20th episode of the 1st season of The Twilight Zone
"
Profile in Silver
"
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Scene from "Profile in Silver"
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Episode
no.
| Season 1
Episode 20a
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Directed by
| John Hancock
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Written by
| J. Neil Schulman
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Original air date
| March 7, 1986
(
1986-03-07
)
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List of episodes
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"
Profile in Silver
" is the first segment of the twentieth episode of the
first season
of the 1985 revival of
The Twilight Zone
television series. In this segment, a
time traveler
interferes in the
assassination of John F. Kennedy
, and must find a way to repair the resulting damage to the timeline.
Plot
[
edit
]
Dr. Joseph Fitzgerald has traveled back in time from the year 2172 and assumed the identity of an instructor at
Harvard University
. His mission is to video record the
assassination of John F. Kennedy
, from whom he is descended. Fitzgerald is nervous about watching his own ancestor be murdered. Dr. Kate Wang, a colleague from his own time, rebukes him for carrying around a 1964 coin with Kennedy's image, but he implores her to let this minor infraction against time travel rules slide.
At the scene of the assassination, Fitzgerald impulsively shouts for the president to take cover. President Kennedy ducks, and the shot misses him. A grateful Kennedy invites Fitzgerald to stay at the
White House
. As Kennedy and his entourage return home, the president is notified that
Nikita Khrushchev
has been assassinated and
Soviet
troops have captured
West Berlin
.
Fitzgerald consults his wrist computer, which informs him that his alteration of history has caused massive rips in the fabric of time. The assassination of Khrushchev was not enough to fix the damage; all possible outcomes to this timeline involve war between the superpowers. The only way to repair the timeline is for Kennedy to die in the exact manner as history recorded.
The president's
Secret Service
bodyguard, Ray, has grown suspicious of Fitzgerald after finding his 1964 coin and examining his video camera, the shell of which is an unknown alloy that cannot be opened. Kennedy summons Fitzgerald, who tells them the whole story, showing a holographic display from the camera as partial proof. Kennedy volunteers to go back and be assassinated in order to repair the timeline. Fitzgerald, overwhelmed by his ancestor's heroism, removes his Harvard school ring, which is actually his time travel device, and places it on Kennedy's hand. Kennedy is transported to Fitzgerald's home, in 2172. Fitzgerald takes Kennedy's place in the Dallas motorcade.
At
Parkland Memorial Hospital
in Dallas, the dead body of "President Kennedy" (actually Fitzgerald) is attended to by Dr. Wang. Ray recognizes her ring because it is identical to Fitzgerald's. She tells him she knew what Fitzgerald's fate would be, since even actions committed during time travel become part of history, but could not let him know.
At Harvard University in 2172, John F. Kennedy delivers a speech to a classroom full of students, in which he implicitly lauds Fitzgerald's sacrifice and the sacrifices of other honorable men like him.
Response
[
edit
]
Starloggers
.com ranks it as number two on its top 10
Twilight Zone
episodes from the 1980s.
[1]
See also
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References
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External links
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]
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Season 1
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Season 2
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Season 3
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