Soon-to-be prolific big-budget director Richard Donner was at the helm of this episode which is one of the more famous ones in the series. William Shatner plays Bob Wilson, a white-knuckled passenger on a plane who has recently recovered from a nervous breakdown. With his overly active imagination working at full-speed, it doesn't take long for him to begin hallucinating during a violent and stormy flight. He swears there's some kind of monster (or gremlin) out on the wing of the aircraft and the darn thing looks like it's causing severe engine damage. Despite assurances from his wife (a sympathetic Christine White) and an equally concerned stewardess (Asa Maynor), old Bob is convinced that something has to be done to save the plane from certain destruction, and all the sedatives in the world won't change his mind. Maybe shooting the ugly thing off the wing will do the trick.
Written by Richard Matheson, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" taps into man's fear of the unknown and especially the sense of helplessness when one is on a turbulent flight during the bleakest of nights. Until the final minute, viewers are kept in the dark about whether Shatner is dreaming up the whole thing in his mind or if a real monster is out there. Since this is the Twilight Zone, the latter makes more sense. This episode put Shatner's unique talent squarely on the map with US audiences and he's been going great guns ever since. It didn't have the same effect on Christine White's career, however. Except for a brief role in "Magnum Force" with Clint Eastwood, she hasn't been seen much over the years. Of course, Richard Donner went on to much bigger and better things with the "Superman" film franchise and a host of other Hollywood blockbusters.
Written by Richard Matheson, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" taps into man's fear of the unknown and especially the sense of helplessness when one is on a turbulent flight during the bleakest of nights. Until the final minute, viewers are kept in the dark about whether Shatner is dreaming up the whole thing in his mind or if a real monster is out there. Since this is the Twilight Zone, the latter makes more sense. This episode put Shatner's unique talent squarely on the map with US audiences and he's been going great guns ever since. It didn't have the same effect on Christine White's career, however. Except for a brief role in "Magnum Force" with Clint Eastwood, she hasn't been seen much over the years. Of course, Richard Donner went on to much bigger and better things with the "Superman" film franchise and a host of other Hollywood blockbusters.