1. The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street
First Aired: 4 March 1960
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2. There is a fifth dimension.
Beyond that which is known to man.
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3. It is a dimension as vast as space.
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4. And as timeless as infinity.
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5. It is the middle ground
between light and shadow...
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6. between science and superstition.
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7. And it lies between
the pit of man's fears...
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8. and the summit of his knowledge.
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9. This is the dimension
of imagination.
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10. It is an area which we call:
The Twilight Zone.
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11. Maple Street, U.S.A., late summer.
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12. A tree-lined little world, barbecues,
the laughter of children...
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13. and the bell of an ice-cream vendor.
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14. At the sound of the roar
and the flash of light...
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15. it will be precisely 6:43 p.m.
on Maple Street.
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16. What was that, a meteor?
- Yeah, that's what it looked like.
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17. I didn't hear any crash though.
- I only heard a roar.
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18. Steve, what was that?
- I guess it was a meteor, honey.
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19. It came awful close, didn't it?
- Much too close for my money.
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20. This is Maple Street on a
late Saturday afternoon.
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21. Maple Street in the last calm
and reflective moment...
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22. before the monsters came.
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23. Operator. Operator.
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24. Operator.
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25. Steve, the power's off.
The stove just stopped working.
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26. Is your phone all right?
I can't get anybody on mine.
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27. Our electricity isn't good.
Is the power off?
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28. I'll see if the power is still
on in Floral Street.
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29. Doesn't make sense. Why should
the power go off and the phone line?
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30. Maybe an electrical storm?
- Now, that don't seem likely.
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31. The sky's is blue as anything. Not
a cloud. How could it be a storm?
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32. Can't get a thing on the radio.
Not even on the portable.
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33. Let's go downtown and check with
the police. They think we're crazy.
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34. A little power failure
and everybody gets flustered.
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35. This isn't a power failure, Charlie.
Even the portable radio doesn't work.
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36. I'll take a run downtown.
Maybe I can get it straightened out.
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37. Strange. It was working fine before.
- Are you out of gas?
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38. I just filled it up.
- It's as if everything stopped.
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39. Maybe we'd better walk downtown.
- Well, let's both go, Charlie.
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40. Mr Brand, you better not.
They don't want you to.
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41. Who doesn't want us to?
- Them.
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42. 'Them'?
- Who are 'Them'?
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43. Whoever was in that thing
that came by overhead.
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44. That thing that came over.
They don't want us to leave here.
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45. What do you mean, Tommy?
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46. They don't want us to leave.
That's why they shut everything off.
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47. What makes you say that?
- What an idiotic story.
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48. That's always so in every story
about landings from outer space.
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49. Outer space?
Sal, you better put him to bed.
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50. He's been reading too
many comic books or so.
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51. You stop that kind of talk.
Come on, let's go.
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52. Go ahead. We'll be right
back and then you'll see.
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53. It wasn't a ship. It was a meteor.
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54. Likely as not, that's the cause
Of the power failure and
All the rest of it.
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55. Meteors can do crazy things like,
like sun spots.
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56. Sure, sun spots raise cain with
radio reception all over the world.
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57. This thing was so close, there's no
telling the sort of stuff it can do.
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58. Go ahead, go into town, see if
that isn't what's causing it all.
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59. Mr Brand? Please don't go. You might
not even be able to get to town.
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60. It was that way in the story.
Nobody could leave. Nobody except...
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61. The people they'd sent down ahead.
They looked just like humans. And...
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62. Tommy, don't talk like that.
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63. It's crazy. The kid tells a comic
book plot and we stand listening.
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64. Wait a minute.
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65. What kind of a story was it? What
about the people they sent ahead?
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66. They prepared things
for the landing.
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67. They sent a mother, a father and two
kids who looked just Like humans.
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68. But they weren't.
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69. Well, I guess what we need to do is
run a check of the neighborhood...
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70. and find out which ones
of us are really human.
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71. There's no use standing around
making bum jokes about it.
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72. Wonder if Floral Street's got
the same kind of deal we have.
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73. Where's Pete van Horn?
Has he come back, yet?
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74. Does your car start, Les?
- No dice.
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75. I don't know what's wrong.
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76. Nothing seems to be working.
Can't even get the car started.
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77. Car started somehow.
