In His Image

This article is about an episode of a television series; for the book, please see In His Image (book).

"In His Image"
The Twilight Zone episode
Alan discovers that he is a robot.
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 103
Directed by	Perry Lafferty
Written by	Charles Beaumont (From his short story.)
Production code	4851
Original air date	January 3, 1963
Guest stars
George Grizzard: Alan Talbot/Walter Ryder Jr. Gail Kobe: Jessica Connelly Katherine Squire: Old Woman Wallace Rooney: Man James Seay: Sheriff George O. Petrie: Driver
Episode chronology
← Previous "The Changing of the Guard" Next → "The Thirty-Fathom Grave"
List of Twilight Zone episodes

"In His Image" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone aired on January 3, 1963. This was the first episode of the fourth season. Each episode was expanded to an hour (with commercials) from In His Image until The Bard. The fourth season is the only season of The Twilight Zone to have each episode one hour long.

Plot

Alan Talbot seems to be an average man leading a seemingly normal life. He falls in love with a woman named Jessica Connelly. One day, he starts hearing strange noises that give him head pains and the urge to kill. As a result, he throws a religious fanatic under a train.

Upon visiting his home-town with Jessica, his memory seems to betray him. Nothing in the town is as he remembers. While seeking answers, he comes face to face with his double. It turns out that he is an android created in the image of Walter Ryder, provided with Walter's memories from twenty years before. Alan is the third prototype and has been "living" for eight days-Walter had tried to create a less flawed image of himself. Unfortunately Alan is insane and can't be fixed-he stabbed Walter with a pair of scissors before escaping.

Knowing what he really truly is, Alan tells Walter all about Jessica so that Walter can replace him, but he then malfunctions and tries to kill Walter. After the struggle with an ambiguous outcome, the survivor goes to Jessica in the morning, and is implied that the two will marry. In the final scene, it is revealed that the survivor is Walter while Alan lies amid the wreckage of the laboratory where he was "born".

References

• DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media. ISBN 978-1593931360
• Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing. ISBN 978-0970331090

External links

• "In His Image" at the Internet Movie Database