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.
Yes, I'm sure the exact same plot line you mean which is used later on is "Queen of the Nile", and that episode uses a clearer explanation to eternal life, a beetle that sucks all the youth and life out of a person and is then inserted into the one living forever. Here, the one living forever mentions the alchemist and then says he fell into a coma and doesn't remember what the alchemist actually did to him to give him eternal life which greatly upsets his fiance's father who admits to being afraid of death himself.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I did enjoy a lot of the episode in many parts. Seeing a 100 year old photo of Walter looking the same age was quite intriging, and I like his philosophy on death being what gives life it's meaning and saying " you love a rose because you know it will soon be gone, whoever loved a stone?".
Yes, I'm sure the exact same plot line you mean which is used later on is "Queen of the Nile", and that episode uses a clearer explanation to eternal life, a beetle that sucks all the youth and life out of a person and is then inserted into the one living forever. Here, the one living forever mentions the alchemist and then says he fell into a coma and doesn't remember what the alchemist actually did to him to give him eternal life which greatly upsets his fiance's father who admits to being afraid of death himself.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I did enjoy a lot of the episode in many parts. Seeing a 100 year old photo of Walter looking the same age was quite intriging, and I like his philosophy on death being what gives life it's meaning and saying " you love a rose because you know it will soon be gone, whoever loved a stone?".
I can understand some appreciation for this episode. In theory, it is a cool idea. It just lacks that layer of oomph to make it a classic. Maybe if they said he was vulnerable to one weakness (like iron or something), and he told this to his previous lover, it would have brought the plot closer to a full circle and played off the alchemist concept.
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