To Serve Man (The Twilight Zone)

"**To Serve Man**"
"To Serve Man"
The Twilight Zone episode
	Susan Cummings and Richard Kiel
Episode no.	Season 3; Episode 24
Directed by	Richard L. Bare
Teleplay by	Rod Serling
Based on	"To Serve Man"; by Damon Knight
Featured music	Stock (from Jerry Goldsmith's scores for "Back There" and "The Invaders")
Production code	4807
Original air date	March 2, 1962
Guest appearances
	Lloyd Bochner; Richard Kiel; Susan Cummings; Joseph Ruskin; Hardie Albright; Theodore Marcuse; Bartlett Robinson; Carleton Young; Nelson Olmsted;
	Lloyd Bochner; Richard Kiel; Susan Cummings; Joseph Ruskin; Hardie Albright; Theodore Marcuse; Bartlett Robinson; Carleton Young; Nelson Olmsted;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank"	Next →; "The Fugitive"
	The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) (season 3)
	List of episodes

"To Serve Man" is episode 89 (number 24, season three) of the anthology series The Twilight Zone (1959). It originally aired on March 2, 1962, on CBS.^[1] Based on Damon Knight's 1950 short story of the same title, the episode was written by Rod Serling and directed by Richard L. Bare.^[2]^[3] It is considered one of the best episodes from the series, particularly for its final twist.^{[citation needed]}

Opening narration[]

Respectfully submitted for your perusal – a Kanamit. Height: a little over nine feet. Weight: in the neighborhood of three hundred and fifty pounds. Origin: unknown. Motives? Therein hangs the tale, for in just a moment, we're going to ask you to shake hands, figuratively, with a Christopher Columbus from another galaxy and another time. This is the Twilight Zone.

Plot[]

The episode begins with Michael Chambers locked alone in a spartan room with a cot. A voice offers him a meal, delivered through a small aperture in the wall, which he grimly refuses.

The setting changes to several months earlier, on Earth. The Kanamits, a race of 9-foot-tall (2.7 m) aliens, land on Earth as the planet is beset by international crises. As the secretary-general announces the landing of aliens on Earth to the worldwide public at a United Nations news conference, one of the aliens arrives and addresses the assembled delegates and journalists via telepathy. He announces that his race's motive in coming to Earth is to provide humanitarian aid by sharing their advanced technology, including an atomic generator that can provide electric power for a few dollars, a nitrate fertilizer that can end famine, and a force field that can be deployed to prevent international warfare. After answering questions, the Kanamit departs without comment and leaves a book in the Kanamit language, which leads to Michael Chambers, a US government cryptographer, being pressed into service.

Initially wary of an alien race who came "quite uninvited", international leaders begin to be persuaded of the Kanamits' benevolence when their advanced technology puts an end to hunger, energy shortages, and the arms race. Trust in the Kanamits seems to be justified when Patty, a member of the cryptography staff led by Chambers, decodes the title of the Kanamit book: To Serve Man. The Kanamits submit to interrogation and polygraph, at the request of the UN delegates. When they declare their benevolent intentions, the polygraph indicates that the Kanamit is speaking the truth.

Soon, humans are volunteering for trips to the Kanamits' home planet, which they describe as a paradise. Kanamits now have embassies in every major city on Earth. With the U.S. Armed Forces having been disbanded and world peace having been achieved, the code-breaking staff has no real work to do, but Patty is still trying to work out the meaning of the text of To Serve Man.

The day arrives for Chambers's excursion to the Kanamits' planet. Just as he mounts the spaceship's boarding stairs, Patty runs toward him in great agitation. While being held back by a Kanamit guard, Patty cries: "Mr. Chambers, don't get on that ship! The rest of the book, To Serve Man, it's... it's a cookbook!" Chambers tries to run back down the stairs, but a Kanamit blocks him, the stairs retract, and the ship lifts off.

Chambers is in the shipboard room now, and is again offered a meal. He throws it to the floor, but a Kanamit retrieves it and encourages him to eat: "We wouldn't want you to lose weight". At last, Chambers, in one of the few instances of the series where a character breaks the fourth wall, says to the audience: "How about you? You still on Earth, or on the ship with me? Really doesn't make very much difference, because sooner or later, we'll all of us be on the menu... all of us." The episode closes as Chambers gives in and breaks his hunger strike.

Closing narration[]

The recollections of one Michael Chambers, with appropriate flashbacks and soliloquy. Or, more simply stated, the evolution of man. The cycle of going from dust to dessert. The metamorphosis from being the ruler of a planet to an ingredient in someone's soup. It's tonight's bill of fare from the Twilight Zone.

