Time Enough at Last

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The Twilight Zone episode
"Time Enough at Last"
Burgess Meredith as Henry Bemis
Season	1
Prod. code	173-3614
Airdate	November 20, 1959
Writer(s)	Rod Serling from a story by Lyn Venable
Director	John Brahm
Producer	Buck Houghton
Photography	George T. Clemens
Music	Leith Stevens
The Twilight Zone original series Season 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
List of The Twilight Zone episodes

"Time Enough at Last" is a half-hour episode of the original version of The Twilight Zone. Adapted from a short story in science fiction magazine If, "Time" left its mark on American popular culture and has frequently been parodied (see below). It is "the story of a man who seeks salvation in the rubble of a ruined world"— literally and figuratively—and tells of Henry Bemis, who loves books yet is surrounded by those who would prevent him from reading them.^[1] Following Bemis through the destruction of life as he knows it, the episode touches on such social issues as anti-intellectualism, the dangers of reliance upon technology, the notion that "the grass is always greener on the other side", and the difference between aloneness and loneliness.

Contents 1 Cast 2 Synopsis 3 Production information 4 Themes 4.1 Similar episodes 5 Reception 6 In popular culture 7 External links 8 References and further reading

[edit] Cast

• Henry Bemis - Burgess Meredith
• Helen Bemis - Jacqueline DeWitt
• Mr. Carsville - Vaughn Taylor

[edit] Synopsis

Opening narration:

"Witness Mr. Henry Bemis, a charter member in the fraternity of dreamers. A bookish little man whose passion is the printed page but who is conspired against by a bank president and a wife and a world full of tongue-cluckers and the unrelenting hands of a clock. But in just a moment Mr. Bemis will enter a world without bank presidents or wives or clocks or anything else. He'll have a world all to himself without anyone."

Henry Bemis (Meredith) can never find the time to read. He can't read at home or at work because both his wife and boss think reading is a waste of time. At one point his wife, as a cruel joke, asks Henry to read her poems from a book. He is very pleased that she has asked him to do this; however when he opens the book he finds that she has blacked out all the pages.

The following day Henry takes his lunch break in the vault at the bank where he works. During his break, nuclear war breaks out, and Henry emerges to find he appears to be the last man on Earth. As he wanders through his town he sees devastation everywhere. As Serling begins to speak, Bemis even calls out for his wife but to no avail.

Voice-over:

"Seconds, minutes, hours, they crawl by on hands and knees for Mr. Henry Bemis, who looks for a spark in the ashes of a dead world. A telephone connected to nothingness. A neighborhood bar, a movie, a baseball diamond, a hardware store, the mailbox at what was once his house and is now rubble. They lie at his feet as battered monuments to what was but is no more. Mr. Henry Bemis, on an eight-hour tour of a graveyard."

Even though he finds enough food to last him for the rest of his life, he loses hope and is about to commit suicide when he finds the public library. All the books he could ever hope for are his for the taking. He finally has all the time in the world to read. He sorts out stacks of books to read by the month. He finally has enough books to last until 2 years later. Unfortunately, as he is about to pick up a book, his reading glasses fall off and shatter.

Closing narration:

"The best laid plans of mice and men and Henry Bemis, the small man in the glasses who wanted nothing but time. Henry Bemis, now just a part of a smashed landscape, just a piece of the rubble, just a fragment of what man has deeded to himself. Mr. Henry Bemis in the Twilight Zone."

[edit] Production information

Inspired by an eponymous short story first published in the January 1953 edition of If: Worlds of Science Fiction, "Time Enough at Last" was written by Rod Serling and was one of the first episodes written for The Twilight Zone.^[2] Meredith also makes his first of four appearances on the series in the episode. He would later star in three more episodes, as well as provide the voice of Chester in "The Dummy" and its sequel, "Caesar and Me".

As with a number of other Twilight Zone episodes, "Time" made use of MGM studio resources. Of particular note to the viewer, the exterior, long library steps were filmed some months after the rest of the episode and used as the steps up into an Eloi public building in MGM's 1960 adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel The Time Machine.^[3]

[edit] Themes

Although the overriding message may seem to be "be careful what you wish for"^[3], there are other themes throughout the episode as well. Paramount among these is the question of aloneness versus loneliness, as embodied by Bemis' moment of near-suicide; the portrayal of societal attitudes towards books also speaks to the current decline of traditional literature and how, given enough time, reading may become a relic of the past.^{[4], [5]} All three themes would be further explored in later episodes.

