To Serve Man (The Twilight Zone)

Infobox Television episode
Title = To Serve Man
Series = The Twilight Zone


Caption =Susan Cummings and Richard Kiel in "To Serve Man".
Season = 3
Episode = 89
Airdate =March 2, 1962
Production =4807
Writer =Rod Serling (Based on the story "To Serve Man" by Damon Knight. First published in the January 1953 issue of "If".)
Director =Richard L. Bare
Guests =Lloyd Bochner : Chambers
Richard Kiel : Kanamit
Susan Cummings : Pat
Joseph Ruskin : Kanamit Voice (uncredited)
Music = Stock - taken almost exclusively from Jerry Goldsmith's TZ episode scores for "Back There" and "The Invaders"
Episode list = List of Twilight Zone episodes
Prev = The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank
Next = The Fugitive

“To Serve Man” is an episode of the television series "The Twilight Zone".

The story is based on a short story "To Serve Man" written by Damon Knight. The title is a play on the word "serve" having the dual meanings "assist" and "provide as a meal".

Opening Narration

ynopsis

A race of aliens known as the Kanamits land on Earth and promise to be nothing but helpful to the cause of humanity. Initially wary of the intentions of such a highly advanced race, even the most skeptical humans are convinced when their code-breakers begin to translate one of the Kanamit's books, with the seemingly innocuous title, "To Serve Man."

Sharing their advanced technology, the aliens quickly solve all of Earth's greatest woes, eradicating hunger, disease, and the need for warfare. Soon, humans are volunteering for trips to the Kanamits' home planet, which is supposedly a paradise.

All is not well, however, when a code-breaker discovers the Kanamits’ true intentions: Their book, "To Serve Man", is a cookbook, and all their gifts were simply to make humanity complacent, much like fattening pigs or cows before they are slaughtered.

Closing Narration

Preview for Next Week's Story

Awards

*The short story "To Serve Man" on which this episode is based was retroactively awarded the 1951 "Retro" Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 2001.

Production

The full-size lower portion of the Kanamits' transport spaceship is the adapted version, with retractable stairway, of the saucer-shaped United Planets Cruiser C-57D, seen in MGM's 1956 film "Forbidden Planet". The ship used for the episode is also seen on the episode "Third from the Sun," and shots of the ship and/or stairway also appear in the episodes "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby," and "The Invaders."

Critical response

Marc Scott Zicree in "The Twilight Zone Companion"::In the show...a staff of cryptographers led by Lloyd Bochner attempts to decipher the alien language as though it were some secret code, which is utterly ludicrous. Without some sort of interplanetary Rosetta stone, deciphering an unknown language would be impossible.

Zicree’s comments have been seconded by many others, including Damon Knight, though an explanation as to how the cryptographers managed to translate the Kanamit language may be found in an early draft of Serling’s teleplay, which included this scene:

: (Close shot Chambers as seen over her shoulder. His eyes narrow.)

:Chambers: What’s the matter, Pat? What's going on?

: (Reverse angle looking toward her. Her lips tremble.)

:Pat: I...I finally deciphered their language. All of it. I read their book.

: (Close shot a suspended speaker overhead. A Kanamit's metallic voice rings out.)

:Kanamit's voice: Please move ahead. You're holding up our departure. Kindly move ahead.

: (Cut to: Two shot Chambers and Pat)

:Chambers: Well?

:Pat: Mr. Chambers...Mr. Chambers, the first page is just a collection of English words with their own translation. But the rest of the book...the rest of the book — It's a cookbook!"

Pat's shocking revelation has been repeated several times in popular culture, including television shows, films, and online games.

References

*Zicree, Marc Scott: "The Twilight Zone Companion". Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition)
*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

*imdb title|id=0734684|title=To Serve Man
* [http://www.tv.com/the-twilight-zone/to-serve-man/episode/12674/summary.html TV.com episode page]
* [http://www.cbs.com/classics/the_twilight_zone/video/video.php?cid=649562032&pid=EhJkGeNGuUqJfc9CCfD81h6TpxCIglq1&play=true&cc=2 Full video of the episode at CBS.com]