In His Image

Description: Season 4, Episode 1

Air Date: January 3, 1963

Plot Summary: A man takes his girlfriend to his childhood home only to discover nothing is as he remembers.

Review: Okay...so I haven't posted a review for a while mostly due to technical difficulties; my season 4 discs are not playing properly so I just downloaded the season. As I mentioned before, season 4 marks a major change for the series as CBS cancelled TZ and brought it back in an hour long format later in the year. Rod Serling and crew definitely did not like the transition to hour long scripts and it shows. Most episode have a certain sensation of dragging since the TZ formula works best with a cool setup and a memorable payoff. Fucking CBS: Complete Bull Shit.

To kick the season off this is a pretty good episode. It has a few problems that I'll address, but it was an otherwise intriguing tale that may not be all that easy to guess where it's heading. We meet a guy, named Alan, as he opens the story by throwing an old lady in front of a train. Our hero, ladies and gentlemen! In fairness, she was pretty damn annoying with her bible thumping and that abominable mink scarf. I mean, the head of the animal is still attached and right next to her face--what the hell? I can just imagine the riveting conversations this geezer had with her little mink buddy. Actually, if TZ wanted to really do this episode justice, it should have been a CBS executive that was thrown in front of the train.

Alan doesn't remember this deranged act as he goes to meet his girlfriend, Jess. Apparently they're keeping it seriously old school as they don't want to kiss before they're married later in the week. I can respect that since they have been dating for 4 days--wait, WHAT?! I'd advise against marriage anyway, but marriage after 4 days of knowing someone is some next level insanity shit right there! I just can't get over this...4 days...my goodness. Not 4 years, not 4 months, not even 4 weeks! There is desperate and then there is batshit crazy. And Alan is such an asshole half the time--Jess, baby, you could do better. Whatever, dude. Alan and Jess go to visit Alan's hometown and aunt before the big day (groan), but the town has changed from Alan's recollection. It doesn't take long before Alan is clearly demonstrating why Jess needs to bail asap. Instead, Jess is actually the one to propose maybe Alan has had missing time for 20 years. Oh, for fuck's sake. I'm all for weird speculation, but this is a guy you've known for 4 days! Get the fuck out!

Eventually Alan starts to lose it after finding a grave that mentions a name from his dreams. Alan can't control himself as he wants to kill Jess, but he tells her to go back to her apartment in the city. Shortly after, Alan is hit by a car, and we see that his wound exposes wires and circuits instead of blood. Alan finds the last relative connected to the name from his dream which reveals his creator, Walter, who looks just like Alan. So yes, Alan is a kind of android developed to live the perfect life opposite to Walter's mad genius. Unfortunately for Walter, after many failures, Alan is still flawed in his development which is why he violently lashes out. At the same time, the hazy memory comes from Walter's youth as he imprinted those memories into Walter as a way to make him feel more real. Surprisingly, they spend a lot of time going over the complicated nature and intricacy of what it would take to make a real android. Most sci-fi back then, and even TZ themselves, usually glossed over the difficulty to create a machine that could appear and act human, so I especially enjoyed this step in the right direction.

After Alan and Walter discuss the last week of events, Alan demands that Walter create a newer android. The two get into a fight to the death over this mindless debate as we cut to one of them meeting up with Jess later. As it would turn out, Walter has assumed the life Alan created and plans to live this life as a normal person after all. The final shot is of the destroyed Alan lying in the rubble of Walter's lab. Overall, this is a good episode that showcased the TZ crew's ability to adjust their writing styles quickly. The story can feel slow at times--and I can't get over that 4 days fiasco--but it's interesting enough to keep you wondering. I did want more emphasis on what it means to be human versus what it means to be a machine trying to be human, but what can you do?