The Big Tall Wish

Description: Season 1, Episode 27

Air Date: April 8, 1960

Plot Summary: A little boy's wish for an aging boxer to win a fight magically comes true.

Review: Despite this episode having a lot of interesting themes, the overall experience is a mess. It's like they tried to tackle too many topics all in one story. Individually, many of the plot points present here are fleshed out in other episodes that give more focus to that particular theme alone. I mean, you have the whole boxer passing his prime angle, a boy with magic powers, altering reality, and a sort of coming of age message. That's a lot to squeeze in with just 25 minutes or so. It would appear season one really was a kind of stomping ground to work out the show's kinks. Now, don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad episode--it just tries to be more than it could be.

The story follows a boxer, named Bolie, preparing for another fight, but it's definitely clear he's on his last leg as far as his career is concerned. At his apartment building, Bolie is friends with a little boy who's like his biggest fan. The little boy, Henry, is implied to have supernatural powers as told to us by his milfy mom. She claims that when Henry thinks real hard, making, what he refers to as, "the big tall wish," that whatever he thinks miraculously comes true. Okay, well she tells it in a whimsical way only half believing it, but we, as the audience, know it's real. Of course Bolie is thinking these people are fucking nuts, and he heads to his match. When Bolie realizes that his manager is betting against him, he tries to punch the guy in a fit of rage but ends up breaking his knuckles on a wall. Realizing he's all but lost the fight already, Bolie pushes forward into the match and is completely obliterated. As Henry watches the fight on live TV, he wishes for Bolie to win the fight. Somehow the universe freezes and reality warps to make Bolie the winner, and the guy kicking his ass is the one that goes down for the count. The trouble is that Bolie remembers the fight accurately but thinks it's a hallucination or something. When Bolie goes home and talks to Henry about the match, he starts to realize the truth. Henry and Bolie discuss that magic can only work as long as the person believes in it, but Bolie says he can't believe and tries to tell Henry to grow up. This disbelief eventually resets the changes Henry had made and Bolie goes back to losing the fight. However, realizing that he was wrong about magic, and the power of children's imagination, he tells Henry that maybe magic is real and that he should go on believing in it. The episode tries to be sentimental, but I don't know.

This episode could have been a classic if it simply employed true focus. Maybe drop the evil manager shit, and a few other plot points, and that would leave the room to touch on the whole Bolie/Henry relationship in greater detail. They wanted to emphasize the burnt out nature of Bolie and his life being in stark contrast to Henry's life, but this doesn't fully come to fruition. I like Bolie explaining how you can wish and wish but eventually you will realize it's all for nothing all the while Henry is saying it's all a matter of true belief. This kind of philosophical clash works to convey the themes better. Oh well. We will come back to all the themes introduced here in various other episodes that take the time to explore their true potential.

Execution

Description: Season 1, Episode 26

Air Date: April 1, 1960

Plot Summary: A criminal, about to be hung, is inexplicably transported 80 years into the future.

Review: Eh...this is another meh episode for the most part. The approach is just all wrong, and there doesn't really appear to be a message or twist to give the story that much needed oomph. Actually, the main highlight is that one of the main characters is played by Russell Johnson who you may better remember as the Professor on "Gilligan's Island." And guess what role he's playing here? Yup, a professor! Of course this episode was made long before that show was created, but it's amusing nonetheless.

The story simply involves a little bitch being executed in the old west by hanging. We don't get a lot of details on the guy except that he's murdered a bunch of people and isn't remorseful in the least. Right when the guy is dangling from the rope, to be hung, he suddenly disappears. And this is where the story completely falls apart. The guy is transported to--where else--1960s USA. It would appear a professor was experimenting with a time machine and pulled the criminal from the past by accident. For whatever strange reason, the professor wants to learn about the past firsthand, but he doesn't trust our little criminal friend. It doesn't take long for the criminal to go apeshit and kill the professor. Then the criminal runs around the city wreaking havoc all before magically finding his way back to the professor's apartment. I don't get the choice to show us the guy running around in shock of technology. I mean, this culture-shock plot device only works if you're showing the audience something they too are unfamiliar with. For example, if the criminal were taken from 1960s USA and brought to 2040...that would be interesting to see. Anyway, the criminal is then confronted by another criminal who planned to rob the professor or something. I have no clue...this was so stupid. In fact, why does the professor have a laboratory and time machine built in a random apartment? And an apartment so shitty it has seedy characters just waiting to rob you?! Come the fuck on! This dumbass thief ends up killing our criminal friend before idiotically trapping himself in the time machine. The episode ends with the thief being transported back in time to the hanging and takes the place on the rope. Uhh...poetic...I guess.