Cast[]

Lloyd Bochner as Michael Chambers
Richard Kiel as the Kanamits (all of whom appear alike)
Susan Cummings as Patty
Joseph Ruskin as Kanamit voice
Hardie Albright as Secretary General
Theo Marcuse as Citizen Gregori (credited as Theodore Marcuse)
Bartlett Robinson as Colonel #1
Carleton Young as Colonel #2 (credited as Carlton Young)
Nelson Olmsted as Scientist

Production[]

The arriving Kanamit ship is shown as scenes extracted from The Day the Earth Stood Still, but with different sound; the departing Kanamit ship is shown as a scene extracted from Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, also with different sound.

Critical response[]

TV Guide ranked the episode at number 11 on its list of the "100 Greatest Episodes of All Time"^[4] and ranked the ending as the "Greatest Twist of All Time".^[5] Time listed the episode among the "Top 10 Twilight Zone Episodes".^[6] Rolling Stone named the episode first on its list of the "25 Best Twilight Zone Episodes".^[7]

Marc Scott Zicree, writing in The Twilight Zone Companion, was critical of the episode, stating that "without some sort of interplanetary Rosetta stone, deciphering an unknown language would be impossible." He also said that the word "serve" is highly unlikely to have the same dual meaning in both English and an alien language.^{[citation needed]}

Cultural influence[]

The episode is occasionally referenced in popular culture, usually with the line "It's a cookbook!" or some variation thereof.^[8]^[9] References or parodies can be found in television series as Futurama, The Simpsons,^[10]^[11] and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; movies such as The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, and Madagascar (The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear featured a tongue-in-cheek cameo by Lloyd Bochner, who played Michael Chambers in the TZ episode);^[12]^[8] the comic strip Mark Trail;^[13] and musical works by artists Nuclear Assault, Cattle Decapitation, Mono Puff, and El-P. A reference to the episode has even found its way into an unofficial emblem for a United States Air Force unit.^[14]

Sequel[]

The 2019 Twilight Zone episode "You Might Also Like" serves as a sequel to the episode "To Serve Man", which features the Kanamits, who are still learning about Earth's culture.^[15]

References[]

^ Hunter, Rob (October 22, 2011). "Exploring The Twilight Zone #89: To Serve Man". Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. The Twilight Zone (Episode #89): "To Serve Man" (airdate March 2, 1962)
^ Belasco, Warren James (2006). Meals to come: a history of the future of food. University of California Press. pp. 130, 358. ISBN 0-520-24151-7.
^ To Serve Man at Rotten Tomatoes
^ TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes & Noble. 2004. p. 667. ISBN 0-7607-5634-1.
^ Roush, Matt (November 4–10, 2013). "Eyes on Surprise! The 60 Most Startling Twists of All Time". TV Guide Magazine. TV Guide. 61 (3187): 22–23.
^ Cruz, Gilbert (October 2, 2009). "Top 10 Twilight Zone Episodes". Time Inc. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
^ Fear, David; Collins, Sean T.; Martoccio, Angie (April 1, 2019). "25 Best 'Twilight Zone' Episodes". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Guerrasio, Jason (December 30, 2014). "The 10 Most Shocking Episodes of The Twilight Zone". Esquire. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017.
^ Muir, John Kenneth (March 14, 2014). "Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV". Reflections on Film and Television. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017.
^ Booker, M. Keith (2006). Drawn to television. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-275-99019-0.
^ Booker, M. Keith (2006). Drawn to television. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 67–68. ISBN 978-0-275-99019-0.
^ Duffin, Allan T.; Matheis, Paul (2005). The 12 O'Clock High Logbook: The Unofficial History of the Novel, Motion Picture, and TV Series. BearManor Media. p. 236. ISBN 9781593930332.
^ Allen, James (April 19, 2018). "Mark Trail". Comics Kingdom. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018.
^ Broad, William J. (April 1, 2008). "Inside the black budget". The New York Times.
^ https://tv.avclub.com/the-twilight-zone-s-stylish-to-serve-man-sequel-cauti-1844185643

External links[]

"To Serve Man" at IMDb
To Serve Man at Rotten Tomatoes

[1] Hunter, Rob (October 22, 2011). "Exploring The Twilight Zone #89: To Serve Man". Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. The Twilight Zone (Episode #89): "To Serve Man" (airdate March 2, 1962)

[2] Belasco, Warren James (2006). Meals to come: a history of the future of food. University of California Press. pp. 130, 358. ISBN 0-520-24151-7.

[3] To Serve Man at Rotten Tomatoes

[4] TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes & Noble. 2004. p. 667. ISBN 0-7607-5634-1.

[5] Roush, Matt (November 4–10, 2013). "Eyes on Surprise! The 60 Most Startling Twists of All Time". TV Guide Magazine. TV Guide. 61 (3187): 22–23.

[6] Cruz, Gilbert (October 2, 2009). "Top 10 Twilight Zone Episodes". Time Inc. Retrieved March 6, 2013.

[7] Fear, David; Collins, Sean T.; Martoccio, Angie (April 1, 2019). "25 Best 'Twilight Zone' Episodes". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 17, 2021.

