The Twilight Zone (1959) s02e18 Episode Script

The Odyssey of Flight 33

You're traveling through another dimension a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination.
That's the signpost up ahead.
Your next stop, the twilight zone.
Global 33, receiving okay.
Magellan, how about a flight progress report? Coming up, skipper.
Global 33, receiving okay.
We'll be about four minutes behind flight plan at 30-degrees west.
Check.
Captain, gander wants to know if you intend an altitude change after we pass 30 west.
Advise gander negative.
Negative altitude change.
You'll be pleased to know that thanks to the quality of this aircraft and the fine weather and my brilliant flying we'll hit idlewild on schedule if our speed holds up.
Send it in, wyatt.
Yes, sir.
Shannon, shannon, copy, gander.
Global flight 33, position 52 north Flight level 35,000.
Estimating 51 north, Estimating idlewild 18:30.
Fuel remaining, 79560.
Temperature, minus 57.
Report received, captain.
How we doing back there, janie? Oh, your passengers are highly content but on behalf of the stewardesses i would like to respectfully request that we get to new york as soon as possible.
One's going to the opera two have heavy dates and the fourth is available to any honorable and single male crew member.
Oh, hold it a minute.
Do you feel anything? Feel anything? No, what do you mean? I don't know- i felt something something funny, like the sensation of speed.
I can't put my finger on it.
I guess i'm getting old.
True airspeed 470, we're level.
Suppose we picked up a tail wind? Yeah, maybe those jet streams are tricky.
It's that crazy feeling i can't shake.
I can't feel a tail wind, but i feel something.
Everything looks fine.
Magellan, try and get me a ground-speed check with the doppler.
Indicates 900.
That's impossible.
I better check with loran.
What's going on? Hold it a minute.
Skipper, loran indicates a ground speed of 830 knots.
I never heard of a tail wind like that.
Check it again.
See if you can raise weather ship charlie.
Ask him for a radar fix on the ground- speed check.
Magellan, are you sure about that ground speed? I'm not only sure, but we're still accelerating.
Global 33 tocharlie.
God in heaven, i can't even keep up with it.
Global 33 to weather shipcharlie.
Global 33 to weather shipcharlie.
What aboutcharlie? Nothing, sir, i can't raise them.
Well, i hope the wings stay on.
Don't worry about the wings.
It's the true airspeed that counts.
Ground speed means nothing.
Well, now, we just hit one lulu of a jet stream.
Magellan.
My needle just reversed past gander v.
o.
r.
How could we get past? Give me a fast position check.
Skipper, we are past gander.
We must be doing 3,000 knots.
Try to raise harmon control or moncton or boston.
At this speed, you might as well try to get idlewild.
Harmon control, this is global 33.
Harmon, do you read us? Moncton.
Moncton, this is global 33.
Boston.
Boston control, this is global 33.
Boston, please acknowledge.
Idlewild.
Idlewild, this is global 33.
Idlewild, do you read us? It's no soap.
I can't raise anyone.
You're riding on a jet airliner en route from london to new york.
You're at 35,000 feet atop an overcast and roughly 55 minutes from idlewild airport but what you've seen occur inside the cockpit of this plane is no reflection on the aircraft or the crew.
It's a safe, well-engineered, perfectly designed machine and the men you've just met are a trained, cool, highly efficient team.
The problem is simply that the plane is going too fast and there is nothing within the realm of knowledge or at least logic to explain it.
Unbeknownst to passenger and crew this aeroplane is heading into an uncharted region well-off the beaten track of commercial travelers.
It's moving into the twilight zone.
What you're about to see we call "the odyssey of flight 33.
" I hope you're proud of the fly-boys.
I'm seeingthe valkyrietonight.
Oh, janie.
I've always had a thing about valhalla.
Be a good egg and tell me i'm going to make it in time for the curtain.
Let me put it to you this way: I only hope that the valhalla you're talking about is at the metropolitan opera house in little old new york.
Instead of? Instead of a conducted tour through the real thing.
We're in trouble.
How bad? They don't know yet.
Go ahead, serve it.
Paula, remember: "Coffee, tea or milk?" And with a smile.
You've got a deal.
You know, you talk about ailments.
Well, i had an aunt once in boise, idaho had one of the worst livers in the medical history of the state.
That woman, when she passed on, rest her soul would you believe it, there were five medical associations who were bidding just to get her liver in a bottle on display.
But her mother- that was my father's sister- she absolutely refused to let them show her liver.
And it was like i said to my late husband, you can what did you say you were, dear? Group captain, madame.
