Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room

Description: Season 2, Episode 3

Air Date: October 14, 1960

Plot Summary: A cowardly criminal must come to terms with his failures in life after he is forced to add murder to his repertoire

Review: Although this is a mostly forgettable episode, and one I barely remember seeing, it is the origin for the famous line, "You talkin' to me?" made notorious in "Taxi Driver." Other than that aspect, the story is essentially a wimpy guy arguing with himself in a room. That's not the kind of scope or creativity I like from my TZ episodes. This isn't to say that the episode has nothing to offer in terms of its themes, but it lacked that extra oomph TZ often provides. All that happens is a guy named Jackie is getting nervous--as the title proclaims--since he is worried about a crime job his handler is preparing. Speaking of this handler, count how many times Jackie says the guy's name, George; yeah, they went a bit overboard with that one. Jackie is a weasel-type of criminal, and an obvious bitch, but he's no murderer which is why George wants him to kill a guy that owes them money or whatever; George figures a bitch like Jackie would never be suspected since he's a low-level criminal. Also, Jackie must do this job or else he will be the one to die instead.

Jackie then sees a more confidant mirror image of himself that speaks to him; this is where that famous line comes into play. The two discuss Jackie's pathetic life and how he is always pushed around and does what he's told. The mirror image represents Jackie's true potential and wants to become the dominant personality in order to set Jackie on a proper life path. Little bitch Jackie tries to resist, but the mirror image semi comes out of the mirror and takes over; the two personalities actually change position. When George returns to kill Jackie for failing in his mission, the new Jackie kicks his ass and talks a bit of smack for good measure. The episode concludes with the implication that the new Jackie will seek out a respectable life where they don't have to check into shitty hotels or work for clowns like Georgie here. For the most part, the themes are commendable and timeless, but the presentation is lackluster. If there were an added layer of depth, or a twist of some sort, that would have made this episode more memorable. As it stands, it's a decent episode hindered by a lack of production value and an uninteresting premise.

The Man in the Bottle

Description: Season 2, Episode 2

Air Date: October 7, 1960

Plot Summary: A couple, struggling financially, discovers that an ordinary glass bottle actually contains a genie.

Review: As I've mentioned numerous times, I am a sucker for genie tales, however, this episode is on the generic side. It's not that the story is bad, but it's predictable and follows a, mostly, cookie-cutter approach to genies and the outcomes that arise. I mean, from the moment the couple discovers the genie, you can quickly determine where this story will end up; this story would have benefited from TZ's classic twists to spice things up a bit.

So we meet an old couple, owners of an antique store, that are neck-deep in debt. Not quite sure where that much debt is coming from, but I guess we can go with it. A local woman comes begging the husband for money in exchange for an alleged family heirloom. Since this appears to be a common incident, the husband takes pity on the woman and offers her a buck for the heirloom which is a plain old, glass bottle. When the woman is walking out, she admits the bottle was just something she found in the trash. Even though she does apologize for this lie...what a bitch! The couple eventually starts to argue over this little transaction as the wife addresses the fact that they need every single dollar. The husband does her one better as he explains that this antique store is more of a burden than a business and has been slowly killing his family. Amidst the fit of rage, the husband knocks over the bottle and unleashes the genie inside. This genie is dressed like a sleazy salesman from the 1800s and looks just as creepy--not the trustworthy sort. I've never understood how genies always understand the logistics of the era they're in, but this one is no different. This genie also magically knows everything about the couple and their woes.

