A World of Difference

Infobox Television episode
Title = A World of Difference
Series = The Twilight Zone


Caption = Scene from A World of Difference
Season = 1
Episode = 23
Airdate = March 11, 1960
Production=173-3624
Writer =Richard Matheson
Director =Ted Post
Guests =Howard Duff : Arthur Curtis/Jerry Raigan
Eileen Ryan : Nora Raigan
David White : Brinkley
Gail Kobe : Sally
Peter Walker : Sam
Susan Dorn : Marian Curtis
Frank Maxwell : Marty
Bill Idelson : Stagehand
Music = Nathan Van Cleave
Episode list = List of Twilight Zone episodes
Prev = The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street
Next = Long Live Walter Jameson

"A World of Difference" is an episode of the American television anthology series "The Twilight Zone".

Opening narration

ynopsis

Arthur Curtis is a businessman. One day, he finds his phone no longer works, and is surprised to hear a voice yell, "Cut!" Suddenly he is faced with the fact that his office was actually a set on a sound stage. He is told that "Arthur Curtis" is merely a role he was playing, and that his real name is Jerry Raigan, a declining movie star. He tries to find Arthur Curtis's house, but cannot find any evidence of it; Raigan's agent tells him that the movie called "The Life of Arthur Curtis" is being cancelled because they believe he has had a nervous breakdown. Raigan/Curtis rushes back to the set, which is being dismantled, and demands not to be left in the uncaring world of Jerry Raigan. Raigan/Curtis and his "wife" board a plane which then "vanishes". Raigan's agent shows up on the set to find Curtis/Raigan has vanished-as the set is being dismantled, a teaser shows the "Arthur Curtis" show script left on a table, waiting to be thrown in the trash.

The "Eerie, Indiana" episode, "Reality Takes a Holiday", follows a similar premise where the main character, Marshall Teller, discovers his world to be a Hollywood studio for a TV show called "Eeree, Indiana", and where everyone else he knows is a character played by TV actors (who, in turn, refer to him by the name of his actor); much of his time is spent trying to return to the town of Eerie that he knows.

The episode has influenced popular culture to some degree. It was parodied on "Saturday Night Live", with the cast of the original " " forced to confront their show's cancellation. "The Truman Show" also had a similar premise, where the lead character's life is pre-determined to be a 24 hour TV show. Stephen King's short story "Umney's Last Case" follows a similar premise with a character in a book.

Closing narration

Preview for Next Week's Story

References

*DeVoe, Bill. (2008). "Trivia from The Twilight Zone". Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1593931360
*Grams, Martin. (2008). "The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic". Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0970331090

External links

*
* [http://www.tv.com/the-twilight-zone/a-world-of-difference/episode/12607/summary.html TV.com episode page]
* [http://tzone.the-croc.com/tzeplist/difference.html the-croc.com episode page] (unlike TV.com - lists Frank Maxwell playing Marty)
* [http://www.cbs.com/classics/the_twilight_zone/video/video.php?cid=621774886&pid=WBc_C4dzoLVdQFfsCfpUrRkJU6EAl__o&play=true&cc=0 Full video of the episode at CBS.com]