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Scrib's Journey Through 'The Twilight Zone'

The Scribbling Man

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I'm about two thirds into the first season of the original Twilight Zone now, but I thought I'd start up a thread to post my general thoughts on the episodes as I go through them. So I'm gonna do a couple of bulk posts to catch up, and then I'll try and keep up a habit of posting each time I do a session.

If anyone decides they want to join me, then they are welcome to share reviews of episodes here as well :)


Episodes 1-10:

Season 1, Episode 1 - Where Is Everybody?

This was a great introduction to The Twilight Zone. Not a lot happens, but the intriguing premise and the way that it's shot kept me engaged. The twist at the end is solid. The tone and some of the direction reminded me of the original Invasion of the Bodysnatchers.

8/10


2 - One for the Angels

Not what I expected. More lighthearted and playful than the last entry, but also with some unexpected darkness. It moved along at a good pace, it involved me emotionally and I wasn't certain how it was going to end. Great stuff.

9/10


3 - Mr. Denton on Doomsday

Not one of the higher-rated episodes, but I thought it was solid. Again, quite playful, without being entirely silly. I liked the old West setting and the arc for our main protagonist.

7.5/10


4 - The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine

This gave off BIG Sunset Boulevard vibes, to the point that I couldn't stop thinking about a fanedit idea: take elements of Sunset Boulevard and try to recreate a similar plot with the footage and then slot it into the Twilight Zone format.

The episode itself is enjoyable but the twist is a bit too obviously foreshadowed.

7/10


5 - Walking Distance

One of the all-time high-rated episodes, but it didn't do a great deal for me. The themes are interesting and it's well presented, but also just a little too meandering. It felt a lot like something Bradbury might write (who I'm admittedly not a fan of).

7/10


6 - Escape Clause

Has some amusing moments, but the potential of the premise is squandered on a pretty poor ending. It's also not too far removed from "One for the Angels", and the similarities between the two make it look all the worse. A bit early in the show to be recycling, isn't it?

6/10


7 - The Lonely

Another very high rated episode that didn't sweep me off my feet. Good concept and more or less solid, just felt like it was over before it could really dig into the meat of what it was getting at.

7/10


8 - Time Enough at Last

And... again... very high rated but really not one of the better episodes for me. The ending is excellent, but everything beforehand feels like it's just kicking its heels and stalling for runtime. Not good for a 30-minute short.

6.5/10


9 - Perchance to Dream

This was just odd, to be honest. It reminded me of two things that it was wholly unrelated to: Cat People, and LeGuin's The Lathe of Heaven. When the protagonist starts explaining his predicament to the doctor, I really thought it was going to go down the direction of "my dreams affect the reality of the world around me" and instead it leans into something much less interesting. The revelation is a decent close to a pretty mediocre episode.

6/10


10 - Judgment Night

A solid and engaging mystery with a dark twist. No complaints.

8/10



I have 12 more episodes to jot down before I'm caught up to where I am currently.
 
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The Scribbling Man

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And with the following, I am all caught up:

Episodes 11-22:
11 - And When the Sky Was Opened

IMDB summary: "Three astronauts return to Earth after seemingly having made an encounter that dooms them and their craft to erasure from existence itself."

This spends much more time than it needs to on flashbacks in order to deliver us some pretty basic information, but it's enjoyable all the way through. I'm a sci-fi buff and I love old-school UFO and alien conspiracy crap, so it was cool to finally get an episode in this vein. It's a little disappointing to not have a more interesting reveal at the end, but it's nonetheless an eerie conclusion.

7.5/10


12 - What You Need

IMDB summary: "A small time crook plans to exploit an old street peddler who has the uncanny knack of selling people exactly what they will shortly need."

The repetition of the phrase "what you need/what I need" gets a bit tedious, but the otherwise this is a solid episode with a good twist ending.

8/10


13 - The Four of Us Are Dying

IMDB summary: "A man who can change his face to look like other people uses his ability to improve his life, regardless of his effect on others."

Nearly everything about this was great except for where it went - which is nowhere. The concept is good, the direction is stylish, the character acting is fun... but it just ends in a fizzle. A real shame.

6.5/10


14 - Third from the Sun

IMDB summary: "Two families of Government employees plan to steal a spaceship and travel to another planet just prior to a nuclear war."

I didn't think much of this while watching, but it's got a great twist. Reminded me a lot of the Czechoslovakian science fiction film Ikarie XB 1, which didn't come out until 4 years later.

