I watched SO much of the Twilight Zone marathon the last couple of days, I think I’ve actually killed several brain cells and significantly lowered my IQ. It’s such a great show, and SO addictive. Harborwolf and I kept meaning to get up and do something, but “one more episode. . .” and “Oh, I love this one!” kept coming up. Ugh.
I absolutely love the one where a space ship from earth runs out of fuel in space, and astronauts land on the asteroid that’s just like 20th century earth, except that everything is frozen in time. There’s a man fishing by a pond who doesn’t move or respond to them, there’s a ceremony happening for the mayor where a marching band is frozen in time, but music plays anyway, there’s a beauty contest where the winner is very plain compared to the other contestants. In the end they discover that they’re in an exclusive cemetary where people can have their heart’s desire for eternity and peace must be eternal. The caretaker of the funeral home must destroy the space travelers so that the peace isn’t disturbed, but he’s nice, and displays their bodies in their space ship as if returning home.
The one where Roddy McDowell and his shipmate crash land on Mars. The friend is injured and tells Roddy to stay in the ship. Eventually, the friend dies, and Roddy emerges to the Martian people. They’re beautiful and advanced. They promise to help him and say they’ll fix his ship so he can return home. Trusting them, he goes with them and is given a house just like on earth with everything he could ever want. He’s thrilled, and asks to meet more of the Martian people. They tell him that he will, but he must stay in the house for now. He does, and soon learns that he can’t escape, and there are no windows. Eventually, the wall opens to reveal that he’s caged in, and the Martian people are watching him like a zoo exhibit. In fact, there’s even a sign that reads “Earth creature in it’s native habitat.” Poor Roddy.
The Obsolete Man-Burgess Meredith is a religious librarian in a future society where both religion and reading have been declared obsolete, and he is therefore sentenced to death.
The one where William Shatner gets stuck in the small town with the little demon fortune-teller. Great fable about the dangers of superstition, with one of the best endings of any episode.
Here is a complete episode guide, to jar your memory (was it just me, by the way, or was Rod Serling totally hot?).
Ones that make me laugh: Escape Clause (David Wayne wants to live forever; Satan outfoxes him); A Most Unusual Camera (I love Jean Carson as the floozie!); Living Doll (Talking Tina just cracks me up).
Ones that make me cry: A Stop at Willoughby; Long Distance Call (little Billy Mumy talks to dead grandma); Nothing in the Dark (Gladys Cooper tries to wall herself off from Mr. Death); I Sing the Body Electric (robot grandma).
Ones that creep the hell out of me: Perchance to Dream (man is pursued by Freddie Kruger-like dream murderess); The Hitch-Hiker (“Going my way?”); It’s a Good Life (little Billy Mumy wishes you into the cornfield); Little Girl Lost (scared the crap out of me as a kid).
Mute. The girl who can read minds and refuses to speak. Her teacher has that angry-dominatrix thing going on. I’m totally envious of the little girl throughout the whole show for some reason.
The Shelter. Neighbors fight over a bomb shelter after there’s a UFO sighting.
Night of the Meek. A Santa Clause-dressed drunkard discovers a bottomless bag of toys and shares the wealth with kids in his neighborhood. Always makes me happy inside.
I Am the Night-Color Me Black. A town has pitch-black skies while a heroic black man awaits execution. This has to be the only TZ that features a black person as a main character.
I forgot about “It’s a Good Life”. It’s creepy, but it makes me laugh too. I love when Billy Mumy says something like “. . . that’s why I made him go on fire.” about the guy who pissed him off, and when he makes the 3-headed badger, gets tired of it, and “makes it dead”.
I LOVE LIVING DOLL. Telly Sevales is such a jerk in that episode! I’m glad Talking Tina comes after him.
A bespectacled Burgess Meredith, who loves to read, finds himself in a bank vault after a nuclear blast, and is the only one left alive. He stumbles upon a library, with all the books he could ever read, only to have his glasses break, rendering him almost blind.
I saw that one for the first time the other night. At the end I looked over at Mr. Kitty and said “That episode SUCKED!” I hated, hated, hated it (I won’t hijack the thread to ennumerate the reasons why), and I believe that’s a first for me regarding TZ.
My (shortened) list:
The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine (I’m SHOCKED Eve didn’t mention this one); Judgment Night; The After Hours; A World of His Own; The Invaders; The Silence; The Passersby; The Midnight Sun; The New Exhibit; The Masks.
Eve, Rod was a total hottie- but holy crap! I didn’t realize he was only 5’4". And I just can’t imagine what it would be like living with him 24/7- either you’d be seriously creative, or in therapy. Possibly both.
I love the one where the woman is in the mental hospital and has the recurring dream about the morgue and the nurse saying “Room for one more, honey”. That nurse is so spooky; plus the doctor is the guy who played Dr. Smith on Lost in Space.
Talking Tina and Telly Sevalis is awesome.
“It’s a Good Life” is another of my favorites. Billy Mumy is really creepy in that one. It’s good that they showed that one - real good.
Another good one is Jack Klugman as the trumpet player who visits heaven.
And of course, William Shatner - “There’s…something…out…on…the wing!”
The Trouble with Templeton: I love the part when Booth leaves the speakeasy, and the audience sees Laura become once again the beautiful, caring woman that Booth loved (and who was feigning being a bimbo so that he would return to the present). The way the lights dim, and the cigarette smoke makes a mist around her.
It never fails to bring a tear to my eye, to imagine what she must have been feeling.
And when Booth returns to the rehearsal, the way he politely but firmly lets the brash young director know who’s boss:
“And it is definitely… Mr. Templeton, to one so young.”
Message: the present is here – make the most of it!
I’ve always loved that episode, but it gets even better as I’ve grown older.
Nothing, but nothing, beats “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” for the best Twilight Zone episode ever. Even after you know the ending, just seeing how everything turns out – especially how real it is – scares you long after the credits have rolled.
I wish I knew the name of the episode, but I love the one where an old man is dying and he makes his children and grandchildren all wear these ugly masks until midnight. When they take them off their faces have molded to the hideous masks.
I also love Time Enough At Last.
There’s another one where a man makes a bet that he won’t speak for an entire year. When the year is up the guy who bet against him tells him he won’t pay up (something like that), and we learn that the guy who bet that he wouldn’t speak had cut out his tongue so he’d win. (I might be messing up the details of this one).
