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On September 30, 1960, the first episode of "The Twilight Zone" with the Marius Constant theme was aired.
Last edited Thu Oct 3, 2024, 09:04 AM - Edit history (1)
King Nine Will Not Return
The Twilight Zone episode
Episode no.: Season 2, Episode 1
Directed by: Buzz Kulik
Written by: Rod Serling
Featured music: Original score by Fred Steiner
Production code: 173-3639
Original air date: September 30, 1960
"King Nine Will Not Return" is the season two premiere episode, and 37th overall, of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on September 30, 1960 on CBS.
This was the first episode where Rod Serling appeared on camera at the beginning, rather than introducing the episode in a voice-over narration.
Opening narration
Plot
It's World War II, and the King Nine, a B-25 Mitchell bomber, has crashed in the desert. Captain James Embry finds himself stranded, alone except for the wreckage and the mystery of what happened to his crew, all of whom have disappeared. The movement of the plane in the wind and his visions of the missing men serve to heighten Embry's disorientation.
While searching for his crew, Embry finds the grave of one of his men, and recognizes in the sky Navy F9F Cougar jets, which are impossible for 1943. He is bewildered as to how he knows about jet aircraft and becomes increasingly distressed. Embry collapses in the sand, and it is revealed that he is apparently hospitalized and suffering hallucinations, 17 years after the crash.
Confident that Embry will recover, two doctors discuss their speculation that his suffering has been triggered by a newspaper headline. The paper has reported the desert discovery of the long-lost King Nine, which had not returned to base from a wartime mission in 1943. Having come down with a fever just before he was to board the ill-fated flight, Embry had been replaced on the mission by another captain. Seeing the headline has triggered survivor guilt, the intensity of which has caused him to imagine himself at the crash site.
The doctors assure Embry he has returned to the site only in his mind. However, when a nurse handling his clothes accidentally turns one of his shoes on its side, sand spills out.
Closing narration
Cast
• Bob Cummings as Captain James Embry
• Gene Lyons as Psychiatrist
• Paul Lambert as Doctor
• Jenna McMahon as Nurse
Production notes
Wreckage of the Lady Be Good
This was the first episode to feature the familiar Marius Constant Twilight Zone theme. The score by Fred Steiner was later used in other Twilight Zone episodes.
The episode was based on the discovery of the B-24 Liberator bomber Lady Be Good and her crew's remains, which had crash-landed at night, deep in the Libyan desert after running out of fuel, while returning from a World War II bombing mission over Naples, Italy. In the episode, the marker of a grave of a member of the crew of King Nine is dated "5 April 1943," the day on which the Lady Be Good was lost. Lady Be Good had been found in 1958, and the bodies of eight of the nine-man crew were discovered between February and August 1960 – the eighth crewman being found just a few weeks before "King Nine Will Not Return" aired.
The bomber aircraft used in this episode was a North American Aviation B-25C-10NA 42-32354, which still exists in storage with Aero Trader, Borrego Springs, California.
{snip}
The Twilight Zone episode
Episode no.: Season 2, Episode 1
Directed by: Buzz Kulik
Written by: Rod Serling
Featured music: Original score by Fred Steiner
Production code: 173-3639
Original air date: September 30, 1960
"King Nine Will Not Return" is the season two premiere episode, and 37th overall, of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on September 30, 1960 on CBS.
This was the first episode where Rod Serling appeared on camera at the beginning, rather than introducing the episode in a voice-over narration.
Opening narration
This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead, and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is King Nine, B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning, she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in the wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day, or any other day.
Plot
It's World War II, and the King Nine, a B-25 Mitchell bomber, has crashed in the desert. Captain James Embry finds himself stranded, alone except for the wreckage and the mystery of what happened to his crew, all of whom have disappeared. The movement of the plane in the wind and his visions of the missing men serve to heighten Embry's disorientation.
While searching for his crew, Embry finds the grave of one of his men, and recognizes in the sky Navy F9F Cougar jets, which are impossible for 1943. He is bewildered as to how he knows about jet aircraft and becomes increasingly distressed. Embry collapses in the sand, and it is revealed that he is apparently hospitalized and suffering hallucinations, 17 years after the crash.
Confident that Embry will recover, two doctors discuss their speculation that his suffering has been triggered by a newspaper headline. The paper has reported the desert discovery of the long-lost King Nine, which had not returned to base from a wartime mission in 1943. Having come down with a fever just before he was to board the ill-fated flight, Embry had been replaced on the mission by another captain. Seeing the headline has triggered survivor guilt, the intensity of which has caused him to imagine himself at the crash site.
