William Shatner plays Robert “Bob” Wilson in “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.”
The episode aired on October 11, 1963, as part of the fifth season of The Twilight Zone. Wilson is a salesman returning home by airplane after spending six months recovering from a nervous breakdown. During the flight, he sees a gremlin on the wing tampering with the aircraft, but the creature disappears whenever anyone else looks outside.
Because of Wilson’s recent hospitalization and his history of anxiety on planes, the other passengers and crew assume that he is imagining the gremlin. His wife Julia and the stewardess cannot see anything, leaving Wilson isolated as he tries to prevent a disaster. Eventually, he takes a revolver from a sleeping police officer and shoots the creature through an emergency exit.
The episode was written by Richard Matheson and is based on his 1961 short story. In the story, the character’s full name is Arthur Jeffrey Wilson, while the television version calls him Robert Wilson. The character is commonly called Bob Wilson, making the stored answer the standard quiz response. The episode is also frequently referenced in connection with Shatner’s later role as Captain Kirk.