The Twilight Zone | Shadow Play | 1959 (The Writers Were Way Ahead of Their Time)

Season 2 Episode 26, Watch on Amazon Prime Video: amzn.to/3tWFDa5
A jury finds Adam Grant (Weaver) guilty of murder, and the judge sentences him to death. Grant laughs with despair, then exclaims that he refuses to die again. He frantically tries to tell those present - including district attorney Henry Ritchie (Townes) and newspaper editor Paul Carson (King) - that he is dreaming, and if he is executed they will all cease to exist. Locked up on death row, Grant describes the experience of dying in the electric chair, from the perspective of the condemned, to a fellow prisoner in chilling graphic detail.
Later, a drunk Carson shows up at Ritchie's house. He has been speaking to Grant, and fears the convict might be telling the truth. He argues that their lives seem impossibly perfect, and encourages Ritchie to explore his own doubts. Ritchie's wife Carol, annoyed by Carson's outburst, goes to bed early, telling her husband that there are steaks almost ready in the oven.
Back at the prison, Grant waits for Ritchie to arrive as usual, noting the implausibility of his fellow inmate Jiggs (Edmondson) having a watch to tell him the time. Ritchie comes, and they have a conversation Grant has had many times before with other DAs, enough times to mouth the man's words as he says them. He points out as an example the implausibility of the DA coming to visit like this. Ritchie asks him why he cares about dying if it's all a dream, and Grant explains that he's tormented by having this same incredibly realistic nightmare every night. As Ritchie leaves, Grant tries to prove that they're in a dream, by predicting that the steak Ritchie's wife had cooked for supper will now be something else. Ritchie rushes home, and finds a roast in the oven.
Jiggs suggests to Grant that he try to get a psychiatric exemption from execution. To prove his sanity to Jiggs, Grant points out logical errors accepted as normal by those around him, such as the fact that his trial and execution are happening on the same day, and the fact that the prisoners perfectly fit the stereotypes Grant would come up with from movies. Meanwhile, at Ritchie's home, he and Carson watch the approach of midnight, debating the unlikelihood that the execution time matches the one shown in movies.
As Grant waits to be taken to the electric chair, Father Beaman visits him. Grant vaguely recalls him as a real priest who died when he was a boy. He further remembers that Carson is really the young priest who replaced Beaman, but struggles to place Ritchie. Carson finally persuades Ritchie that either Grant is right or he's insane, so he calls the governor for a stay of execution. But the call comes seconds too late, Grant is executed, and the world blinks out.
More info: en.wikipedia.o...)
The lights come up and Grant finds himself back in the courtroom, just as at the beginning. He is being convicted and sentenced to death for murder, again. The same people surround him in the courtroom, but their identities and roles have changed (e.g., Jiggs is now the judge, Carson is the jury foreman, Phillips is Grant's public defender). The story begins to proceed as before.

[@michaelderrico6270]

The most underrated Twilight Zone episode by far

[@JohnDaniels]

They were so ahead of their time

[@erickanew]

Yeah this is my 2nd best episode. 1st is walking distance. I like when he says "it's a roast"

[@imocchidoro]

Dennis Weaver was phenomenal.

[@jamesdrynan]

Talk about a nightmare! Weaver had an extraordinary career. He came to international attention as Chester Goode in " Gunsmoke. " He starred in Spielberg's " Duel " as the man chased by a homicidal trucker. His series, " McCloud, " ran for seven seasons. A consummate actor.

[@brionbraziel7968]

He's correct, it's all an illusion, a dream, an experience within a living vessel, a Lie...

[@JohnDaniels]

Simple Songs Row row row your boat. Gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily. Life is but a dream.

[@gemmapierre397]

Yes it really is no doubt

[@brionbraziel7968]

@@JohnDaniels absolutely goddamn right...

[@charlesbrown9213]

@Brion : or, perhaps, not within a living vessel, but within a complex of programming lines, or algorythms, which are housed in s mammoth server farm, residing in... the Twilight Zone.

[@christianorr1059]

This episode is a perfect analogy for damn near every time I attend a Washington Redskins, er, Washington Football Team, er, Washington Commanders game, whether home or away, preseason or regular season: get teased with the prospect of finally getting to witness just one lousy victory for just once in my life, only to get my heart-ripped out by a last-minute choke job.

[@JohnDaniels]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@johnwesterlund7204]

I FEEL THE SAME ABOUT JAX JAGUARS. LOL

[@WickedPrince3D]

I know how you feel, I live in Minnesota with the Twins baseball, and the Vi-Queens football. It might have been a while ago, but the Twins won a few World Series - did they get a new stadium? NO. The Vi-Queens never won anything and when they whined that they'd leave if we didn't buy them a new stadium the state decided to rob us all to cater to the losers.

[@felin_de_la_nuit]

My favorite TV show ever 🖤

[@Yelena504]

One of the best by far.

[@kevincarter4902]

I agree, Shadow Play was the quintessential Twilight Zone episode

[@nicholamc2629]

That poor steak.

[@JohnDaniels]

🤣💯👍🏻

[@SamuelJ888]

I wonder how many movies and TV shows were influenced by this episode of twilight zone

[@David-yw2lv]

There were two implications in this episode.The first is Grant actually is under a death sentence & keeps having nightmares about it.The other is he actually committed murder but was not convicted & the recurring dream is his conscience getting to him.