The couple is told they have 4 wishes as they quickly blow a wish with the infamous "prove you're a genie" routine; this leads to the genie fixing the broken glass on a display. From there, the couple wishes for a million dollars as the genie laughs sadistically. That probably should have been your cue not to trust this asshole. The first thing the couple does with their money is to give it to random neighborhood people they're friends with...I guess. This joy is short-lived, however, as some tax bitch shows up and claims they owe most of it in taxes. Uhh yeah, nice try. Assuming a tax bitch would instinctively show up the moment you had money, you would not owe 90% of what you had! Well, after the money that has been given to friends, the couple only has $5 to spare. The genie shows up and tells us the usual spiel about "be careful what you wish for" and so forth. The couple then makes a blatantly idiotic wish to be the ruler of a country, who can't be removed from power, in the last century. I'll give you one guess which country the husband becomes the leader of--you got it? It's nazi Germany! They even made the husband turn into Hitler. Come on, dude, you should have seen that outcome a mile away. This leads to the husband making the final wish to restore everything back to normal, and that's the end of their wishes. Fools. The couple then realizes you can't gain happiness through mere wishes as they look on the bright side with their fixed display. But because the universe hates them, the husband accidentally breaks the glass on the display again. In the end, the genie bottle is dumped in the trash where it supposedly won't open again for 101 years.

Overall, this is essentially the standard genie tale with a slightly more evil genie. We all know the morality behind the tale itself and most people understand the typical rules about needing to be specific toward the wishes. I wish they would have done more with the material, offered up a new angle to explore, or added a cool twist, but you can't get everything you want (hooray for lame puns). Despite this complaint, the episode is decent enough and respectable in its own right--it's simply middle of the road.

King Nine Will Not Return

Description: Season 2, Episode 1

Air Date: September 30, 1960

Plot Summary: Miraculously surviving a plane crash, a WWII captain searches for his crew amidst a desert.

Review: Now we come to season 2 and there are a few, slight changes. For starters, the opening is different as well as the main theme, however, I prefer the season 1 opening. Mr. Serling's appearances when narrating become more frequent, and they add the title to the closing credits. None of the changes are dramatic, although, this season does conclude sooner than the first and has less episodes. As for our season 2 opener, this episode is simply average--not all that great but still respectable. I appreciate the themes it was trying to touch on, but it felt similar to better episodes.

The story takes place in the middle of WWII as we see the wreckage of a bomber that has crashed somewhere in an African desert; they mention Tunisia so I will assume it's the Sahara. The only survivor of the crash appears to be the captain, but he can't seem to find the remains of his crew. The captain's memories are hazy as he can't recall the crash or how he could have possibly survived it. Hmm...are you detecting the similarities to other episodes yet? The captain roams around the nearby area trying to find a trace of his men, but all he can find are mere hints as to what became of them. The captain, on occasion, believes he sees a member of the crew, but it is nothing more than a mirage each time. With the captain growing increasingly erratic, and talking to himself, he notices jets flying over his head. He recalls what jets are, but he also recalls that they did not exist during WWII and is unsure how he knows this fact. Going completely insane, and laughing like a lunatic, the captain sees a mirage of the crew and realizes they must surely be dead. It's okay though, since the captain wakes up in a hospital, and it's really 1960 after all. A doctor and some kind of military liaison explain that reading an article in a newspaper set off the captain and sent him into a psychological breakdown. Apparently, the captain never went on the last mission where the bomber crashed and only recently were the remains found. The captain has been blaming himself all these years as he felt guilty that he wasn't there for his men; I suppose it's meant to be a kind of survivor's guilt. Coming to terms with his horrible dream, the captain still feels as though a part of the dream were real. Since this is the TZ, the episode ends with a nurse talking to the military liaison guy and they find sand in the shoes of the captain. Oh shit!

I'm not going to necessarily hold it against the episode that the presentation felt similar to others, but it sure didn't help things. Rather than throwing in a final zinger, it probably would have been more powerful to let the themes stand on their own merit. There were probably ways to do things a little different, but it's still decent. I liked that they addressed the fact that people were psychologically scarred from war, and WWII severely impacted the lives of TZ's writers. I would also think the story presented an early version of post traumatic stress disorder. In a way, this episode touched on the kind of mental problems vets could have, even years later, which is something worth showcasing. Overall, not too bad of a way to kick off the second season.