TLDR: “The Encounter,” a 1964 episode starring a young George Takei, was pulled from syndication just after its original broadcast and did not air again in the United States for 52 years.
The episode dealt directly with WWII era racism and Japanese American internment, and CBS quietly shelved it rather than risk the backlash.
Every other episode of the original Twilight Zone has aired in syndication countless times over the past six decades. One episode is the lone exception, and for more than 50 years, most fans of the show had no idea it even existed.
A Story Built on Real Wartime Wounds
“The Encounter” aired on May 1, 1964, near the very end of the show’s fifth and final season. The story traps two men in an attic together: Fenton, an embittered American World War II veteran, and Arthur, a young Japanese American man.
Over the course of the episode, the two confront long buried resentment tied directly to the war, including the internment of Japanese Americans and the lingering hatred many veterans carried home from the Pacific.
The episode starred a young George Takei as Arthur, just a few years before he would become famous as Sulu on Star Trek.
Notably, the episode’s script was written by Martin M. Goldsmith rather than Rod Serling himself, even though Serling was also a Pacific Theater combat veteran who dealt with similar wartime themes throughout the series.
Pulled Almost As Soon As It Aired
The episode’s content sparked immediate, serious backlash, particularly from Japanese American and Asian American civil rights organizations who objected to its handling of wartime racial stereotypes.
CBS responded by quietly pulling the episode from its syndication package almost right away, making it the only original Twilight Zone episode never to be rerun on American television for decades.
George Takei has spoken about the controversy directly in later interviews, confirming that pressure from civil rights groups was the driving force behind CBS’s decision to shelve the episode rather than risk further backlash by continuing to air it.
Back From the Dead After 52 Years
For decades, “The Encounter” existed mostly as a rumor among hardcore fans, the one episode nobody could actually find.
That changed in 2016, when SyFy aired the episode during a New Year’s Day marathon, bringing it back to American television for the first time in 52 years.
Its return let modern audiences finally judge the episode for themselves, rather than relying on secondhand rumors about what made it so controversial in the first place.
Whatever its flaws, “The Encounter” stands as a rare example of network television actually following through on the threat of cancellation over content, instead of just talking about it.
It joins a short list of other Twilight Zone episodes that traded aliens and monsters for real, uncomfortable history.
“The Encounter”: Frequently Asked Questions
Why was the Twilight Zone episode “The Encounter” banned?
The episode dealt with WWII era racism and Japanese internment in a way that drew strong objections from Japanese American and Asian American civil rights groups, leading CBS to pull it from syndication shortly after it aired.
How long was “The Encounter” banned for?
The episode did not air again in the United States for 52 years after its original 1964 broadcast, finally returning during a SyFy marathon in 2016.
Who starred in the banned Twilight Zone episode?
A young George Takei starred as Arthur, a few years before he became famous as Sulu on Star Trek.
