History Recap / TheTwilightZoneS2E37KingNineWillNotReturn

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/deb948a24ff3ce59cef0553b08d1db16.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: James Embry and his downed King Nine.]]

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is ''King Nine'', B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning, she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in the wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day or any other day.

Air date: September 30, 1960

''King Nine'', a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII B-25 Mitchell bomber, has crash landed in the African desert. The plane's captain, James Embry (Creator/BobCummings), finds himself stranded, with only the wreckage and the ongoing mystery of what happened to his crew, all of whom seem to be missing. The movement of the wrecked plane's door in the desert wind and visions of his missing men serve only to heighten Embry's progressively manic state. Embry soon finds the grave of one of his crew and sees Navy [=F9F=] Cougar (Blue Angels) jets in the sky, something impossible for the time. He collapses in the sand and begs his crew to come back, until we discover that he is actually in a hospital bed, suffering hallucinations 17 years after the crash.

Confident that Embry will recover, two doctors discuss Embry's case, which reveals the truth about his predicament. Having come down with a fever just before he was set to board the ill-fated ''King Nine'', Embry had been replaced by another captain on the mission. Embry's sight of a newspaper headline detailing the discovery of the plane's wreckage has triggered survivor guilt, in which, we are to understand, he has hallucinated himself at the crash site. Though the doctors assure Embry that he only ventured to the site in his mind, a nurse, handling Embry's clothes for the doctors, discovers his shoes are mysteriously filled with sand.

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!!''King Tropes'' Will Not Return:
* TheAloner: The bulk of the episode features James all alone in the desert, with only his crashed plane and the mystery of his missing crew to keep him company.
* TheCaptain: James Embry, who keeps going on about how he's responsible for his men. The ending reveals he had a fever and was replaced by another captain on the doomed plane that day, and he's been wracked with guilt for years, his hallucinations triggered from a newspaper headline regarding the plane's wreckage being found 17 years later.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: At one point, Embry wonders whether his experience in the desert is nothing more than a hallucination. The ending proves he was right all along.
* InnerMonologue: Much of the episode's dialogue is James' panicked thoughts when he finds himself alone in the desert with a wrecked plane.
* LaughingMad: James starts cackling in a deranged manner near the end, when he starts thinking that everything is an illusion.
* LifesavingMisfortune: Embry turns out to have gotten sick before he was supposed to fly on ''King Nine'', sparing his life when it was shot down. Unfortunately, he doesn't see it this way, instead thinking it to be guilt for not being able to stand by his men.
* MinimalistCast: Robert Cummings is the only actor in the episode, until the last five minutes.
* NoseArt: ''King Nine'' has an elaborate painting of the King of Hearts on her nose.
* OrWasItADream: The episode's TwistEnding, when the nurse finds sand in Embry's shoes, indicating he went somewhere...
* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The episode was inspired by the story of ''Lady Be Good'', a World War II bomber which crashed in the Libyan desert on April 4, 1943, and was rediscovered in 1958, only two years before this episode aired. The missing crew likewise refers to the missing crew of ''Lady Be Good'', who were later discovered to have perished trekking across the desert under the mistaken belief they were near the Mediterranean Sea, instead of over 400 miles inland. Finally, the date on Sgt. William F. Kline's grave is April 5, 1943, the day after ''Lady Be Good'' vanished.
* SurvivorGuilt: The doctors say Embry suffers from this as a result of ''King Nine'' crashing, and he had to stay behind when he became ill.
* ThirstyDesert: Embry finds himself stuck here, all alone, for several hours.
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->'''Creator/RodSerling''': Enigma buried in the sand, a question mark with broken wings that lies in silent grace as a marker in a desert shrine. Odd how the real consorts with the shadows, how the present fuses with the past. How does it happen? The question is on file in the silent desert. And the answer? The answer is waiting for us… in the Twilight Zone.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': Enigma buried in the sand, a question mark with broken wings that lies in silent grace as a marker in a desert shrine. Odd how the real consorts with the shadows, how the present fuses with the past. How does it happen? The question is on file in the silent desert. And the answer? The answer is waiting for us… in the Twilight Zone.

