I Sing the Body Electric (The Twilight Zone)

Infobox Television episode
Title = I Sing the Body Electric
Series = The Twilight Zone


Caption = Scene from "I Sing the Body Electric"
Season = 3
Episode = 100
Airdate =May 18, 1962
Production =4826
Writer = Ray Bradbury (Based on his short story.)
Director =James Sheldon and William Claxton
Guests = Josephine Hutchinson : Grandma
David White : Father
Vaughn Taylor : Salesman
Doris Packer : Nedra
Veronica Cartwright : Anne (age 11)
Susan Crane : Anne (age 19)
Charles Herbert : Tom (age 12)
Paul Nesbitt : Tom (age 20)
Dana Dillaway : Karen (age 10)
Judy Morton : Karen (age 18)
Music = Nathan Van Cleave
Episode list = List of Twilight Zone episodes
Prev = Young Man's Fancy
Next = Cavender Is Coming

"I Sing the Body Electric" is an episode of the American television anthology series "The Twilight Zone".

Opening Narration

ynopsis

The father of a trio of motherless children takes the children to a factory, Facsimile, Ltd., to pick out a new robotic grandmother. When she arrives, young Tom and Karen are quickly smitten by the magical "grandmother." But older daughter Anne is initially reluctant; "Grandma" reminds her too much of her own mother, who died and left her a bitter young girl. Anne tries to run away, and accidentally runs in front of an oncoming van. Grandma throws herself in front of the van and is struck, saving the girl. Anne grows to love her when she realizes that Grandma is indestructible and will not leave them like their own mother had.

Additional Narration

Years later, when the children are grown and leaving for college, the grandmother robot explains to the children that she knows her job is done. Although she will return to the factory and be recycled into a new robot to look after other children, she will share with the other electric grandmothers the experiences she has had with Anne, Karen, and Tom.

Closing Narration

Preview for Next Week's Story

Trivia

*Although Ray Bradbury contributed several scripts to "The Twilight Zone", this was the only one produced.
*While Serling narrated the opening and closing portions of every other "Twilight Zone" episode, this one is notable as one where his narration appears in the middle of the story, as he describes how the children spent years happily with their android grandmother, and eventually they grew up. Other episodes to feature Serling's narration in the middle of the episode are "Walking Distance", "Time Enough At Last", and "I Shot an Arrow Into the Air".
*"I Sing the Body Electric" is a quote from the poet Walt Whitman.
*This was the 100th "Twilight Zone" episode.
*Ray Bradbury's short story "I Sing the Body Electric", on which this episode is based, was later the basis of the 1982 television movie "The Electric Grandmother".

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

*imdb title|id=0734576|title=I Sing the Body Electric
* [http://www.tv.com/the-twilight-zone/i-sing-the-body-electric/episode/12685/summary.html TV.com episode page]
* [http://www.cbs.com/classics/the_twilight_zone/video/video.php?cid=649562032&pid=Gpm_YGati3nyrbhVY6KXpEUiGjKAdJP2&play=true&cc=2 Full video of the episode at CBS.com]