7.5/10


15 - I Shot an Arrow into the Air

IMDB summary: "Order breaks down between three surviving crewmen whose rocket ship crashes on an unknown world with limited water and supplies."

This shares a bit in common with the prior episode and isn't as high-ranked on IMDB, but I enjoyed it more. A classic exploration of morality and humanity when under the pressure for survival.

8/10


16 - The Hitch-Hiker

IMDB summary: "A young woman driving cross-country becomes frantic when she keeps passing the same man on the side of the road."

Considered one of the best, I believe. Enjoyable, but pretty predictable - and inner monologue rarely works for me as a story-telling device. It adds very little here IMO.

I'd like to do a fanedit that removes the monologue and possibly incorporates some of the Orson Welles radio play as an alternate audio option.

7/10


17 - The Fever

IMDB summary: "A middle-aged man catches gambling fever from a slot machine that he believes is calling his name."

This barely qualifies as a Twilight Zone episode and I'm pretty sure the writers thought the same*. It's not a bad time, it's just so un-fantastic, and essentially amounts to plain old gambling addiction.

*Serling's closing line is hilarious: "...a slot machine, or in Mr. Franklin Gibbs' words, a monster with a will all its own. For our purposes, we'll stick with the latter definition because we're in the Twilight Zone." (chortle)

6/10


18 - The Last Flight

IMDB summary: "A World War I British fighter pilot lands at an American air base in France 42 years in the future."

This one comes from the pen of Richard Matheson (I Am Legend, The Incredible Shrinking Man). Pretty good in theory, a little too much tell-over-show in practice. An enjoyable episode, if a bit rushed in its final moments.

7.5/10


19 - The Purple Testament

IMDB summary: "A U.S. Army lieutenant serving in the Philippines during WWII develops a harrowing ability to see in the faces of the men of his platoon, the men who will be the next ones to die."

A pretty understated episode, and you can see where it's going, but I liked it. It's simple, but well-executed. Solid.

8/10


20 - Elegy

IMDB summary: "Three astronauts touch down on an asteroid, where they discover a world of people that appear to be frozen in time."

Easily the worst so far, as far as I'm concerned. The premise is interesting enough, but the execution is so hokey. Poor dialogue, weak acting, too much exposition and a much too farcical tone in the second act. Poor.

4.5/10


21 - Mirror Image

IMDB summary: "While waiting in a bus station, Millicent Barnes has the strange feeling that her doppelganger is trying to take over her life."

Vera Miles stars as a woman "...not given to undue anxiety, or fears, or for that matter even the most temporal flights of fantasy" - the perfect candidate for a Twilight Zone episode, no? This was pretty great and even served to unsettle me at points (namely the scene in the bathroom with the mirror).

Just a well-executed, evenly paced mystery. Thematically, it reminded me a lot of Annihilation.

8/10


22 - The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street

IMDB summary: "On a peaceful suburban street, strange occurrences and mysterious people stoke the residents' paranoia to a disastrous intensity."

Possibly one of the highest rated episodes so far, and for me, probably one of the weakest. Sound in concept, not so good in execution. The paranoia of the townsfolk escalates far too quickly based on a pretty wild theory introduced by a young boy. I really wanted to like this one, but it was just too clumsy.

6/10
 
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23 - A World of Difference

IMDB Summary: "A businessman sitting in his office inexplicably finds that he is on a production set and in a world where he is a movie star."

world-of-difference.jpg


What if you woke up one day to find out your whole life was scripted? That your surroundings were just a movie set? Gerry/Arthur experiences this very nightmare. Nervous breakdown, or supernatural occurrence? Wonderfully eery with a charmingly dated and dramatic score that made me associate it with the original Star Trek (6 years too early). The premise shares similarities with The Truman Show, but it's overall a very different beast.

This one again comes from the pen of Richard Matheson, who wrote several episodes for the series, including the famous "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (starring a pre-Kirk William Shatner) and a script for the 1980s reboot; several episodes were also adapted from short stories of his. Matheson later made a small contribution to Star Trek with the episode, "The Enemy Within".

8/10
 
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24 - Long Live Walter Jameson

IMDB summary: "A father forbids a history professor from marrying his daughter when he discovers that the captivating lecturer is actually an immortal who has lived for thousands of years."

