Sure, but there's a difference between having your own style and simply having a character blurt out exposition, especially when it comes out of nowhere simply to set up the plot. I love Serling's style, but that just isn't defensible.
The Twilight Zone — Episode-by-Episode Review Thread
- Thread starter Michael
- Start date
The Twilight Zone DVD contains Serling's Ithaca lecture on this episode and he's deeply critical of it. Everything he says is correct.
Still, I like this episode. Best Serling closing monologue I think.
Still, I like this episode. Best Serling closing monologue I think.
Oops! That's right. Misremembering the face--but Ihnat for both roles then, TOS' Garth and the role on OL.
Geez! How did I suddenly forget this? I swear I actually knew this (Ihnat) for literally decades. I loved him as "the Lieutenant" on OL, his acting and his voice.
I'm curious, what exactly is he critical of?
"Escape Clause" (1x06)
Synopsis: Egocentric hypochondriac Walter Bedeker is visited by the devil, who proposes a deal: In exchange for his soul he can become immortal.
Review: What in the synopsis sounds like the ingredients of a Twilight Zone classic, becomes a disappointment in "Escape Clause". Apart from a rather questionable mischaracterization of hypochondria, which makes it look like everyone suffering from this disorder is merely an odd fellow (plus, I doubt that immortality would be the cure-all for most hypochondriacs), there's the issue of the constantly changing tone of the episode, which I found very irritating: While at first everything it played like an all-out comedy, the later part suddenly becomes a deadly serious drama. The episode doesn't seem to be sure what exactly it wants to be. But all of that wouldn't be a problem, if it would remain entertaining. Sadly, it doesn't.
The sole bright spot are the performances by David Wayne as the egocentric hypochondriac and especially Thomas Gomez as a wonderfully devious devil. But for the most part "Escape Clause" (much like "The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine" before it) suffers because of the fact that the solution to the story can be foreseen halfway through the episode.
"Escape Clause" has a plot nearly identical to a 1946 episode of the radio mystery program "Inner Sanctum" called "The Man Who Couldn't Die". The main difference is that there is no deal with the devil involved, the main character is a scientist who invents a formula that confers physical immortality. "The Man Who Couldn't Die" is credited to writer Emile Tepperman.
I'm curious, what exactly is he critical of?
"Escape Clause" (1x06)
Synopsis: Egocentric hypochondriac Walter Bedeker is visited by the devil, who proposes a deal: In exchange for his soul he can become immortal.
Review: What in the synopsis sounds like the ingredients of a Twilight Zone classic, becomes a disappointment in "Escape Clause". Apart from a rather questionable mischaracterization of hypochondria, which makes it look like everyone suffering from this disorder is merely an odd fellow (plus, I doubt that immortality would be the cure-all for most hypochondriacs), there's the issue of the constantly changing tone of the episode, which I found very irritating: While at first everything it played like an all-out comedy, the later part suddenly becomes a deadly serious drama. The episode doesn't seem to be sure what exactly it wants to be. But all of that wouldn't be a problem, if it would remain entertaining. Sadly, it doesn't.
The sole bright spot are the performances by David Wayne as the egocentric hypochondriac and especially Thomas Gomez as a wonderfully devious devil. But for the most part "Escape Clause" (much like "The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine" before it) suffers because of the fact that the solution to the story can be foreseen halfway through the episode.
Too bad you didn't like it. For me, this one was one of those "not great, but good" episodes. The same with "Walking Distance".
I agree completely with your review of "The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine" however.
"The Lonely" (1x07)
Synopsis: Marooned on a deserted asteroid, convicted murderer Corry lives in complete isolation. Just when he is about to go insane from lonliness, he is given a female robot.
Review: I'm unsure what to think of "The Lonely". The theme of loneliness is a very interesting one and the questions postulated by the episode are definitely appealing. But I don't think the answers provided by "The Lonely" are particularly clear: Does it want to say that even the illusion of human companionship is enough to keep a man from going insane? Or does it try to say something about man's subconscious desire to impose an ultimately lifeless object with a life of its own? Either way, "Where is Everybody?" featured a similar theme in a much more effective fashion.
