For decades, William Shatner held a large corner of science fiction from the comfort of a captain’s chair in “Star Trek” as James T. Kirk. He wasn’t always assigned to it, of course. Prior to that, he coincidentally starred in an episode of “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” alongside Leonard Nimoy, and he also appeared in another sci-fi staple that made its own impact on popular culture. In 1963, Shatner was among the many stars who appeared in Rod Serling’s incredible horror anthology series, “The Twilight Zone,” with the undeniably iconic episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.”
On a turbulent flight in the middle of a storm, Robert Wilson (Shatner) is gripped by dread at the sight of a gremlin outside the aircraft that only he can see. Fearing for the safety of the journey, he begs both his wife and others aboard to heed his warnings as the monster continues to fiddle with the plane, putting everyone at risk. The episode is perhaps the most referenced installment of “The Twilight Zone,” revisited not only in “The Twilight Zone: The Movie” by director George Miller, but also poked at in a “Treehouse of Horror” special in “The Simpsons.” Looking back, it’s not hard to see why the terror and the turbulence still stick even after all these years, given the incredible talent both in front of and behind the camera.
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet was a creation of legendary collaborators
Besides Shatner being terrified of the extra passenger on his flight, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” houses what feels like a cocktail of booming talents in their respective fields. The episode was written by Richard Matheson, the screenwriter and novelist who penned the post-apocalyptic tale “I Am Legend,” which was adapted for the screen on three separate occasions. Coincidentally, both characters fighting a lone battle against an unknown menace are called Robert.
Calling the shots at the time was a young Richard Donner, who, besides directing multiple episodes of the show, would go on to make us believe Christopher Reeve could fly in “Superman,” as well as direct “The Goonies,” “The Omen,” and the “Lethal Weapon” movies.
But Shatner wasn’t new to “The Twilight Zone” when he climbed aboard that doomed flight, having appeared in 1960’s “Nick of Time” three years earlier. Fast-forward to 1966, the actor would take the helm of a new vessel, stepping into the role he’d become synonymous with for decades. While there’s no doubt that the world will always remember him keeping his cool against alien lifeforms as Kirk in a franchise whose legacy has stretched as far as sending some cast members’ ashes into space, it’s always worth going back to the time that he lost his cool on this iconic, nerve-wracking trip through the sky in “The Twilight Zone.”
