Before They Were Stars: George Takei on a Banned Episode of “The Twilight Zone”

A lot of famous actors had early roles on episodes of The Twilight Zone, but George Takei had the unique distinction of starring in one which was later banned from syndication. The 1964 episode was entitled “The Encounter” and involved Takei playing a Japanese-American gardener who meets up with a World War II veteran. Of course, this encounter eventually leads to both men slowly going insane and suffering gruesome fates. This episode would be banned from syndication in the U.S. because of its racial overtones, though it is now available for viewing on DVD, Blu-ray and Netflix. Here’s George Takei himself to talk more about the controversy.