The perfomances of everyone involved – with the possible exception of Jean Marsh as the gynoid, where "strange behaviour" is probably part of the character description – are consistently irritating. Especially Jack Warden's portrayal of the main protagonist is hardly accessible.
But all in all the problems of the episode seem to be rooted in its structuring: The first act should have been tightened so that Corry meets the female robot earlier. The second act seems much too short in order to believably portray the relationship between him and Alicia. The resuls is a final act where Corry's change of heart isn't easily comprehensible. Alicia's functionality is another thing left unclear: Does she have genuine emotions or is she just reacting to signals sent by Corry?
Noteworthy, however, is the cinematography, which for a television production really is breathtaking. The barren, dead landscapes in monochromatic black and white inherit an aesthetic, which appropriately visualize the protagonist's isolation. Despite the scientific inaccuracies of the asteroid setting, the producers have found a perfect shooting location in the Californian Death Valley.
Here's an idea for an alternate ending that might have been more dramatic: Corry's affection for Alicia has grown so strong, that despite being just discharged of a murder he actually becomes a murderer and kills the astronauts to make room in the spacecraft for his robot. The irony of such an ending might have been more interesting than what we actually got.
Next up: A classic ...
Synopsis: Marooned on a deserted asteroid, convicted murderer Corry lives in complete isolation. Just when he is about to go insane from lonliness, he is given a female robot.
Review: I'm unsure what to think of "The Lonely". The theme of loneliness is a very interesting one and the questions postulated by the episode are definitely appealing. But I don't think the answers provided by "The Lonely" are particularly clear: Does it want to say that even the illusion of human companionship is enough to keep a man from going insane? Or does it try to say something about man's subconscious desire to impose an ultimately lifeless object with a life of its own? Either way, "Where is Everybody?" featured a similar theme in a much more effective fashion.
The perfomances of everyone involved – with the possible exception of Jean Marsh as the gynoid, where "strange behaviour" is probably part of the character description – are consistently irritating. Especially Jack Warden's portrayal of the main protagonist is hardly accessible.
But all in all the problems of the episode seem to be rooted in its structuring: The first act should have been tightened so that Corry meets the female robot earlier. The second act seems much too short in order to believably portray the relationship between him and Alicia. The resuls is a final act where Corry's change of heart isn't easily comprehensible. Alicia's functionality is another thing left unclear: Does she have genuine emotions or is she just reacting to signals sent by Corry?
Noteworthy, however, is the cinematography, which for a television production really is breathtaking. The barren, dead landscapes in monochromatic black and white inherit an aesthetic, which appropriately visualize the protagonist's isolation. Despite the scientific inaccuracies of the asteroid setting, the producers have found a perfect shooting location in the Californian Death Valley.
Here's an idea for an alternate ending that might have been more dramatic: Corry's affection for Alicia has grown so strong, that despite being just discharged of a murder he actually becomes a murderer and kills the astronauts to make room in the spacecraft for his robot. The irony of such an ending might have been more interesting than what we actually got.
Next up: A classic ...
Now here I disagree. The Lonely was one of TZ's best. And your remarks about "believeability", you need to remember, this was a show about the supernatural. Believeability needs to be suspended. Plus, it was made for a different time, when TV writers were only interested in telling good stories. Which this one was.
Well, I've always thought "The Lonely" was pretty good. NCC-1701, I think you're overlooking another interpretation: that the episode is suggesting that maybe Alicia isn't an illusion, isn't lifeless. Maybe a machine can be sentient, or maybe Corry's belief in her and love for her as a person makes her a person. That's what I've always taken away as the philosophical premise of the episode. As the end narration said, she was "kept alive by love, but now obsolete." If she was alive, then who are the real murderers? And perhaps by coming to recognize an AI as a living being worthy of love, maybe Corry the convicted murderer develops a greater empathy for life in his solitary confinement than the people of the civilization he's taken back to at the end, the civilization that can so callously discard Alicia because she's not unique or necessary in their eyes. So maybe the ending where he tries to remember that she was "just" a machine isn't so much a tragically lonely man coming to his senses as a tragic ending where he begins to lose the insight he had gained.