This story would have been a million times better if it were a present day person taken to the future that way the audience experiences something new. If you can't afford that route, then try to make the tale ironic. Like, maybe the criminal kills the professor, tries to escape from the police, and ends up going into the future where he takes the place of another person about to be executed. Or, tell the tale in a whole different perspective. Perhaps make the criminal disappear and the story goes over the executioners wondering what happened to him. We could get more detail on his crime and a mystery as to what happened to him. Then make the final twist be that he was transported to a time even worse. Or, the criminal is brought into a utopia-like future where he thinks he has gotten away with murder only to discover that the future needs him for some nefarious reason; using the guy for food or something. I guess my problem is I feel they were trying to tell a tale regarding justice and that was not portrayed. I'm just pulling ideas out of my ass, but I think this tale had a lot more potential than what was presented. Well, like I've said before, they can't all be gold.

People Are Alike All Over

Description: Season 1, Episode 25

Air Date: March 25, 1960

Plot Summary: Two astronauts crash land on Mars only to discover the planet is inhabited by human-looking aliens.

Review: This is another one of the episodes that captures that harsh irony TZ is famous for. I also prefer the changes made between the episode and story whereby the aliens were actually made to look human due to financial reasons; surprisingly, that made the tale more poetic really and emphasized the themes. The story begins by showing us two astronauts right before they're launching a mission to Mars. The main guy, Conrad, played by one of my favorite actors, Roddy McDowall, is fearful of what they may find out there in space. On the other hand, the pilot, Marcusson, is hopeful about what lies out there; he believes that surely the goodness of humanity would be present in other aliens should they encounter them.

When the two finally embark on their mission, they appear to crash on Mars leaving Marcusson at the brink of death. While Conrad tries to help Marcusson, he is troubled by a knocking noise coming from outside of the ship. Eventually Marcusson succumbs to his injuries and the spaceship's door opens. Conrad is surprised to discover human-looking aliens who dress kind of like ancient Greeks or Romans. This was a nice touch since they added some goddess-looking kitten, named Teenya, played by Susan Oliver (although I hate that name). Conrad tries to communicate with the aliens only to discover they speak English; well, actually, they explain he is speaking their language through technology but his mind doesn't fully grasp this aspect. The aliens appear to be peaceful and considerate--even taking care of Marcusson's body--which comes as a huge relief to the fearful Conrad. As the aliens go about making Conrad feel at home, the audience will detect a skeptical expression from Teenya. The aliens construct a replica of a 1950's home for Conrad to live in before they claim they will show him their culture. Conrad is surprised by the alien's immense hospitality, capabilities, and the speed to which they could replicate an Earth home and its amenities; the aliens are able to read Conrad's thoughts to accomplish all of this. When everything seems fine and dandy, and Conrad believes Marcusson was right about people being alike all over, he discovers the home is mostly superficial and he's trapped to its confines. Growing worried, he then notices the curtains of the home opened to reveal bars and an audience gawking at him. Questioning what is happening, Conrad approaches the bars to see the audience back away in slight fear. He notices Teenya looking on in disapproval, since she must have known this would happen, but he is distracted by a sign near the bars that reads: Earth creature in his native habitat. Our poor Conrad has been placed in a zoo! In a disturbing twist of fate, Conrad realizes the truth and shouts to the heavens about how Marcusson was right once more...people are alike all over. You've got to love the priceless expression on Mr. McDowall's face that captures the "I fucking knew it" look.