[esquire-8] Jump up to: ^a ^b Guerrasio, Jason (December 30, 2014). "The 10 Most Shocking Episodes of The Twilight Zone". Esquire. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017.

[9] Muir, John Kenneth (March 14, 2014). "Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV". Reflections on Film and Television. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017.

[10] Booker, M. Keith (2006). Drawn to television. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-275-99019-0.

[Booker-11] Booker, M. Keith (2006). Drawn to television. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 67–68. ISBN 978-0-275-99019-0.

[12] Duffin, Allan T.; Matheis, Paul (2005). The 12 O'Clock High Logbook: The Unofficial History of the Novel, Motion Picture, and TV Series. BearManor Media. p. 236. ISBN 9781593930332.

[13] Allen, James (April 19, 2018). "Mark Trail". Comics Kingdom. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018.

[14] Broad, William J. (April 1, 2008). "Inside the black budget". The New York Times.

[15] ttps://tv.avclub.com/the-twilight-zone-s-stylish-to-serve-man-sequel-cauti-1844185643

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hide v t The Twilight Zone (1959) episodes
Season 1	"Where Is Everybody?" "One for the Angels" "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" "The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine" "Walking Distance" "Escape Clause" "The Lonely" "Time Enough at Last" "Perchance to Dream" "Judgment Night" "And When the Sky Was Opened" "What You Need" "The Four of Us Are Dying" "Third from the Sun" "I Shot an Arrow into the Air" "The Hitch-Hiker" "The Fever" "The Last Flight" "The Purple Testament" "Elegy" "Mirror Image" "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" "A World of Difference" "Long Live Walter Jameson" "People Are Alike All Over" "Execution" "The Big Tall Wish" "A Nice Place to Visit" "Nightmare as a Child" "A Stop at Willoughby" "The Chaser" "A Passage for Trumpet" "Mr. Bevis" "The After Hours" "The Mighty Casey" "A World of His Own"
Season 2	"King Nine Will Not Return" "The Man in the Bottle" "Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room" "A Thing About Machines" "The Howling Man" "Eye of the Beholder" "Nick of Time" "The Lateness of the Hour" "The Trouble with Templeton" "A Most Unusual Camera" "The Night of the Meek" "Dust" "Back There" "The Whole Truth" "The Invaders" "A Penny for Your Thoughts" "Twenty Two" "The Odyssey of Flight 33" "Mr. Dingle, the Strong" "Static" "The Prime Mover" "Long Distance Call" "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" "The Rip Van Winkle Caper" "The Silence" "Shadow Play" "The Mind and the Matter" "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" "The Obsolete Man"
Season 3	"Two" "The Arrival" "The Shelter" "The Passersby" "A Game of Pool" "The Mirror" "The Grave" "It's a Good Life" "Deaths-Head Revisited" "The Midnight Sun" "Still Valley" "The Jungle" "Once Upon a Time" "Five Characters in Search of an Exit" "A Quality of Mercy" "Nothing in the Dark" "One More Pallbearer" "Dead Man's Shoes" "The Hunt" "Showdown with Rance McGrew" "Kick the Can" "A Piano in the House" "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank" "To Serve Man" "The Fugitive" "Little Girl Lost" "Person or Persons Unknown" "The Little People" "Four O'Clock" "Hocus-Pocus and Frisby" "The Trade-Ins" "The Gift" "The Dummy" "Young Man's Fancy" "I Sing the Body Electric" "Cavender Is Coming" "The Changing of the Guard"
Season 4	"In His Image" "The Thirty-Fathom Grave" "Valley of the Shadow" "He's Alive" "Mute" "Death Ship" "Jess-Belle" "Miniature" "Printer's Devil" "No Time Like the Past" "The Parallel" "I Dream of Genie" "The New Exhibit" "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville" "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" "On Thursday We Leave for Home" "Passage on the Lady Anne" "The Bard"
Season 5	"In Praise of Pip" "Steel" "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" "A Kind of a Stopwatch" "The Last Night of a Jockey" "Living Doll" "The Old Man in the Cave" "Uncle Simon" "Probe 7, Over and Out" "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" "A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain" "Ninety Years Without Slumbering" "Ring-a-Ding Girl" "You Drive" "The Long Morrow" "The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross" "Number 12 Looks Just Like You" "Black Leather Jackets" "Night Call" "From Agnes—With Love" "Spur of the Moment" "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" "Queen of the Nile" "What's in the Box" "The Masks" "I Am the Night—Color Me Black" "Sounds and Silences" "Caesar and Me" "The Jeopardy Room" "Stopover in a Quiet Town" "The Encounter" "Mr. Garrity and the Graves" "The Brain Center at Whipple's" "Come Wander with Me" "The Fear" "The Bewitchin' Pool"