King Nine Will Not Return - Twilight-Tober Zone

The second season of The Twilight Zone kicked off with "King Nine Will Not Return". Does this season premiere start off with a bang? Join us as we travel further into the Twilight-Tober Zone.
Watch more Twilight-Tober Zone here - bit.ly/TwilightToberZone
Follow Walter on Twitter - / awesome_walter
Sub to Walter - / awesomewalter
Follow us on Twitch - / channelawesome
"King Nine Will Not Return" is the season two premiere episode, and 37th overall, of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on September 30, 1960 on CBS.
Go to our Store for Awesome Stuff - theawesomestore.com
Get some Nostalgia Critic T-Shirts here - shrsl.com/?~96c0
See more at our Site: channelawesome.com
Facebook: / channelawesome
Twitter: / channelawesome
Instagram: / channelawesome
Like Doug on Facebook: / 127127037353766
The ONLY Official KZbin channel for the Nostalgia Critic and Channel Awesome.
New Nostalgia Critic episodes every Wednesday at 5PM CST.
#TheTwilightZone #TwilightZone #TwilightToberZone

[@ComicalRealm]

Fun fact: In Twilight Zone (1959-1964) If you were an amateur writer in the 1960s, or just a fan of the show, you could send in a script to be considered for an episode. In total, 14,000 scripts were sent in. Serling read about 500 of them, and absolutely none were made into an episode. Serling said only two were any good, but they didn't fit the format of the show.

[@trinaq]

That's really fascinating, thanks for enlightening me. At least the fans were given the opportunity to write an episode.

[@Gojiro7]

I'm not sure if that's a sign that the lack of engaging entertainment in the early 60's hadn't polished the everyday commoner's writing skills yet like later decades would or if Serling just had extremely high standards and everyday peoples lack of writing experience didn't impress him

[@julieporter7805]

@@Gojiro7 He was pretty rigid about the scripts that they did film. He said he only really liked a third of them.

[@KingRandor82]

@@Gojiro7 my money is on the latter; in fact, I believe he was Autistic, like I am. When we do something like this, we aim impeccably high, and we're always told to "lower our standards"; thank god we say no ;)

[@Gojiro7]

@@KingRandor82 Not Lowering your standards certainly is a praise worthy trait.....unless it results in nothing because nothing can live up to your personal standards and as a result alienate you from your peers, just look at the Creator of Ren and Stimpy John K, taking his horrible personal life out of the equation, he garnered a lot of disgust and discontent within the animation industry because of his insufferable high personal standards that even he couldn't live up to which lead to the studio regularly falling behind production schedule and making everyone around him fed up to the point of firing and black listing him, he only ever got work after that either through self promotion or through those who knew little about him. There is a reason why you lower standards, because sometimes they go beyond what you can realistically expect of people, but you can't also sink it down to the bottom either, its a balancing act

[@trinaq]

Cummings did a fantastic job of acting by himself for the majority of the screentime. It's not an easy feat to accomplish, but he pulled it off wonderfully!

[@milestrombley1466]

He wasn't unconscious. His mind fell into the Twilight Zone.

[@PrestonSikes]

My great grandpa LOVED this show, my dad loved it, and I love it. This is a truly timeless show

[@aaron-n]

This show has always done a great job of making seemingly ordinary things look so creepy. The part where the pilot sitting in the cockpit just smiling normally gives me the chills.

[@OptimusMaximusNero]

The scene in which Embry begins to have a moment of pleasure drinking from a canteen, only to have it fall from his hands as his eyes focus on something horrible he sees, is one of the most terrifying in the entire TV history.

[@trinaq]

Agreed, it's certainly effectively chilling!

[@ericjanssen394]

Agree, the "mirages" of the ship's men have the look of that creepy karmic payback that all TZ protagonists eventually get. They may look like the ship's-photo he remembers, but that's not the expression on their faces...

[@cdorman11]

@@ericjanssen394 Yeah, a little different approach from "The Thirty-Fathoms Grave," in which the dead have the expressions of lost souls.