Rod Serling's conclusion alludes to the Scots poem "To a Mouse" (for which Of Mice and Men was also named) in the conclusion. The original quote is, "The best-laid schemes o mice an men / Gang aft agley" (translation: "Often go awry"). Thus, as Serling says, Bemis has become "just a fragment of what man has deeded himself". Adds Jason Warren of Scifilm.org, "[M]ight there be a hint here that it's such men [as Henry Bemis], men who bury themselves in books, who unwittingly create weapons that can destroy us all?"^[6]

A suggested lesson plan accompanying "Time" for Cable in the Classroom includes an opening discussion about what "makes life worth living", what students value most, and what they would miss most if it was lost. During the episode, students are to observe Henry Bemis' feelings and the symbolism employed "to demonstrate man's subjugation to commerce, anti-intellectualism, the nuclear threat, and the elevation of ideas and learning". The lesson plan also recommends a group activity surrounding a hypothetical situation similar to that of Mr. Bemis.^[7]

In the era of the Internet and eBooks, the irony depicted in "Time Enough at Last" has an information age counterpart according to Weston Ochse of Storytellers Unplugged. As Ochse points out, when Bemis becomes the last person on Earth, he finally has time to read, with all his books at his fingertips and the only impediment is technology when his medium for accessing them—his glasses— breaks. In a hypothetical world where all books are published electronically, Ochse observes, readers would be "only a lightning strike, a faulty switch, a sleepy workman or a natural disaster away from becoming Henry Bemis at the end of the world".^[4] That is, a power outage, which would cut off access to distractions that normally keep readers from their books, would give them time to read, yet like Bemis, they too would lose their medium for accessing their books—namely the computer.

[edit] Similar episodes

Episodes of The Twilight Zone were well known for exploring the same or similar themes from different angles or perspectives.^[8] "Time Enough at Last" has strong thematic ties to several episodes from throughout the series, starting with that of isolation, first explored in the pilot, "Where Is Everybody?". In a plot very similar to that of "Time", "The Mind and the Matter" tells of a man who uses his mind to erase humanity, only to find his existence without other people unbearable. The notion of being an outsider, lost in a sea of conformity, was perhaps one of the most common themes of the series.^[3]

Other elements of the episode can be found throughout the series as well. "The Obsolete Man" takes the literary subtext—the notion that reading may eventually be considered "obsolete"— to an extreme: The state has declared books obsolete and a librarian (also played by Meredith) finds himself on trial for his own obsolescence. This notion, akin to Bradbury's "The Pedestrian", is also alluded to in "Number 12 Looks Just Like You", in which a perfect and equal world contradictorily considers works such as Shakespeare "smut". The "be careful what you wish for" notion appears throughout the series, in episodes such as:

• Escape Clause: A hypochondriac sells his soul for immortality—and discovers that "life imprisonment" carries a whole new meaning.
• A Game of Pool: a pool shark bets his life to be the greatest pool player—and wins more than he bargained for.
• The Mind and the Matter: A man finds he has the power to eliminate humanity, but ultimately finds the loneliness which accompanies his decision unbearable.
• A Nice Place to Visit: A thug shot by police believes he is in heaven, only to find he is in "the other place".
• Of Late I Think of Cliffordville: After boasting for years about how he wishes to go back in time and do it all over again, a rich old man goes back in time — and loses everything.

[edit] Reception

In 1960, John Brahm was awarded a Director's Guild award for his work on this episode.

Today, the episode "remains one of the best-remembered and best-loved episodes of The Twilight Zone"^[3] according to Marc Zicree, author of The Twilight Zone Companion. Indeed, in TV Land's presentation of TV Guide's "100 Most Memorable Moments in Television", "Time Enough at Last" was ranked at #25. Of the episode commentator Keith Olbermann remarked, "It is as fine a piece of theatrical bitter irony as has been constructed. Greek playwrights would look at that and go, 'Pretty Good'!"

According to film critic Andrew Sarris:

"Much of the implacable seriousness of the Twilight Zone is seemingly keyed by the clipped, dour delivery of Serling himself and the interlocutor. He never encourages us to laugh, or even smile, even when the plot twist is at least darkly funny. For example, in 'Time Enough at Last' (November 20, 1959), written by Rod Serling from a short story by Lynn Venable, a frustrated bookworm played by Burgess Meredith hides in a bank vault to finish David Copperfield in privacy. He emerges to find himself the only survivor in a nuclear holocaust, and looks forward to a lifetime of reading books. Unfortunately, his glasses slip off his nose and crash, leaving him forever unable to sample the literary treasures all around him. C'est a rire, n'est-ce pas? Well, not exactly. The H-bomb is still lurking in the background of the bookworm's 'accident.' The point is that the bomb could never have gone off on network television were the plot couched in a more realistic format."^[5]

[edit] In popular culture

"Time Enough at Last" remains one of the most famous episodes of The Twilight Zone and has retained a relatively high profile in American popular culture. For instance, when a poll asked readers of Twilight Zone Magazine which episode of the series they remembered the most, "Time Enough at Last" was the most frequent response, with "To Serve Man" coming in a distant second.^[9] As part of the Sci Fi Channel's participation in Cable in the Classroom, it airs commercial-free from time to time and may be recorded and publicly exhibited for educational purposes; it first aired in this form in 1999.^[7] In 2005, it became one of the first Twilight Zone episodes offered for download via Google Video, where as of 2006 it has received significantly more user reviews than other episodes.^[10]

