This sucks.
This is just garbage.
It's a bad story to begin with,
and I'm a bad writer. I don't know what made me think
for five seconds I'd be able to turn this into anything
other than garbage.
I'm a fraud. I know.
Every writer thinks they're a fraud. It's cliché.
Some of us got to be right.
Most of us, actually, have to be right,
statistically speaking.
I mean, why do we act like impostor syndrome
means that you aren't an impostor?
Just because you have Stockholm syndrome
doesn't mean you're not in Sweden.
I quit.
Stupid.
Stupid. Oh, yeah, great.
Mushroom cloud. Not using that idea.
Why would you? The whole story is about the world blowing up,
so, obviously, don't show the part where the world blows up.
The most interesting part of the entire idea,
and John Genius...
decides to leave it out.
Super cool creative choice, Chayefsky.
You nailed it.
If I was smart,
I would've started the whole story with...
That's pretty good.
Yeah.
"There has been a nuclear war.
"The city is in ruins.
"The air is poisoned.
Billions are dead."
Hey. Hey!
I did it! I figured it out!
Figured what out?
The story!
Oh.
"Oh"?!
This is huge. We got to... we got to celebrate.
Come on. Let's go out.
I've been cooped up in here forev...
Oh, no. Oh, no.
We need to head to the shelter.
The reapers will be out soon.
It was just a story.
Witness Adam Wegman,
a writer who, up until tonight,
has never paid much mind to the idea
of an artist's social responsibility.
He's about to learn that there's more to art than entertainment.
He's about to... You know what?
I think we can beat this.
Um, is Sophie here? Cut.
And that's a cut.Sophie. Sorry, Owen.
No, no, no. Of course. Uh, sorry, guys.
Hey, I'm cool. Your show, dude.
But Betty is getting pretty pissed at you. What?
What? No. He's playing.
You're playing.No. I'm not actually joking.
She's super pissed. Why?
You're upset with me?
You know, I've been meaning to tell you.
You know, you've changed.
Oh, snap. SETH: Oh.
You've changed, Betty.
Am I part of the change?
What happened to you?
I mean, I...
Look, I had, I had to, like, deliver
a bunch of... Hey.
What's up?
Hey, Sophie. Um...
Uh, walk with me? Okay.
So, I think we're not there yet with the narration.
Yeah, I... Uh, you know?
...was actually thinking the same.
Cool. Obviously, we want this to be the best version
of the best thing it can possibly be.
Yes. Um...
is it a little too on the nose, you think?
Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. Thank you very much.
That's cool. Um, well, we could...
could also just, like, approach it
a little bit more metaphorically, I guess.Mmm.
I don't know.
Man, I think, like...
I think we're just... might be saying something
we don't actually want to be saying,
with the episode.
Oh. Okay.
Um, what do you mean? Like what part exactly?
The art versus entertainment stuff.
Like, sort of, like, just hit that softer?
I'm just saying, like, why do we need to make it an either-or?
Oh. Okay. Um...
Sorry. Um...
But isn't that what the episode is about?
Is it?
Um...
I mean, you wrote it.
Oh, no, no.
I mean, obviously, I want you to be on board.
Mm-hmm. Um, I guess I just thought the whole point
was sort of, like, the slippery slope, right,
from the path from superhero movies or, like,
stupid sci-fi crap to... idiocracy.
Huh.
I mean, our show is sci-fi, right?
Yeah, but it's The Twilight Zone.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, The Twilight Zoneisn't just monsters on a plane wing.
Right? Mm-hmm.
If there's nothing being said of importance,
then it's just campfire stories.
So you don't like campfire stories?
No, I did when I was a little girl.
Look, what Rod Serling did
was, he took this silly genre kid stuff
and he elevated it.
He made art with it
for grown-ups.
And the reason he's in every episode...
Well, until now, right?
Until now, sure.
Um, but the reason...
Seth needs his chair.
Oh, okay. Sorry.Yeah.
Um...
I just... I just remember, when I was a little girl,
I would watch the show and I would think, "What is
The Twilight Zone?"Mm.
You know? Like, when do we get to The Twilight Zone?
Oh... You know?
That's deep.
Well, okay, but I was a kid
and I didn't get what was good about the show.
