"The Whole Truth" is episode 50 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on January 20, 1961, on CBS, on the same day in which John F. Kennedy took office as the 35th president of the United States. It was one of the six episodes of the second season that was shot on videotape in a short-lived experiment aimed to cut costs.

John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States hours before this episode originally aired. Jack Carson's final line was one of the rare times that a current president was actually mentioned during an episode of The Twilight Zone.

In The Twilight Zone radio drama adaption of this episode, the character of the Soviet premier was replaced with an emir from the Middle East.

Reception

Zack Handlen, who examined "The Whole Truth" for The A.V. Club in March 2012, viewed it as one of the more comedic episodes of The Twilight Zone, noting that many of the jokes in the episode revolved around stereotypes of dishonest used-car salesmen. Handlen ultimately gave the episode a grade of B–, concluding: The Whole Truth' isn't a great half hour of television, but it does benefit from not trying to force in any redemptive moments."

See also

  • List of The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) episodes
  • Liar Liar

References

  • DeVoe, Bill. (2008). Trivia from The Twilight Zone. Albany, GA: Bear Manor Media.
  • Grams, Martin. (2008). The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic. Churchville, MD: OTR Publishing.