I'm military attache to the british embassy in washington.
Oh, isn't that wonderful.
You know, i had a nephew in the navy in the second world war.
Yes, he was he was on a cruiser or a p.
t.
Boat, or something like that.
Or maybe it was a battleship.
Did you feel anything? Well, i felt a little queasy when we took off but like my late husband always used to say i've got a stomach that's just like it's odd.
It's very odd, indeed.
I have the strangest sensation of speed.
Acceleration.
Oh! Oh, dear, terribly sorry.
Got a little nerves, miss? Heavy date in new york.
Little shook up.
I don't blame you then.
Another channel well, what about it? Not a thing, captain.
Not a single thing.
Either everybody out there is off whack- everybody- or we are.
Well, check your equipment again.
I checked it four times.
All right, knock it off.
I might as well try to bull our way through and see if did we hit something? I don't know.
Check for damage.
Number three and four are still on the wing.
They look okay.
Ditto one and two.
Everything seems to be in a piece.
Purcell, go aft and check for cabin damage.
Report back right away.
Right.
I'd better get on the horn and calm down anybody that needs calming down.
Tell the girls to stay with it.
Right.
We're in trouble.
I don't know what kind of trouble.
That light, that crazy light- what was it? Something we'll have to find out- quick too.
What was that shaking? Turbulence? I doubt it.
It was more like a like a like a what? Like a sound shockwave as if we'd gone past the speed of sound.
You mean we hit mach one? We broke the sound barrier? But we didn't get any mach warning bell.
We probably wouldn't have not with a true airspeed of only 470.
I don't know what it is.
I just don't know.
See, magellan's last speed check was 3,000 knots.
We could have gone through some kind of a sound barrier but no kind of a sound barrier i ever heard of.
Magellan- can you give me a fix now? Global 33 to harmon control whatever that bump was, skipper it's really knocked out everything.
Global 33, moncton.
The altimeter and rate of climb are steady, skipper.
Captain, i can't reach gander, moncton or boston or anybody.
Either they're off the air or we are or both.
Hatch, give me a sun line.
I'll need a heading to idlewild from our last known position.
If we can't raise anyone, we'll establish visual contact.
Skipper, you can't do that.
If we leave this altitude well run smack-dab into the middle of 20 other flights.
Have you got any other alternative, craig? Sooner or later, we're going to have to find a landmark and go v.
f.
r.
Without radio contact, we're deaf and dumb.
As long as we stay up here, we're also blind.
There's no damage there, skip.
Everybody's shook up and curious.
They're also plenty scared.
Them and me.
Well, "ours is not to reason why.
" Into the valley of public relations.
Ladies and gentlemen this is captain farver.
I want to assure you that everything is under control and there is no danger.
We encountered a little clear air turbulence and atmospheric phenomena but there's been no damage to the aircraft except for some temporary radio malfunction.
There's no cause for alarm and i'll keep you posted.
If we run according to schedule we should be landing at idlewild inside of the next 40 minutes.
Thank you.
Purcell, what's the fuel? I don't feel that strange sensation of speed anymore.
Magellan, how about that heading to idlewild? Part of this is scientific, skipper.
Part of it's kentucky windage.
Try 262, that's as close as i can get.
All right, you all know what we're up against.
We have no radio contact.
Apparently, we're out of touch with all ground-radar points.
We don't know where we are.
We're not even sure if we're on airways.
This beast gulps fuel.
We all know that only too well.
So we've got one chance.
We'll go through this overcast and try to find something that looks familiar.
Uh it's very possible that we might hit something on the way down but it's a chance we've got to take.
I wanted you to know where we stand so everybody keep a sharp lookout for any other traffic and keep your fingers crossed.
I guess a few prayers wouldn't be out of order either.
All right, craig, let's go down.
Hit the horn button.
Skipper? I don't get it.
It happens to be a fact, though.
That's manhattan island down there.
Manhattan island? How could it be manhattan island? Where's the skyline? Where are all the buildings? I don't know where they are, but that's new york city.
One little item seems to be amiss.
The passengers yeah, i don't blame them.
Well, we're over land.
I don't see any any what, janie? Any city, right? We don't either.
Now, that's manhattan island down there.
There's the east river.
There's the hudson river.
That's staten island.
We've got all the topographical clues we need.
The problem seems to be the real estate's there it's just the city and eight million people are missing.
In short, there is no new york.
It's disappeared.
Skipper, verify something for me, would you? And in a hurry? Look! It's not possible.
