Examination Day

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Examination Day was an episode of The Twilight Zone. In it, David Mendenhall plays Dickie Jordan, an intelligent and curious youth of the future. It is Dickie's 12th birthday which means he must report to the facility for government testing as per the regulations. Anxiously his parents try to figure out if their child will satisfy the requirements for passing the test. However, this is no ordinary test and the outcome is anything but normal...

When Dickie arrives at the testing facility, he is given a medicine which the examiner says will ensure he tells the truth. Dickie is then given a series of tests, and appears to be doing very well. After his parents have anxiously awaited the test results at home for hours, they are contacted by the government - Dickie's test results are in. Sadly, he has been judged as being too intelligent; the government examiners ask the Jordans where they would like Dickie's body to be buried as the parents burst into tears.

This episode is based on the short story "Examination Day", by Henry Slesar. The story was first published in Playboy magazine (February, 1958).