There are some obvious flaws to the plot such as the technological superiority of the aliens. I mean, how the hell are they this capable yet are unable to come to Earth? Plus, they sure take the arrival of an alien as a casual occurrence. It's not a big deal though since the message is what's most important. In the original story, Marcusson is simply proven wrong with his optimistic view of the world. To see Conrad's fears alleviated only to realize the cruel irony of the situation makes for a cooler presentation in the episode version. This is a good example of how to properly convey big ideas without having to do much...a gripe I have regarding a lot of episodes. Although this story is implausible, the themes stand the test of time quite readily which is the greatest accomplishment of this franchise. You never know, maybe somewhere in the universe humans really are nothing more than another animal in a zoo. You've just arrived at your destination...in the Twilight Zone.

That Greek goddess-looking chickadee, Susan Oliver:

Long Live Walter Jameson

Description: Season 1, Episode 24

Air Date: March 18, 1960

Plot Summary: An old man realizes his daughter is about to marry an immortal.

Review: I'd say this episode falls under the mediocre category mostly because so little happens and it's too straightforward. There are a few noteworthy aspects to the production, but, other than that, they could have done a lot more with the material presented. This kind of plot needed more setup or details to flesh out the themes. Even Mr. Serling only has a few choice words to say at the end, and that's rarely a good sign.

Essentially, we are introduced to Jenna Jameson--I mean, the titular character, Walter Jameson, played by the recognizable Kevin McCarthy. Walt is a professor at a prestigious college and teaches history. He plans to marry his colleague's daughter soon, but the colleague, an old man, has come to discover the truth regarding our dear Mr. Jameson. Detecting the lack of aging from Walt, the colleague researches the tale of a civil war officer only to find a photo looking strikingly like Walter. When confronted about the photo, Walter opens up to the colleague and explains that he is close to two thousand years old. The only other details we learn about Walter is some sketchy story about meeting with an alchemist that made him immortal. That's the best you could come up with? Anyway, Walter isn't really immortal as much as he actually has eternal youth; meaning, he doesn't age but can still be killed and quite easily as you might guess. The two men banter a bit, but it's nothing all that meaningful especially coming from a guy claiming to have known Plato. Not liking the notion that his daughter will marry a guy that will outlive her and readily move on, the colleague objects to the marriage. We get a ridiculous scene of the colleague's daughter deciding she will run away with Walter that very night in objection to her father who is standing right there. As Walt goes to pack up, he runs into some old lady who used to be one of his wives once upon a time. Surprise surprise, the old lady shoots Walter and runs away. Uhh, was that seriously her whole game plan? The colleague comes to find Walter dying of the wound and aging rapidly. The effects for this aging are the best part and were well done using old school trickery. By the time the dumb daughter shows up all that is left of Walt is dust. And that's pretty much it.

Why on earth would a guy who doesn't age, yet claims to be afraid of death, enlist in wars over the years? And they seriously half-assed it with the explanation of how Walter has miraculously never been killed over the millennia. Mere luck, huh? Yet he is killed by a jilted lover...that never occurred once before? And how pathetic to live for thousands of years, see the world, cheat death time and time again...only to be killed by grandma?! Eh, there are good points to this episode, but the lameness is hard to ignore. We either needed more explanations regarding the immortality or a philosophical look at life and death--anything to even out and portray the themes. I guess it was no wonder they came back to this exact plot line later on in the show's run.

A World of Difference

Description: Season 1, Episode 23

Air Date: March 11, 1960

Plot Summary: A man comes to the realization that his life is nothing more than a role in a film...or is it?

