The Twilight Zone [s1e30] (treatm.ent)

Execution

by George Clayton Johnson

Release: 1977
Format: Short Story
Genres: Fantasy, Weird Fiction
Audience: Adults
Content: Definite Time Travel
Original Language: English

Back in the Old West, just after outlaw Jason Black is dropped from a lone tree with a rope around his neck, two scientists pull him into the 20th century. The story isn’t your typical short story; instead, it’s a treatment that Johnson presented to Rod Serling for a Twilight Zone episode that aired on 1 April 1960.

Listen to me. There is a strange world outside that door. Without us to help you, anything can happen to you. This is the twentieth century, don’t you understand?

DEBUT

“Execution,” in A Collection of Scripts and Stories written for “The Twilight Zone” by George Clayton Johnson, limited edition of 100 looseleaf copies (Valcour and Krueger, 1977).

VARIANTS

1 English variant

DERIVATIVE WORKS

“Execution” by Rod Serling, directed by David Orrick McDearmon, (CBS-TV, USA, 1 April 1960).

TAGS(SPOILERS!)

Time Periods

Circa AD 1800 to 1899: late 19th century
Circa AD 1960 to 1969: just a guess

Time Travel Methods

Time Retrievers: The machine is only a retreiver, since when Black dies, he bounces back on his own rather than being sent back by the machine.

Real-World Tags

Old West

Groupings

The Twilight Zone (TV series): treatment for [v1s01e26)
The Twilight Zone (multiple TV series): treatment for the original series [v1s01e26)
The Twilight Zone (franchise)

TIME TRAVEL ITINERARY (SPOILERS!)

From the Old West, hanging from the end of a rope on a lone tree, late 19th century ⋙ to Dr. Miles’s lab, New York City, mid to late 20th century. Round trip. Note: Jason Black.