The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank

Description: Season 3, Episode 23

Air Date: February 23, 1962

Plot Summary: A man suddenly returns to life during his funeral as shenanigans ensue.

Review: This is another mixed bag episode as it starts off promising enough but goes downhill all too quickly. In fact, this is probably one of the creepier openings for TZ with the titular character coming back to life in the first minute. However, they couldn't seem to decide whether they wanted this episode to be serious, comical, or some idiotic combination thereof. To top things off, the ending makes no sense to me as I'm not big on '60s political figures (assuming there was sense to be made of the ending).

So all that happens is, you guessed it, Jeff Myrtlebank appeared to die of a fever only to resurrect mid-funeral. Guess he came back for his buxom girlfriend, but who could blame him? The setting is the '20s for whatever reason--I guess to brush off the possibility that the medical field wasn't sophisticated enough to know 100% if he was dead or not (though, it seemed clear). As Jeff goes about as if nothing has changed except a little misunderstanding, others notice his behavior has changed and he's more confident and outgoing. This seems to woo over his, self-admitted, fickle girlfriend who sticks by his side after the townspeople turn against him; they think he's some kind of demon. After threatening to wreak havoc on the town, in a comical way of course, the little bitches back down as Jeff declares he's staying put and marrying his chickadee. In the end, the girlfriend notices Jeff really does have supernatural powers as he lights a match without striking it and makes a gate close on its own. Then Mr. Serling closes us out with a line about the two giving birth to a senator, but I don't know what that's in reference to...damned antichrist for all I know. Ehh, this could have been a mildly scary episode if they didn't make all the characters so incredibly goofy. The opening really is solid and sets up all manner of potential. The chickadee is cute so that helped, but I think I missed something, somewhere along the way.