Review: This is another on my list of most underrated episodes. There's just something about the reality-questioning themes that always work for me. Although the story doesn't completely run with the theme, it's highly imaginative and paved the way for things like "The Truman Show" among others. Essentially, we have a man, who believes his name is Arthur, who suddenly finds himself on a film set when he thinks he's at work. Perplexed, the man, who the film crew refers to as an actor named Gerry, tries to get to the bottom of the situation. Everyone thinks the man is having a nervous breakdown of sorts and mention his drinking habits. Actually, the "nervous breakdown" concept appears to be a common plot device mentioned in numerous episodes. The man tries to call his home, but the operator says it's not a real number. This leads the man to stumble across a raging bitch that claims she's his real wife. The two travel to where the man thinks his home is at only to accidentally grab a little girl he believed was his daughter. Humorous. Then the two return to the house of Gerry in order for the bitch to get money from the guy; I guess they're divorcing or something. The man, in a perpetual state of disbelief, comes across, who appears to be, his agent--played by David White. The agent tries to talk sense into the man and shows him the script that he believes is his real life. There is the implication that the man can't cope with his increasingly shitty life and has somehow associated his psyche with the part he's playing. When the man learns they are shutting down the film, he races off to the set as a means to return to the world he believes is his true life. Sure enough, the man finds himself back at work, and his film wife has come to visit. The couple decides they are going on a vacation just as the agent arrives at the set to find Gerry has disappeared. The final shot is of the man and his wife flying off to that vacation as their plane disappears; Mr. Serling closes us out with the notion that there are more ways to leave this world than through a pine box.

My only real complaint with the story is that they should have left it ambiguous as to which was the true reality. Don't flat out tell us the actor's world was the true reality and that it was only through TZ shenanigans that the movie world became real at the end. Regardless of this, the episode tackles an awesome idea that was original for the era. You could argue this concept is simply a branch off of the life is but a dream concept, but I see them as much different. In the "it's all a dream" plot you're dealing with the reality itself more than the individual involved. With this notion, you're dealing more with the identity of the individual and their skewed sense of self. Eh, it makes sense in my head. I still feel the episode, "Roger the Wanderer," of the anime, "Big O," touches on this theme the best especially when considering the context of the show itself. I mean, is life a stage as Shakespeare proposed? Are we all merely playing parts or are we our true selves? How could we know the difference? You could look at this as an extension of destiny really. If our lives are set in stone, by some god or force, we are simply acting out preordained decisions similar to a script. It's really cool to think about. Alternatively, David White was Darrin's boss on "Bewitched," so maybe this is just more of Samantha's antics! I also wanted to mention the main guy looks too much like that son of a bitch George W. Bush, and that was annoying me.

The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street

Description: Season 1, Episode 22

Air Date: March 4, 1960

Plot Summary: When the power suddenly goes out in a suburban town, the kindly neighbors turn on each other in a fit of paranoia.

Review: Once again we come upon a famous episode--known specifically for its influence and social critique. Obviously the story holds great relevance for the time period (what with fears of communism), but the message regarding paranoia, and the way humans easily turn on each other, is applicable to any era. The episode also demonstrates the fragility of human civility and that of society itself. Over the years, many have tried to invoke the themes presented here, but this is the quintessential tale.

You may be familiar with the episode, but let's recap it a bit. We are shown Maple Street: the equivalent of any cliched neighborhood in 1950s USA. The inhabitants appear nice enough with that whole "Leave it to Beaver" vibe. After a light passes over the neighborhood, the residents discover their appliances, cars, and other electronic devices have been shut down. As the residents gather to figure out the situation, a Wally-wannabe claims this is the work of aliens as depicted in his comics. The neighbors begin to suspect one of their own is behind the situation and pick apart any unusual behavior. It really doesn't take long for the finger-pointing to begin as emphasized by the episode. Strange things do happen, however, as occasionally someone will gain power and appear suspicious. As the day turns to night, the neighbors have become completely paranoid, unwilling to stay indoors, as they meticulously keep an eye on one another in an openly hostile manner. With the neighbors quite literally turning into a mob, they suddenly see an individual appear in the dark. Mindlessly, one of the neighbors shoots the individual only to discover it was one of their own friends who had left to check if the power was on in the next town over. This murder spirals the neighbors into full blown anarchy as the lights begin flickering on and off at different homes. As the chaos ensues, the camera pans out to show us two aliens atop a nearby hill looking at the crazed humans. The aliens discuss how easy it is to exploit human distrust and that every neighborhood is like this. The implication is that they will destroy humanity from the inside out in the most simplistic of means. Mr. Serling wraps things up nicely for us as he explains the delicate nature of society and how suspicion and prejudice can destroy the world. Most importantly, he stresses that these concepts are not confined to the Twilight Zone. A chilling introspection to say the least.