[@strangebrew1231]

You’re over hyping it a little bit. I don’t like this episode. It drags on for too long. It happens with the “one man lost and can’t remember who he is” episodes

[@moonshinerman]

King 9 has a special significance to me, it was based on a true story of a B24 lost in the desert after it's first mission. The Lady Be Good had become separated from the group and trying to return to base, they ran low on fuel. They set it on auto pilot and all bailed out. The plane went sixteen more miles before crashing in the desert. The men, all save one, tried to walk out but their supply of food and water was extremely limited. The plane was found in 1958 by British petroleum company surveyors and the remains of the crew were found along with short diaries of two of them. If they had walked in the direction of the plane, they would have had water and a radio that still worked all those years later.

[@adamnaameeazim6365]

A favourite episode of mine- and on my birthday, too! King Nine Will Not Return may not be the best or most well remembered episode in the series. It's too long, too repetitive, and doesn't hold up the best in 2021. But the opening will forever be etched into my memory. The drawing of the King of Hearts is so creepy. The whole episode is so eerie and haunting, yet it's in the middle of the day under the blazing desert sun. It's the kind of stuff the Twilight Zone is made of.

[@ImperfectXIII]

I LOVE the survivor's guilt portrayed in this episode. One of my personal season 2 faves.

[@user-il5oq5df6l]

One of my favorites. Bob. Cummings' performance is a standout.

[@Spudgonzo]

I love how King Nine used the twist with the sand to suggest the hallucination was in fact real. In the pilot, the twist was originally that the man goes into the movie theater and when he wakes up and strolled out a movie ticket fell out of his pocket, implying the same idea that hallucination really occurred. This original ending was written in the 1990 book The Twilight Zone complete stories. It’s a nice little snippet of Rod to see if you want to delve deeper into what the episodes coulda looked like had he went a little bit further.

[@trinaq]

The opening theme song still gives me chills to this very day, and I adore that it got longer during the second season. I also liked Rod Sterling showing up more regularly as the on screen host, as opposed to merely in voice-over.

[@claytonrios1]

There's the intro that I remember. Man is it an iconic one.

[@maxpayne2574]

The survivor's guilt was something Serling probably felt himself

[@G_Okr]

The hole concept of the pilot lost in the desert and gets overwelmed by illusions reminds me of Exupery's experience that inspired The Little Prince.

[@badlandschugsnumber1fan123]

Love the Serling impression

[@julieporter7805]

Just think if there was no Twilight Zone, Serling might have been known mostly for Requiem for a Heavyweight, a good project on its own right and an Emmy winner but it doesn't have the impact in modern day like the Zone. The Lady Be Good connection makes the King Nine story even creepier knowing that it had a basis in reality.

[@napoleonmongeau670]

I didn't realize how many people knew about the Lady Be Good. The whole crew was from my hometown and we have one of the propellers out front the town hall

[@WildMen4444]

Embry: *Calls for JIMenez* Me: He got fed up with your pronunciation and went to get a "qwesadila".

[@mxplixic]

Pronounced "dill-ah" :)

[@syntaxerror9994]

This makes me miss the days before infomercials when low rating time slots were filled with great shows like this from before I was born. Sure there's dedicated channels now, but no bored kids gonna watch that with dedicated cartoon channels... if they even care about TV at all.

[@Gojiro7]

Entertainment is a constantly changing and growing creature, you can miss elements of its past, but you can't wallow in it because those things changed with the future and wanting the parts you miss to come back only holds back progress, like never wanting your child to grow up because you miss when they were small and cute regardless what harm that wish is to their growth.

[@ericjanssen394]

​@@Gojiro7 I have...absolutely no idea what you're talking about--unless it's more "Quit being Old, streaming is here!" Gen-Z arrogance and TV-dismissal--but yes, Fox, CW, and the bribes of infomercials took away forever the glory days when your very local UHF station could play anything at any hour. Meaning, you could WATCH just about anything at any hour. Even your local network affiliate could show reruns and movies, before they had All-Night News to keep them busy.

[@ericjanssen394]

@@bombkirby ….You REALLY want to say that on KZbin? 😂

[@monicanonya]

Okay boomer

[@ericjanssen394]

@@monicanonya Okay, Netflix addict who thinks the entire world has to be put on hold while you discuss Squid Game.

[@issaicx]

This episode and the man in the bottle hold a special place in my heart, figuratively and literally. I was in the hospital for cardiac failure( I’m 27) and this was on 3 am on tv and it brought a strange comfort to me.

