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Bob Crane, bombs, fallout shelter, interview, KNX CBS, radio, Rod Serling, survival, The Shelter, Twilight Zone
No moral, no message, no prophetic tract. Just a simple statement of fact: for civilization to survive, the human race has to remain civilized.
Man was made in the image and likeness of God, which means that we have the ability to reason, to use logic, to divide Truth from Falsehood, and to choose to Love or to Hate. It’s a battle which rages inside each and every one of us daily. Because deep down, we’re all fighting against the same thing.
Instinct.
Animals live by instinct. They can’t reason, they don’t rationalize. They just react. And under the right set of circumstances, man can become nothing more than a beast of instinct too; rejecting his ability to choose. And when that happens, the consequences are often quite severe.
There is no greater instinct than the drive to survive.
In 1961, future “Hogan’s Heroes” star Bob Crane was hosting a California morning radio show at KNX CBS. Crane served as host between 1957 and 1965, and just a few weeks after The Twilight Zone’s third season episode “The Shelter” aired, Rod Serling was his guest on the show.
“The Shelter” is a frightening illustration of what happens when the instinct to survive overtakes your ability to think (and therefore act) rationally. This Serling-penned script is one of TZ’s finest, and boasts an important lesson that packs quite a wallop.
The story opens innocently enough with a birthday/dinner party for physician Bill Stockton. A few of his friends and neighbours have gathered to wish him many happy returns. But their toasting and reverie comes to an abrupt halt when they hear a disturbing radio announcement: The president has declared a state of yellow alert after confirming radar evidence of unidentified flying objects, and urges that those with prepared shelters get to them.
This breaks up the dinner party fast, sending the neighbours scrambling to get back to their homes. But as it turns out, only the good doctor has had the foresight to build a shelter in his basement. As panic takes over, the neighbours, with children in tow, all come clamouring for a spot in Bill’s shelter — a shelter that’s only big enough for Bill, his wife, Grace and their son, Paul.
What unfolds next is a living nightmare. A complete degeneration into chaos. The neighbours work themselves into a mad frenzy, and decide that if they can’t use the shelter to survive, then neither will Bill and his family. They begin pummeling the door, determined to break it down, as a shocked and terrified Bill, Grace and Paul listen from inside to the mob’s screams of wild lunacy.
At one point Grace says, “Bill, who are those people?” He replies, “Those people… those people are our neighbours, our friends, the people we’ve lived with and alongside for 20 years.”
As fear mounts among them, the angry neighbours finally succeed in smashing through the shelter door. Bill has had the radio on the entire time, and just as they break in, an important message starts: “The president of the United States has just announced that the previously unidentified objects have now been definitively ascertained as being satellites. There are no enemy missiles approaching. They are harmless and we are in no danger. The state of emergency has officially been called off.”
The relief among the neighbours is palpable, as they all turn to each other, apologizing for the things they’ve said and done while they were so frightened. It’s only a matter of moments before one of them suggests a block party to pay for the damages they’ve done to Bill’s house and shelter. “Anything to get back to normal,” one of them says. What follows is some of my favourite dialogue from the entire series. Only Serling could pen this so perfectly.
Bill Stockton: “Normal? I don’t know. I don’t know what normal is. I thought I did once. I don’t anymore.”
Jerry reiterates that he and the others will pay for the damages to Bill’s home.
Bill Stockton: “Damages? I wonder. I wonder if any one of us has any idea what those damages really are. Maybe one of them is finding out what we’re really like when we’re normal — the kind of people we are just underneath the skin. I mean all of us. A lot of naked, wild animals who put such a price on staying alive that they’ll claw their neighbours to death just for the privilege. We were spared a bomb tonight, but I wonder. I wonder if we weren’t destroyed even without it.”
Serling received 1300 letters and cards in just two days after “The Shelter” aired on September 29, 1961. When we watch the episode today, in the year 2014, it’s easy to forget that this aired during a time when people lived in constant fear of attack — either from other countries or from outer space. If you were a child growing up in the ’50s and ’60s, you’ll likely remember bomb drills in school. People WERE building shelters in their basements and backyards, and they were most certainly afraid.
The episode in and of itself really makes you sit up and take notice. Like all of the greatest TZs, it gets you thinking: What would *I* do if I were in this situation, either as the person with the shelter, or the person without?
I want to highlight what I found to be the most interesting part of Crane’s short interview with Serling.
