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= = Opening narration = =
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= = Plot summary = =
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Henpecked , far sighted bank teller and avid bookworm Henry Bemis ( Meredith ) works at his window in a bank , while reading David Copperfield , which causes him to shortchange an annoyed customer . Bemis 's angry boss ( Taylor ) , and later his nagging wife ( deWit ) , both complain to him that he wastes far too much time reading " doggerel " . As a cruel joke , his wife asks him to read poetry from one of his books to her ; he eagerly obliges , only to find that she has inked over the text on every page , obscuring the words . Seconds later , she destroys the book by ripping the pages from it much to Henry 's dismay .
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The next day , as usual , Henry takes his lunch break in the bank 's vault , where his reading will not be disturbed . Moments after he sees a newspaper headline , which reads " H @-@ Bomb Capable of Total Destruction " , an enormous explosion outside the bank violently shakes the vault , knocking Bemis unconscious . After regaining consciousness and recovering the thick glasses required for him to see , Bemis emerges from the vault to find the bank demolished and everyone in it dead . Leaving the bank , he sees that the entire city has been destroyed , and realizes that a nuclear war has devastated the Earth , but that his being in the vault has saved him .
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Finding himself totally alone in a shattered world with food to last him a lifetime but no one to share it with , Bemis succumbs to despair . As he prepares to commit suicide using a revolver he has found , Bemis sees the ruins of the public library in the distance . Investigating , he finds that the books are still intact and readable ; all the books he could ever hope for are his for the reading , and ( as he gazes upon a huge fallen face of a clock ) learns that he has all the time in the world to read them without interruption .
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His despair gone , Bemis contentedly sorts the books he looks forward to reading for years to come . Just as he bends down to pick up the first book , he stumbles , and his glasses fall off and shatter . In shock , he picks up the broken remains of the glasses he is virtually blind without , and says , " That 's not fair . That 's not fair at all . There was time now . There was — was all the time I needed … ! It 's not fair ! It 's not fair ! " and bursts into tears , surrounded by books he now can never read .
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= = Closing narration = =
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= = Production = =
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" Time Enough at Last " was one of the first episodes written for The Twilight Zone . It introduced Burgess Meredith to the series ; he went on to star in three more episodes , being introduced as " no stranger to The Twilight Zone " in promotional spots for season two 's " The Obsolete Man " . He also narrated for the 1983 film Twilight Zone : The Movie , which made reference to " Time Enough at Last " during its opening sequence , with the characters discussing the episode in detail .
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Footage of the exterior steps of the library was filmed several months after production had been completed . These steps can also be seen on the exterior of an Eloi public building in MGM 's 1960 version of The Time Machine . John Brahm was nominated for a Directors Guild award for his work on the episode . The book that Bemis was reading in the vault and that flips open when the bomb explodes is A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus by Washington Irving .
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= = Themes = =
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Although the overriding message may seem to be " careful what you wish for " , there are other themes throughout the episode as well . Paramount among these is the question of solitude versus loneliness , as embodied by Bemis ' moment of near @-@ suicide . Additionally , the portrayal of societal attitudes towards books speaks to the contemporary decline of traditional literature and how , given enough time , reading may become a relic of the past . At the same time , the ending " punishes Bemis for his antisocial behavior , and his greatest desire is thwarted . "
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Rod Serling 's concluding statement in the episode - that Bemis has become " just a fragment of what man has deeded to himself " - alludes to Robert Burns ' Scots language poem " To a Mouse " ( 1785 , for which John Steinbeck 's book , Of Mice and Men ( 1938 ) , was also named ) . The poem concludes : " The best @-@ laid schemes o ' mice an men / Gang aft agley " ( translation : " Often go awry " ) .
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Although " Time Enough at Last " implies that nuclear warfare has destroyed humanity , film critic Andrew Sarris notes that the episode 's necessarily unrealistic format may have been what allowed its production to commence :
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In the era of the Internet and eBooks , the irony depicted in " Time Enough at Last " has an information age counterpart , according to Weston Ochse of Storytellers Unplugged . As Ochse points out , when Bemis becomes the last person on Earth , he finally has time to read , with all his books at his fingertips and the only impediment is technology when his medium for accessing them — his glasses — breaks . In a hypothetical world where all books are published electronically , Ochse observes , readers would be " only a lightning strike , a faulty switch , a sleepy workman or a natural disaster away from becoming Henry Bemis at the end of the world " — that is , a power outage has the potential to give them time to read , yet like Bemis , they too would lose their medium for accessing their books — namely the computer . This analogy has been taken further by those who suggest that today 's technology @-@ dependent world , where books have become passé ( cf . Bradbury 's " The Pedestrian " ) , could render an outage both a liberator and an executioner : As the gateway to both work and entertainment ( be it a computer , video games or television ) , removing electricity from the equation presents Henry Bemis ' heaven but modern society 's hell .
