Episode no. Season 1
Episode 6a Air date November 1, 1985 | Directed by Paul Lynch Director Paul Lynch | |
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Written by Philip DeGuere
(Based on the short story "Examination Day", by Henry Slesar. The story was first published in Playboy (February 1958). Original air date November 1, 1985 (1985-11-01) | ||
"Examination Day" is the first segment of the sixth episode from the first season (1985–86) of the television series The Twilight Zone.
Contents
Plot
Dickie Jordan is an intelligent and curious youth in a dystopian future. It is Dickie's twelfth birthday, which means he is required by law to report to a government testing facility for a mandatory IQ test. As Dickie gleefully tells his parents how he was told by an older friend that the test is easy and that he's sure he will pass it, his parents react stressfully and avoid his questions. They bring him to the facility and go back home to wait anxiously for the test results.
When Dickie arrives at the testing facility, he is given a medicine. The examiner says that the medicine will ensure he tells the truth. He is then given a series of intelligence tests and appears to be doing very well, much to his joy.
After his parents await the test results at home for hours, they are contacted by the government. Dickie's test results are in: his intelligence quotient exceeded the legal limit that the government allows and he was therefore executed. The parents burst into tears as the government examiners ask the Jordans how they would like their son's remains to be handled.
Reception
The Evening Independent wrote that the episode was "a bit predictable, but the reason for the tragic climax was a shock".
