrett8833]

@Trina Q Yes your right because the episode, “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” was a major influence for King’s novel, “The Mist”

[@HououMinamino]

I love that series!

[@hentinator8343]

Theres a reason this channel is called "channel awesome"

[@hentinator8343]

:o I was noticed, thank you channel awesome you guys are..... well awesome!

[@marianne8519]

I love Ed Wynn. He's the grandpa or great uncle I never had or always wanted as a child.

[@kittycheshire5099]

Is that his name? I just kept hear "Edwin" and thought he was one of those people who only go by one name, like Beyoncé or Zendaya.

[@57highland]

That's Keenan Wynn, son of Ed Wynn.

[@rixlan]

Usually the characters in a Twilight Zone episode are pushed along by forces beyond their control. In this story the character is that force and is, as Rod himself says, "in complete control of the Twilight Zone." I think the implication is that he is not just "a writer" he is "the writer". The Zone is his own private little universe and the stories we see are his creations brought to life.

[@Team_BaM]

Don't think I've ever said it but I love the impression of the Twilight Zone narrator at the beginning/end. It's pretty spot on.

[@FatNorthernBigot]

I've not seen this one. It sounds like a solid episode with the perfect season ending.

[@richewilson6394]

I love it when Rod Sterling was always interacting with his players in some way like he would come through a door, a mannequin or in the ending of this episode. I always thought it'd be funny is that he would either get out of a car or something to start the narration or whatever.

[@eerieeric834]

The ending of this episode is just trippy

[@gianinabadami5341]

I agree. The music throughout was perfect

[@random22026]

Spotlight on Walter's magnificent turn as Rod Serling's doppelganger, and -- FINALLY! -- a chance for 'the other Walker' to show his quality. Encore! 🤗

[@jonnycoyote2782]

I wish I had that power

[@sarahsims6164]

Me too.

[@Spectahman2.0]

Me too, mind you not to have an affair or mess with with women, but just to have the power to make any object appear, like a free tuxedo or any single Lego SDCC figure.

[@LucyLioness100]

Richard Matheson wrote some of their best episodes. Course the man created “I Am Legend”, “Hell House” & more excellent short stories and novels along with his teleplays

[@MoonlitLycan]

If you think about it, this was the most genius way to end a show when you didn't know for certain it'd ever be renewed for more seasons.

[@ItWILLbeWONDERFUL_THERE]

LOVE the END! BOTH ends! Thanks Walter and Rob!

[@asorls1]

One of my favorite episodes. My thought seeing it now is the police would question him on where his wife went. They would not believe his tape story. LOL

[@isaacdyer6556]

Reminds me of a short story by Stephen King. "Word processor of the Gods". Not to give too much away, but the story has a few beats that fall in with this episode.

[@RetroReviewsMovies]

When I first saw this episode, the characters seeing Rod Serling blew my mind.

[@davidburke709]

I got to be Keenan Wynn's photographer at the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans. He and his wife were two of the kindest and classiest people I ever met.

[@beyourself2444]

Wife? He was married?

[@punchfisttop]

LOVE LOVE LOVE yer own "twist" at the end!!! GREAT JOB!!! (esp the b&w to color touch!)

[@spiderjedi9371]

I'm noticing a theme with these skits. Fitting the people on this channel are... Nostalgic.

[@advitamgames2672]

Glad you guys are continuing The Twilight Tober Zone. It's a fun addition to Nostalgiaween.

[@Sate12]

Best 4th wall break ever. And I love how humble and comedically Serling plays it. As a writer I would be SUPER careful with my vampire characters but otherwise I would ABUSE THE HECK out of that thing. (Maid, butler, chauffer, and eccentric billionaire who wanted to give me lots and lots of money- for a start)

[@MforMovesets]

A man who can speak his characters into existence. Living the dream.

[@mutalord]

this Twilight-Tober is gonna have a huge twist

[@rogue7723]

It took me till the end of this episode to remember where I recognized Keenan Wynn from, he was the voice actor for Winter from Rankin/Bass’ _Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town._

[@geoffreyfyfe2248]

Now THIS is a comedic episode of the show that worked well, especially that ending bit with Serling. Keenan Wynn, in particularly, is delightful, especially in his childlike enthusiasm. The dictaphone in the episode was a nice touch since that was Serling's favorite method of writing.

[@MoonShadowWolfe]

Those crowbar sound effects were brutal.

[@matthewbuckley7757]

This show is on Hulu. One of these days I’m going to watch some of the episodes Walter has talked about. Looks great 😊

[@mleighqs]

Great vid on a very interesting episode. I love the Demo Reel call backs that have been going on :)

[@FionaLovecraft]

Been super enjoying seeing the Channel Awesome team recreating some of these stories

[@gjagielom2]

just discovered the twilight-tober zone and have loved hearing love as well as critique in regards to one of my favorite tv series.