[@brianfuller757]

This is a show that still stands up in 2021 and still stands out as iconic television. This particular episode was and is outstanding. Bob Cummings was a legend.

[@kevbarty2081]

I'd always assumed the black bar was originally an advertisement for cigarettes or something, blacked out for syndication later.

[@TheAlan136]

Slowly dying from dehydration and knowing the effects it would have on your mind is terrifying. I really enjoyed the episode.

[@lizd.8655]

Fun fact: 62K back in 1960 is worth almost $574K today!

[@irish89055]

Love the Rod Serling impression on Saturday Night Live back on Saturday Night Live was funny. Bob Cummings was a very good pilot..he had the number one flight instructor license and had been given flight instruction by Orville Wright, his Godfather..

[@JoseMorales-lw5nt]

For those who wanna jump ahead, a very similar survivor's guilt storyline plays out in the 4th season. That was the sole season to contain 50 minute episodes. THE 30 FATHOM GRAVE has a similar set up to KING NINE. The hour format even allows for an expanded amount of tension and terror to creep into the storyline. A better executed take on the same story.

[@claytonrios1]

I also can't wait for the Eye of the Beholder review.

[@trinaq]

Likewise, it should be reviewed on Monday!

[@jamesgarrett8833]

Hey this what I said too in my comment. Look I am not the only one see how powerful of a story the episode is

[@claytonrios1]

@@jamesgarrett8833 I saw that episode in 7th grade!

[@jamesgarrett8833]

@Claytons Movie Reviews I’m not trying to win a contest here! I first the episode in the summer of 2009. 2009 was the year I was introduced to The Twilight Zone. My dad showed me the movie in spring break and the sci-fi channel had a twilight zone summer marathon

[@claytonrios1]

@@jamesgarrett8833 I know you're not. But I'm just saying that it's an episode that means a lot to me.

[@ThenewTchannel]

We're in season 2 now. Almost time for Night of the Meek

[@thealchemist51]

I do enjoy this episode and it’s one of the few twilight zone episodes that actually scared me for a second. There a point in the episode where the main character sees a friend of his in the cockpit and start walking towards him I don’t know why but seeing that shot Sent a major chill up my spine

[@otterzrkuhl]

I actually know someone with the last name Jimenez and no one ever says her last name right. Honestly I was really surprised you didn’t think this episode held up.

[@coreyhamby2989]

Rod Serling was from my hometown. Hes easily one the biggest celebrities from Binghamton Ny. His house was made into a rod serling museum and every year we have a rod serling film festival. So i have a special place for the twilight zone since it was always a big deal when i grew up. And even though none of the episodes were filmed there many episodes were based on Where im from. Most notably "walking distance" the town and merry go round were made to look like Binghamton Ny in the 40s

[@miroslavtomic7038]

This show was famous, among other things, for casting known comedic actors in serious roles. Bob Cummings was one of prime examples, along with Ed Wynn.

[@jamesgarrett8833]

Were finally in season two, can’t wait until he does the “Eye of the Beholder” episode

[@lizc6393]

It's an excellent episode, but I think it gets too much hype simply because of the impact of the twist at the time, but that's just my silly personal opinion. It's still good.

[@camarowland4]

More excited for season 3 and "to serve man" Just because it's a personal favorite and one that stuck as a kid watching on new years eve

[@otterzrkuhl]

I can’t wait for “Death’s Head Revisited”

[@romanrhodes815]

@@lizc6393 Oh, It's definitely overrated

[@lukeo.1863]

This was one of the first episodes I watched.. Genuinely creeped me out when I was younger. Man this show is timeless.

[@kali3665]

Thing I never understood about Rod. He often said that he would write a special episode for a favored actor -- Bob Cummings here -- and then he pretty much rewrites an earlier script to accommodate the actor. He did that with Shelley Berman (The Mind and the Matter), Carol Burnett (Cavender is Coming), and may have done it for Art Carney (Night of the Meek). It just doesn't seem as if he's really tailoring a script to the actor's strengths, so I suppose I miss the point.