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= = = Similar episodes = = =
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The Twilight Zone often explored similar themes throughout its run . " Time Enough at Last " has strong thematic ties to a number of other episodes in the series , starting with that of isolation , first explored in the series pilot , " Where Is Everybody ? " . It is also a prominent theme in the previous episode " The Lonely " . Additionally , in a plot very similar to that of " Time " , " The Mind and the Matter " tells of a man who uses his mind to erase humanity , only to find that existence without other people is unbearable . The notion of being an outsider , lost in a sea of conformity , was one of the most common themes of the series .
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Other thematic elements in this episode can be found throughout the series , as well . " The Obsolete Man " takes the episode 's literary subtext — the notion that reading may eventually be considered " obsolete " — to an extreme : The state has declared books obsolete and a librarian ( also played by Meredith ) finds himself on trial for his own obsolescence . This notion , akin to Ray Bradbury 's short story " The Pedestrian " ( 1951 ) , is also alluded to in the episode " Number 12 Looks Just Like You " , in which a perfect and equal world contradictorily considers works like those of Shakespeare " smut " .
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= = Impact = =
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= = = Critical and fan favorite = = =
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" Time Enough at Last " was a ratings success in its initial airing and " became an instant classic " . It " remains one of the best @-@ remembered and best @-@ loved episodes of The Twilight Zone " according to Marc Zicree , author of The Twilight Zone Companion . When a poll asked readers of Twilight Zone Magazine which episode of the series they remembered the most , " Time Enough at Last " was the most frequent response , with " To Serve Man " coming in a distant second . In TV Land 's presentation of TV Guide 's " 100 Most Memorable Moments in Television " , " Time Enough at Last " was ranked at # 25 .
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In an interview years after this episode aired , Serling cited " Time Enough at Last " as one of his two favorites from the entire series . ( The other episode was " The Invaders " , with Agnes Moorehead . )
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= = = In popular culture = = =
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Many elements of American popular culture frequently pay homage to " Time Enough at Last " .
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= = = = Amusement park attractions = = = =
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The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror , a theme park ride at Disney 's Hollywood Studios and Disney California Adventure Park , displays a replica of Henry Bemis ' broken glasses in the lobby . It is noted that , while they are indeed reading glasses , Burgess Meredith wears them the entire episode to make Bemis look more bookish .
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= = = Comics = = =
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The comic book version of The Simpsons , Simpsons Comics , published a story called " The Last Fat Man " , based partially on " Time Enough at Last " , and includes a short scene where Homer Simpson shoos a bespectacled man who is reading a book out of a nuclear bunker so he can eat in it , unintentionally taking shelter in it .
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= = = Film = = =
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In Twilight Zone : The Movie ( 1983 ) , Albert Brooks recounts the episode to Dan Aykroyd as they drive along an empty stretch of highway . " This thing freaked me out when I was 7 years old , " says Brooks ' character , adding : " I bought another pair of glasses just in case that would happen . "
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The episode 's title was borrowed by a 2004 independent film about a man who tries to escape an office building . The film 's official website listed the webmaster 's e @-@ mail alias as " rodserling " .
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The Pixar movie WALL @-@ E ( 2008 ) , which takes place in a desolate future , also contains a scene in which a pair of broken glasses can be seen in the foreground .
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= = = Games = = =
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The PC game Fallout Tactics ( 2001 ) includes a librarian in a desolate world who wants the player to find his missing glasses so he can read his books .
