The World Next Door (The Twilight Zone)
| "The World Next Door" | |
|---|---|
| The New Twilight Zone episode | |
| Episode no. |
Season 2 Episode 28c |
| Directed by | Paul Lynch |
| Written by | Lan O'Kun |
| Original air date | October 18, 1986 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
George Wendt: Barney Schlessinger | |
| Episode chronology | |
"The World Next Door" is the third segment of the twenty-eighth episode (the fourth episode of the second season (1986–87)) of the television series The Twilight Zone.
Opening narration
| “ | For most of us, our secret heart's desire seems to lie behind a bolted door. But what if the lives we find so familiar are someone's else's dream come true? Perhaps, for all of us, somewhere is a hidden door...into the Twilight Zone. | ” |
Plot
Barney Schlessinger is a man who spends his free time in his basement as a failed part-time inventor. His wife, Katy, is never any support to him, thinking he should just concentrate on his job. His friend, Milton, says he is "just out of step, a man with bad timing." On his way to work on the train one morning, Barney tries to explain the dreams he's having about living a different life, as if he lives two different lives simultaneously. Milton tells him to enjoy the fantasy. He apparently falls asleep on the train, seemingly awakening in an alternate reality with the appearance of the olden days (perhaps early 1900s) albeit with some amenities of the present, but then he jolts awake in the real world.
Barney then comes home to find Katy has been rummaging through his basement workshop. She proclaims to Barney that if he does not get rid of his inventions, their relationship will suffer. As he begins to clean the basement, Barney accidentally destroys a bookshelf and discovers a bolted door behind it. He opens the door to find another door, opening that to find himself in the wine cellar of another house and himself changed to look like he does in his dreams of being in the olden days. A woman's voice calls down for Barney to come up and rejoin the party, where he finds his friend, Milton. In this world, Barney is the president of a successful company, along with Milton as his partner, and they have invented something to help the fuel efficiency of the early cars.
After the party, Barney discovers his counterpart has the same dreams as he does, only his counterpart dreams of the life Barney already has: an undemanding life without a lot of responsibilities. Soon after everyone leaves, during a storm, Katy (unmarried to him in this world) appears at his doorstep, looking for help after her horse and carriage ran off. Barney and Katy get to know each other, but she is apparently very impressed with him and supportive. Barney runs back to the wine cellar to retrieve one of his inventions from his own world when he discovers the counterpart has cleaned the basement and is being doted on by the other Katy. Barney and his counterpart exchange knowing glances and Barney closes and bolts the door, wishing his counterpart good luck. Barney finds Katy and gives her the invention as a gift and she is so impressed (the opposite reaction he got from wife Katy), she decides she would like to see him again.