Tag: Rod Serling

video review : The Twilight Zone

video review : The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone; a “middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition”; is conceptually an interesting place. It’s how those ideas play out that tend to lead nowhere. The series, presented in five seasons, wouldn’t be bad condensed to a short one of its best stories.

The Fever, The Shelter, It’s A Good Life, The New Exhibit, Living Doll and Night Call would all be included. Most other episodes are subpar, thanks in part to corny hyperbolic characterization. Some, especially the ones that abandon the sci-fi/horror genre for comedy, are downright stupid.

my rating : 2 of 5

1964

video review : The Twilight Zone : Eye Of The Beholder

video review : The Twilight Zone : Eye Of The Beholder

The best thing about this Twilight Zone episode, about a hospital patient who’s undergone a series of medical treatments to normalize (“fix”) her grotesque appearance, is the suspense in the build-up. She’s first shown with her face wrapped in gauze bandages. It’s not until the story is almost over that it, and the twist, is finally revealed.

Maxine Stuart gets annoying when she goes into a fit of overacting to convey the desperation/frustration of Janet Tyler, known by hospital staff as patient 307, but that melodramatic bit doesn’t last long. As the title suggests, the overall lesson is that beauty is in the Eye Of The Beholder; something ugly people have to repeat to themselves.

my rating : 3 of 5

1960

video review : The Twilight Zone : The Man In The Bottle

video review : The Twilight Zone : The Man In The Bottle

The Man is actually a genie able to grant wishes. The one caveat is that you only get four and can’t wish for more. That would be plenty to make my life everything I’d ever want it to be; he actually gives you time to think it over before making it “official”; but the plot of this story relies on the stupidity of its protagonist.

Enter Arthur Castle. When the genie is summoned to the struggling antique shop he runs with his wife, he’s at first skeptical and wastes his first wish on a trivial test. Once he realizes he’s for real, he wishes for money but isn’t thoughtful enough to make it limitless. His last two wishes are even more idiotic.

my rating : 3 of 5

1960