Episode
The Twilight Zone: The Shadow Man / The Uncle Devil Show / Opening Day
Overview
The smartest boy in school is a target for bullies. At home in bed after an attack, the boy meets the "Shadow Man" under his bed who offers him a solution. The "Shadow Man" is a serial killer, but tells the boy that it never kills the one underneath whose bed he lurks. In defiance of all the curfews, the boy goes out and taunts the killer to show his courage. As the other kids run, the boy stands confident as the "Shadow Man" approaches, only to be told, "I'm not the Shadow Man under your bed." Parents don't realize that the video their child watches demonstrates magic tricks like turning parents into lizards and giving dogs four eyes. A beautiful woman and her boyfriend plan to kill her husband on the first day of duck hunting season.
Details
- Series
- The Twilight Zone
- Season
- Season 1
- Episode
- Episode 10
- Air date
- 1985-11-29
- Runtime
- 49 min
Episode context
The Shadow Man / The Uncle Devil Show / Opening Day is Episode 10 in Season 1 of The Twilight Zone. It aired on 1985-11-29. The runtime is 49 min.
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Episode 9: Dead Woman's Shoes / Wong's Lost and Found Emporium
Shy Maddie finds a pair of shoes and after trying them on, is possessed by the vengeful spirit of a rich murdered woman.
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Episode 11: The Beacon / One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty
When Dr. Dennis Barrows's car breaks down, he goes to an unusual town where visitors are disliked and townspeople are terrified of lighthouse and where it might shine. The house where Barrows stays the night is shined upon by the lighthouse. It holds a sick child, one which he helps with his medicine.
Angry with his adult life, a man, Gus Rosenthal, returns to his childhood stomping ground in Ohio and while digging up an old toy soldier finds himself transported back to when he was a boy.
More episodes from this season
Episode 8: Act Break / The Burning Man / Dealer's Choice
A landlord hounds a playwright named Maury for his rent. When the playwright's partner dies of a heart attack, he wishes he could become the greatest playwright ever. Maury is transported back in time and meets Shakespeare.
During a heat wave in the 1930's a mother and her son enjoy a drive in the country. They encounter a strange man who wants a ride.
Four friends and a fifth's stand-in get together for a game of poker. The fifth man, Nick, has an uncanny knack for drawing three-of-a-kinds...in 6s. The men figure out that Nick is the Devil, come to claim one of them. The unlucky man offers to play the Devil a game of poker to get his soul free.
Episode 12: Her Pilgrim Soul / I of Newton
Two scientists named Kevin and Daniel are experimenting with a holographic device. One day they are confronted with a fetus in their machine. Growing, it becomes a woman whose life story fascinates and allures Kevin. A frazzled mathematics professor accidentally summons a demon who will let him riddle to get free of the contract he accidentally invoked. The professor, Sam, has three questions to find a task the demon can't accomplish, or a question he can't answer, then challenge him after the questions are answered. The demon appears omnipotent, but Sam gives the demon a simple command: "Get lost." The demon is banished and Sam goes back to work.
Episode 7: Teacher's Aide / Paladin of the Lost Hour
A teacher on a violent and gang infested high school has trouble controlling her students. The building is warded by some mysterious gargoyles, which give some special powers to the teacher.
A Vietnam Vet named Billy saves an old man named Gasper from a mugging at a cemetery. He discovers that this old man holds the future of time in his watch.
Episode 13: Night of the Meek / But Can She Type? / The Star
A drunken storefront Santa is terminally depressed by the many children who go gift less and starving during Christmas. He is fired from his job at a department store when he shows up late, and subsequently finds a bag that he can pull any present anyone wants from it.
An overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated secretary uses a Xerox machine and wakes up in a parallel reality where no one has heard of her. In this reality, however, secretaries are a revered, rare commodity.
Onboard a spaceship an astrophysicist and a priest learn they have discovered a planet long dead and a transmitter emitting a signal for eons. They discover that the planet holds the last remains of a civilization, which died when their star went supernova.
Episode 6: Examination Day / A Message From Charity
In the far future, twelve-year-old Dickie must pass the government intelligence test. He is very nervous about the outcome of the test but eager to show how smart he is. At the end his parents get the news - Dickie "passed" the test...but the government kills anyone who is too intelligent.
In 1985, a fever-stricken Peter Wood finds himself in telepathic contact with Charity Paine, a sick girl his age living in Puritan New England. The two rejoice in sharing their thoughts, and Peter gives Charity the chance to see things that she'd never experienced in her limit time and place. However, their new-found contact turns to horror when Peter's knowledge of the future endangers Charity's life. She inadvertently speaks of the future, causing the villagers to believe she is a witch.
Episode 14: Still Life / The Little People of Killany Woods / The Misfortune Cookie
Finding an old trunk, a couple realizes that it has a false bottom containing a 70-year-old film from the Amazon.
An old Irishman has often been called a fool for his stories about Leprechauns. He catches the leader of "The Little People" and gets greedy.
A young man has had his heart broken recently. At a Chinese restaurant, he reads a fortune about finding new love and it comes true. His life seems perfect until he becomes greedy with his good luck. He only wants to read the fortune cookies. The old Chinese owner advises him of the bad luck of not finishing his meal before reading his fortune.
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Episode 15: Monsters! / A Small Talent for War / A Matter of Minutes
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An alien ship arrives at the UN and the alien representative declares his disappointment at Earth's progress. The UN ambassadors plead for 24 hours to resolve their differences. In 24 hours the ambassadors manage to arrange world peace and nuclear disarmament. When the alien returns the ambassadors realize they have misunderstood him entirely.
A young married couple discovers that their home is being remodeled by blue-clad workers who are workers of time that build and move objects from one time period to another.
Episode 4: Little Boy Lost / Wish Bank / Nightcrawlers
A photographer torn between taking a plum overseas assignment and getting married, meets a strangely familiar little boy.
Janice finds a magic lamp at a garage sale. Restrictions and lots of paperwork apply for her three wishes.
A deputy trooper stops by a diner during a rainstorm where a Vietnam veteran's nightmares come to life.
Episode 16: The Elevator / To See the Invisible Man / Tooth and Consequences
Two twenty-something brothers go to their father's laboratory to steal his fathers' growth serum research and sell for their own profit. They find a web-like material, which tastes great. They find large plants. Some plants have increased in size more than others.
For the crime of emotional coldness, Mitchell Chaplin is condemned to social invisibility. For one year he will be branded with an irremovable brand that everyone knows means they must totally ignore him. At first, Chaplin is thrilled at the prospects.
A depressed dentist, Myron Mandel, is visited by the Tooth Fairy, who grants him the wish to be incredibly popular and loved. The wish is granted in full force, and soon Mandel can't handle the endless stream of visitors singing his praises.