Along with other Twilight Zone episodes, "Time Enough at Last" has been adapted to other formats since its original publishing and broadcast. In 2003, the Falcon Picture Group produced a series of radio dramas based on the series—stating, "In the 1950s many radio series were turned into television series – so why not the reverse?"—which were broadcast on about 200 stations through the USA; "Time" was included in volume six.^[11] June of that year saw the opening of "The Twilight Zone: Live on Stage", a co-production of New Mexico State University and the Seattle-based "Theatre Schmeatre", which presented three episodes—"The Eye of the Beholder", "The Lateness of the Hour", and "Time Enough at Last"—as stage plays.^[12]

The episode has been given numerous tips of the hat in popular culture over the years due to its notoriety. Iconic of these is Disney's The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: the Walt Disney World and Disney's California Adventure both have a pair of broken glasses in the lobby. Numerous television shows have spoofed the episode as well, including:

• The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius: In "Return of the Nanobots", Hugh Neutron thinks that he's the last man on the Earth so he starts piling up pie in stacks for every month only then to have them burned up. After the pies are burned up, Hugh does a similar monologue to the one that the character in this episode does.
• The Drew Carey Show: In "Y2K You're OK", the title character is left alone in a bomb shelter to look at adult magazines. Unfortunately, he sneezes, causing his glasses to fall off and break. This clip is on the Season 1 DVD set.
• Family Guy: In "Wasted Talent", Peter's last brain cell is a nerdish bookworm who is relieved to be alone with his books, but breaks his glasses.
• Futurama: In "A Head in the Polls", the last man on Earth's glasses fall off as he is about to read books in a library. He realises that his eyesight isn't that bad, and that he can still read large print books. His eyes then fall out, but the man remembers that he can read Braille. Finally, his hands fall off. He screams, only to have his tongue fall out. Then his head falls off. Bender, who is watching this on TV in a Twilight Zone spoof called The Scary Door, comments, "Cursed by his own hubris."
• The Simpsons: In "Strong Arms of the Ma", the mailman is run over by Marge's car. He tells Marge to take her time in getting help and that he has plenty to read. Just as he picks up a copy of "Twilight Zone Magazine" (which has a picture of Meredith on the cover), he discovers his glasses are broken.

Additionally, the title of this episode was used for the title of both a song on The Fall's 1992 album Code: Selfish and a 2004 independent film about a man who tries to escape an office building. (The film's naming was quite intentional; its official website even listed the webmaster's e-mail alias as "rodserling".^[13]) Other Fall song titles also bear relation to Twilight Zone episodes, including "What You Need" featured on 1985's This Nation's Saving Grace, and "Paranoia Man In Cheap Sh*t Room" from 1993's The Infotainment Scan, based upon "Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room".

[edit] External links

• TV.com episode page
• Time Enough at Last: Stories that Inspired Classic Episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits and Other Classic SF Television Series

[edit] References and further reading

1. ^ Serling, Rod. Promotional spot for "Time Enough at Last". Original airdate: 13 November 1959.
2. ^ "Time Enough At Last: Twilight Zone Story read by Bill Mills". Fictionwise eBooks. http://ebooks.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook35278.htm. Accessed 06 August 2006.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Zicree, Marc Scott. The Twilight Zone Companion. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition).
4. ^ ^{a b} Ochse, Weston. "The End of Books: The Bemis Condition". Storytellers Unplugged. http://www.storytellersunplugged.com/2006/03/end-of-books-bemis-condition.html. Accessed 03 August 2006.
5. ^ ^{a b} Sarris, Andrew. Rod Serling: Viewed from Beyond the Twilight Zone.
6. ^ Warren, Jason. "Twilight Zone: 'Time Enough at Last'". Scifilm -- TV Files. http://www.scifilm.org/tv/tz/twilightzone1-8.html. Accessed 20 July 2006.
7. ^ ^{a b} Blass, Laurie and Elder, Pam. "LESSON PLAN". Twilight Zone: Cable in the Classroom. http://www.scifi.com/cableintheclassroom/twilightzone/tz.1018.html. Accessed 20 July 2006.
8. ^ "The Twilight Zone - 1959-1964 (USA)". Nostalgia Central. http://www.nostalgiacentral.com/tv/drama/twilightzone.htm. Accessed 14 August 2006.
9. ^ Sander, Gordon. "Twilight Zone: A Serling Performance". The Sander Zone. http://www.gordonsander.com/article.php?p=295. Accessed 03 August 2006.
10. ^ "Results for 'The Twilight Zone'". Google Video. http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=The+Twilight+Zone. Accessed 03 August 2006.
11. ^ "Twilight Zone Radio Dramas". Falcon Picture Group. http://www.twilightzoneradio.com/. Accessed 13 August 2006.
12. ^ Wheeler, Sarah. "'The Twilight Zone: Live on Stage' to play June 6-21 at New Mexico State". NMSU News Releases. http://www.nmsu.edu/~ucomm/Releases/2003/April/theater_schmeater.html. Accessed 13 August 2006.
13. ^ "Time Enough at Last". Clock's Ticking Films. http://www.time-enough.com/home.html. Accessed 13 August 2006.