Examination Day
"Examination Day" | |||
---|---|---|---|
The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series) episode | |||
Scene from "Examination Day" | |||
Episode no. |
Season 1 Episode 6a | ||
Directed by | Paul Lynch | ||
Written by |
Philip DeGuere (Based on the short story "Examination Day", by Henry Slesar. The story was first published in Playboy (February, 1958). | ||
Original air date | November 1, 1985 | ||
Guest actors | |||
David Mendenhall : Dickie Jordan | |||
Episode chronology | |||
| |||
List of The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series) episodes |
"Examination Day" is the first segment of the sixth episode from the first season (1985–86) of the television series The Twilight Zone.
Plot
Dickie Jordan is an intelligent and curious youth in a dystopic future. It is Dickie's twelfth birthday, which means he is required by law to report to a government testing facility for a mandatory IQ test. As Dickie gleefully tells his parents how he was told by an older friend that the test is easy and that he's sure he will pass it, his parents react stressfully and avoid his questions. The Jordans give Dickie a present, two years earlier than he thought he'd be able to get it, and then they bring him to the facility and go back home to wait anxiously for the test results. From their faces, they look very scared and have been awaiting this day for a long time.
When Dickie arrives at the testing facility, he is given a medicine, tasting like peppermint, which the examiner says will ensure he tells the truth. He is then given a series of tests, and appears to be doing very well.
After his parents anxiously await the test results at home for hours, they are contacted by the government. Dickie's test results are in and his intelligence quotient had exceeded the legal limit. The parents burst into tears as the government examiners ask the Jordans how they would like their son's remains to be buried.