Which is why Rod Serling had to come into every episode,
to remind us that The Twilight Zone isn't this, like,
sci-fi alternate dimension, right? What's good
about the show isn't the genre bullshit.Mm-hmm.
It's the message.
I just think the-the meaning is there,
with, like, the episode, you know?
If you could just, like, do a pass on the narration.
Just make it simple.
Take out some of the... all of, like,
the art v. entertainment stuff.
Okay. Like this...
Witness Adam Weg...
W-Wen-We... It's "Wegman,"
and... Whatever.
A writer who's
I-in the middle of a...
existential crisis.
So just, you know, give me your version
and I'll make it sound cool.
Witness Adam Wegman,
a man about to learn that between
truth and fantasy there is not a solid line,
but a dotted one.
Until tonight he lived
in a world of...
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Witness the power of art to change the world...
Shit.
Witness the power of a story
to change the world...
Fuck.
Witness the power of a story to write the world...
...to right the world...
Shit.
Hey, Anna,
I can't really talk right now. It's not a good time.
So you just straight up don't respond to texts anymore?
I'm really busy.
Right. Busy saving the world.
Sophie. Is Sophie here?
Wouldn't want to use the wrong adjective...
we might lose Europe.Shit.
Anna, I cannot have this conversation right now, okay?
I really need to go. Why do I even bother calling you?
Goodbye. I love you. Bye.Sophie...
Hey. Sorry.
They're asking me when we can get the new narration.
Because Jordan's waiting.
And he's, like, waiting.
Okay. Um...
Just, like, two minutes. I need two minutes.
Who should I send it to? We're actually gonna have to
write it up on cue cards, 'cause we're running short on time.
Okay. I can do that.
The reapers will be out soon.
It was just a story.
Picture, if you will, a storyteller
finally getting to tell the story of a lifetime,
except the story is one of inexplicable terror
and the lifetime is her own.
Her name is Sophie Gelson.
She has little patience
for childish diversions or daydreams.
Wasn't me. But she won't be able to tune out or turn away from what
lurks, blurry, in the background
of her own show.
She is about to learn
that when blurry comes to focus
there can be no escape from the fate laid out
for her...
in The Twilight Zone.
Okay.
No, I di... uh, no.
It honestly sounds like a better episode.
Seriously, what's going on?
You're traveling through another dimension,
a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind.
It is the middle ground between light and shadow,
between science and superstition.
And it lies between the pit of one's fears
and the summit of one's knowledge.
You are now traveling through a dimension of imagination.
You've just crossed over into The Twilight Zone.
Sorry.
I'm... I'm fine. I'm just gonna memorize it, so...
if it's... whatever the thing says is what I'm gonna say.
Well, yeah,
well, see, that's the... that's where it...
Are you okay?
Jordan.
I did not...
none of that is what I wrote.
Pretty sure it sounded like your voice.
I'm kidding. Of course. No, I know.
I don't know what happened.
The cue cards got messed up.
I think somebody must have switched them.
Somebody switched them.
It's so weird, though. Right?
Like, why would anybody do that?
Who would do that? It could be, like, a prank for...
blooper reel... Uh-huh. Yeah, well,
Sometimes that happens. that wasn't funny.
Wait, a prank for a blooper reel
that's not funny?
No kidding.
Can I have some of this? Also, take that. Thank you.
Well, I'm gonna figure out what happened.
Mm. Don't. Don't sweat it.
Honestly. Like, if you're worried about anything,
you should be worried about the fact that you are
apparently in an episode of The Twilight Zone
right now.
It's not a bad episode idea, though.
A writer who can't face her fears.
You think so? I love it. Yeah.
Are you gonna follow me to the bathroom? Oh, no.
No, no. Uh, do send me
that narration, though.
Your version, not the one...
by the demon or whatever. Okay, got it, J.P.
Thanks. Mm-hmm.
So, what was that?
What was what?
That stunt with the cue cards.
Your guess is literally as good as mine.
It wasn't me.
It wasn't.
Well, our director is asking for an explanation.
Okay. Because apparently now we're taking a break,
and we don't have time to take a break.
A break means we're running into lunch, which means we're gonna lose
about an hour that we cannot afford to lose. Amy, I promise you,
I care about this show at least as much as you do.
Do you want me to talk to him?
I can do that right now, actually. I would not bother him
unless I had a real good explanation
as to what happened back there.