Crane asks him if the finished episode was the ending Serling wanted, or if he had wanted to end it more strongly.
“No, because I’m not one of those knowledgeable men. I don’t know. I was up in the air about it morally and ethically. I didn’t know how to end that thing. I didn’t know what position philosophically I could take.”
Crane then asks Serling if he himself is building a shelter. And this was the part that really struck a chord with me.
“No, we’re not now,” Serling begins. “Were you?” Crane asks. “For a while we thought very seriously of it. Yeah, we did. And now we’ve decided that no, we’re not going to build it.”
Crane: “Why?”
Serling: “Well, for very realistic, stringently realistic reasons, it’s my feeling now that if we survive, what are we surviving for? What kind of a world do we go into? You know, if it’s rubble and poison water and inedible food, and my kids have to live like wild beasts, I’m not particularly sure I want to survive in that kind of world.”
Think about that for a while. The inherent instinct in man is to survive. At all costs. But as Serling postulates, it can’t just be about surviving. What ARE you surviving for? Does there not come a time where circumstance and situation favours an end rather than a continuation of nothing?
Is this not what separates us from the animals? Reacting based on evidence and reason rather than on a primal, emotional feeling?
If there was destruction on a massive scale, would you really want to survive? Would you want to be like Henry Bemis, shuffling through the rubble? Let’s not forget that there would be bodies among that rubble — your friends, your family, your neighbours. Would you want to leave your children alone in a world where as Serling says, they have to live like wild beasts? Fighting other people for food and water (if it’s even edible), fighting every day just to survive?
Existing is NOT the same as living. And I don’t want to simply exist. But these are not easy questions to answer, are they? What would *I* do? But it’s good to think on them sometimes. And the reason The Twilight Zone is such a special show is because Rod Serling, perhaps more than most people, wanted to LIVE. He wasn’t satisfied to just exist either. So he asked those tough questions; he illustrated these scenarios and put forth ideas; he got people talking and thinking and questioning. Living requires thought and growth, and you can’t grow without learning, and questioning, and ultimately doing.
How ironic that a man so full of life would live such a short one. But what he did in that short time is amazing. Here we are, 53 years later, still talking about what he wrote, and the ideas he put forth.
For those of us who are Christians, we don’t fear death, because death is not the end. Survival in a world that’s been terrorized and destroyed would only delay us from getting “home”. Now, I’m not saying that as Christians we should have a death wish! No. But like Serling, I too might be tempted to skip the shelter. I’m not sure. I just thank God that I’m not in a position right now where I have to make that choice.
One thing I DO know for sure, though: I do NOT want to become an animal. I don’t want to ever be like Bill’s neighbours in “The Shelter”, running roughshod and out of control. These things CAN happen. It IS reality. And this is why it’s good to be reminded of them. So that we might remind ourselves that we are not animals of instinct. We are human beings. To quote from another Serling TZ: “Something to dwell on and to remember, not only in The Twilight Zone, but wherever men walk God’s Earth.”
Tonight’s very small exercise in logic from the Twilight Zone.
You can listen to Bob Crane’s interview with Rod Serling here.
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As a fun Boss/Gal Friday experiment, Paul and I decided to each write our own blog post today about “The Shelter”. Normally, we share early drafts and discuss what we’re writing about as we’re doing it. But this time, we thought it would be interesting to see how differently we’d each approach the same topic. We both completely finished our piece before sending it along to the other to read/edit so that neither of us would influence the other’s perspective.
And Paul’s post certainly didn’t disappoint! It’s a wonderfully thoughtful look at this episode and the issues it presents. So be sure to head over to Shadow & Substance and read Paul’s take on “The Shelter” in his post, “Gimme ‘Shelter’: The Perils of Survival at Any Price“.
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If you’ve ever heard of or seen the show ” Doomsday Preppers ” on the NG Channel, we have people like that STILL. Somewhat paranoid – & ARMED.
Yes, I have seen that and a few similar shows. Bordering on craziness!
Cheering from your opening sentence! We need more people of faith affirming reason and logic as God’s good gifts. God didn’t fill our heads with gray stuff so we could simply let it sit there! Choosing love over hate can’t, unfortunately, be taught as critical thinking can (well, or can it? since the biblical definition of love is acting for another’s good, independent of any warm fuzzies we may or may not be feeling…)
This is a fantastic post, Wendy, from your analysis of the episode itself, to your connections to other “Zone” (the Henry Bemis point is so apt), to the philosophical and theological conclusions you draw.
