Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Sweet action for kids 'n' cretins. Marjoram and capers.
revbob
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 25326
Joined: 16 Jun 2008, 12:31pm
Location: The Frozen Tundra

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by revbob »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
17 May 2019, 5:41pm
tepista wrote:
17 May 2019, 5:39pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
17 May 2019, 5:04pm
tepista wrote:
17 May 2019, 4:31pm
I've seen 6. The camcorder and the racist cop was good, the other 5 pretty mediocre.
That's definitely been the best one, tho the golf clappish scene near the end broke the mood. I also liked the one with the guy who shows up in the Alaskan jail and yesterday's episode. The "Not All Men" could have been good, but didn't know what to do with the set-up.
the Alaska jail was good but it seemed it could been better. the Mission to Mars had a good last 10 minutes or so, but it dragged up till it got the good part. SOme of these are 50 minutes, which is probably 10 minutes too long.
The length has been a real problem. The necessary tension just isn't sustained. The camcorder episode was the only one where the longer run time worked.
Its funny because the originals were so great I used to wish they were longer. Clearly the people making them knew what they were doing thiugh

tepista
User avatar
Foul-Mouthed Werewolf
Posts: 37871
Joined: 16 Jun 2008, 11:25am
Location: Livin on a fault line, Waiting on the big one

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by tepista »

revbob wrote:
17 May 2019, 6:34pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
17 May 2019, 5:41pm
tepista wrote:
17 May 2019, 5:39pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
17 May 2019, 5:04pm
tepista wrote:
17 May 2019, 4:31pm
I've seen 6. The camcorder and the racist cop was good, the other 5 pretty mediocre.
That's definitely been the best one, tho the golf clappish scene near the end broke the mood. I also liked the one with the guy who shows up in the Alaskan jail and yesterday's episode. The "Not All Men" could have been good, but didn't know what to do with the set-up.
the Alaska jail was good but it seemed it could been better. the Mission to Mars had a good last 10 minutes or so, but it dragged up till it got the good part. SOme of these are 50 minutes, which is probably 10 minutes too long.
The length has been a real problem. The necessary tension just isn't sustained. The camcorder episode was the only one where the longer run time worked.
Its funny because the originals were so great I used to wish they were longer. Clearly the people making them knew what they were doing thiugh
I know, But then most of the hour long ones from the original one stunk, except the one with Burgess Merideth in Printer's Devil.
We reach the parts other combos cannot reach
We beach the beachheads other armies cannot beach
We speak the tongues other mouths cannot speak

tepista
User avatar
Foul-Mouthed Werewolf
Posts: 37871
Joined: 16 Jun 2008, 11:25am
Location: Livin on a fault line, Waiting on the big one

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by tepista »

double post, what is this, the Twilight Zone?
We reach the parts other combos cannot reach
We beach the beachheads other armies cannot beach
We speak the tongues other mouths cannot speak

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115976
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by Dr. Medulla »

revbob wrote:
17 May 2019, 6:34pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
17 May 2019, 5:41pm
tepista wrote:
17 May 2019, 5:39pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
17 May 2019, 5:04pm
tepista wrote:
17 May 2019, 4:31pm
I've seen 6. The camcorder and the racist cop was good, the other 5 pretty mediocre.
That's definitely been the best one, tho the golf clappish scene near the end broke the mood. I also liked the one with the guy who shows up in the Alaskan jail and yesterday's episode. The "Not All Men" could have been good, but didn't know what to do with the set-up.
the Alaska jail was good but it seemed it could been better. the Mission to Mars had a good last 10 minutes or so, but it dragged up till it got the good part. SOme of these are 50 minutes, which is probably 10 minutes too long.
The length has been a real problem. The necessary tension just isn't sustained. The camcorder episode was the only one where the longer run time worked.
Its funny because the originals were so great I used to wish they were longer. Clearly the people making them knew what they were doing thiugh
The fourth season of the original was hour-long episodes. If that doesn't stick in your memory or experience, that's because those episodes generally didn't work. "Printer's Devil," with Burgess Meredith as the devil who makes his usual offer to a struggling newspaper publisher, is the only one that stands out in a good way.

edit: And Tep beats me to it on both counts.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

revbob
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 25326
Joined: 16 Jun 2008, 12:31pm
Location: The Frozen Tundra

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by revbob »

Yeah I know it's funny because I don't remember any of the long ones. Less is more. Keep the viewer wanting.

tepista
User avatar
Foul-Mouthed Werewolf
Posts: 37871
Joined: 16 Jun 2008, 11:25am
Location: Livin on a fault line, Waiting on the big one

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by tepista »

revbob wrote:
17 May 2019, 6:52pm
Yeah I know it's funny because I don't remember any of the long ones. Less is more. Keep the viewer wanting.
because the long ones were rarely shown in syndication, they don't fit in the time slot. you only catch them on the Thanksgiving marathons, then you say, "fuck this one, I don't even remember it!" :mrgreen:
We reach the parts other combos cannot reach
We beach the beachheads other armies cannot beach
We speak the tongues other mouths cannot speak

daredevil
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 4978
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 6:35pm

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by daredevil »

i remember reading somewhere that the hour long TZ episodes were filmed from scripts that were meant to be 25 minutes. So the stories were expanded with some filler scenes when CBC decided that the fourth season needed to be an hour long.