While the episode is not subtle in the least, this doesn't hinder the message. In fact, I don't think it's much of a stretch to believe a scenario like this could occur quite naturally. Society is mostly maintained by paper thin means and, more so, a matter of perception; at any moment the walls that hold everything together could crumble. The other important aspect to take away from the episode is that the monsters are well within the everyday person, and there doesn't need to be any outside influence like the aliens. This was most certainly one of the more powerful episodes, and its influence is as relevant for today as it was back then.

Mirror Image

Description: Season 1, Episode 21

Air Date: February 26, 1960

Plot Summary: While waiting at a bus station, a woman believes she is being tormented by a suspicious doppelganger.

Review: Surprisingly, this is one of those episodes that manages to take a simple premise and adds that TZ flavor to spice it up. Admittedly, not a whole lot happens, in regards to action, but it gets you thinking with a an unusual notion for that era. Anyway, we are introduced to a woman, named Millicent, who thinks she's Michael Jackson or something with that one glove, as she is growing impatient while waiting for a bus. She's hanging out at a bus depot of some sort and the rain appears to have delayed her ride. When Millicent inquires as to the bus' delay with the ticket guy, or whoever he is, he explains that Millicent keeps bothering him every couple minutes. Millie tries to explain that this is the first time she has said anything, but she is dazed by a lookalike luggage checked in with the station that resembles hers right down to a broken handle. This doesn't bother her too much until she notices her luggage is gone and that ticket guy claims the bag she initially saw was checked in by her personally. I should probably mention the banter between the ticket dude and Millicent is amusing with a lot of annoyed stares back and forth serving as unspoken dialogue. Beginning to suspect something is off, Millie goes to the bathroom just as a cleaning lady points out the fact that she's come into the bathroom a few times and must not be feeling well. Of course Millicent has to do the whole "this is the first time" shtick, but she is startled by a reflection of herself sitting in the station while she is in the bathroom.

Eventually, Millicent comes across another guy stuck at the station who probably hopes to kick it to our dear Millie. The guy tries to think up plausible explanations for the apparent doppelganger Millie claims to see; this does calm the girl for a time. When that bus finally shows up, the guy helps Millie with her luggage, but Millicent sees the doppelganger already aboard the bus peering out creepily. Like a total bitch, she runs back into the station and faints. My god lady, keep it together. Stuck holding her luggage, and probably still thinking he has a chance here, the guy stays with Millicent to look after her through the night. Waking back up, the two discuss the concept of doubles, parallel realities, and the notion that the evil doppelganger may be trying to get rid of the original in order to exist. Although Millicent claims she read this somewhere, it would appear she's pulling this story right out of her ass. Obviously the guy is like, "what have I got myself into," especially once Millie starts to stare blankly when he tries to talk to her. The guy claims he's going to call a friend, but actually calls the police. Now that's funny! I guess back in 1960 you could simply call the police and say, "hey we got a crazy lady here, come arrest her." You know, come to think of it, we should bring this practice back. Just when things appear to be all wrapped up, the guy notices his luggage is gone right when a shady character runs out of the station. Chasing after the shady character, the man realizes that it's his doppelganger who looks super flamboyant. Uhh, I guess running is not their forte.

Overall, this is a decent episode. It touches on a few cool ideas and presents an intriguing scenario despite such a boring setting. I like when TZ tries to get deep and proposes weird conclusions that characters can hardly comprehend--this was amusingly present here. Also, TZ tends to establish these ideas realistically with characters not always able to grapple with the concepts. Lastly, I should definitely address that the actress playing Millicent, Vera Miles, does an excellent job carrying the episode by herself; some may recognize her from "Psycho."

Elegy

Description: Season 1, Episode 20

Air Date: February 19, 1960

Plot Summary: Astronauts land on a planet that mysteriously resembles Earth except all the people are frozen in place.

