Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (s01e6)

The Time Element

by Rod Serling

Release: 24 November 1958
Format: TV Episode
Genre: Weird Fiction
Audience: Adults
Content: Definite Time Travel
Original Language: English

Serling wrote this one-hour time-travel episode as a pilot for a one-hour anthology show, but after it was filmed, William Dozier at CBS requested a change to a half-hour format. So, “The Time Element” was shelved while Serling worked on a new pilot (which also had a stormy history). Meanwhile, Bert Granet, producer of the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, caught wind of the original Serling pilot and quickly snapped up the production for which he had to then fight hard with the Westinghouse bigwigs in order to air.

The story involves a time traveler, Pete Jensen, who couldn’t stop the attack on Pearl Harbor, but he certainly made his mark as the Twilight Zone precursor.

I have information that the Japanese are gonna bomb Pearl Harbor tomorrow morning at approximately 8am Honolulu time.

DEBUT

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (s01e06), “The Time Element” (CBS-TV, USA, 24 November 1958).

VARIANTS

1 English variant

TAGS(SPOILERS!)

Groupings

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (TV series)

TIME TRAVEL ITINERARY: We haven’t yet mapped out the time travel itinerary.