No Time Like The Past and I Think of Cliffordville (with Julie Newmar as a devil) are great 60 minute eps.
But yeah, Printer's Devil is the best one.

tepista
User avatar
Foul-Mouthed Werewolf
Posts: 37871
Joined: 16 Jun 2008, 11:25am
Location: Livin on a fault line, Waiting on the big one

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by tepista »

daredevil wrote:
18 May 2019, 4:09pm
I Think of Cliffordville (with Julie Newmar as a devil) are great 60 minute eps.
Oh yeah, I wanted to say the with Penguin & Catwoman was the good one, until I realized there was none like that. i was mushing two together!
We reach the parts other combos cannot reach
We beach the beachheads other armies cannot beach
We speak the tongues other mouths cannot speak

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115976
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Even tho it's crappy, I like the Dennis Hopper one where he plays a neo-Nazi who's receiving advice from a shadowy figure. Who could it be? No, it could be him. No way. Doh! It was Hitler all along!
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

tepista
User avatar
Foul-Mouthed Werewolf
Posts: 37871
Joined: 16 Jun 2008, 11:25am
Location: Livin on a fault line, Waiting on the big one

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by tepista »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
18 May 2019, 5:54pm
Even tho it's crappy, I like the Dennis Hopper one where he plays a neo-Nazi who's receiving advice from a shadowy figure. Who could it be? No, it could be him. No way. Doh! It was Hitler all along!
Oh yeah, that was one of the hour ones too?
We reach the parts other combos cannot reach
We beach the beachheads other armies cannot beach
We speak the tongues other mouths cannot speak

revbob
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 25326
Joined: 16 Jun 2008, 12:31pm
Location: The Frozen Tundra

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by revbob »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
18 May 2019, 5:54pm
Even tho it's crappy, I like the Dennis Hopper one where he plays a neo-Nazi who's receiving advice from a shadowy figure. Who could it be? No, it could be him. No way. Doh! It was Hitler all along!
I thought it was pretty good ( and still way too timely :cry: ) but probably could have been better in a condensed format.

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115976
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by Dr. Medulla »

tepista wrote:
18 May 2019, 6:01pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
18 May 2019, 5:54pm
Even tho it's crappy, I like the Dennis Hopper one where he plays a neo-Nazi who's receiving advice from a shadowy figure. Who could it be? No, it could be him. No way. Doh! It was Hitler all along!
Oh yeah, that was one of the hour ones too?
Yup.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115976
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by Dr. Medulla »

revbob wrote:
18 May 2019, 6:12pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
18 May 2019, 5:54pm
Even tho it's crappy, I like the Dennis Hopper one where he plays a neo-Nazi who's receiving advice from a shadowy figure. Who could it be? No, it could be him. No way. Doh! It was Hitler all along!
I thought it was pretty good ( and still way too timely :cry: ) but probably could have been better in a condensed format.
It might have been better condensed. So much, as I recall, rested on the shock reveal, which wasn't shocking at all. Now, if the adviser was, I dunno, FDR, that would have been shocking (and confusing).
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

revbob
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 25326
Joined: 16 Jun 2008, 12:31pm
Location: The Frozen Tundra

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by revbob »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
18 May 2019, 6:30pm
revbob wrote:
18 May 2019, 6:12pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
18 May 2019, 5:54pm
Even tho it's crappy, I like the Dennis Hopper one where he plays a neo-Nazi who's receiving advice from a shadowy figure. Who could it be? No, it could be him. No way. Doh! It was Hitler all along!
I thought it was pretty good ( and still way too timely :cry: ) but probably could have been better in a condensed format.
It might have been better condensed. So much, as I recall, rested on the shock reveal, which wasn't shocking at all. Now, if the adviser was, I dunno, FDR, that would have been shocking (and confusing).
I guess it was a bit heavy handed but they were getting a point across and that was done for audiences 50+ years ago.

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115976
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: Best Twilight Zone episode. Go.

Post by Dr. Medulla »

revbob wrote:
18 May 2019, 7:07pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
18 May 2019, 6:30pm
revbob wrote:
18 May 2019, 6:12pm
Dr. Medulla wrote:
18 May 2019, 5:54pm
Even tho it's crappy, I like the Dennis Hopper one where he plays a neo-Nazi who's receiving advice from a shadowy figure. Who could it be? No, it could be him. No way. Doh! It was Hitler all along!
I thought it was pretty good ( and still way too timely :cry: ) but probably could have been better in a condensed format.
It might have been better condensed. So much, as I recall, rested on the shock reveal, which wasn't shocking at all. Now, if the adviser was, I dunno, FDR, that would have been shocking (and confusing).
I guess it was a bit heavy handed but they were getting a point across and that was done for audiences 50+ years ago.
Sure, but Serling demonstrated greater skill with the shocking twist. I think(?) I'm judging Serling by his own record.

Still, historically, the 1950s and even the early 60s were plagued with rumours and speculation that Hitler was alive, so there is that going for it. A fascinating collection of some of those stories:
Image

I wanted to pursue research on the curiosity of this phenomenon, but (honestly) Trump's election made it seem really trivial.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Post Reply