Little Boy Lost (The Twilight Zone)
| "Little Boy Lost" | |
|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone episode | |
| Episode no. |
Season 1 Episode 4a |
| Directed by | Tommy Lee Wallace |
| Written by | Michael Cassutt |
| Original air date | October 18, 1985 |
| Guest actors | |
|
Scott Grimes: Kenny | |
"Little Boy Lost" is the first segment of the fourth episode of the first season (1985–86) of the television series The Twilight Zone.
Opening narration
| “ | Carol Shelton, photographer, a modern woman with an age-old problem. She can make the artistic choices of light and shadow, which capture a lifetime of human pain or grandeur on film. But like each of us, she has trouble sometimes choosing which road of life to travel, especially when that road winds deep among the shadows...of The Twilight Zone. | ” |
Plot
Carol Shelton is a photojournalist who must make the difficult decision to take a new and prestigious job or marry her long-time boyfriend. She meets Kenny, a boy she believes has been sent to her by a modeling agency for a photo shoot. They have such fun during the shoot, but when he realizes that her focus is entirely on her job and not on him, he leaves in distress. Carol decides to take the new job and dissolve her relationship with her boyfriend.
Kenny subsequently appears to her in random locations including the interior of her apartment. He expresses his disappointment in her decision to follow her career instead of her relationship. Carol is confused and demands to know how he found her, how he knows so much about her, and why he thinks they can never see each other again. Kenny panics and runs away.
Carol sees Kenny in a park and confronts him. It becomes clear that Kenny would have been her son if she had chosen the other life path. He says that he would have been hers if she had only wanted him. She claims she does want him, but not at this time in her life. Kenny explains that because she chose a different path, she may one day have children, but they will never be him. They commiserate as the boy fades away.
Later, Carol discusses her new job over the phone. Photos of Kenny and Carol together are arranged in the apartment. After she ends the call and leaves, Kenny vanishes from the photographs.
Closing narration
| “ | The song unsung. The wish unfulfilled. Even with the dream in hand, there is the chill of an eternal loss ...fading ...fading. For every choice made, wrong or right, a thousand alternatives denied. When tomorrow calls, sometimes the heart must be denied. For Carol Shelton, there will be other tomorrows, other joys, and yet ...fading ...fading. For one trembling instant, she was given the opportunity to take snapshots of an alternate future. Snapshots forever undeveloped in the darkness...of The Twilight Zone. | ” |