"Mr. Denton on Doomsday" is the third episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)

The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...

. This is the first Twilight Zone episode to be rerun

Rerun

A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a radio or television broadcast. The invention of the rerun is generally credited to Desi Arnaz. There are two types of reruns—those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Reruns can also be, as the...

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Plot summary

Washed-up gunslinger Al Denton is given another chance by a mysterious salesman named Henry J. Fate, who offers him a potion guaranteed to make him the fastest gunner in the West for ten seconds. Facing a young gunfighter named Pete Grant, who rode into town looking for a duel, Denton downs his vial of the potion only to find his opponent holding an identical bottle. Each man shoots the other in the hand, causing injuries that will never allow either to use a gun again. Denton later tells his young opponent that they have both been blessed because they will never again be able to fire a gun in anger. Henry J. Fate quietly rides out of town.

Episode notes

This episode is one of very few in the series whose opening sequence features an eye with heavy mascara. It was plastered over the original opening when "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" was rerun on June 24, 1960. Although the plastering of Season One intros (including the majority of episodes with this alternate intro) is not uncommon due to the Summer 1961 repeat season, this is the only case of the alternate Season One intro plastering the original. This also means this is one of only three shows where this title sequence can be still seen in syndication. As with the majority of plastered Season One intros, the original is believed lost.

In his 1959 promotional film shown to potential sponsors, Rod Serling summarized an earlier version of this episode's plot under its original title, "Death, Destry, and Mr. Dingle." As told by Serling, the basic premise is similar, but the earlier version seems to have been more comedic in tone, involving a meek schoolteacher who quite unintentionally gains notoriety as a top gunslinger. The name "Mr. Dingle" (originally intended for the Dan Duryea character) would be used by Serling for a future episode

Mr. Dingle, the Strong

"Mr. Dingle, the Strong" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:In an experiment, two Martians give vacuum-cleaner salesman and perennial loser Luther Dingle superhuman strength...

, with Burgess Meredith

Burgess Meredith

Oliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...

playing the eponymous character.