The UsefulNotes/WorldWarII B-25 Mitchell bomber ''King Nine'' has crashed in the desert. Captain James Embry (Creator/BobCummings) finds himself stranded, alone except for the wreckage and the mystery of what happened to his crew, all of whom have disappeared. The movement of the plane in the wind and his visions of the missing men serve to heighten Embry's disorientation.

Embry finds the grave of one of his crewmen and sees, in the sky, Navy [=F9F=] Cougar (Blue Angels) jets, impossible for the time. He collapses in the sand, and we discover that he is actually suffering hallucinations from a hospital bed, 17 years after the crash.

Confident that Embry will recover, two doctors discuss that Embry's suffering has been triggered by a newspaper headline. The paper has reported the desert discovery of the long-lost ''King Nine'', which had not returned to base from a mission during the war. Having come down with a fever just before he was to board the ill-fated flight, Embry had been replaced on the mission by another captain. Embry's sight of the headline has triggered survivor guilt, in which, we are to understand, he has imagined himself at the crash site.

The doctors assure Embry he has returned to the site only in his mind. A nurse, handling Embry's clothes for the doctors, discovers the shoes are mysteriously filled with sand.

* TheAloner: Embry all alone with his crashed plane.
* TheCaptain: Embry. He keeps talking about how he's responsible for his men. The ending reveals how he's been wracked with guilt for years.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: At one point, Embry wonders whether his experience in the desert is nothing more than an hallucination.
* InnerMonologue: Much of the episode is Embry's panicked thoughts when he finds he's alone in the desert with his plane.
* LaughingMad: Embry starts cackling in a deranged manner near the end when he starts thinking that everything is an illusion.
* LifesavingMisfortune: Embry got sick before he was supposed to take his crew across the ''King 9'', sparing his life when it was bombed down. Unfortunately, he doesn't see it this way and instead thinks of it as guilt for not being able to stand by his men.
* MinimalistCast: Robert Cummings is the only actor in the episode until the last five minutes.
* NoseArt: The ''King Nine'' has an elaborate painting of a king of hearts on the nose.
* OrWasItADream: The episode's TwistEnding. The nurse finds sand in Embry's shoes, indicating he went somewhere...
* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The episode was inspired by the story of the ''Lady Be Good'', a World War II bomber which crashed in the Libyan desert on April 4, 1943, but was rediscovered in 1958, only two years before this episode aired. The missing crew likewise refers to the missing crew of the ''Lady Be Good'', who were later discovered to have perished trekking across the desert under the mistaken belief they were near the Mediterranean Sea, instead of over 400 miles inland. Finally, the date on Sgt. William F. Kline's grave is April 5, 1943, the day after that the ''Lady Be Good'' vanished.
* SurvivorGuilt: The doctors say Embry has this as a result of ''King Nine'' crashing when (thanks to illness) he had to stay behind.
* ThirstyDesert: The place where Embry finds himself. He collapses after being there for several hours.
----

The UsefulNotes/WorldWarII B-25 Mitchell bomber ''King Nine'' has crashed in the desert. Captain James Embry (Robert Cummings) finds himself stranded, alone except for the wreckage and the mystery of what happened to his crew, all of whom have disappeared. The movement of the plane in the wind and his visions of the missing men serve to heighten Embry's disorientation.

* MinimalCast: Robert Cummings is the only actor in the episode until the last five minutes.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The episode was inspired by the story of the ''Lady Be Good'', a World War II bomber which crashed in the Libyan desert in 1943, but was rediscovered in 1958, only two years before this episode aired. The missing crew likewise refers to the missing crew of the ''Lady Be Good'', who were later discovered to have perished trekking across the desert under the mistaken belief they were near the Mediterranean Sea, instead of over 400 miles inland. Finally, the date on the grave is the date which the ''Lady Be Good'' vanished.

* OrWasItADream: the episode's TwistEnding. The nurse finds sand in Embry's shoes, indicating he went somewhere...

* OrWasItADream: the episode's TwistEnding.