Review: Very rarely will you hear me say an episode of TZ is outright bad, but this episode most certainly falls into that classification. I don't know how else to sugarcoat it--this episode is flat out stupid. The plot makes almost no sense, is completely outlandish, and the production itself is amateur which is strange for TZ. On top of that, the ending is so predictable that even one of the characters points this out in a "I told you so" fashion. That's pitiful.

All that happens is three astronauts conveniently land on a planet that is identical to Earth. The rocket's landing process looks horrible and especially lame when you consider other aspects of the episode. Immediately the astronauts come across structures from Earth as well as humans. The only problem is that everyone and everything appears to be stuck in a state of suspended animation. As you may guess, the actors are simply trying their best to remain perfectly still, but the camera shots hang on people far, far too long. This leads to embarrassing shots of the actors blinking, shaking, and outright moving. You may think I'm nitpicking, but it's too obvious when it could have been fixed easily. Furthermore, any movement is unacceptable once you learn these people are not in suspended animation but are already dead. Anyway, the astronauts wander about until they come across an old man claiming he's the caretaker and that this place was created by some rich bitches to be a futuristic cemetery where you could forever live out your fantasies in death. The old man is supposed to be an android or something--I don't know--and of course he kills the astronauts to add them to the collection. This is what I meant by predictable, and, like I said, one of the astronauts says before they die that he knew they shouldn't trust the old geezer. And that's it. Even Mr. Serling had little to add in the closing narration. I mean, what is there to say really? Elegy my ass. Nothing happens! Lame technical problems accompanied by a shallow story equals one shitty episode. Well, at least a couple of the frozen beauty queens were kind of hot, but I guess they were trying to be humorous with the winner.

The Purple Testament

Description: Season 1, Episode 19

Air Date: February 12, 1960

Plot Summary: During the Pacific front of WWII, a man can foresee who will die ahead of time.

Review: This definitely falls into the forgettable category of episodes--mostly due to the lack of depth in the story; this is a problem common of the weaker entries as they lacked a certain oomph associated with TZ. This isn't to say the episode offers nothing of value though. We have the first appearance of Barney Phillips, who is one of the few actors to appear in multiple episodes, as well as Dick York who is better known as the original Darrin from "Bewitched." On top of that, this is one of the rarer instances where we see the Pacific side of WWII as opposed to the European front that almost always makes up WWII themed fiction; specifically, the episode's setting is supposed to be in the Philippines and somewhat close to Manila.

The episode begins with a group of soldiers coming back from a mission and one of them is troubled. This troubled officer discusses with his commanding officer, a captain (Mr. York), that he wrote a note with four names on it. In turns out those four men died during the mission, but the officer wrote the names the day before. The officer claims he sees a bright light around the faces of soldiers before they die as a kind of omen. The captain, of course, doesn't want to believe this but the conviction of the officer forces the captain to have him physically evaluated. Turning up nothing of significance in the evaluation, we see the officer's ability first hand as an injured soldier's face glows right before he dies moments later. When going on another mission, the officer sees that the captain's face now glows, and he tries to warn the captain to not go on the mission. Not entirely discounting this advice, the captain leaves a few personal belongings behind, but when regular soldiers question this psychic ability the captain reassures everyone it's not real. After the mission, the captain obviously dies, and the officer is requested to come back to base camp. Predictable as hell, the officer is preparing his gear when he looks in a mirror to see that his own face now glows. Accepting his fate, the officer gets into a jeep with a driver whose face also glows. Sure enough, a loud explosion is heard as the remaining soldiers aren't sure if it was thunder or an explosion...but come the fuck on guys. And that's it!

I mean, the episode simply feels hollow. There's no questioning what's happening. No philosophical considerations. No implications as to why this particular soldier or for what purpose. Just nothing. This is highly atypical for TZ especially considering the writers' wariness from WWII we see explored in other, better, episodes. Eh, the story is put together competently enough, with room to do something creative, but we never have an interesting idea manifest and the predictability to the ending didn't help either. Oh well, like I've said before, they can't all be gold.