"The Once and Future King" is the first segment of the twenty-fifth episode, the first episode of the second season (1986–87) of the television series The Twilight Zone. This segment follows an Elvis impersonator who inadvertently goes back in time and meets the real Elvis Presley on the eve of his breakthrough into the music industry. Plot Gary Pitkin, an Elvis impersonator, is booked by his manager Sandra into a small hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Gary is unsatisfied with this, and vents his frustration over his music career having degraded into lounge performances. Sandra mentions that she met the real Elvis when she was a teenager, after he picked her out of an audience. He took her back to his hotel room and said some strange things, such as that he was not really Elvis and that someone was after him. As Gary is driving home, he gets in an accident with a crazed driver. He thumbs for a ride, and is picked up by a trucker who resembles Elvis. When he sees a newspaper on the floor dated July 3, 1954, Gary realizes that the trucker actually is Presley and that it is two days before he will record his first single. When they arrive at Crown Electric, Elvis questions Gary about who he is. Gary uses his strong physical resemblance to Elvis and Elvis's belief in the supernatural to convince him that he is Elvis's twin brother Jesse, who died at birth. Gary tells him that he came back to help him start his legendary music career and avoid the drugs and dishonest industry figures which brought him down. They meet the next day to rehearse the song he is going to record for Sam Phillips. Elvis starts playing the ballad "I Love You Because". Gary attempts to convince him to play a rock and roll version of "That's All Right" instead, knowing it ended up being Elvis's first single. Elvis is horrified, saying the music is "not decent". The two break into an argument that leads to a brawl. Elvis leaps towards Gary and is fatally impaled on his own broken guitar when Gary moves out of the way. Gary buries Elvis and assumes his identity in order to make up for causing his death. The following day, Gary goes into Sun Studio and records "That's All Right". Gary successfully recreates Elvis's career, including his