The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone (1959)

5 mistakes in To Serve Man

(9 votes)

To Serve Man - S3-E24

Other mistake: Chambers asks what time it is on Earth, a strangely vague question to which the Kanamits grant an equally odd answer: on Earth, it is noon. It can't be noon everywhere on Earth at once. While it can be fancifully explained away ("They somehow knew to answer for the time zone he was taken from"), it still jars the viewer, because neither Chambers nor the aliens, both highly intelligent, should make this sort of imprecise mistake. Both director Richard Bare and Damon Knight, author of the original short story, confirmed this as a scriptwriting error that should have been caught before shooting began. (00:02:15)

Jean G

To Serve Man - S3-E24

Factual error: Author Damon Knight was happy with Rod Serling's TV adaptation of his short story - except for the change that allowed the humans to translate the Kanamit language as though it were a code. Said Knight, "Without some sort of interplanetary Rosetta Stone, deciphering an unknown language would be impossible." (00:22:10)

Jean G

To Serve Man - S3-E24

Revealing mistake: Stock footage used here is far too obviously borrowed from several old movies. While the episode is set in the 60s, people's clothing and all the cars are noticeably many years out of date. (00:03:05)

Jean G

To Serve Man - S3-E24

Factual error: As well as the obvious problem with translating an unknown language as if it was a code, there is no chance that the word "serve" would have the same double meaning in English and Kanamit. It would be like the word "dope" and its French equivalent meaning "idiot" and "illegal drugs" in both languages.

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Suggested correction: Just as astronauts on the International Space Station and the Shuttle before that had to.

The Obsolete Man - S2-E29

[A bomb in Wadsworth's room is seconds from going off, causing the Chancellor to panic].
Chancellor: Please, please let me out. In the name of God, let me out. Let me out! Let me out!
Wadsworth: Yes, Chancellor. In the name of God, I will let you out.

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Come Wander with Me - S5-E34

Trivia: Producer William Froug rejected an extremely nervous young singer/actress auditioning for the part of Mary Rachel, and recalls thinking that "I'll probably kick myself. She'll probably be a big star." He turned out to be right on both counts. The aspiring young singer's name was Liza Minnelli.

Jean G

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Deaths-Head Revisited - S3-E9

Question: When Becker is reading the list of indictments to Lutze, what were indictments four and five? Lutze was screaming so loudly I couldn't hear them.

Answer: #4: That he did personally murder at least 14 (Jews). The last word I couldn't quite hear because of the screams, but I hear an "-oz" sound at the end, so it's an educated guess. #5: That he did sign and put into effect specific orders calling for the gassing and cremating of one million human beings.

Bishop73

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