"Eye of the Beholder" (also titled "The Private World of Darkness" when initially rebroadcast in the summer of 1962) is episode 42 of the

American television Television is one of the Mass media in the United States, major mass media outlets in the United States. In 2011, 96.7% of households owned television sets; about 114,200,000 American households owned at least one television set each in August ...

anthology series ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

''. It originally aired on November 11, 1960, on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

Opening narration

Plot summary

Janet Tyler has undergone her eleventh treatment - the maximum number legally allowed by the "State" - in an attempt to look normal. Her head is completely bandaged so that her face is entirely covered, and her face is described as a "pitiful twisted lump of flesh" by the nurses and doctor, lurking in the shadows of the darkened hospital room. The outcome of the procedure cannot be known until the bandages are removed. Unable to bear the bandages any longer, Janet pleads with the doctor and eventually convinces him to remove them early. As he prepares, the nurse says that she still is uneasy about Janet's appearance. The doctor becomes displeased and questions why Janet or anyone must be judged on their outer beauty. The nurse warns him not to continue in that vein, as it is considered treason. The doctor removes the bandages and announces that the procedure has failed, her face having undergone no change. Janet is revealed to be a beautiful woman by contemporary standards while the hospital staff all possess monstrous faces with drooping features, large, thick brows, sunken-in eyes, swollen and twisted lips, and wrinkled noses with pig snout-like nostrils. Distraught by the procedure's failure, Janet tries to escape until a similarly attractive man named Walter Smith arrives to take her to a village of " erown kind" where they will not trouble the State. As he does so, he assures her that while the State's society find her ugly, others will find her beautiful.

Closing narration

Cast

* Maxine Stuart as Janet Tyler (under bandages) * Donna Douglas as Janet Tyler (unmasked) * William D. Gordon as Doctor Bernardi * Jennifer Howard as Nurse * Edson Stroll as Walter Smith * George Keymas as The Leader *Joanna Heyes as Nurse #2

Production

Because of the complex makeup and camera angles, this was one of the most difficult episodes of ''The Twilight Zone'' to film. The director, Douglas Heyes, wanted the show to feature actors with sympathetic voices. To achieve this, he cast the episode with his back to the performers. Maxine Stuart spoke all the lines of the main character Janet Tyler, when her head is entirely covered by bandages. The original title for this episode was "Eye of the Beholder". Stuart Reynolds, a television producer, threatened to sue writer and producer Rod Serling for the use of the title. At the time, Reynolds was selling an educational film of the same name to public schools. Reruns following the initial broadcast featured the title screen "The Private World of Darkness". Because

consulted different prints over the years for syndication packages, the closing credits for this episode vary from one title to the other, depending on which television station is using which package. In ''The Twilight Zone''s original

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

release the syndicated version was marketed as an "alternate version". Other than the appearance of the title in the closing credits, however, there are no differences between the two "versions". Serling, who wrote the episode, reused the theme for a later teleplay, "The Different Ones", for his series ''

Night Gallery ''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, '' The Twilight Zon ...

''. "The Different Ones" takes place in a futuristic world where a disfigured hermit teenage boy is sent on a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

rocket to a planet where the inhabitants are revealed to look like him. During the transfer he meets a conventionally handsome alien youth, who is going to Earth because of his own "disfigurement".

2003 remake

This episode was remade for the 2002–03 revival of the series using Serling's original script (but discarding Bernard Herrmann's original score), with

Molly Sims Molly Sims (born May 25, 1973) is an American fashion model and actress. She was featured in campaigns for Jimmy Choo, Escada, Giorgio Armani, Michael Kors, and Chanel, among others. She frequently modeled for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Iss ...

as Janet Tyler, Reggie Hayes as Dr. Bernardi and

Roger Cross Roger Cross (born October 19, 1969) is a Jamaican-Canadian actor who has made numerous appearances in several films and television series, mostly on productions shot in Canada. He is known for his work as Curtis Manning on '' 24'' (2005–2007 ...

as the Leader. The make-up was changed to make the faces look more melted, ghoulish and decayed with deep ridges. The remake follows the original script more faithfully. The projection screens were changed to plasma screens and more of the dialogue from the Leader's monologue was used.

References

Bibliography

* Zicree, Marc Scott. ''The Twilight Zone Companion''. Sillman-James Press, 1982 (second edition). * DeVoe, Bill. (2008). ''Trivia from The Twilight Zone''. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. * Grams, Martin. (2008). ''The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic''. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing.

External links

*
"Eye of the Beholder"
Review at "The Twilight Zone Project" {{DEFAULTSORT:Eye Of The Beholder, The The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) season 2 episodes 1960 American television episodes Works by Bernard Herrmann Television episodes set in hospitals Television episodes written by Rod Serling Television episodes about plastic surgery Ugliness Television episodes directed by Douglas Heyes Works about totalitarianism