Special Service

"Special Service" is the 62nd episode and the twenty-seventh episode of the third season (1988–89) of the television series The Twilight Zone. This episode is known for inspiring the critically acclaimed feature film The Truman Show.

Special Service was written by J Michael Straczynski who later created Babylon 5. The Truman Show won the 1999 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, beating the Babylon 5 finale "Sleeping In Light", also written by Straczynski.

Opening narration

Plot

A man, John Selig, is starting his day, shaving and dressing for work. His wife calls up to find out how many eggs he wants. Suddenly, his bathroom mirror falls on one side to reveal a camera with a red light on it. A repairman rushes in and acts nonchalant about putting the mirror back up. When John questions him about the camera, the repairman acts as if there was not one there. The repairman attempts to leave and mistakenly mentions John's boss by name. This causes John to become enraged at the thought of cameras spying on him. The repairman comments on how John is not as nearly as nice as he is on TV. When John threatens to call the police, the repairman tells John the truth about everything: that John's life is broadcast on television to the entire planet, 24 hours a day. John is upset that he never knew about all this and Archie, the repairman, tells him that's the point, that it is more interesting if he does not know he is being watched.

John confronts his wife, Leslie, about the whole thing and she just brushes it off. But as she kisses him goodbye, she tells him not to blow it because the ratings are so good. John is puzzled but then tries to act normal while searching for cameras. As he begins to find and disable more and more cameras, the phone rings and warns him not to damage the equipment. He continues to do so, and then the doorbell rings. Two men take John and put him in a car with Archie and they depart. They arrive at a television network building to see a large group of women, fans, wanting to see John. They go into the building where John sits in a reception area until being called in to see the network manager. The manager is outraged at John, but John is outraged himself. The manager goes on about revenues and ratings. John is outraged at his privacy being trodden upon. The last five years of John's life has been a ratings bonanza. All the major points of his life have been scripted; even his wife was hired by the show. The manager offers to let him go back to his televised life, but John refuses, wanting his privacy.

When John is left alone in the manager's office, a fan comes in and cannot stop the adoration. John attempts to get her out of the office only to have the other fans burst in. The receptionist gets them out, then Archie arrives to tell John he will take him home. He tells John that he got fired because of all this. At the house, Archie comes in to take the cameras out. John discovers all the fan mail and gifts that accumulated over the past five years. Archie also brings him a check for the pay he receives for being on the show, a million dollars. John begins to wonder if he didn't have a good life with his life on television. Archie suggests that if John were unaware that the manager went ahead and kept him on television, but told John that he was not, he would go back to normal and still be on television. So John begins to wonder but "acts" normal...

Closing narration

See also

• TV.com - The Twilight Zone (1989) episode: Special Service
• The Truman Show