Thanks so much, Mike, this one was really important to me. “The Shelter” is a fantastic episode that really hits home if you’re willing to entertain some self reflection. Serling just outdid himself with this script. Bothers me to no end that anyone could criticize it. And yes, I think we can teach choosing love over hate in a certain manner. Because even if we lack, as you say, any warm fuzzies for a particular person, it’s our love for the Lord that drives us to love them in spite of everything else.
As always, thanks for reading and commenting and for the kind words of encouragement. I was a little disappointed that this post wasn’t more popular with my readers, but I’m glad you and Paul enjoyed it!
I know the frustration of giving all you’ve got to a blog post, only to have it pass, unnoticed, into the ether of the blogosphere! Most times, blogging is its own reward. The excitement and passion you have for the subjects you write about shines through in every post and is a model for the rest of us.
Thanks, Mike, I certainly appreciate that! :)
Now THIS is why you are eminently qualified to be my Gal Friday. Not because you’ve seen every episode three times. But because, like me, you like to dive deep and really think about what the key message is. And you’ve done an excellent job doing that here. “The Shelter” is one that naturally begs further examination, but you’ve gone above and beyond here.
You’re so right to connect Serling’s call for “civilization” to the fact that God created us to transcend mere animal instinct. “Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put in this world to rise above,” Rose says in “The African Queen,” and how right she is. As you note, it certainly isn’t easy, this daily battle, but it couldn’t be more necessary. The alternative, as we see in the conclusion to this remarkable episode, is chaos.
I was also very glad to see you spend some time talking at length about Serling’s interview with Bob Crane. I reference it in my post, but here you show how he really lived his belief that writers should make meaningful statements about the times they live in. His passion and his COMpassion were truly a unique and unbeatable combination.
Thanks for joining me in shining a spotlight on this important episode on its anniversary. Serling gave so much of himself through this writing, and never stopped trying to make the world a better place. I hope that, in our own small way, we’ve contributed to that effort with our posts. Excellent work, GF! It’s always enjoyable to collaborate with you. :)
Thanks, Boss! I really hope that too. Everyday you help keep Serling’s legacy alive, and I’m happy that I could contribute a little bit too with this post. And I was thrilled to make this a collaboration of sorts with you. I loved seeing how our two posts took shape — how they were different, and how they were similar. :)
When I listened to the Crane/Serling interview, I was definitely struck by Serling’s personal attitude towards the topic. It was something worth highlighting. This episode is one of the best at getting the viewer thinking and asking “what if” questions. Serling more so than most writers, never compromised his beliefs. He told it like it was, and he tried to shoot straight from the hip.
We were not made by God to be animals of instinct, and God bless Serling for reminding us of that.
Looking forward to our next joint project, my friend. :)
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A fascinating episode, for sure. One never really knows how one might act in situations like these. We hope we know, we mean well “to know,” but, unless you’ve already been through some kind of intense experience where you’ve really had to put your beliefs to the test, how could you really know? And maybe that’s also part of this episode. All those people THOUGHT they were well-meaning, “good” people…until put to “the test.”
I, too, believe as Serling stated, no “bomb shelters” for me and mine, for the very same reasons. What’s the point? Mad Max and all those dystopian future stories are STORIES not real life, and to have to “survive” in such an environment is not what I want. I’m not Christian, and I don’t fear the end. Believe there is more to life than is physically experienced, and to live in “survivalist mode” is not in my cards. What happens when all your stores are used up? Sure, there are all kinds of scenarios about just what would survive, but none of the ones I’ve read over the Internet are all that exciting to me….
That said…I’m a firm optimist! Believe in probabilities. So, am doing my part in NOT choosing that kind of probability into my physical existence. :-]
Agreed! I like to try and be optimistic too. It’s definitely true that you really can’t say for sure how you’d act under certain circumstances until you’re right there in the moment yourself. I’ve learned that no matter how prepared and well-intentioned you are, in the blink of an eye, something can throw a wrench into the entire works. And suddenly, everything you thought you’d do just goes out the window.
I think we all just need to do our best. Put effort into not becoming animals with each other. And obviously Serling must have thought there was hope for us, otherwise he wouldn’t have bothered to continually write such compelling stories. And God bless him for it. :)
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