[@raywalton1291]

I do agree that this episode hasn't held up too well. In fact, when I worked my way through the Twilight Zone in it's entirety last year, I ranked this as the weakest episode of season 2, and then put the season finale, "The Obsolete Man" as the best of the season. I would still give the episode about a 7/10.

[@michael69040]

Serling's PTSD military service experiences make this episode very powerful to me. Survivor's guilt is the theme and the ending implies that for those so afflicted the mind never relents in the area of self torment.

[@Morgil27]

At first, I saw the schwashtikas on the plane in the opening shot, and thought that the twist was gonna be that the captain was actually German.

[@kurtb8474]

Everyone has their own tastes. This is one of my favorites because I enjoy good acting, good performances.

[@HououMinamino]

Oh boy, "Eye of the Beholder" is coming up? That is one episode that I can't watch due to my medical trauma. Also, those faces at the end are just so creepy!

[@jlev1028]

Actually, the next episode is "Man in the Bottle" which is a basic Monkey's Paw tale.

[@miroslavtomic7038]

Another proof of cutting costs... Not just in this episode but in most of episodes of second season. Whenever Captain Embry is talking loudly you can very clearly hear an echo in the background, meaning that "outdoor" scenes in desert were actually filmed on a sound stage with microphones picking up a bit too much noise from the actor. Similar thing happens in almost every episode of this season.

[@BrandontheBeldam2993]

I'm getting Eric Freeman's "Ricky" from Silent night deadly night 2 vibes with these guy's acting.

[@jamesmilton6529]

I always enjoyed this one. I had a grandfather who served on a B24. He survived the war but never spoke of anything in theater.

[@Nasser851000]

aka The UnReturn of the King Nine XD

[@shawnmalone9711]

This episode was on MeTV, today, 6-26-24.

[@L337M4573RK]

The crashed plane scenes look as if they were either shot at White Sands Naval Test Range or the Muroc Dry-Lake Bed at Edwards AFB.

[@raymondyee2008]

Haven’t heard much about B-25C-10-NA 42-32354. Hope she can be restored even as static display as “King Nine” as a tribute to this episode.

[@cdorman11]

9:17 In TV and movies, the scientist character can be famous and the plot can get a headline above the fold.

[@kaju1722]

I disagree, this was a GREAT episode! And I find it very easy to be confused for 20 minutes.

[@ingeborg-anne]

I'm loving this series so much I brought the computer with me everywhere I went while catching up on it! On things like "Jimenéz", it would be useful for non-Americans (and non-Spanish speakers) to get the name spelled out on screen. I heard it as Jim N. S. and couldn't understand why he said it like that and had to look up the transcript. So yes, a visual aid would be useful there.

[@ramsfan0868]

Most if not all the Twilight zone episodes I can rewatch multiple times but this one I have only seen like twice.

[@lacouerfairy]

Seriously underrated episode.

[@Merit2397]

With that said, there's not much to say here. While it's cool that this was the first episode to have Rod on screen for both the intro and outro of every episode going forward, I agree with Walter's criticisms. All in all, if you want a better story like this, just watch the pilot from season 1, "Where Is Everybody." Way more compelling and features the town from "Back to the Future."

[@philipportelli7700]

No one ever escapes their past in the Twilight Zone!

[@Chaos89P]

Some manage to change it, however.

[@philipportelli7700]

@@Chaos89P If the Zone permits!

[@paulcoy9060]

This one might be too long for you, but the tv movie "Sole Survivor" is so good it doesn't matter that it 3 times longer. Plus, Richard Baseheart!

[@ryanwulfsohn2563]

Love that movie

[@RWAC685]

Love This TV Show Perfect

[@chrisazylum6624]

The Season 2 premiere! Next time be careful what you wish for!

[@MrJuvefrank]

I think you do like it. You had it in mind when you posted.

[@davidcouch6514]

Among my top five.

[@brandonprater4613]

What a convincing crazy laugh... WELL done, Mr. Cummings! 🤪👍

[@kyle47922]

That was an awesome episode of Twilight Zone.

[@jimdavis5849]

Not a big deal, but jets were actually coming into military service in 1943. The excellent Me-262 was starting to show up in Europe and even the Americans had a jet program. Kind of a stupid point but any aviation professional would have been aware that jets were about to make their debut.