[@noahlogue3807]

I love this episode one of my favorites!

[@ImperfectXIII]

"Well... that's the way it goes." XD I love that part.

[@MrKingkez]

I am loving all the callbacks 2 demo reel I really enjoyed that series.

[@spews1973]

So glad this is back.

[@PineapplePineapplePineapplePin]

Doug's been playing Kingdom Hearts recently, so I'm curious, if he sees this by chance, what do you think about Sora getting into Smash Bros?

[@eduardogomez4275]

Maybe he'll become his Main?

[@LegendStormcrow]

It did? Nice, still needs the Chief, Spyro, Crash and Sweet Tooth

[@PineapplePineapplePineapplePin]

Sora is the final character

[@anthonycerulli5524]

@@LegendStormcrow chief and sweet tooth will never happen

[@LegendStormcrow]

@@anthonycerulli5524 Snake did.

[@chelseabrown3533]

Love these so much!!!

[@Grayvorn]

My all time favourite TZ episode. ❤

[@nickdknez]

Wow you guys are really hitting it of the park with this years Twilight- Tober

[@DigiRangerScott]

I mean, people do remember the Wicker Man review, right? Carl’s been here all along…

[@gianinabadami5341]

I thought he wasn't used in any other way. That's the only review I remember him in

[@DigiRangerScott]

@@gianinabadami5341 He was one of the main characters of Demo Reel, which was the show that brought Malcolm, Rachel, and even Tamara and Fard (who auditioned) into the Channel Awesome fold. It even elevated Jim’s onscreen presence

[@gianinabadami5341]

Cool, @@DigiRangerScott

[@GreenGlitch64]

Holy shit, Carl and Donnie are back! I hope this isn't just a one-off thing for the sake of this video!

[@mapzilla]

My favorite episode. It perfectly captures the fun of watching a show like this.

[@sustelsuk]

Another mention of demo reel, I feel a theme around the twilight retrospective

[@EkoBahamut]

huh, I like how the skits of the Twilightober zone are making references to Demo Reel, Kinda nice to use that idea for nostalgia sake :P

[@UTubeSponge5601]

I think there’s an arc coming on…!

[@EkoBahamut]

@@UTubeSponge5601 possibly, which Is a good idea. Tamara is the one that wasn't part of demo reel, so I wonder if she'll be involved?

[@KingRandor82]

I hate it: it's a shameless attempt to resurrect an idea that didn't work the first time...and still doesn't.

[@EkoBahamut]

@@KingRandor82 is not like it's coming back, so why get bothered by it?

[@KingRandor82]

@@EkoBahamut because they're trying to cash in on it by "advertising" it with not only a *superior* series, but one of the best of all time. It's distracting, and looks embarrassing for a crew who should honestly just pretend it never happened

[@1000bip]

I always liked this episode. The bit at the end is the cherry on top

[@jlev1028]

Wait, if Rod Sterling created this episode, shouldn't killing him paradoxically kill the other characters? He's basically the Avatar (if you've watched SMG4, you'll know what I'm talking about) of the Twilight Zone.

[@mentalhealthnetwork]

The Wynn family comprises many a fond childhood memory. Lots of Disney classics and cartoons.

[@babyj7795]

I love this episode.

[@Nickel_The_Wise]

OPERATION SAND-DUST, HUSH HUSH! ..wait, wrong Wynn role. This one's always been an odd duck that borders on adult whimsical and actual fearsome, glad you covered it! The elephant bit always struck me as a weird metaphor, like he was *making* her acknowledge an actual elephant in the room, like its a clue that this whole THING is a story. Still, it's a fun episode and I'd hoped it'd be covered the first time you did Twilight-Tober, but well.. that's the way it goes.

[@d00s0n]

Seen that twist coming 100 miles away

[@julesthief]

I love this episode solely for the ending! It’s so good.

[@marilynbergemann6808]

This was back when TV was worth watching.

[@chrisazylum6624]

Very meta! Next time the Season 2 premiere!

[@MrFlippybob]

Definitely a theme of the casts past at play here Working in allegory with certain episodes

[@KaiObelisk]

Second Demo Reel reference so far. Is this going to be a pattern?

[@alexklepp6479]

Rob is a really good actor.

[@empurress77]

This is my favorite Twilight Zone ever.

[@techengine8667]

0:31 This was really good German for someone who talks English. Klang wirklich gut 👍

[@majinsole8554]

I enjoy these little shorts they’ve added. ~_~

[@brandonprater4613]

*Other Rob:* In Deutschland, story writes you!

[@andrewkind2820]

this is a fanfic writers wet dream also I'm starting to get the feeling that the twilight-tober zone skits are all one ongoing story this year

[@elder-woodsilverstein7716]

This is my favorite episode. It has a simple, yet creative plot, with enjoying charcters. As a writer myself, I relate to Greg, and consimplate on what I would do if I could create anything or anyone at will.

