A Kind of a Stopwatch

Description: Season 5, Episode 4

Air Date: October 18, 1963

Plot Summary: An annoying man is given a supernatural stopwatch that can freeze the world with the press of a button.

Review: This is an interesting episode in theory, but they don't fully utilize the material until the abrupt ending. You have an annoying little bitch you'd love to punch, named McNulty, that is clueless to reality. He also keeps saying "you think about that now" as if whatever he says is genius level insight. Although you wouldn't recognize him from the episode, McNulty is played by Richard Erdman who is more recently known as Leonard from "Community." Anyway, McNulty bothers everyone is his life which leads to his boss finally firing him. After clearing the patrons out of a bar by never shutting up, McNulty notices a loner that actually wants to engage him in conversation. Nothing is ever explained, but the loner gives McNulty a magic stopwatch that freezes the world in place. You could say it simply freezes people, but we are shown a helicopter frozen in place without falling so we have to conclude the stopwatch manipulates reality itself.

Considering how powerful the stopwatch is, you'd think McNulty would do something meaningful with it but nope. He tries to idiotically show it off to his boss and get it mass produced. When the boss doesn't care, McNulty decides to play pointless pranks. Later on, when bothering the bar patrons again, McNulty further engages in zany antics. It finally dawns on McNulty that he should rob a bank and become someone of importance, but he drops and breaks the stopwatch while the world is frozen. Hmm...one of the most powerful objects in existence, and it breaks from, at best, a four foot fall? Flimsy as hell. The episode simply ends with McNulty freaking out since he will have no one to bother ever again. Ehh, I don't know--this felt like the lighthearted version of "Time Enough at Last." McNulty takes too long to do anything interesting and the ending felt rushed. Realistically, people who have homaged the episode did it better. One example I can think of, that toyed with the material more realistically, was an episode of "Friday the 13th: The Series" called "13 O'Clock."

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet

Description: Season 5, Episode 3

Air Date: October 11, 1963

Plot Summary: Recovering from a nervous breakdown, a man believes he sees a creature tampering with the wing of his plane.

Review: Not only is this a classic episode, but I would say its easily among the most iconic in the entire series. I mean, you've got it all: William Shatner somehow not turning in a Shatner-esque performance, a nice little jump scare for the kiddies in '63, and even breaking the fourth wall. The production value for this particular episode looked very good too...well, except for the laughable design of the gremlin. Obviously I can't put my mindset into that of 1963, but, even as a kid, I thought the gremlin looked moronic. He looks like a big teddy bear, or a furry wearing footy pajamas, mixed with the freaks from the "Eye of the Beholder" episode. What the hell?!

The story follows Bob, along with his wife, on a flight shortly after he was released from a sanitarium. We don't get the full details of Bob's supposed nervous breakdown, but it is alluded to involve planes. Elevating his anxiety, the couple sits next to the auxiliary exit which will come into play at the end. Sometime into the stormy flight, a restless Bob stares out the window only to see the gremlin doing whatever it is that a gremlin does. Trying to get others to see the creature, the flight crew begins to think Bob is crazy. Bob's wife is also unnerved by this scenario as she fears Bob was not ready for this flight. They did miss an opportunity to toy with the audience's perception of whether or not it was all in Bob's head but oh well.

Through sheer shenanigans, no one ever sees the gremlin whom conveniently knows when to disappear from view at just the right time. Yeah, I'm calling bullshit. No one else was ever looking out the window except the one guy no one will believe?! Wake up one of the old geezers on the plane and make them stare out the window with you! When one member of the flight crew tries to patronize Bob, he realizes he's on his own to figure out what to do. Realizing that the gremlin will sabotage the plane if not stopped, Bob steals a gun from an air marshal or whatever he was supposed to be. Using the auxiliary exit, Bob is nearly sucked through the window, but he manages to shoot that pajama wearing freak to death. We cut to the flight landing somewhere, and Bob is being carried away to an ambulance. Bob looks to the audience and says that they will eventually realize the truth as the camera pans to the damaged wing.

Overall, this is a fantastic episode. The story is balanced in just the right way and is a return to form not seen since season 3. Likewise, it's very imaginative and original while still being somewhat relatable at the time; these are the kind of circumstances that make for the most memorable episodes. It may not be one of my favorites, but I appreciate and respect its impact. Many have parodied this episode in varying capacities which is yet another testament to TZ's legacy.

Steel

Description: Season 5, Episode 2

Air Date: October 4, 1963

Plot Summary: In the future, a man is forced to take the place of his android in a boxing match.

Review: At a glance, this episode should be interesting, considering it is a human fighting a machine, but they do not play up the themes properly at all. It's tough to pinpoint what went wrong since they do touch on all the right ideas. We have the story set in the distant future of 1974 where androids appear to be commonplace. The main character, ridiculously nicknamed Steel, and a mechanic, of some sort, have set up a match between their outdated android and a newer model. Their android is holding together with glue and prayer, but the duo are desperate for money and will take what they can get. When preparing for the fight, their android's right arm breaks permanently. Unwilling to accept the failure, Steel, conveniently a former boxer himself, decides he will take on the android in place of their fighter. Obviously Steel is defeated within minutes, which says more about these shit androids than anything, but the duo are only paid half the money for not lasting more than one round. And that's really all there is to the episode; Steel just discusses how they can repair their android with half the money. The ending is totally lackluster. The episode tries to approach how human will surpasses mechanized brawn, but it does not do the material justice; they also do not emphasize the subject with the depth or attention it needed. There was, nearly, endless potential with this plot, however, the episode could not deliver. Hell, it would have been more amusing if they went with the Hollywood ending of Steel beating the android!