Opening Day (The Twilight Zone)

"Opening Day"
The Twilight Zone episode
scene from Opening Day
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 10c
Directed by	John Milius
Written by	Gerrit Graham Chris Hubbell
Original air date	November 29, 1985
Guest stars
Gary Hollis : Guest Frank McRae : Sheriff Shelby Billington : Girl at Party Michael Nissman : Ned Shawn Donahue : Joe, Jr. Martin Kove : Joe Jeffrey Jones : Carl Molly Morgan : Kerry Elan Oberon : Sally
Episode chronology
← Previous "The Uncle Devil Show" Next → "The Beacon"
List of Twilight Zone episodes

"Opening Day" is the third and final segment of the tenth episode from the first season (1985-1986) of the television series The New Twilight Zone.

Opening narration

“

The perfect crime is the one nobody realizes has been committed. Every day, we commit a dozen perfect crimes in our mind. We never get punished, because those crimes never happen. That's the way it is in the real world. But murder, like a bad meal, has a way of repeating, especially when the bloody stroke is struck...in the Twilight Zone.

”

Synopsis

At a party given by themselves, a young socialite, Sally, and her wealthy husband, Carl give the appearances of a still-happy relationship, although a little hatred does seem to seep through in conversation. Sally runs into her apparent lover, Joe, and they talk of murdering Carl. Joe claims he may not be able to go through with it. Sally says he has to do it, especially tomorrow—opening day of duck season. They rejoin the party and Carl talks with Joe about the next day and how excited he is to get to go shooting with him.

The next day, just as planned, Carl and Joe go out shooting for duck. Oddly enough, Carl talks of how much he appreciates Joe's friendship. No money, no greed, no games or hatred between them. Carl sees some ducks and begins shooting. He calls for Joe to shoot too, only he slams Carl in the head and knocks him into the lake. Repeatedly, Joe bashes Carl until he doesn't come up anymore. Soon, the police are investigating and Joe comes up with a story that sounds fishy but is believed.

Joe goes back to Sally and Carl's house. Two kids come in calling Joe "daddy" and Sally treating him like she treated Carl. In fact, he starts acting like Carl, even during a party similar to the night before. Suddenly, Carl shows up in an outfit like Joe's and follows Sally into the kitchen, just like Joe did the night before. Joe apparently is reliving the night before and the morning after at the duck shoot in Carl's shoes. Joe, instead of being knocked into the lake, actually falls in. Carl truly tries to help him, but Joe panics and drowns. Carl goes to tell Sally what happened. She comforts Carl and looks up at the picture frame and smiles…

Syndication

This episode was stretched into a half-hour run time for syndication, as recently shown on the Chiller TV network.

See also

• List of The Twilight Zone episodes

External links

• TV.com - The Twilight Zone (1985) episode: Opening Day
• Postcards from the Zone episode 1.25 Opening Day