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The last few years have been an odd time for me; a pile of mixed bags on a roller-coaster. It's made me think and rethink a lot about my life, life in general and - well, not to be too morbid, but - death. This episode feels rather apt in that regard, as it explores the nature of death and the value of life (and throws in romance ethics); what value does death bring to life, and is life meaningless without it? That's the best way I can sum it up without giving up the plot.

Kevin McCarthy guest stars, of whom many will recognise as the lead in the original Invasion of the Bodysnatchers (and also perhaps his cameo in the 1970s remake). Edgar Stahli is a bit weak in his supporting role; constant shots of face-acting water down an otherwise effective scene towards the end.

On the whole, very strong and a highlight of the season so far.

8.5/10



25 - People Are Alike All Over

IMDB summary: "Fearing the worst, the lone survivor of a crash-landing on Mars finds the native inhabitants, to his relief, very hospitable indeed, but there's a catch."

The-Twilight-Zone-People-Are-Alike-All-Over.jpg


"People Are Alike All Over" uses space exploration as a vessel for a cynical commentary on the nature of mankind. For me, '60s space exploration and blonde female martians naturally conjure up associations with Star Trek - indeed, one such martian is played by Susan Oliver, who would go on to play a much "greener" role as the alien Vera in Star Trek episode "The Cage".

This one is intriguing while you ride it out, but the twist hardly delivers considering the build-up. Enjoyable and worth a watch, if a bit underwhelming.

7/10
 
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26 - Execution

IMDB summary: "When a 20th-century scientist tests out his time machine he accidentally retrieves a murderer from 1880, saving him from the hangman's noose. Unaware of the man's history, the scientist attempts to acclimatize him to his new surroundings."

twilight-zone-execution.jpg


Our 2nd visit to the old West (the last one being "Mr Denton on Doomsday") - or at least that's where we start. Justice is the theme of the day here, with a dash of mortality, time travel, 2nd chances, and a soft exploration of whether a "primitive" mind from one century could even cope with the transition to a future one. It's a rather sinister take on the old "fish outta water" formula and for me, it works well.

The scripts for both this and the previous episode, "People Are Alike All Over", were written by Rod Serling, and I felt like there was some thematic carry over, particularly with the episode's closing act.

"Some things don't change: ideas, concepts, right and wrong..."
"I know all about right and wrong..."

8/10
 

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27 - The Big Tall Wish

IMDB summary: "An aging boxer finds himself the winner of a match he thought he had lost, the result a six-year-old's frantic wish."

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This, along with my thoughts on episodes 29 and 30, is more evidence that I just don't seem to agree with the consensus at all. "The Big Tall Wish" is one of the lowest-rated episodes of the season, but I thought it was a very solid piece of drama with a light supernatural element. Not the most eery example in terms of a Twilight Zone concept, perhaps, but well-executed non-the-less.

8/10



28 - A Nice Place to Visit

IMDB summary: "When bad guy Henry Francis Valentine dies in a shootout with police, he wakes up in the next world where his every wish is granted forever, and ever."

niceplacetovisit.jpg


Enjoyable, if predictable. This fits into the same kind of category as "One for the Angels" and "Escape Clause" with their whimsical takes on afterlife shenanigans. The first of the three is the best of the three and I'm not sure there's any need to have another episode revisiting this general combo of tone and theme.

7/10



29 - Nightmare as a Child

IMDB summary: "A schoolteacher keeps seeing a strange little girl in her apartment building."

nightmareasachild2.jpg


Starts off with an intriguing premise, but I had guessed the outcome before the halfway mark. Add to that a horrendous, rushed finale and an exposition truck fire, and you have one of the most disappointing episodes so far. Rod Serling wrote this and it's his lowest moment of the season.

5/10



30 - A Stop at Willoughby

IMDB summary: "Tired of his miserable job and wife, a businessman starts dreaming on the train each night, about an old, idyllic town called Willoughby."

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I feel like this parallels "All the Time in the World" in the sense that both feature protagonists that just aren't cut out for their way of life; they're also surrounded by people that don't understand their mentality (a boss and a wife, namely). Both episodes have endings where they more or less get the kind of life they're clamouring for - but at what cost?

The formula felt too familiar here. Enjoyable enough, with a decent twist, but not a highlight IMO.

6.5/10



I've got a great track record so far of liking "duds" and slandering classic episodes. If there are any familiars with the series here, I'd be curious to know if it's just me.
 
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