Most Controversial Episode Starred George Takei
Some The Twilight Zone episodes were not included in the syndication for copyright reasons that eventually got resolved, such as with “Sounds and Silences” and “Miniature.” However, “The Encounter” was not included because many saw it as extremely offensive. Actor George Takei played a Japanese American who goes to a WWII veteran for work. Eventually they get into a violent and xenophobic argument. People were troubled that Takei played a character whose father was a spy implicated in the Pearl Harbor attack. Thus, they took it out of syndication until the 2016 Syfy New Year’s The Twilight Zone Marathon.
Most Controversial Episode Starred George Takei
First TV Episode With Mostly Black Cast
Serling was not willing to turn a blind eye to the rampant racism of the time. Thus, he made history by featuring a predominantly black cast for “The Big Tall Wish.” In addition to being the first mostly black cast, it never acknowledged the family’s ethnicity in the episode. Thus, Serling showed it was just another story of normal people and a boy’s wish to help his father. Serling himself explained, “Television, like its big sister, the motion picture, has been guilty of the sin of omission…Hungry for talent, desperate for the so-called ‘new face,’ constantly searching for a transfusion of new blood, it has overlooked a source of wondrous talent that resides under its nose. This is the Negro actor.”
First TV Episode With Mostly Black Cast