[@kokujin5446]

Twilight Zone is by far the greatest show.

[@hypnophonz]

The writer's were way ahead of their time. Some were born in the 30's but were supposed to be. Oh yeah, and they were all geniuses - and - oh yeah, they were so underrated.

[@erickanew]

"I'll regret this as long as i live"

[@brianarbenz1329]

Was that instant cut from the electric chair to the steaks sizzling the way the show's screenplay had it, or done by this YT channel's editing?

[@JohnDaniels]

Hi 👋, it was channel editing

[@stevepalleschi3394]

Top ten episode for me

[@deantheodosiou2886]

Just an observation: If the American flag behind Serling during his introductory narration has forty-eight stars, and I think it does, then this episode, filmed (but not aired) in 1959, was before Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union. Pretty cool, I think. But, man, this is one surreal TZ episode.

[@johnwesterlund7204]

DAG I WENT BACK TO LOOK!

[@philg4116]

Dennis Weaver’s real life nightmare was having his doodlebug cut off by a rotating cast of dream cutters, as follows: Columbo, Cannon, Baretta, Banacek, Barnaby Jones, Hec Ramsey, McMillan & Wife to name a few

[@nishottara777]

😭😭😭😭

[@angelmoon8114]

When the dream ends, no one wakes up, the dream was the dreamers only reality…….Jim Newman.

[@JohnDaniels]

That is good 👍🏻

[@lucarossi9453]

Here from the death row episode of hank

[@titopuente6149]

Me too. Is there more to this episode? It's not how he described it

[@razmatazz9310]

@@titopuente6149 The original episode is almost 30 minutes long. This is just an excerpt.

[@WickedPrince3D]

This episode was actually frightening. I'm not saying I wasn't with most of the episodes of TZ. I mean, what if the reason some people have a nice and easy life, and some people have a miserable one, is because they dream it that way?

[@JohnDaniels]

That's a great question, is it random chance or like you said did they dream it that way.

[@pennyname2756]

Thanks to this episode I found out about a sleeping condition that i have

[@JohnDaniels]

What sleeping condition do you have Penny?

[@pennyname2756]

@@JohnDaniels two of my doctors call it “hypnophobia”, even though it’s a generic term and doesn’t have a proper diagnosis yet. It’s basically fear of sleep, based on being inside a dream for undetermined time.

[@JohnDaniels]

@@pennyname2756 That is fascinating. How long have you had this condition, are you able to get much sleep, is it hard to go to bed, I mean do you just lay there and toss and turn until you finally go to sleep?

[@pennyname2756]

@@JohnDaniels it started in 2017, I was living abroad in a country that didn’t treat me very well… what happens is that I’m unable to fall asleep, unless my body is on the verge of exhaustion. I used to take medication to induce sleep, but I was still able to convince myself that I didn’t need to close my eyes or to rest. Right now we’re testing a new one that simply makes me black out and wake up hours later with my alarm lol I haven’t felt sleepy in years. In my dreams I’m 100% aware that it is a dream, I talk myself out of some nightmares (literally saying “wake up, this dream is awful, I’m not gonna waste my time here”). The fear part is a little complicated to explain and not a lot of people believe it's a thing, which is why the diagnosis is very generic so far. But hey, at least I can function now.

[@JohnDaniels]

@@pennyname2756 @Penny Name Sorry you were not treated well and glad you made it out of the other country. Sleep is so important, that must be very hard for you what you're going through. There was a point in my life where had enormous amount of stress and on two occasions I had what's called night terrors. I woke up it was having this horrible terror but my body was still asleep so I couldn't move but I was awake it was terrifying. when you say you're unable to sleep until your body is totally exhausted is that like insomnia or is it different?

[@eutue]

Dueling, Dying, & dabbling in booger sugar. That's Dennis.

[@barackmycat9448]

That`s super scary in my book.

[@bjb7587]

We're not in a dream. We're in The Matrix.

[@JohnDaniels]

Could be 😭

[@talibmael1579]

I'm Adam Grant I'm him in real life

[@JohnDaniels]

🤣🤣🤣😂😂👍🏻

[@ryanb7649]

I always think "Adam Grant," such a generic sounding name, is a product of the dream. The dreamer could be anyone.

[@nicholamc2629]

You are mistaken. You are in fact, my left bunion 😁😂😘

[@quantumofconscience6538]

Similar to the famous Twin Pekaboo's David Lynch Monica Bellucci scene... "We are like the dreamer who dreams, who then lives inside the dream" ....... "but who is the dreamer?" This episode is far closer to the "truth" than what science tells us via idiotic mumbo jumbo about a Big Bang. (Theory).... they even mock it in an absurd TV show.

[@marksmith3947]

This is a prime example of a weak Twilight zone episode. The concept isn't original at all, not is any new twist added. I see no justification for producing a show with such a tired theme. Yes, the production is excellent, but I find it quite forgettable. Outer Limits was much more daring.

[@JohnDaniels]

Outer limits was an awesome show and I like Tales from the Dark side.

[@1986BBG]

Twilight Zone the original, then The Outer Limits, then Night Gallery. They all kept us up at night

[@michaelwilhelm157]

pretentious sir, weak