The doctors assure Embry he has returned to the site only in his mind. However, when a nurse handling his clothes accidentally turns one of his shoes on its side, sand spills out.
Closing narration
Enigma buried in the sand, a question mark with broken wings that lies in silent grace as a marker in a desert shrine. Odd how the real consorts with the shadows, how the present fuses with the past. How does it happen? The question is on file in the silent desert, and the answer? The answer is waiting for us in - The Twilight Zone.
Cast
• Bob Cummings as Captain James Embry
• Gene Lyons as Psychiatrist
• Paul Lambert as Doctor
• Jenna McMahon as Nurse
Production notes
Wreckage of the Lady Be Good
This was the first episode to feature the familiar Marius Constant Twilight Zone theme. The score by Fred Steiner was later used in other Twilight Zone episodes.
The episode was based on the discovery of the B-24 Liberator bomber Lady Be Good and her crew's remains, which had crash-landed at night, deep in the Libyan desert after running out of fuel, while returning from a World War II bombing mission over Naples, Italy. In the episode, the marker of a grave of a member of the crew of King Nine is dated "5 April 1943," the day on which the Lady Be Good was lost. Lady Be Good had been found in 1958, and the bodies of eight of the nine-man crew were discovered between February and August 1960 – the eighth crewman being found just a few weeks before "King Nine Will Not Return" aired.
The bomber aircraft used in this episode was a North American Aviation B-25C-10NA 42-32354, which still exists in storage with Aero Trader, Borrego Springs, California.
{snip}
Manhattan Transfer, the extended mix:
The Manhattan Transfer ~ Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone 1979 Disco Purrfection Version
DJDiscoCat
904K subscribers
134,130 views Jul 30, 2016
The Manhattan Transfer chose the theme from a late night cult TV show and built it into a #4 disco hit that peaked in early 1980. The musical marriage of an iconic TV thriller theme with the disco beat was a hit in the post disco era, peaking at #30 pop and #4 disco/dance in early 1980. The first part "Twilight Zone" utilized the hypnotic theme created by Bernard Herrmann and segued neatly into the new "Twilight Tone" along with lyrics that that played with your mind like "Hearin' the Twilight Tone" which could be easily mistaken for "Here in the Twilight Zone" a catch phrase made famous by host Rod Serling. The Transfer got its start in 1969 Manhattan as an a capella jazz-fusion quintet with founding members Tim Hauser, Erin Dickins, Marty Nelson, Pat Rosalia and Gene Pistilli. By 1973, the group was composed of Hauser, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel and Laurel Masse. In 1975 they had a #22 pop with with their version of "Operator", a cover of the Friendly Brothers 1959 hit. Laurel Masse suffered serious injury in an auto accident in 1978, left the band to recuperate then Cheryl Bentyne was hired to replace her just in time to record the Transfer's 1979 opus "Extensions" with the disco hit "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone". The album contained a variety of sounds incorporating new wave elements into their jazzy mixes. The retro feel of "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone" was a perfect fit for the group, and the inclusion of big band superstar Glenn Miller in the last verse was sheer genius, paying tribute to him and the Transfer's love of 40's jazz. Miller disappeared and was presumed dead after his flight went missing while it was crossing the English Channel, adding to his mystique and charm to this song. The group won a Grammy for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices for Janis Siegel for another song on the same LP called "Birdland". In 1981 they released their version of "The Boy From New York City" (#7, 1981) included on "Mecca For Moderns". They then turned to Rod Temperton for "Spice Of Life" which gave them their last pop hit. They continued to record and release albums about once every two years throughout the 80's and 90's. "The Chick Corea Songbook", their latest release, was from 2009. I got to see them during the "Vocalese" tour in 1986 and they performed "Boy From New York City" but not "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone"...which would have been a cool nod as the closing encore....