* TheAloner
* TheCaptain: Embry.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The episode was inspired by the 1958 rediscovery of the ''Lady Be Good'', a World War II bomber which crashed in the Libyan desert in 1943, only two years before this episode aired. The missing crew likewise refers to the missing crew of the ''Lady Be Good'', who were later discovered to have perished trekking across the desert under the mistaken belief they were near the Mediterranean Sea, instead of over 400 miles inland. Finally, the date on the grave is the date which the ''Lady Be Good'' vanished.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': Enigma buried in the sand, a question mark with broken wings that lies in silent grace as a marker in a desert shrine. Odd how the real consorts with the shadows, how the present fuses with the past. How does it happen? The question is on file in the silent desert. And the answer? The answer is waiting for us… in The Twilight Zone.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is King Nine, B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning, she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in the wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day or any other day.

The UsefulNotes/WorldWarII B-25 Mitchell bomber King Nine has crashed in the desert. Captain James Embry (Robert Cummings) finds himself stranded, alone except for the wreckage and the mystery of what happened to his crew, all of whom have disappeared. The movement of the plane in the wind and his visions of the missing men serve to heighten Embry's disorientation.

Confident that Embry will recover, two doctors discuss that Embry's suffering has been triggered by a newspaper headline. The paper has reported the desert discovery of the long-lost King Nine, which had not returned to base from a mission during the war. Having come down with a fever just before he was to board the ill-fated flight, Embry had been replaced on the mission by another captain. Embry's sight of the headline has triggered survivor guilt, in which, we are to understand, he has imagined himself at the crash site.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': Enigma buried in the sand, a question mark with broken wings that lies in silent grace as a marker in a desert shrine. Odd how the real consorts with the shadows, how the present fuses with the past. How does it happen? The question is on file in the silent desert. And the answer? The answer is waiting for us...in The Twilight Zone.

!!King Tropes Will Not Return:

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The episode was inspired by the 1958 rediscovery of the ''Lady Be Good'', a World War 2 bomber which crashed in the Libyan desert in 1943, only two years before this episode aired. The missing crew likewise refers to the missing crew of the ''Lady Be Good'', who were later discovered to have perished trekking across the desert under the mistaken belief they were near the Mediterranean Sea, instead of over 400 miles inland. Finally, the date on the grave is the date which the ''Lady Be Good'' vanished.
* SurvivorGuilt: the doctors say Embry has this as a result of ''King Nine'' crashing when (thanks to illness) he had to stay behind.
* ThirstyDesert: the place where Embry finds himself. He collapses after being there for several hours.

Embry finds the grave of one of his crewmen and sees, in the sky, Navy F9F Cougar (Blue Angels) jets, impossible for the time. He collapses in the sand, and we discover that he is actually suffering hallucinations from a hospital bed, 17 years after the crash.

The UsefulNotes/WorldWarII B-25 Mitchell bomber King Nine has crashed in the desert. Captain James Embry finds himself stranded, alone except for the wreckage and the mystery of what happened to his crew, all of whom have disappeared. The movement of the plane in the wind and his visions of the missing men serve to heighten Embry's disorientation.

The World War II B-25 Mitchell bomber King Nine has crashed in the desert. Captain James Embry finds himself stranded, alone except for the wreckage and the mystery of what happened to his crew, all of whom have disappeared. The movement of the plane in the wind and his visions of the missing men serve to heighten Embry's disorientation.

!! This episode contains the following tropes:

* ThirstyDesert: the place where Embry finds himself. He collapses after being there for several hours.

Captain James Embry awakens in the middle of a desert, his team's plane, the ''King Nine'', crashed nearby. The crew is nowhere to be found. Embry determines to find his crew and get them to safety. Unfortunately, he has no success and collapses. Then he wakes up in a hospital bed. The doctors pass the experience off as a guilt-induced dream. However, as the episode ends, one asks another how Embry got all that sand in his shoes.

* SurvivorGuilt: the doctors say Embry has this as a result of ''King Nine'' crashing when (thanks to illness) he had to stay behind.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The episode was inspired by ''Lady Be Good'', a World War 2 bomber which crashed in the Libyan desert in 1943 and was only rediscovered in 1958, two years before this episode aired. Indeed at the time the episode aired, the US military were still conducting the search for the remains of the crew, who perished trekking across the desert under the mistaken belief they were near the Mediterranean Sea, instead of over 400 miles inland.