[@adrianamatlack532]

I like this one a lot. I agree that the hour episodes were different, and perhaps not as powerful in some ways, but this one was spooky and I like it very much.

[@adrianamatlack532]

Actually this one is the top on my list to watch again.

[@StefanTravis]

Sole Survivor (1970). Starring William Shatner. The crew of a crashed airplane take 17 years of not eating, aging or dying to realise they're ghosts. But we do get to see The Shatner show of his ripped bare pectorals. For quite a long scene.

[@kuitaranheatmorus9932]

Great video

[@SpockvsMcCoy]

Tanning among male celebrities was an obsession at that time.

[@jessetorres8738]

1 Season down, 4 to go.

[@noahlogue3807]

Good Episode!

[@ns0557212]

FUN FACT: They are actually called Lagoon Pallets, the Mist at the start of the twilight theme. They never drew mist its always lagoons stills they would use to create that illusion of movement.

[@animalian01]

I actually like this episode a lot

[@amstel5468]

I can't handle the constant yelling in this episode 🙉

[@bradleisure8339]

I’ll have to disagree with your comments on this one. It is one of my favorites and Cummings did a great job. Look at the emotional extremes he had to go through all by himself. I rewatch it all the time. I noticed the similarity between this episode and the movie of the week “Sole Survivor”. Another interesting story.

[@LLCCB]

Yay, season 2!

[@Gojiro7]

CBS's decision for their most popular show to cut its budget should have made the show go down hill instantly, its continued success is mainly because of Rod's dedicated passion for seeing the shows message reach the wide audience it deserved, even if the show kept churning out home run after home run, if every episode from then on felt like a cheep soap opera mixed with a bad B movie, then this show would have sunk no matter what, Rod should be commended for keeping it all together ontop of his other accomplishments

[@jodyharnish9104]

I did a search on "king nine will not return full episode", and everything that came up was a bunch of blah blah blah bullshit with people who had nothing to do with the show running their mouths about it. I just want to watch the show!

[@kagekun1198]

If they'll do Eye of the Beholder, I hope they'll do Masks as well.

[@crowtrobot17]

Masks is from the 5th season, so it will be awhile.

[@miroslavtomic7038]

Following the death of Mary Skinner in 2015, there are no surviving cast member from this episode.

[@melissadahl7561]

The twist is the best part but the rest of it is a bit slow, I totally agree. If they would have been able to expand it, maybe tell more about the past, it would have been better.

[@mrfish3961]

i like it😀

[@majinsole8554]

This man really said that, on a rewatch, this one will not return… ~_~

[@otterzrkuhl]

This episode is flawed, but I'll forever remember it because of the twist. The tragedy of the survivor's guilt has always impacted me.

[@Merit2397]

"King Nine Will Not Return" but Rod Serling will, in both the in the beginning and end of each episode of... The Twilight Zone.

[@ArnoldStark123]

Doug walker 🤣🤣🤣

[@Unownshipper]

I was going to rate this as one of my least favorite Twilight Zone episodes, not because it's bad but because I found Bob Cummings' acting was so convincing, so absorbing. It felt unpleasant to sit and watch a man going mad or dying of exposure. I understand Walter's connection with Dewey Martin, but don't agree with it. Cummings is more believable (even if Jim-enez sounded awkward). The conclusion saves it for me. PTSD, survivor's guilt, call it what you will, but the theme is the very real trauma brought on by losing friends during war, and it totally grounded the story. I actually thought the final twist (the sand in his shoes) felt tacked-on and silly. It wasn't necessary, the performance stood on its own merit without the need for the foolish suggestion that Embry was somehow transported literally to the plane. Wouldn't it be funny if Embry was just walking through a city park earlier that day and crossed over a sandbox?

[@agr714]

I recommend Adam Baldwin in the radio version.

[@ray_ray_7112]

Nice of you to mention Sole Survivor. I love that movie. It was better than this Twilight Zone episode, although, the episode had to be a major influence in producing the movie.

[@ns0557212]

That's funny I thought the same the only time I ever watched it. Why is this good? It's another bait and switch some guy NOT in the desert he's obviously in and also Nonstop Badguy villian monologuing lol.

[@Chuckles..]

