The Wall (The Twilight Zone)
Encyclopedia
The Wall is the fifty-sixth episode (the twenty-first episode of the third season (1988–1989)) of the television series The New Twilight Zone
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Alex, dressed in something akin to a NASA spacesuit, enters the bay and his mission is to go in, look around, then come back. Alex enters a frenzy of light and flashes but then blacks out.He awakens in what looks like a meadow on Earth and finds the atmosphere to support life, but no sign of the "gate". He continues to enter logs, unsure if he is being received. Soon, he encounters Kincaid, one of the volunteers, with a strangely dressed woman named Baret. He seems okay and not surprised to see another come through the gate. He claims that where they are is "heaven". The other volunteers meet with them and discuss where they are. According to the navigational specialist, the stars are not even close to being near Earth. Also, there appears to be no way to return from this side. The indigenous people don't mind welcoming them to their peaceful idyllic community. Alex claims to reserve judgment without more study, but apparently there is no way back. Back on Earth, Slater believes that they must close the gate and stop trying to lose people, but the government decides to send another.
Alex discovers that the volunteers lied about the gate, it is there but only seen at night. The volunteers claim that if they were able to go back, the government would send swarms of military men and ruin the paradise they've found. Alex disagrees and fights with Kincaid and escapes to go back. Baret follows him and begs him not to go back. Alex's honor seems to win out so he goes back to report what he found and discovers that the government will indeed use the gate technology to further war and war-like goals. Suddenly, Alex decides to go against them and return to the idyllic community. But first he must destroy the gate and the ability to re-create it. He destroys the computer and runs through the gate. Alex explains to Baret that without the information of how the gate was created, they couldn't possibly create another...
It is also similar, in all but a few respects, to an episode of the anthology series Night Visions. In that version, effectively exactly the same series of events happen, save for the protagonist wearing a spacesuit and that, once on the other side, he is quickly devoured by the monsters there—monsters which resemble humans at a glance, but have mouths filled with needle-like teeth. He dies and the monsters "close" the gate...an illusion, as they are shown figuring out how to open a second one.
The New Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is the first of two revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1950/60s television series of the same name. It ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.-Series history:...
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Opening narration
Plot
A military officer is escorted into an extremely secure facility, where he meets with a General Greg Slater. The general explains that two months prior the facility was just a research lab with a government contract, working on particle physics, wormholes, theoretical subspace corridors. Things got out of hand and once the rubble was cleared, a real hole with bright light started coming out. Every great mind was brought in to study it. They think it's a gate somewhere. Problem is if they close it, they may not be able to open it again. And they want this man, Alex, to go in there. Slater goes on to explain that four volunteers have gone in, but never returned. Some garbled communications came through, but nothing else. The government is debating about what to do; some want to shut it down and declare them missing, others want to go ahead in the interest of national security. Alex may be the last one to go, but Slater believes he'll come back.Alex, dressed in something akin to a NASA spacesuit, enters the bay and his mission is to go in, look around, then come back. Alex enters a frenzy of light and flashes but then blacks out.He awakens in what looks like a meadow on Earth and finds the atmosphere to support life, but no sign of the "gate". He continues to enter logs, unsure if he is being received. Soon, he encounters Kincaid, one of the volunteers, with a strangely dressed woman named Baret. He seems okay and not surprised to see another come through the gate. He claims that where they are is "heaven". The other volunteers meet with them and discuss where they are. According to the navigational specialist, the stars are not even close to being near Earth. Also, there appears to be no way to return from this side. The indigenous people don't mind welcoming them to their peaceful idyllic community. Alex claims to reserve judgment without more study, but apparently there is no way back. Back on Earth, Slater believes that they must close the gate and stop trying to lose people, but the government decides to send another.
Alex discovers that the volunteers lied about the gate, it is there but only seen at night. The volunteers claim that if they were able to go back, the government would send swarms of military men and ruin the paradise they've found. Alex disagrees and fights with Kincaid and escapes to go back. Baret follows him and begs him not to go back. Alex's honor seems to win out so he goes back to report what he found and discovers that the government will indeed use the gate technology to further war and war-like goals. Suddenly, Alex decides to go against them and return to the idyllic community. But first he must destroy the gate and the ability to re-create it. He destroys the computer and runs through the gate. Alex explains to Baret that without the information of how the gate was created, they couldn't possibly create another...
Closing narration
Themes
This episode is vaguely similar to the final episode of the original Twilight Zone series called "The Bewitchin' Pool", where two children living with rich, yet emotionally negligent parents about to divorce each other escape their miserable life by diving in their backyard pool and swimming to a parallel universe where a poor, yet caring woman looks after children in an isolated meadow.It is also similar, in all but a few respects, to an episode of the anthology series Night Visions. In that version, effectively exactly the same series of events happen, save for the protagonist wearing a spacesuit and that, once on the other side, he is quickly devoured by the monsters there—monsters which resemble humans at a glance, but have mouths filled with needle-like teeth. He dies and the monsters "close" the gate...an illusion, as they are shown figuring out how to open a second one.