"The Jeopardy Room" is episode 149 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, which originally aired on April 17, 1964, on CBS. It is one of the few Twilight Zone episodes to feature no supernatural or sci-fi elements.
The cast of characters—a cat and a mouse, this is the latter. The intended victim who may or may not know that he is to die, be it by butchery or bullet. His name is Major Ivan Kuchenko. He has, if events go according to certain plans, perhaps three or four more hours of living. But an ignorance shared by both himself and his executioner, is of the fact that both of them have taken the first step into the Twilight Zone.
Plotedit
Major Ivan Kuchenko, an escaped political prisoner who is attempting to defect, is trapped inside a hotel room in an unnamed, politically neutral country. Commissar Vassiloff, a hitman, and Boris, his assistant, are watching Kuchenko from a room across the street. Vassiloff, who considers himself an artist, has an elaborate plan for Kuchenko's assassination. After Vassiloff tricks Kuchenko into drinking a sleeping drug, Kuchenko awakes to find a taped recording from Vassiloff in which he explains that he has booby-trapped an object in the room. If Kuchenko finds and disarms the object within three hours, he will be allowed to live; if he tries to leave the room before then or turn out the lights, he will be shot by Boris, an expert sniper.
Vassiloff tells Boris he has hidden a lethal bomb in the telephone, but it will be triggered only by picking up an incoming call. Thus, when Kuchenko picks up the phone without it ringing, nothing happens. Kuchenko grows increasingly nervous and desperate as the ordeal continues, even begging Vassiloff to shoot him at one point. With ten minutes of time left, Vassiloff places a call to Kuchenko's room. Kuchenko puts his hand on the receiver, but hesitates. When Vassiloff tries to call him a second time, Kuchenko bolts out of the hotel room, narrowly escaping a spray of bullets from Boris. Later, Vassiloff and Boris enter the room to dispose of evidence. The telephone rings, and Boris and Vassiloff are both killed after Boris unthinkingly answers it. On the other end of the line is Ivan Kuchenko, calling from a phone booth at the airport. The operator tells him she is unable to reach his party, but Kuchenko states, "It’s alright, operator. I... I have reached them.” He then leaves to board a plane flying to New York City, as Vassiloff and Boris are shown lying dead amidst the rubble of Kuchenko's room.
Closing narrationedit
Major Ivan Kuchenko, on his way West. On his way to freedom: a freedom bought and paid for by a most stunning ingenuity. And exit one Commissar Vassiloff, who forgot that there are two sides to an argument - and two parties on the line. This has been the Twilight Zone.
jeopardy, room, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, april, 2020, learn, when, re. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations April 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Jeopardy Room is episode 149 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone which originally aired on April 17 1964 on CBS It is one of the few Twilight Zone episodes to feature no supernatural or sci fi elements The Jeopardy Room The Twilight Zone episodeEpisode no Season 5Episode 29Directed byRichard DonnerWritten byRod SerlingProduction code2639Original air dateApril 17 1964 1964 04 17 Guest appearancesMartin Landau as Major Ivan Kuchenko John van Dreelen as Commissar Vassiloff Robert Kelljan as Boris Vassiloff s assistantEpisode chronology Previous Caesar and Me Next Stopover in a Quiet Town The Twilight Zone 1959 TV series season 5 List of episodes Contents 1 Opening narration 2 Plot 3 Closing narration 4 Cast 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksOpening narration editThe cast of characters a cat and a mouse this is the latter The intended victim who may or may not know that he is to die be it by butchery or bullet His name is Major Ivan Kuchenko He has if events go according to certain plans perhaps three or four more hours of living But an ignorance shared by both himself and his executioner is of the fact that both of them have taken the first step into the Twilight Zone Plot editMajor Ivan Kuchenko an escaped political prisoner who is attempting to defect is trapped inside a hotel room in an unnamed politically neutral country Commissar Vassiloff a hitman and Boris his assistant are watching Kuchenko from a room across the street Vassiloff who considers himself an artist has an elaborate plan for Kuchenko s assassination After Vassiloff tricks Kuchenko into drinking a sleeping drug Kuchenko awakes to find a taped recording from Vassiloff in which he explains that he has booby trapped an object in the room If Kuchenko finds and disarms the object within three hours he will be allowed to live if he tries to leave the room before then or turn out the lights he will be shot by Boris an expert sniper Vassiloff tells Boris he has hidden a lethal bomb in the telephone but it will be triggered only by picking up an incoming call Thus when Kuchenko picks up the phone without it ringing nothing happens Kuchenko grows increasingly nervous and desperate as the ordeal continues even begging Vassiloff to shoot him at one point With ten minutes of time left Vassiloff places a call to Kuchenko s room Kuchenko puts his hand on the receiver but hesitates When Vassiloff tries to call him a second time Kuchenko bolts out of the hotel room narrowly escaping a spray of bullets from Boris Later Vassiloff and Boris enter the room to dispose of evidence The telephone rings and Boris and Vassiloff are both killed after Boris unthinkingly answers it On the other end of the line is Ivan Kuchenko calling from a phone booth at the airport The operator tells him she is unable to reach his party but Kuchenko states It s alright operator I I have reached them He then leaves to board a plane flying to New York City as Vassiloff and Boris are shown lying dead amidst the rubble of Kuchenko s room Closing narration editMajor Ivan Kuchenko on his way West On his way to freedom a freedom bought and paid for by a most stunning ingenuity And exit one Commissar Vassiloff who forgot that there are two sides to an argument and two parties on the line This has been the Twilight Zone Cast editMartin Landau as Major Ivan Kuchenko John Van Dreelan as Commissar Vassiloff Bob Kelljan credited Robert Kelljan as Boris Rod Serling as Narrator himselfSee also editPayback a 1999 film that features a similar booby trap as a plot device and a similar twist ending References editDeVoe Bill 2008 Trivia from The Twilight Zone Albany GA Bear Manor Media ISBN 978 1 59393 136 0 Grams Martin 2008 The Twilight Zone Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic Churchville MD OTR Publishing ISBN 978 0 9703310 9 0 Zicree Marc Scott The Twilight Zone Companion Sillman James Press 1982 second edition External links edit The Jeopardy Room at IMDb nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Jeopardy Room amp oldid 1217397082, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
