Walking Distance
| "Walking Distance" | |
|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 5 |
| Directed by | Robert Stevens |
| Written by | Rod Serling |
| Featured music | Original score by Bernard Herrmann (accompanied with carnival music) |
| Production code | 173-3605 |
| Original air date | October 30, 1959 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
"Walking Distance" is episode five of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on October 30, 1959 on CBS. The episode was listed as the ninth best episode in the history of The Twilight Zone by Time.
While driving his car in the countryside (c. 1959), thirty-six-year-old advertising executive Martin Sloan stops to have his car serviced at a gas station within walking distance of his hometown, named Homewood. After walking into town, he sees that it apparently has not changed since he was a boy. He visits the town drugstore and he soon discovers that it is the year 1934.
Martin walks to the park where he is startled to see himself as a young boy. Following his younger self home, he meets his parents as they were in his childhood. Confused and worried, Martin wanders around town and ends up at his former home again later that evening, where he again tries to convince his parents who he is, but is turned away.
Martin wanders back to the park and finds his tween self on a carousel, and tries to tell him to enjoy his boyhood while it lasts. His advances scare young Martin, who falls off the merry-go-round and injures his leg. After twelve-year-old Martin is carried away, adult Martin is confronted by his father who, having seen the documents and money with future dates on them in the mature Martin Sloan's lost wallet, now believes his story. Martin's dad advises his son that everyone has his time and that instead of looking behind him, he should look ahead, because as delightful and rewarding as he may remember childhood to be, adulthood holds its own delights and rewards.
When Martin walks back into the drugstore, he finds himself back in the 1959 Homewood, during the afternoon. He discovers that he now has a limp from the carousel injury, having unknowingly caused his younger self to fall off and injure his leg which in turn has given the adult Martin a limp. Martin makes his way back to the gas station. He picks up his car and drives away, content to live his life in his current age group.
Unlike some episodes of the show that were accompanied by pre-composed stock music cues, Walking Distance was underscored with music specially written for it. As for other Twilight Zone episodes, Bernard Herrmann—also composer of the first season's main title music and most of its stock music—wrote the music for this one. The very intimate and tuneful score has an isolated running time of about 19 minutes and is played by a 19-piece-orchestra consisting of strings (violins, violas, cellos, basses) and one harp.
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