He got his car started.
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78. How come his car just up
and started like that?
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79. All by itself.
He wasn't anywhere near it.
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80. He did come out to look at that
flying thing. He wasn't interested.
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81. He always was an oddball.
Him and his whole family.
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82. Now, why didn't he come out to look?
- What do you say we go ask him?
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83. Wait a minute.
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84. Now, let's not be a mob.
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85. I just don't understand it.
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86. I tried to start it. It wouldn't
start. All of you saw me.
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87. I don't understand.
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88. I swear I just don't understand.
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89. What's happening?
- Maybe you better tell us.
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90. Nothing is working on this street.
No lights, no power, no radio.
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91. Nothing except one car. Yours.
- How do you figure it started, Les?
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92. Wait a minute, now.
Just keep your distance. All of you.
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93. So I've got a car that starts by
itself. It's a freak thing, but...
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94. does that make me a criminal?
The car just started.
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95. What's this all about, Steve?
- We're on a monster kick, Les.
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96. The general impression now holds that
maybe there's a abnormal family.
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97. Monsters from outer space or so.
Different than us.
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98. Fifth columnists
from the vast beyond.
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99. Do you know anybody that might fit
that description on Maple Street?
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100. What is this?
A practical joke or something?
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101. That's supposed to
incriminate me, huh?
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102. The car starts and stops and
that really does it, huh?
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103. I don't understand it any more
than any of you do.
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104. Look, you all know me.
We've lived here for five years.
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105. We aren't any different from you.
The whole thing is just...
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106. the whole thing is just weird.
- If that's the case, then explain...
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107. Explain what?
- Let's just forget it.
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108. Wait a minute. Let her talk.
Go ahead, explain what?
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109. Sometimes I stay up late at night
and a couple of times...
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110. A couple of times I've come out on my
porch and I've seen Les Goodman...
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111. in the wee hours standing in his
yard just looking up at the sky.
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112. Just looking up at the sky as though
he were waiting for something.
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113. As if he were looking for something.
- Really this is for laughs.
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114. You know what I'm guilty of?
I'm guilty of insomnia.
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115. What's the penalty for that?
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116. You heard what I said.
I said it was insomnia.
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117. I said it was insomnia.
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118. You scared, frightened rabbits, you.
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119. You're sick people.
You're sick people, all of you.
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120. And you don't even know
what you're starting here.
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121. You're starting something here that's
what you should be frightened of.
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122. As God is my witness, you're letting
something begin here that's...
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123. that's a nightmare.
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124. It doesn't seem right keeping a watch
on them. They're our neighbors.
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125. We know the Goodmans since they
came here. We've been good friends.
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126. That don't prove a thing.
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127. With a guy who looks at the sky early
in the morning, is something wrong.
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128. Something that ain't legitimate.
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129. Normally we would let it go by, but
these aren't normal circumstances.
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130. Look at that street.
Nothing but candles.
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131. It's like going back
into the dark ages.
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132. Stay right where you are, Steve.
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133. We don't want any trouble. But
anyone who sets foot on my porch...
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134. that's what he's gonna get.
Trouble.
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135. I've already explained. I don't
sleep very well at night sometimes.
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136. So I get up, I go out,
I take a walk, I look up at the sky.
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137. I look at the stars.
- That's exactly what he does.
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138. This is some kind of madness.
- That's exactly what it is.
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139. You best watch who
you're seen with, Steve.
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140. Till we get this straightened out.
You ain't above suspicion yourself.
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141. Or you, Charlie. Or any of us it
seems from age eight on up.
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142. What are we gonna do?
Just stay around here all night?
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143. There's nothing else we can do.
One of them will tip their hand.
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144. You can go inside and
keep your mouth shut.
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145. Quit being a self-appointed hanging
judge, climb in bed and forget it.
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146. You sound pretty anxious to
have that happen, Steve.
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147. I guess we ought ta keep
an eye on you, too.
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148. Yeah, I think maybe everything
might as well come out now.
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149. Your wife's been doing a little
talking about the odd things you do.
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150. Go ahead. Tell us what she said.
- Go ahead. Let's get it all out.
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151. And then we might as well set up
some kind of a kangaroo court.
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152. How about a firing squad, Charlie,
to get rid of all the suspects?