As for believability, a lot, lot less was known about outer space back then. Remember, this was a time when it was still seriously believed that Venus might have lush rainforests beneath its clouds and Jupiter might have a solid surface. So a hot, habitable prison asteroid, maybe with help from some terraforming, wouldn't have seemed as absurd then as it does today. Also, TZ's science fiction episodes were always "soft" SF, more in the vicinity of Bradbury or Sturgeon (or, of course, Beaumont or Matheson) than Clarke or Clement, so strict accuracy wasn't really a goal. Compared to many of TZ's SF-oriented episodes, this one's pretty credible.
As for believability, a lot, lot less was known about outer space back then. Remember, this was a time when it was still seriously believed that Venus might have lush rainforests beneath its clouds and Jupiter might have a solid surface. So a hot, habitable prison asteroid, maybe with help from some terraforming, wouldn't have seemed as absurd then as it does today. Also, TZ's science fiction episodes were always "soft" SF, more in the vicinity of Bradbury or Sturgeon (or, of course, Beaumont or Matheson) than Clarke or Clement, so strict accuracy wasn't really a goal. Compared to many of TZ's SF-oriented episodes, this one's pretty credible.
Oh, don't get me wrong, the apparent scientific inaccuracies didn't bother me in the slightest or took away from my enjoyment of the episode. Actually, I think it's perfectly possible that the people in the universe of "The Lonely" have found a way to make the asteroid (or portions of it) habitable.
My problems with the episode stem more from the fact, that I found the ways with which it tried to get its message across very muddled. Plus, I just didn't like the lead in this one.
Yes, and really, I don't discount that interpretation nor did I overlook it, I think. In fact, that's my interpretation, too. It's just that the episode was not very successful in getting it across. It spends far too little time with establishing Alicia as a character. She essentially arrives, is turned down by Corry and in what felt like a scene later they have fallen in love with one another. It didn't feel like they gave us enough time to get to know her and make us care for her. I wanted to like her and I wanted to feel that she was a unique and necessary living being. But there's not much in terms of character there. Any attempt at answering the question of whether she really was alive or not would be pure guesswork, because there's evidence to suppor either case. So, what we're left with is uncertainty: Was Alicia's sentience real? The episode doesn't seem to know or care. Now, it's not like ambiguity is a bad thing per se. But I have the feeling Serling just didn't make up his mind about it.
Additionally, I found Corry's change of heart came much too sudden. One moment he wants her to get away and rejects the very notion of a machine imitating life, the next moment he's fallen in love with her. Why he loves her isn't said or shown, they merely tell us that he is. I guess it all comes down to the fact that I didn't really believe it. I mean, I got that he loved her. But as a viewer I want to know whether that love meant anything (= she was sentient) or whether Corry was a fool for falling in love with a machine merely mirroring his own emotions.
Either way, it's a plus that the episode is able to get such a discussion going.
All very true. Which is why the believability didn't really factor into my assessment of the episode.
You should keep a score of the number of actors who've been in Star Trek.
Trekkies love that shit!
Or you can let IMDB do it for you:
http://www.imdb.com/search/name?roles=tt0060028,tt0052520
Nope, that list is woefully incomplete.
There are 90 actors alone that have appeared in the various treks that first appeared in Twilight Zone. I'll try to add a few that IMDB missed as this goes along.
Indeed!! I just noticed that, But I thought of a few from TOS that they missed...............
Morgan Jones---Assignment: Earth
Bill Zuckert-----Spectre of the Gun*
* Bill Zuckert does appear in 'He's Alive' episode of TLZ ( the one with Dennis Hopper), art the end as a cop, but he is not credited. But it is him for sure with his unmistakable face.
I'll check for others from TOS later.
I see they listed Clegg Hoyt so i fixed that.
What threw me off was the listing of Richman who appeared in TNG not TOS.
George Murdock appeared in Star Trek 5 and about 20 or so actors appeared in original TLZ and the Trek spin-offs---which are not part of this i guess.
Morgan Jones---Assignment: Earth
Bill Zuckert-----Spectre of the Gun*
* Bill Zuckert does appear in 'He's Alive' episode of TLZ ( the one with Dennis Hopper), art the end as a cop, but he is not credited. But it is him for sure with his unmistakable face.