DJDiscoCat
904K subscribers
134,130 views Jul 30, 2016
The Manhattan Transfer chose the theme from a late night cult TV show and built it into a #4 disco hit that peaked in early 1980. The musical marriage of an iconic TV thriller theme with the disco beat was a hit in the post disco era, peaking at #30 pop and #4 disco/dance in early 1980. The first part "Twilight Zone" utilized the hypnotic theme created by Bernard Herrmann and segued neatly into the new "Twilight Tone" along with lyrics that that played with your mind like "Hearin' the Twilight Tone" which could be easily mistaken for "Here in the Twilight Zone" a catch phrase made famous by host Rod Serling. The Transfer got its start in 1969 Manhattan as an a capella jazz-fusion quintet with founding members Tim Hauser, Erin Dickins, Marty Nelson, Pat Rosalia and Gene Pistilli. By 1973, the group was composed of Hauser, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel and Laurel Masse. In 1975 they had a #22 pop with with their version of "Operator", a cover of the Friendly Brothers 1959 hit. Laurel Masse suffered serious injury in an auto accident in 1978, left the band to recuperate then Cheryl Bentyne was hired to replace her just in time to record the Transfer's 1979 opus "Extensions" with the disco hit "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone". The album contained a variety of sounds incorporating new wave elements into their jazzy mixes. The retro feel of "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone" was a perfect fit for the group, and the inclusion of big band superstar Glenn Miller in the last verse was sheer genius, paying tribute to him and the Transfer's love of 40's jazz. Miller disappeared and was presumed dead after his flight went missing while it was crossing the English Channel, adding to his mystique and charm to this song. The group won a Grammy for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices for Janis Siegel for another song on the same LP called "Birdland". In 1981 they released their version of "The Boy From New York City" (#7, 1981) included on "Mecca For Moderns". They then turned to Rod Temperton for "Spice Of Life" which gave them their last pop hit. They continued to record and release albums about once every two years throughout the 80's and 90's. "The Chick Corea Songbook", their latest release, was from 2009. I got to see them during the "Vocalese" tour in 1986 and they performed "Boy From New York City" but not "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone"...which would have been a cool nod as the closing encore....
Manhattan Transfer, the official audio:
The Manhattan Transfer - Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone (Official Audio)
The Manhattan Transfer
25.2K subscribers
85,824 views Oct 27, 2022
Track taken from the album Extensions (1979)
Listen to the Best Of TMT Playlist: https://found.ee/the-manhattan-transf...
Subscribe to TMT on YouTube: https://found.ee/TMTYouTubeChannel
Shop and stream “Fifty”: https://found.ee/TMTFifty
The Manhattan Transfer have achieved an incomparable career of pop and jazz hits, a legacy that defines the group as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. The legendary quartet has won 10 Grammy® Awards out of 20 nominations and has been inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
Hit the high notes with The Manhattan Transfer online!
Follow the band here:
Website: https://manhattantransfer.net/
YouTube: https://found.ee/TMTYouTubeChannel
Facebook: https://found.ee/TMTFacebook
Twitter: https://found.ee/TMTTwitter
Instagram: https://found.ee/TMTInstagram
Spotify: https://found.ee/TMTSpotify
Follow Craft Recordings:
Website: https://Craftrecordings.com
Newsletter: https://found.ee/CraftNewsletter
YouTube: https://found.ee/CraftYouTube
Facebook: https://found.ee/CraftYouTube
Twitter: https://found.ee/CraftTwitter
Instagram: https://found.ee/CraftIG
Spotify: https://found.ee/CraftSpotify
The Manhattan Transfer
25.2K subscribers
85,824 views Oct 27, 2022
Track taken from the album Extensions (1979)
Listen to the Best Of TMT Playlist: https://found.ee/the-manhattan-transf...
Subscribe to TMT on YouTube: https://found.ee/TMTYouTubeChannel
Shop and stream “Fifty”: https://found.ee/TMTFifty
The Manhattan Transfer have achieved an incomparable career of pop and jazz hits, a legacy that defines the group as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. The legendary quartet has won 10 Grammy® Awards out of 20 nominations and has been inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
Hit the high notes with The Manhattan Transfer online!
Follow the band here:
Website: https://manhattantransfer.net/
YouTube: https://found.ee/TMTYouTubeChannel
Facebook: https://found.ee/TMTFacebook
Twitter: https://found.ee/TMTTwitter
Instagram: https://found.ee/TMTInstagram
Spotify: https://found.ee/TMTSpotify
Follow Craft Recordings:
Website: https://Craftrecordings.com
Newsletter: https://found.ee/CraftNewsletter
YouTube: https://found.ee/CraftYouTube
Facebook: https://found.ee/CraftYouTube
Twitter: https://found.ee/CraftTwitter
Instagram: https://found.ee/CraftIG
Spotify: https://found.ee/CraftSpotify