Ted Post--brilliant TZ director

[Best Man]

And amazing film director just in general.Look at his 1973 Dirty Harry (Magnum Force). Everybody seems solidly to be the character they play --even Clint Eastwood seems less like an actor-star and more like a real life cop. It is hard to believe the actors are not the characters they are playing. Same thing with the 1969 Charlton Heston POTA film-sequel Beneath The Planet of the Apes.

Now back to his TZ work. When he directed Probe 7 Over and Out character actor Harold Gould (later Miles Webber on the legendary Golden Girls series) turns in the performance of his entire highly, highly prolific acting career. It is all attributed to Ted Post for getting this unrecognizable and incredible performance out of Mr. Gould. He has absolutely none of the sarcastic overtones he usually has in all his other characterizations.

Another great ep Post directed was the Fear (actually this ep was brought down by dialogue--not Post's fault--which sounds like a bunch of Serling's narrations). The two actors in fear seem like their characters it feels like you are looking at an appealing real life situation --not at all like watching TV.

Post makes one realize acting talent is not that important 95% of the time but what is usually important really is direction.

PS Mr. Garrity and the Graves was also a Post production (as a director) and here one actor proves that 5% of the time actors do indeed matter. Post turned everybody in this ep into their characters better than any director ever could have in a trillion centuries but superb actor John Dehner (as Garrity) did not need to become his character by Post because Dehner was so great an actor he could have done just as great under any of the inferior Twilight Zone directors (possibly even Don Siegel--now if Dehner had only played Uncle Simon in that highly dreaded ep).

[Best Man]

A problem The Fear had was that is becomes, in its last scene, a very-much remake of the TZ ep The Invaders (from the second season). Better ending would have been after Trooper Franklin shoots the giant alien and it is revealed that the creature was just a parachute-like balloon Franklin finds radio equipment (with very strange markings) inside the parachute-alien and fast figures that the balloon was sent by aliens from outer space. The two people are left to ponder whether Earth will be invaded some time in the future.

The ep (brilliantly directed by Post) suffered from,as I already said and Zicree pointed out, Serling narration-like dialogue of the two characters and lack of original ending but thanks to the great direction the ending still seems good and original enough when watching (its really only when you think about it after its over that you realize that the ending is a very unoriginal ripoff).

[Zoneboy]

Originally Posted by Best Man

And amazing film director just in general.Look at his 1973 Dirty Harry (Magnum Force). Everybody seems solidly to be the character they play --even Clint Eastwood seems less like an actor-star and more like a real life cop. It is hard to believe the actors are not the characters they are playing. Same thing with the 1969 Charlton Heston POTA film-sequel Beneath The Planet of the Apes.

Now back to his TZ work. When he directed Probe 7 Over and Out character actor Harold Gould (later Miles Webber on the legendary Golden Girls series) turns in the performance of his entire highly, highly prolific acting career. It is all attributed to Ted Post for getting this unrecognizable and incredible performance out of Mr. Gould. He has absolutely none of the sarcastic overtones he usually has in all his other characterizations.

Another great ep Post directed was the Fear (actually this ep was brought down by dialogue--not Post's fault--which sounds like a bunch of Serling's narrations). The two actors in fear seem like their characters it feels like you are looking at an appealing real life situation --not at all like watching TV.

Post makes one realize acting talent is not that important 95% of the time but what is usually important really is direction.

Actors matter more than 5% of the time and if you believe that Harold Gould gave the performance of his career in this wretched episode then you're sadly mistaken. We see his character (General Larrabee) only inside a monitor and for probably no more than 10 minutes total the entire episode. If anyone gave the acting performance of their career in this episode it was Richard Basehart and I stress the word if. I know that Damin loves this episode but not many fans of the show will agree with him. It's not my least favorite of the series but is in the bottom 20. This was also one of those episodes where you could see the ending coming a mile away. As for Ted Post, great director as far as movies are concerned but his best TZ efforts were A World of Difference and Mr. Garrity & the Graves.

[Best Man]

Post proved actors don't matter that much in the slightest most of the time. If the director is great enough all the acting can come out great. Why call this great ep wretched? And Harold Gould is excellent and 100% thoughtful as Post has him. In everything else Gould ever did he always had sarcasm. This is him minus the sarcasm. We can make out Gould just fine on the screen. Brilliant! Believe it or not it was not that predictable as an ep. We did not see the Eve woman until well into the ep.

