To Serve Man (The Twilight Zone)
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“To Serve Man” is an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone. The story is based on a short story with the same title, written by Damon Knight. It is one of the most famous episodes of the series.
[edit] Details
- Episode number: 89
- Season: 3
- Production code: 4807
- Original air date: March 2, 1962
- Writer: Rod Serling based on the story of the same name by Damon Knight, first published in the January 1953 issue of If
- Director: Richard L. Bare
- Music: Stock
[edit] Cast
- Chambers: Lloyd Bochner
- Kanamit: Richard Kiel
- Pat: Susan Cummings
[edit] Synopsis
A race of aliens known as the Kanamits land on Earth and promise to be nothing but helpful to the cause of humanity. Initially wary of the intentions of such a highly advanced race, even the most skeptical humans are convinced when their code-breakers begin to translate one of the Kanamit's books, with the seemingly innocuous title, "To Serve Man." Sharing their advanced technology, the aliens quickly solve all of Earth's greatest woes; eradicating hunger, disease, the need for warfare. Soon, humans are volunteering for trips to the Kanamits' home planet, which is supposedly a paradise. All is not well, however, when a code-breaker discovers the Kanamits’ true intentions. Their book, "To Serve Man", is a cookbook.
[edit] Trivia
- The short story on which this episode is based was awarded the 1951 "Retro" Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 2001.
- The fullsize lower portion of the Kanamits' transport spaceship is the adapted version, with retractable stairway, of the saucer-shaped United Planets Cruiser C-57D, seen in MGM's 1956 film Forbidden Planet.
- Richard Kiel, who plays the main Kanamit, also played the infamous character of Jaws in the James Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.
- This is the only episode where a main character breaks the fourth wall about the events that led to his kidnapping.
[edit] Critical response
Marc Scott Zicree in The Twilight Zone Companion:
- In the show...a staff of cryptographers led by Lloyd Bochner attempts to decipher the alien language as though it were some secret code, which is utterly ludicrous. Without some sort of interplanetary Rosetta stone, deciphering an unknown language would be impossible.
Zicree’s comments have been seconded by many others, including Damon Knight, though an explanation as to how the cryptographers managed to translate the Kanamit language may be found in an early draft of Serling’s teleplay, which included this scene:
- (Close shot Chambers As seen over her shoulder. His eyes narrow.)
- Chambers: What’s the matter, Pat? What's going on?
- (Reverse angle looking toward her. Her lips tremble.)
- Pat: I...I finally deciphered their language. All of it. I read their book.
- (Close shot a suspended speaker overhead A Kanamit's metallic voice rings out.)
- Kanamit's voice: Please move ahead. You're holding up our departure. Kindly move ahead.
- (Cut to: Two shot Chambers and Pat)
- Chambers: Well?
- Pat: Mr. Chambers...Mr. Chambers, the first page is just a collection of English words with their own translation. But the rest of the book...the rest of the book —
...at which point she delivers her famous punchline. It may be possible to decipher the Kanamit language provided the first page of the book represented what Zicree referred to as an “interplanetary Rosetta stone”. However, this explanation results in the question of why all initial efforts to translate the book failed. In addition, there is the question of why ”serve” should have the same dual meaning — ”aid” and ”cook” — in the Kanamits' language as it does in English.
[edit] References in Popular Culture
- In the film Madagascar, one of the lemurs holds up a book titled "To Serve Lemur" and delivers the famous line.
- In the film The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, actor Lloyd Bochner, playing an evil industrialist, parodies this episode and himself in one scene as he runs through a crowd in panic with the book, yelling “It's a cookbook, it's a cookbook!”.
- While not a direct reference, the 1980s television series V also deals with ostensibly benevolent aliens coming to Earth with the intention (among other hidden objectives) of harvesting its human population for food.
- In the book The Alphabet of Manliness by popular web-author Maddox, there is an illustration of a Cyclops reading "To Serve Man" to a Lumberjack.
- In the first “Treehouse of Horror” episode of the television series “The Simpsons,” a segment entitled “Hungry are the Damned” spoofs the “Twilight Zone” episode. The gag about the title of the book is drawn out by claiming that the cover is covered by space dust: the title at first appears to be "How to Cook Humans", then "How to Cook for Humans", "How to Cook Forty Humans" and finally "How to Cook for Forty Humans". Ironically, the aliens genuinely meant to serve humans food, and, offended by their suspicions, they deport the family back to their home.
- In the popular MMORPG World Of Warcraft, an item called "An Exotic Cookbook" can be found by rogues with the Pick Pocket ability. This cookbook bears the subtitle "How To Serve Man," and displays a recipe when read: "Get one or eight man. Hit man hard. Hit man more. Put man in fire. Eat man."
- In the computer strategy game Warcraft III , the troll witch doctor delivers the famous punch line, when he's being clicked several times.
- In the episode "My Three Suns" of the TV series "Futurama", Bender, a robot, cooks for the ship's crew while wearing an apron reading "To Serve Man".
- In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 7, Episode 1 ("Lessons") Dawn says: "I know! You never know what's coming. The stake is not the power. To Serve Man is a cookbook."
- In The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Episode 1.15 The Egg-pire Strikes Back a similar event occurs where the Ooblar, formerly enemies of the people of Retroville are nice to the citizens, which turns out to be a scheme to serve them as dinner to their overlord.
- "To Serve Man" is an album by the death metal / goregrind band Cattle Decapitation
- On a December 11, 2006 episode of the Colbert Report, while speaking of Martians, Stephen Colbert says "I know it's a cookbook".
- On a March 6, 2007 episode of the Colbert Report, the Threatdown included a segment on robots, during which Stephen warns that "it's a cookbook!" in reference to a Robot uprising.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Zicree, Marc Scott: The Twilight Zone Companion. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition)
