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This article is written from the Real world point of view |
This article discusses how the laws of space are treated in The Twilight Zone.
Characteristics[]
As stated in the opening credits, the Twilight Zone takes place in a spatial dimension called the Fifth dimension that exists elsewhere. Its true nature seems fairly ambiguous and is never truly discussed in the series or stories. However, it is apparent that when this dimension comes in to contact with entities of real life, it produces uncommon and seemingly unpredictable effects in how both the spatial dimensions and temporal dimesion(s) operate.
Parallels with reality[]
For the most part, contact with the Twilight Zone does not necessary have any effect on matter that is already present in the four lower dimensions. This can be seen in the fact that the planet Earth seems to exist in most stories, along with corresponding geographies and cosmologies that are familiar. New York City as portrayed in The Twilight Zone, for example, seems to be recognizable as the city of our reality. (TZ1: "The Jungle") This is even true in an episode like "Mr. Dingle, the Strong", where the planet Mars is known to exist but with one noticeable exception: the planet is inhabited. This instance can be considered less a deviation from the matter existing in reality but a deviation in the timeline, where at some point life developed on Mars in that divergent timeline whereas this never happened on the real Mars. (see Time)
Basic laws of physics tend to apply in most cases as does chemical reactions. Vehicles such as planes and spaceships are able to take flight in the same way one might expect. (TZ1: "The Odyssey of Flight 33", "Third from the Sun") The planets and other objects in the solar system seem to move in the same ways. Similarly, dynamite and hydrogen bombs operate much the same. (TZ1: "The Jeopardy Room", "Time Enough at Last") Light waves, audio waves and sonar also generally behave in a familiar manner. (TZ1: "The Thirty-Fathom Grave")
Biologically, most organisms that are encountered appear to operate in the same manner as they do in our reality. Humans have two arms, two legs, two eyes, a mouth, and dogs have four legs, a tail, two eyes, a mouth, and so forth. It can be assumed that most organisms that are recognizable—meaning not those that are extra-terrestrial or legendary—are constructed and function in a recognizable way.
Effects[]
Contact with the fifth dimension has clear unusual effects of the state of matter. A clear instance of the Twilight Zone's interference in the state of matter is in the episode "Little Girl Lost", when the solid object of a bedroom wall becomes a permeable gateway through which other matter can pass—including little girls and dogs! Similarly, there have been occurrences where living beings have passed into inanimate objects but retained animation and some sense of life. (TZ1: "The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine", "Uncle Simon", "Miniature") Conversely, the animation of non-living objects has been demonstrated, in such TV episodes as "Living Doll", "You Drive", "A Thing About Machines", "The After Hours", "The New Exhibit" and "Caesar and Me".
Objects have also shown other anomalous changes. In addition to the dolls, cars, and typewriters, the Twilight Zone has been witnessed to alter the functions of objects like phones, radios, and televisions. (TZ1: "Long Distance Call", "Night Call", "Static", "What's in the Box") In the latter two instances, these devices were changed in a way to receive signals from the past and future while the former allowed for phone calls to be placed by the deceased. At other times, objects came to possess attributes that are in no way common to their intended function. For example, items taking on attributes that appear magical in nature, such as a piano that makes one tell the truth when played, watches that stop time or masks which can alter one's appearance. (TZ1: "A Piano in the House", "A Kind of a Stopwatch", "The Masks")
Sometimes these bizarre changes applied themselves to the way in which living beings function, enabling the recipients to make use of strange, supernatural qualities. A common instance of this seems to have been the enhancement of the human mind. Some acquired telekinetic skills, as demonstrated in the episodes "The Prime Mover" and "The Mind and the Matter", while others were gifted with telepathic powers, as in "A Penny for Your Thoughts" or "Mute". Still, others were given the uncommon attributes of supreme intelligence, shapeshifting, age regression or immortality. (TZ1: "Mr. Dingle, the Strong", "The Four of Us Are Dying", "Kick the Can", "Long Live Walter Jameson")
Stranger still are living beings that are shown to exist on Earth when the fifth dimension is present, often leading to encounters with entities and energies thought to exist only in conjecture. For instance, angels and demons are common, as are legendary creatures such as genies and gremlins. (TZ1: "Cavender is Coming", "A Nice Place to Visit", "I Dream of Genie", "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet") The supernatural and paranormal also seem to be more natural in the presence of the Twilight Zone, allowing aforementioned paranormal abilities like telekinesis to appear frequently, as well as magic and occult powers to be manifested. (TZ1: "The Bard", "Still Valley") Perhaps these are not the result of the Twilight Zone's interference, however, but simply remain more elusive and unproven in the normal reality despite the sometimes widespread belief in them. Either way, their presence in The Twilight Zone is certain. Thus it can be assumed that it is related—even if only augmented—to the fifth dimension.
Dimensions[]
The "real" universe[]
Similar to how Time is treated, the assumption is made that the Earth that one is familiar with is essentially the Earth that is in The Twilight Zone stories. This, of course, excludes invented nations like the one in "The Mirror"—despite its leader bearing a striking resemblance to a familiar real-world leader—or events that occur that change the landscape and thereby likely negate any possibility of other stories taking place there at some later point; "Time Enough at Last" for instance.
Parallel worlds[]
Some episodes have featured characters and settings whose existence could not possibly coexist. A possible explanation for this is a divergence in the "real timeline"—that is, major changes in the spatial dimensions are usually precipitated by major changes in the temporal dimension(s). This would result in different worlds and alternate timelines. Thus, the setting for the episode "Two", following a devastating nuclear war, is most likely analogous to the real-world Earth, but it has been altered by the Twilight Zone to follow a different path in time. Another example is the porcine humanoids from "Eye of the Beholder", whose society emulates the civilization of the 1960s with the major difference lying in evolution between them and Homo sapiens, which they appear to co-exist with. (see Time)
Alien worlds[]
In the Twilight Zone, there are aliens and alien worlds with varying shades of interactions toward humanity. Episodes like "The Fear" and "The Fugitive" feature the presence of aliens on Earth, but their presence neither seems to become common knowledge to the people of Earth nor impacts subsequent stories in the series. "To Serve Man", however, would be a case of aliens creating an alternate timeline as it results in the enslavement of all humanity during the 1960s.
Notes and references[]
Notes[]