I'll check for others from TOS later.
I see they listed Clegg Hoyt so i fixed that.
What threw me off was the listing of Richman who appeared in TNG not TOS.
George Murdock appeared in Star Trek 5 and about 20 or so actors appeared in original TLZ and the Trek spin-offs---which are not part of this i guess.
Now the ending you just suggested sounds just like the story "Two's Company" published in the Weird Science comic book issue 21 (September 1953). The only difference is that the woman who is the companion of the stranded spaceman is not an android, but merely a figment of his imagination created by his torturous loneliness.
Agree and agree. I love The Lonely. To me it's one of the classics. I too would give it 4 out of 5 stars.
I'm curious, what exactly is he critical of?
"Escape Clause" (1x06)
Synopsis: Egocentric hypochondriac Walter Bedeker is visited by the devil, who proposes a deal: In exchange for his soul he can become immortal.
Review: What in the synopsis sounds like the ingredients of a Twilight Zone classic, becomes a disappointment in "Escape Clause". Apart from a rather questionable mischaracterization of hypochondria, which makes it look like everyone suffering from this disorder is merely an odd fellow (plus, I doubt that immortality would be the cure-all for most hypochondriacs), there's the issue of the constantly changing tone of the episode, which I found very irritating: While at first everything it played like an all-out comedy, the later part suddenly becomes a deadly serious drama. The episode doesn't seem to be sure what exactly it wants to be. But all of that wouldn't be a problem, if it would remain entertaining. Sadly, it doesn't.
The sole bright spot are the performances by David Wayne as the egocentric hypochondriac and especially Thomas Gomez as a wonderfully devious devil. But for the most part "Escape Clause" (much like "The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine" before it) suffers because of the fact that the solution to the story can be foreseen halfway through the episode.
Ahhhh...
This is one I can watch multiple amount of times; I would bump that score up two more stars, personally....
...But, it's good to hear another point of view...
Serling's distinctive prose style was perfect when he appeared as on-screen presenter or voice-over narrator, but it could sometimes seem forced and awkward when put in the mouths of actors. Especially in the show's fifth and final season, there were frequent moments when the characters sounded like a bunch of Rod Serlings talking to each other.
Yep. Which probably owes a lot to the fact that Serling "wrote" his scripts by talking into a dictaphone.
I also think it owes something to the fact that he wrote so many of the episodes that he eventually just got into kind of a rut. The same thing happened with Babylon 5 -- after the first couple of seasons, Straczynski wrote virtually every episode, and by the last couple of seasons everyone sounded like a bunch of J. Michael Straczynskis talking to each other.
True that about characters sounding like Serling. The most notable example being the fifth season episode "The Fear" where the two characters come off like two Rod Serling's talking too each other. Even a great writer like Serling had his flaws. His scripts could be very preachy and characters would say stuff that no person would say in real life. There was also a tendancy to portray "bad" characters without being very subtle about it. I noticed this in particular when I watched Serling's The Arena on the Studio One DVD. The father of the main character, the Senator, is so rotten to the core it's ridiculous.
Anyway, count me as someone who is a fan of The Lonely as well. I liked the performances a great deal. Jack Warden was good in the lead, as was Jean Marsh. John Dehner was always a terrific presence on The Twilight Zone. I have XM Radio Classics now and Dehner did a ton of radio work back in the day. And hey, you even get a young Ted Knight, who is surprisingly not credited despite his character having several lines.
The Death Valley shoot does make for some great scenary. Various TZ books have often talked about how difficult the Death Valley shoot, with a member of the crew (I think it was director of photography George Clemmons) passing out.
Anyway, count me as someone who is a fan of The Lonely as well. I liked the performances a great deal. Jack Warden was good in the lead, as was Jean Marsh. John Dehner was always a terrific presence on The Twilight Zone. I have XM Radio Classics now and Dehner did a ton of radio work back in the day. And hey, you even get a young Ted Knight, who is surprisingly not credited despite his character having several lines.
The Death Valley shoot does make for some great scenary. Various TZ books have often talked about how difficult the Death Valley shoot, with a member of the crew (I think it was director of photography George Clemmons) passing out.
Similar threads