And that background actor in the library scene?
What background actor? Please,
as if you weren't explicitly referencing that
in the little narration you wrote.
"Lurks blurry in the background"? Come on.
I told you, I didn't write that.
Well, all I know is, Owen is definitely gonna want to know
about that whole shitshow, too.
What shitshow are we talking about?
I literally have no idea...
The blurry man.
The blurry man in the background
who somehow wound up in every single take,
in the goddamn library scene?
"...what lurks,
"blurry...
in the background."
So, like...
you're clearing your name, huh?
Rooting out sabotage,
saving the show? That's pretty exciting.
It's not excitement I need.
Okay.
Here it is.
Check this out.
I thought I should let you know,
there were some pages missing.
Ma'am, are you sure you checked this book out
at thislibrary?
There. See?
Oh, my God. You should've seen Owen's face
when he found out there were...
no takes without this guy.
How did I not notice that? Right?
Nobody remembers seeing this guy.
Owen kept saying,
"He wasn't there! He wasn't there!"
I mean,
background couldn't explain it.
Did you do it?
What?
Why would you think that?
Well, I mean,
you wereon set when we shot
the first episode, so...
I called up the first episode.
Like, once you notice it, you can't un-notice it.
That's the same guy, right?
What the hell?
So, what's the deal?
I have no idea what's going on.
Okay, people, that is lunch.
Back here in an hour.
Hey. Sorry. Um,
do you know where Jordan is? Oh. Nobody can find him.
He's on set somewhere. What do you mean,
"nobody can find him"?
Owen was looking for him... they said he was
checking something out on set
but couldn't figure out where he was, so...
Do you need me to, like, call someone or help you find him...?
Oh, no, no. It's okay.
Um, they said
he was on set?
Definitely. Yeah.
Okay, thank you.Yeah.
Jordan?
No one put that away?
Hello?
About to learn what?
Hello?
Who's there?
Real creepy.
Ha! Boo!
Fine. Whatever.
Guys, I'm serious.
Can you put the light back on?
Anna, hey, it's Sophie.
Sorry to call you so late, but...
something's going on.
I'm being stalked or something.
What? Where are you right now?
If you're in trouble, do not mess around.
I'm not. I'm at work.
What?
I just don't know...
You do not fucking call me and... what is wrong with you?
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I've just...
I've had a crazy day, and I amfreaked out.
I can't find Jordan anywhere,
and some dick is pulling some kind of stupid bullshit.
I'm sorry.
I just needed a friendly voice and just to get grounded again.
Okay. What you need is not a friendly voice.
What you need is to go to sleep for 20 hours.
I know. It's not that.
It's exhaustion.
Yes, Anna, yeah, I get it,
but something else is going on.
Something weird is happening.
What's weird is that you're eating
and breathing this TV show
like it's, I don't know, curing cancer.
Maybe Jordan just went home,
like a normal person does at 2:00 in the morning,
because normal people have a life that they go home to.
Okay, okay, okay.
You're right, you're right, you're right.
Okay? I hear you.
I'm just saying, I just...
Sophie...
Anna? Sophie...
Anna.
Hello?
Can you hear me?
Hello? Can you hear me?
Anna?
Anna. Anna.
Anna.
There's a guy.
Did you get your footage?!
It's a real clever bit: scare the writer.
Great look, too, by the way.
"Crew member terrorizes woman on set."
How do you think that's gonna play out on Deadline?
Fuck this.
Test me, motherfucker!
♪ When something is wrong
♪ With my baby
Hello?
Is there someone...?
♪ Something is wrong
♪ With me
♪ And if I know
♪ She's worried
♪ Oh-oh-oh
♪ Then I would feel...
Okay, Sophie.
It's a prank.
♪ We've been through
♪ So much together
♪ We stand as one...
Ow.
Help!
I'm on the street set!
Help!
Is there anybody?
Help!
Ow.
What the hell?
What are you showing me?
...to The Twilight Zone.
Um...
I get it. Jordan's putting you up to this, right?
Because it's real?
Because horror is real?
The genre stuff isn't just bullshit.
People really do stalk each other.
Put each other in... crazy,
sadistic...
fucking insane situations.
You maniac!
You think it's funny to scare people?
Look at me!
This isn't some fucking sketch!
It's people's lives!
I take it back.
