Tracy McPhee
A former carnival freak show runner turned dark and twisted Twilight Zone writer.
Highlight Bits & Quotes
10The Big Milk Conspiracy
John London accuses Roger Bubblegum of being in the pocket of 'Big Milk' after witnessing a clandestine meeting with a man carrying a pail. Roger attempts to deflect by complaining about his lack of a raise.
"I believe you may be in the pocket of the big man who sells the milk."
"I saw you meeting with big milk the other day"
"He said milk on his face and he looked like milk"
"Who's going to pay for my bubblegum and Coke every night"
The Broken Bone Alien Pitch
Jack Dipper pitches a convoluted story involving a store that only sells Roger Bubblegum products and a girl with brittle bones who is actually an alien. The other writers criticize his repetitive use of the 'bones' twist.
"I'm not a little girl with broken bones I'm an alien"
"You have really gloomed on to the phrase my bones are just like this"
"If I do this every eight weeks nobody knows the difference"
The Meta-Twilight Zone Finale
The writers pitch a final meta-twist where they realize they are characters in the very show they are writing, leading to a 60-year jump to a group of four people recreating the episode on a podcast.
"They were characters in the television show the whole time"
"They try to recreate this episode and realize the whole time that they were creating something that already existed"
"This has been the Twilight Zone"
The 1961 Twilight Zone Writers' Room Roll Call
The hosts introduce a 'vault' episode from 1961 featuring the writers of The Twilight Zone, who immediately establish a chaotic, chain-smoking, and highly competitive dynamic.
"I think better with cigarette smoke in the air and barbiturates in my belly."
"I'm Roger Bubblegum and I've been in the writers' room with these fine men for about a couple of years now."
Twisted Pitches and Roasted Chicken Rituals
The writers share their 'twisted' pitch process, which involves John London bringing a giant roasted chicken for lunch and Roger Bubblegum providing live sound effects.
"I prefer the thigh with a line of coke."
"I like to call it the whiskey waterfall of my brain."
Meeting Rod Serling and the Foundation of the Zone
The writers recount their bizarre first meetings with Rod Serling, including baggage claim encounters and career suicide on Western shows, leading to a live pitch session.
"Rod Serling said, 'My writers are the ones who are the freaks for me.'"
"It's kind of like watching a man rubbing his own horn."
The Shrink and the Wellbutrin Twist
Jack discusses his psychoanalyst and a 'brand new' drug called Wellbutrin, while Tracy argues that shrinks only shrink your brain. The group confuses psychiatric medication with cocaine.
"A shrink only shrinks your damn brain."
"I sleep with Coke in my nose, bubblegum in my mouth, and the lights on."
The Red Scare and Jojo McCarthy
The writers address the McCarthy era, revealing they are all communists except Tracy. Jack pitches a Twilight Zone episode about 'Jojo McCarthy' stealing candy from a baby who is actually a monster.
"Raise your hand if you're a communist."
"I have a nickname for Senator McCarthy: Joe Schmo."
John's Time-Loop Pitch and the Vagina Insult
John pitches a complex time-loop story involving telephone booths and a tragic accident. Despite the quality, the senior writers reject it because he 'pitched it like he has a vagina.'
"It's really good, but you pitched it like a pussy."
"You pitched it like you had a full vagina, my good boy."
War Stories and the Lack of Trauma
The writers discuss their service in World War II and how it influences The Twilight Zone, concluding that war leaves behind no trauma, only stories to be unpacked on television screens.
"There is no trauma left over from war but the stories themselves."