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= = = Music = = =
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The episode 's title was borrowed by a song on The Fall 's 1992 album Code : Selfish ( 1992 )
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= = = Television = = =
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There are numerous , notable television spoofs of the episode . Examples include :
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Stephen Colbert 's A Colbert Christmas : The Greatest Gift of All ! ( in the DVD 's second alternative ending )
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Family Guy ( at the end of the season 2 episode " Wasted Talent " )
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Futurama ( during an episode of " The Scary Door " [ a Twilight Zone @-@ style TV show that airs in the year 3000 ] on " A Head in the Polls " )
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SpongeBob SquarePants
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The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron : Boy Genius ( " Return of the Nanobots " )
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The Drew Carey Show ( " Y2K You 're OK " )
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Episodes of other television shows that refer to " Time Enough at Last " include :
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The Modern Family episode " Airport 2010 " references " Time " when the screen on Jay 's electronic reader gets broken . Jay pours the broken glass to the floor while saying " Not fair . It 's not fair " .
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Episode 12 of Revolution , titled " Ghosts " , has Jim Hudson 's character who goes by the name of Henry Bemis . Henry ( Jim ) has become the town librarian , until Miles convinces him to help the rebels and go back to his real name .
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The line , " Seconds , minutes , hours , they crawl by on hands and knees " was referenced to in The Powerpuff Girls Season 2 episode , " Speed Demon " , where the villain , HIM , torments the Powerpuff Girls before revealing that they have unknowingly arrived 50 years into the future , landing in a Townsville that HIM now controls .
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" The HΩmega Man " segment of The Simpsons episode " Treehouse of Horror VIII " features Homer , who accidentally survives by hiding in a nuclear bunker and comes out to discover that he is apparently the last person alive .
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In the season 14 episode of The Simpsons , " Strong Arms of the Ma , " a postman is accidentally trapped under a car in front of the Simpson house . He intends to read The Twilight Zone Magazine but discovers that his glasses were broken in the accident and says , " That 's not fair ! " , while the Twilight Zone main @-@ theme music is heard in the background .
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The sitcom Two and a Half Men made references to it when the character Alan has a nervous breakdown in a bookstore .
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This episode was mentioned in the CBS drama series , Under the Dome 's third season .
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= = Adaptations = =
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" Time Enough at Last " has been released in numerous formats over the years .
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In 1988 it was available on VHS as part of a Twilight Zone collector 's edition .
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Two releases were made in 1998 and 1999 , as part of a more widely available two @-@ episodes @-@ per @-@ tape release scheme .
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Although similar individual multi @-@ episode DVDs were released , it is now exclusively available as part of The Twilight Zone – The Definitive Edition , the first volume of which was released December 24 , 2004 . Included is an audio @-@ only interview with Burgess Meredith as well as the clip of The Drew Carey Show 's parody of the episode .
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The story which inspired it has been released in eBook and MP3 form , capitalizing on the success of the episode .
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In 2003 , the Falcon Picture Group produced a series of radio dramas based on the series — stating , " In the 1950s many radio series were turned into television series – so why not the reverse ? " — which were broadcast on about 200 stations through the USA ; " Time " was included in volume six .
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In 2005 , " Time " became one of the first Twilight Zone episodes offered for download via Google Video and later on sites such as Amazon.com.
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= Dead Head Fred =
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Dead Head Fred ( Japanese : デッドヘッドフレッド ～ 首なし探偵の悪夢 ～ , Hepburn : Deddo Heddo Fureddo ~ Kubinashi Tantei no Akumu ~ ) is a horror @-@ themed action @-@ adventure video game for the PlayStation Portable , developed by Vicious Cycle Software and published by D3 Publisher . It was released in North America on August 28 , 2007 and is powered by Vicious Cycle 's proprietary Vicious Engine . It features a premise that is a combination of 1940s @-@ style noir and contemporary horror , dubbed " twisted noir " by the design team .
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The game is a single @-@ player experience whose title character , Fred Neuman , is a private investigator with the ability to switch heads . Fred has recently been murdered and decapitated , and has few memories of the events leading to his death . The plot follows Fred as he pieces together the clues of his murder and tries to get revenge on the man who killed him . Unlike many action game heroes , Fred has no conventional weapons — he relies solely on the powers available to him from the severed heads of fallen enemies .
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The game received generally positive reviews , with reviewers mentioning its dark humor and noir @-@ inspired motif as high points . It received criticism for its controls and lack of combat depth . In 2008 , it won the Writers Guild of America 's first @-@ ever award for video game writing .
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= = Gameplay = =
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