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153. Right, Don?
- No need getting so upset. It's...
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154. Myra's talked about how you spent
hours in your basement working on...
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155. some kind of radio or something.
We have ever seen that radio.
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156. Go ahead, Steve.
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157. What kind of radio
set you working on?
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158. I never seen it.
Neither has anyone else.
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159. Who talks to you on that radio set,
and who do you talk to?
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160. I'm surprised at you, Charlie.
How come you're suddenly so dense?
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161. Who do I talk to?
I talk to monsters from outer space.
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162. I talk to three-headed green men
who fly over here in meteors.
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163. It's just a ham radio set.
I bought the book for him myself.
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164. It's just a ham radio set.
A lot of people have them.
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165. I'll show it to you...
- No, we won't show them anything.
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166. If they wanna look inside our house,
let them get a search warrant.
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167. Charlie, don't you tell me
what I can afford.
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168. And stop telling me who's
dangerous and who isn't.
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169. And you with him, too, all of you.
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170. You're all standing out here
all set to crucify somebody.
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171. You're all set to find a scapegoat.
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172. You're all desperate to point some
kind of a finger at a neighbor.
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173. Believe me, friends.
We're gonna eat each other up alive.
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174. It's the monster.
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175. Here, we may need this.
- What, a shotgun?
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176. What good is a shotgun?
- You talk us right into a grave.
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177. You'd let whatever is out there walk
right over us. Some of us won't.
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178. It's Pete Van Horn.
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179. He was just going over to the next
block to see if the power was on.
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180. Charlie, you killed him.
He's dead.
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181. I most certainly didn't
know who he was.
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182. He came out of the darkness. How
was I supposed to know who he was?
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183. Steve.
You know why I shot him.
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184. How was I supposed to know
he wasn't a monster?
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185. I was only trying
to protect my home.
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186. I didn't know it
was somebody we knew.
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187. Look. Charlie?
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188. Charlie, the lights just went
on in your house.
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189. Why did the lights
go on in your house?
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190. What about it? How come you're
the only one with lights now?
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191. That's what I'd like to know.
You were so quick to kill, Charlie.
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192. And so quick to tell us who
we had to look out for.
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193. Maybe you had to kill. Maybe Pete
was trying to tell us something.
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194. Maybe Pete came back to tell us
who amongst us the monster is.
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195. No, it's nothing of the sort.
I didn't know the lights were on.
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196. Somebody's pulling a
gag or something.
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197. There's a man lying dead. And you
killed him. Is that a gag to you?
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198. I swear it isn't me.
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199. I know who it is.
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200. I know who it is that
doesn't belong among us.
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201. All right, Charlie, Let's hear it.
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202. What are you waiting for?
- Come on, Charlie, come on.
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203. Who is it? Tell us.
- It's the kid. It's Tommy.
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204. That's not true.
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205. It isn't so.
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206. He's a little boy.
- He knew what was going to happen.
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207. He was the one who knew.
How could he have known?
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208. What's the matter with you people?
Now stop.
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209. Don't let him get to the house.
- You're right, it's him.
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210. It isn't the kid.
It's Bob Weaver's house.
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211. It isn't Bob Weaver's place.
It's Don's house.
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212. It's the Williams' house.
- It's Charlie, he's the one.
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213. Stop.
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214. Stop it.
- Fools.
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215. Understand the procedure now?
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216. Just stop a few of their machines
and radios and telephones...
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217. Throw them into darkness for a few
hours and then watch the pattern.
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218. This pattern is always the same?
- With few variations.
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219. They pick the most dangerous enemy
they can find, and it's themselves.
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220. All we need do is sit
back and watch.
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221. Then I take this Maple Street
is not unique?
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222. By no means. Their world is
full of Maple Streets.
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223. And we'll go from one to the other
and let them destroy themselves.
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224. One to the other.
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225. The tools of conquest do not always
come with bombs and explosions.
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226. There are weapons that are simply
thoughts and prejudices.
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227. To be found only in
the minds of men.
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228. Prejudices can kill.
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229. And suspicion can destroy.
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230. And a thoughtless, frightened search
for a scapegoat has a fallout...
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231. for the children and
the children yet unborn.
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232. And the pity of it is that
these things cannot be confined...
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233. to the Twilight Zone.
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