What in the name of everything holy is going on? What's the score? We've been circling for a half an hour? They said they'd keep in touch, but not to come in.
Well, what do you think, skipper? Well, we've flown over what should be schenectady, albany points north.
I'll give you a surmise, gentlemen.
You may want to truss me up with ropes but it's the only single explanation i can give.
Somehow in some way we not only went through the sound barrier but we've gone back in time.
Well, what do we do about it? Skipper? Fuel is down to 49,435 pounds.
Then here's what we're going to do about it.
We're going to push this baby up until she's going as fast as she can.
We're going to climb till we get back into that jet stream and then we're going to try to go back where we came from.
All right, craig.
Let's do it.
I think we're going to make it.
We're picking it up again.
Do you feel it? We're picking it up again.
Look, i know you've got your hands full but somebody get on the pipe.
I've got three passengers back there that are nearly hysterical and those two kids back in the tourist section have half the passengers climbing the walls.
We made it! Look, we're back! Ladies and gentlemen this is captain farver.
We encountered some momentary difficulty back there but as you can see, we're over new york city now and should be landing inside of just a few minutes.
Thank you.
What about idlewild? Nothing doing, captain.
Our v.
h.
f.
Is still out.
Maybe their's is out, too.
Try using a high frequency.
I did already, captain.
There's nothing from idlewild.
What about la guardia? Somebody ought to hear us.
La guardia this is global 33.
La guardia, come in, please.
This is la guardia tower.
Who is calling, please? La guardia, this is global 33.
We're on the northeast leg of la guardia range.
Our v.
o.
r.
And i.
l.
s.
Appear inoperative.
Request radar vector to idlewild.
You request what? Radar vector to idlewild i.
l.
s.
What flight did you say this was? La guardia, this is global airlines flight 33.
Now, stop fooling around.
We're short on fuel.
Global 33? What kind of aircraft is this? This is a jet aircraft.
Did you say ajetaircraft? Let me handle it.
La guardia, this is a jet.
We have four, big lovely turbines and they're getting hungry, running short on fuel.
We want a radar vector to idlewild.
Do you have us in radar contact or don't you? I don't know who you are and we don't know anything at all about radar or jets or anything else but if you're really low on fuel we'll clear you to land here.
Captain, their longest runway is less than Do you think we ought to take a chance? Global 33, you're cleared to land on runway 22.
Altimeter 29-88, winds south, ten miles per hour.
The captain is to report to the c.
a.
a.
Office immediately after landing.
Roger, we'll keep in touch.
C.
a.
a.
? They haven't called the federal aviation agency c.
a.
a.
In years.
Now, we're going down below, craig.
Hit the horn button.
Skipper, do you know what that is? I know exactly what it is.
It's the new york world's fair.
The new york world's fair? But that means we'd be back in We came back.
We came back but, dear god, not far enough.
We can't land we can't land at la guardia.
We can't land in 1939.
We've got to try again.
What about the passengers? I think we better let them in on it.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain.
What i'm about to tell you what i'm about to tell you is something i can't explain myself.
Your crew is as much in the dark as you are.
If you look out from the left-hand side of this aircraft you'll see directly below an area called lake success.
Those buildings aren't the united nations.
They happen to be they happen to be the world's fair.
What i'm trying to tell you is that somehow, some way, in some manner this aircraft has gone back into time and it's 1939 but we're going to try to increase our speed and go back through the same sound barrier we've already done twice before.
I don't know if we can do it.
All i ask of you is that you remain calm and pray.
A global jet airliner en route from london to new york on an uneventful afternoon in the year 1961 but now reported overdue and missing and by now searched for on land, sea and air by anguished human beings, fearful of what they'll find but you and i know where she is.
You and i know what's happened.
So if some moment, any moment you hear the sound of jet engines flying atop the overcast engines that sound searching and lost engines that sound desperate shoot up a flare or do something.
That would be global 33 trying to get home from the twilight zone.
Rod serling, creator ofthe twilight zone will tell you about next week's story after this word from our alternate sponsor.
And now, mr.
Serling.
I've only got about 18 seconds to tell you that next week mr.
Burgess meredith returns tothe twilight zone as mr.
Dingle the strong.
He plays the role of an incredible little man who's given the strength of about 500 men and comes out of it as a kind of 20th century hercules and samson all rolled into one.
Its designed to send you right from your set into a fast bowl of spinach.
It's catching.
Captioned by media access group at wgbh access.
Wgbh.
Org be sure and see the colgate- palmolive company's new comedy show my sister eileen wednesday night on many of these same stations.

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