The Time Element was the original pilot of The Twilight Zone. "The Time Element" was a teleplay that premiered on November 24, 1958. It was Rod Serling's first science fiction story. It's a story that deals with time travel and the concept of illusion vs. reality. This teleplay also gave audiences a first glimpse of what was to become Serling's signature writing style: a plot twist. However, when CBS first looked at the script, they thought little of it and the script was shelved. But when Bert Granet, producer of The Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, needed a script, he looked through CBS vaults and found "The Time Element." Desi Arnaz introduced the episode and it starred William Bendix, Martin Balsam, Darryl Hickman and Carol Kearney.