[@goodnewsgeek42]

Love that fantastic meta bit at the end! Fourth wall jokes are so common now, it must have been mind-blowing to see at the time!

[@miroslavtomic7038]

Not only was this the first time Rod Serling appeared within the episode, but it was the only time that the characters interacted with him.

[@AlexG-jk8tc]

I like to think that the ending of this episode inspired episode 4 of Marvel's "What If...?", "What If...Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?".

[@philipportelli7700]

Rod Serling was a bit shocked that he became better known as a TV star than a writer! Plus this was an ingenious way for a man to have an affair on TV without upsetting the censors!

[@fredrikcarlstedt393]

A wonderfully bonkers episode .

[@Rgoid]

4:50 A literal elephant in the room.

[@jlev1028]

I would love to turn my characters to life. I've written many stories (haven't published them yet) and among the most interesting ones is about a man with telekinesis reuniting with his shape-shifting ex-girlfriend. Both their powers are grounded in reality, which, to me, makes them more compelling than most super-powered characters.

[@melissadahl7561]

I don't watch this one as much because I really don't like Gregory's character, but since I write as a hobby and frequently fantasize about being able to meet my characters the same way, maybe I should give it another watch. I could like it more than I think. Always love the part with Rod though!

[@Feralwolf444]

I love the little Easter egg at 8:52! Seeing Doug walk by the door through the window dressed as a detective was funny. There was no reason for it, he wasn't part of the episode and it never tied in. It was just thrown in for the Hell of it.

[@VibrantG4mer]

I think he was also in the background in the Malcom episode of the T-TZ too.

[@antonmassopust568]

That's great that I've seen that episode a couple of times and one time I saw it I said boy that was really cool and Thing 2

[@justinjosephfavaro6529]

Copenhagen turns around after killing rob, “who… who said that?”

[@Ails1234]

He became aware... of another

[@balthazzaarmontague8036]

Not the most riveting of TZs, but good enough for Rod Serling. Matheson's efforts on A World of Difference were far more creative, resulting in an episode that is much more gripping and exciting than this one. Great work on your channel guys. Im a newbie but I'm already hooked. Been a TZ fan since '84. Thanks for treating Rod's work with the respect it deserves. Cheers.

[@queenskelaton6507]

that was surreal ending as kid when I was watching these all out of order like dude just fucking killed the narrator

[@johnellizz]

6:12 Apparently this is true. Because somebody can author two different versions of Rod: Some know him as Sterling while others know him as Serling.

[@LegendStormcrow]

I called that twist

[@ThenewTchannel]

Me the first time seeing the ending: Hey, look, it's a fourth wall jo- WHAT?!?!

[@glowworm2]

This may the only episode in which a character in the story being told is aware that Sterling is narrating his life right in front of him. (I didn't know this was the first time Sterling appeared on screen within the story, as this was a premise I have long associated with this series.) While I haven't seen the episode in its entirety, I am familiar with the premise and find it hilarious that Gregory makes him disappear after being insulted by him. It certainly does answer the question of "Did anyone every notice Sterling wandering around in the hallway of their home or office narrating about them and wonder what the heck was going on?"

[@angbandsbane]

I always get a chuckle out of Serling's "Well, that's the way it goes. " He really did have some good comedic timing, like in the clips I saw here on YT of the Twilight Zone spoof he did with Jack Benny

[@anubusx]

I wish we saw a more horror version of this.

[@1mespud]

No one could break the fourth wall like Rod Serling.

[@chriswonder2747]

Its the best episode because it feeds my lore hungry brain

[@Merit2397]

Now we come to the big season 1 finally of Twilight Zone with "A World of His Own". Admittingly some of the last few episodes of this season have been very hit or miss. For every "After Hours" there's a "Chaser" or a "Mr. Bevis" sandwiched in between. Fortunately, that's not the case here. Keenan Wynn works well as Gregory West, and I actually enjoyed his performance along with his ability to make fictional characters come to life. Now that's wicked!

[@gregcampwriter]

It's worth noting that Keenan Wynn also played Col. Bat Guano, a dedicated military officer on the lookout for deviated preverts.

[@TheCreepypro]

a very fitting season finale

[@WolfHreda]

Probably the funniest episode of the series. I know I laughed my ass off.

[@cyberceltic]

You should do a fanscription on what if this episode took on the original darker tone instead of the comedic one

[@thebroken0wastaken]

I'm sensing a theme. You guys gonna bring back demo reel? At the very least ya gotta get Rachel to be in one of these

[@Gabreya]

I don’t think that I’ve ever seen this episode before. It looks interesting.

[@fluflepufle3477]

The first time the 4th wall was truly broken