The Twilight Zone: Did You Notice the Big Easter Egg in the Premiere?

Observant Twilight Zone viewers might have noticed a very special puppet in the background of one of the premiere episodes pivotal scenes. As Kumail Nanjianis comedian, Samir, argues with Tracy Morgans shadowy character in the dressing room of his local comedy haunt, a ventriloquist dummy can be seen sitting on a table in the corner. That dummy, as Nanjiani confirmed to V.F., is not just any prop, but a puppet from the original Twilight Zone—a piece of set decoration worth millions of dollars, and owned by none other than David Copperfield. The magician agreed to lend it to the show on one condition: the new series had to reference its benefactor in some way.

“He didnt charge any money,” Nanjiani told V.F. in a recent interview about his episode. “He let us use the puppet, [although] there were obviously rules: you cant touch the puppet, and all this stuff, which I understand. Its a piece of history.”

The sacred item comes from “The Dummy,” an episode that aired during the original Twilight Zones third season in 1962. The episode finds Cliff Robertson playing a ventriloquist named Jerry whose dummy, Willie, is alive—except no one seems to believe Jerry when he tries to convince them this is the case. As one might expect, things do not end well for Jerry.

Per the shows arrangement with Copperfield, there is, indeed, a joke about the magician in “The Comedian.” During their confrontation, Samir frantically questions what Morgans character, J.C. Wheeler, has done to him: “I wanted to be the next Chris Rock—not evil David Copperfield!” (It makes sense if youve seen the episode.)

That puppet is, unsurprisingly, far from the only Easter egg that hawkeyed viewers will find in the new series. The four Twilight Zone episodes made available to press in advance include references not only to other Twilight Zone classics (keep an eye out for another, far more visible prop-fueled callback in the Adam Scott-starring “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet”), but also to episodes within the reboot itself, hinting at a possibly interconnected universe. When asked if it was safe to assume that most, if not all, of the new episodes would include some sort of Easter egg, Monkeypaw Productions President and Twilight Zone executive producer Win Rosenfeld told V.F., “Certainly.”

“Hopefully the Easter eggs will be very rewarding for fans of the original,” Rosenfeld said. “We tried to use them liberally but also purposefully.” So keep your eyes peeled.

More Great Stories from Vanity Fair

—The incredible story behind the making of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

— The long, strange history between Fox News host Jeanine Pirro and Read More – Source

Vanity Fair