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"The Twilight Zone" The Obsolete Man (1961)


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"The Twilight Zone" (1959): Season 2: Episode 29 -- In a future state where religion and books have been banned, a librarian is judged obsolete by the Chancellor and sentenced to death.

Overview

User Rating:
8.6/10   370 votes
Director:
Writers:
Rod Serling (creator)
Rod Serling (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Obsolete Man on IMDbPro.
Original Air Date:
2 June 1961 (Season 2, Episode 29)
Plot:
In a future totalitarian society, a librarian is declared obsolete and sentenced to death. full summary | full synopsis
User Reviews:
Watch This Episode more (13 total)

Cast

  (Episode Complete credited cast)
Burgess Meredith ... Romney Wordsworth
Fritz Weaver ... Chancellor
Josip Elic ... Subaltern (as Josep Elic)
Harry Fleer ... Guard
Barry Brooks ... Board Member
Harold Innocent ... Board Member
Jane Romeyn ... Board Member
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Additional Details

Runtime:
25 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Chancellor: You have no function, Mr. Wordsworth, you're an anachronism, like a ghost from another time.
Romney Wordsworth: I am nothing more than a reminder to you that you cannot destroy truth by burning pages!
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FAQ

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29 out of 43 people found the following review useful.
Watch This Episode, 25 February 2006
Author: tthomas760 from Florida, USA

Another of Rod Serling's cautionary tales of the rise of the totalitarian state.

Rodney Wordsworth is declared "obsolete" by a tribunal of the state in the not too distant future. The sentence is. of course, death, but some surprises await the State at the humble hands of Mr. Wordsworth.

Anyone seeing this episode today will be shocked at it's relevance. A society which has "proven" that there is no God; a state which enforces a mind-numbing conformity; a state which refuses to respect or acknowledge the rights of the individual or the sanctity of life.

Watch this episode and reflect long and hard.

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