The only way to tell if an actor is great is how they perform in many different eps or movies or plays. For example, Cristina Ricci was super great in Addams Family Values but lousy and terrible in Casper the Friendly Ghost. That is because AFV was directed by a director actually very similar to Ted Post! One who could also get credible, character-believing performances out of his actors. Ricci is beautiful but she is not that great an actress. The performance she gave in AFV was almost the best ever on film and the director actually really gets the credit.

[Best Man]

I think all Golden Girls fans should see "Miles Webber" at his most thoughtful ever! Also, John Dehner could go down in human history as the only actor ever to have been in a Post-production (of direction) and not be transformed --such a great actor was Dehner. His acting was as great an accomplishment as surviving easily 50 bullets to the head!

[Zoneboy]

Originally Posted by Best Man

Why call this great ep wretched?

Because it's one of the worst in the series and I'd take Uncle Simon over it any day. You may find it great but if I never see it again I certainly won't miss it.

[Best Man]

I honestly, honestly, honestly do not see the point of the screen bit or only on camera for ten minutes in any way diminishing Gould's performance. For all others reading this I say this. Gould's expressions on the screen in this ep is by and far the best part of this very fine ep. His expressions are a total story in themselves. Post did a brilliant directorial job here and Gould is his biggest benefactor by far.
As for Basehart's performance,he is not as fully great as Gould but he is very good. (Better than he ever was or would be again (his Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea work is all inferior to this).) But Basehart was a good, white bread, sincere actor to begin with and always was so he is less transformed than Gould.
An interesting side note. It looks very much as if Gould and Basehart are really talking to each other aka Basehart is not seemingly talking to a tape version of Gould. I guess that is a TV screen Basehart is looking at but Gould was live talking to him (in another part of the studio). Maybe it was rigged so that Gould could see Basehart from a live distance so that he would be mutually and emotionally talking to him. It would probably not have worked as well if Gould could only hear Basehart. While Gould was looking straight at the camera to talk his important lines maybe right in back of the camera was a big TV screen with Basehart live on it as well.
I have said my honest peace on this great work I will say no more.

[Best Man]

Originally Posted by Best Man

And amazing film director just in general.Look at his 1973 Dirty Harry (Magnum Force). Everybody seems solidly to be the character they play --even Clint Eastwood seems less like an actor-star and more like a real life cop. It is hard to believe the actors are not the characters they are playing. Same thing with the 1969 Charlton Heston POTA film-sequel Beneath The Planet of the Apes.

Now back to his TZ work. When he directed Probe 7 Over and Out character actor Harold Gould (later Miles Webber on the legendary Golden Girls series) turns in the performance of his entire highly, highly prolific acting career. It is all attributed to Ted Post for getting this unrecognizable and incredible performance out of Mr. Gould. He has absolutely none of the sarcastic overtones he usually has in all his other characterizations.

Another great ep Post directed was the Fear (actually this ep was brought down by dialogue--not Post's fault--which sounds like a bunch of Serling's narrations). The two actors in fear seem like their characters it feels like you are looking at an appealing real life situation --not at all like watching TV.

Post makes one realize acting talent is not that important 95% of the time but what is usually important really is direction.

PS Mr. Garrity and the Graves was also a Post production (as a director) and here one actor proves that 5% of the time actors do indeed matter. Post turned everybody in this ep into their characters better than any director ever could have in a trillion centuries but superb actor John Dehner (as Garrity) did not need to become his character by Post because Dehner was so great an actor he could have done just as great under any of the inferior Twilight Zone directors (possibly even Don Siegel--now if Dehner had only played Uncle Simon in that highly dreaded ep).

Great news!

There is youtube video showing a Gunsmoke episode directed by Ted Post! See how brilliantly the scenes are. The ep starred future TZ alumni Jack Klugman, John Anderson, and Patricia Smith. They all turn in incredibly excellent performances with Post as director (what else in the world could have ever happened?).

PS While Post would not work with any of these actors on TZ Klugman and Anderson did later reunite on TZ. Smith is a beautiful lady who played the upset mother in 'Long Distance Call'.

[Zoneboy]

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