I agree, as much as I wanted to like King Nine, it falls a little flat. Bob Cummings did a great job with what he was given. But more importantly, r.i.p. crew of the Lady Be Good.

[@debbieanne7962]

Totally agree with your review. Robert Cummings acting was over the top, there wasn't much happening, nothing much to look at either. The best part of the episode was the end reveal which was pretty predictable

[@shaider1982]

Hope the episodes which are said.to be inspirations for the terminator franchise is covered.👍

[@DanBrizuela]

Can someone explain to me the difference between film and video. Is it the camera they use or the tape? I know that was a thing with Doctor Who throughout the original run.

[@Wolfinger1935]

It is both the medium on which the image is captured AND the camera that are different. A film camera actually runs film (a photographic process) through its innards. The film, black and white in those days, was a silver nitrate layer on an acetate substrate. The light coming through a lens would "expose" the silver at different levels of intensity and when run through chemical baths would create an actual image. 24 separate images per second. If you held up a piece of film to a light, you can see the images. Video is a purely electronic process. There is a lens, (similar to a film camera) but the light would be focused on an electronic receptor. This receptor converts the light to electrical signals that are recorded to magnetic tape. If you hold up magnetic tape to light, you will not see any images, just a brownish strip of plastic. Film, particularly in those days had a much crisper and cleaner look to it. The blacks are darker and more saturated and the contrast is much deeper. The image itself is considerably sharper than the video back then (not so much with today's 4K) . Video was also shot at 30 frames per second rather than 24. (29.97 to be exact) which gives it a noticeably different look and feel. You will even notice "ghosting" as the video cameras pan and move past high contrast areas... like lights. In terms of picture resolution, video from that time was 480 x720 pixels (sort of... it is a little more complicated than that). 35mm film (the standard ) has somewhere in the vicinity of 8 million pixels for black and white. If you watch a filmed episode and a video taped episode back to back, you will easily see the difference. This is all a very simplified and not really complete explanation (I'm sure there are some video engineers out there who will cringe at my over simplification!!) , but will give you the basics. Video has come a long way since then. 4k, 8k now have image quality comparable to film.

[@DanBrizuela]

@@Wolfinger1935 So in some way videotape was the precursor for digital?

[@Wolfinger1935]

@@DanBrizuela Without a doubt. Digital was the next evolution. Instead of electronic signals on magnetic tape, the sensors translate the image into bits... 1's and 0's. There is something to be said for shooting on film though. There is a quality to film that still hasn't quite been matched by digital. Tarantino still shoots on film. The last two Bond films were shot on film. It has something to do with the grain structure of the particles on acetate. Spielberg says it gives "life" to the image. Even in still photography, there is something about film that looks just a little more pleasing to the eye (at least in my opinion) However, Digital is so much less expensive, so much faster and so much more easily manipulated in editing and post production that it is the future.... until Holographic 3d comes about.

[@edwardferry8247]

Huge fan of Serling, the Zone and the generally brilliant acting. However, I have always felt Cummings performance in this was horrible and I was convinced the episode wouldn’t have been written or directed by Serling. I remember being shocked at the end to know he had written it. How they filmed this and didn’t figure out Cummings performance was killing the story and find another way around things will always bewilder me.

[@CrossJeniel]

Wow

[@miroslavtomic7038]

Had they replaced Rod as narrator, after the huge success of first season, this show would probably not survive beyond second season. It is well known fact that there were many fans who tuned in this show just to listen to Rod's opening and closing narrations.

[@sonicboomman9850]

i have a theory that maybe embry was in the desert till somebody found him and brought him into the hospital

[@fleeceblanket9515]

Can't believe they killed off JIMenez.

[@MrJuvefrank]

0:24 You can no longer have crazy stuff like swastikas on film these days because the screamers will make you stop showing your program or movie if you do.

[@andrewcozzini8259]

Huh, this is one I've yet to see. The twist here is a good one and makes sense with the internal logic. Seems like a plot they could have reused in the 2000s reboot, using 9/11 as a more timely cultural stand-in, but perhaps that'd have been seen as offensive or too soon.

[@lunasif]

So this is where the Nostalgia Critic learnt to act crazy from...

[@justsomeokami8867]

This was an okay episode but this may have been one of the few where I was just waiting for the twist.