I... I take it... I take it back.
It's brilliant.
Oh, it's next-level horror performance art.
Ow!
I-I never meant to question Jordan.
It's not real.
Yeah, it is.
No, it's not.
It's happening.
It's crazy but it's happening.
"Crazy" is a bad word.
You... you can't use that anymore.
It stigmatizes mental illness.
You're scared but you haven't lost your mind.
You want to think you have because that would be
less scary than what's actually happening.
What's "actually happening"?
Is it a ghost? Is that what's happening?
Is it a demon? 'Cause that'd be ridiculous.
Only because you're afraid of what you can't comprehend.
Afraid of what you can't control.
Don't run from it.
Don't try to fight it. Face it.
Face what? It's not real.
This is a nightmare.
It is a nightmare, and it's real.
You can't write your way out of this, Sophie.
Just let it in. Jesus Christ.
I've been working too much.
I got to go to sleep.
You've been asleep.
You need to wake up and see.
I had a psychotic break.
You haven't had a psychotic break.
Then why am I talking to myself?!
Hello?
Hello.
Oh, my God.
What the fuck?
This isn't real. This isn't real.
It's not real.
You're not real.
None of this is real.
You're not fucking real.
Okay. Seth.
Seth. Seth. Seth.
Seth. Seth!
Seth! Can you see him?
Hello?! Oh, my God.
Fuck, fuck.
Betty, Betty, Betty, Betty, Betty.
- Oh, my God. - Seth, don't you see him?
Oh.
Okay.
Fuck.
Oh!
And action!
I can't believe you slept with her.
Hey, I only slept with her...
Help! because you were sleeping with him.
Do you see him?! Please help me!
And a cut.
Help!
Oh, help.
Okay, I don't know what you are
or what you want, but... I don't know if you took Jordan...
Sophie, stop.
You can't run from this.
You can't hide from it.
It's not some campfire story you can reason away.
You have to be willing to see what's there.
Really there.
Fuck.
In the shadows.
Okay.
Okay, Blurryman.
I'm ready.
I'm ready to see.
Sophie.
Sophie?
It's time to go outside.
Sophie, all the other kids are out there.
I don't want to.
Babe, come on.
Let her watch the show.
It's just make-believe stories.
Helen!
She needs to get out in the real world with real people.
Where are you?
She could do both.
Right, Soph?
Sophie?
Soph?
Uh, we don't have a lot of time.
Maybe time for two more setups, but if you're happy, I'm happy.
I mean, I'm kind of happy, but I mean, I got... I need words.
Jordan.
Sophie.
I have the new narration.
You rewrote it. Good.
"What do we do when our world is turned upside down?"
"Just awoken to the fact..."
This is good.
This is very good.
"Closing our eyes instead
of opening them." Mmm.
Yes. Mmm!
Hey, this is good.
I love it.
All right. Good to go?
Yes. Let's go, let's go.
Fire.
It's dope. Thanks, J.
Thank you. Thank you. You nailed it.
You're sure you're good?
Ah, Seth. Why...? Just... no... yup.
Let's go while it's fresh.Yes.
You-You're the one that's gonna have to be here longer.
Take more time.
Oh, I... Yes, I'm ready.
Did you think it was over?
Did you, Sophie?
There's more to see.
What did I do wrong?
I did everything I could.
Did... did I learn the wrong lesson?
What was I supposed to do?
Hello?
I get it.
This is the end.
The end...
of the episode.
Some cruel twist.
The ironic fate.
It doesn't matter...
...what I do.
None of it's enough.
It's you?
My God.
I take it I have your attention.
Good.
There's a lot to explain.
Wait.
Where is...?
What is this place?
I think you know where we are.
It's where you belong.
You're ready now, Sophie.
We've got a lot of work to do.
What do we when our world is turned upside down?
When everything we thought to be true is ripped away,
and we're forced to face a new reality?
Sophie Gelson has just awoken to the fact
that when we put away childish things,
we may be closing our eyes instead of opening them.
And that perhaps our only hope is to face all reality,
a multitude of truths,
not shrinking from that vital, arrogant,
fatal, dominant "X" beyond imagination,
but to embrace it.
To open ourselves to the unknown,
not the end of the story
but a new beginning...
for The Twilight Zone.
Captioning sponsored by CBS
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org