The Twilight Zone, Season One - 3 Classics and 3 Wasted Trips

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I can't remember the first time I watched The Twilight Zone – though it was probably at least 50 years ago. I’ve checked in and out of the series over the course of many years but never added this crown jewel of TV classics to my collection – until recently.

For the first time over the past few weeks, I’ve been enjoying the series uncut, in original running order and in the stunning visual clarity of Blu-ray. Watching season one I remembered several episodes but was surprised to discover there were more than a few I had never experienced before.

Before I begin season two, I thought it would be interesting (to me, at least) to celebrate the three best episodes, and select three that didn’t quite make it. Here we go:

The Three Best

A Stop at Willoughby

I have always believed that classic television shows can serve a higher purpose beyond the entertainment derived from them. Like any work of art worthy of our respect, they have something to teach us as well.

During its five seasons, The Twilight Zone presented dozens of issue-oriented stories, including some effective but occasionally heavy-handed allegories about war, racism and intolerance. For me it was the subtler stories that struck a deeper chord, none more so than “A Stop at Willoughby.”

Fade up on Gart Williams (James Daly), a media buyer in New York, sitting with other executives in a boardroom, anxiously tapping a pencil. He has just lost a major account, much to the chagrin of his oppressive boss.

Gart leaves the office on the verge of a nervous breakdown that’s been building for a long time. Headed home he falls asleep on the train, but when he wakes he finds himself on a 19th century rail coach. The snowy November evening has been replaced by bright summer sunshine, as the train stops at an idyllic small town called Willoughby, circa 1888. Gart wakes up and dismisses the episode as a dream.

At home his pressures do not subside. “I’m tired, Janie. Tired and sick,” he says to his unsympathetic wife, who coldly ponders how she could have married such an over-sensitive loser.

Back at work, the stress resumes unabated – angry clients, constantly ringing phones. The next evening, he once again hears the conductor call “Next stop, Willoughby.” This time, he gets off the train. But this being The Twilight Zone, there’s an unexpected zing at the end.

The episode explored a favorite theme of writer Rod Serling – the soul-crushing oppression of corporate America, which he first examined in the brilliant “Patterns,” and then later on Night Gallery in “They’re Tearing Down Tim Riley’s Bar.” In 25 minutes, “A Stop at Willoughby” paints a complete and perfectly rendered portrait of a man who spent the better part of his life doing something for which he had neither affinity nor desire. He sublimated his true self to pursue a lifestyle that was never important to him, to achieve prosperity that brought no satisfaction. Now he’s at the end of his tether and willing to grasp at any lifeline, no matter how fantastic.

I still wonder if some viewers feeling the same subjugation were inspired to break out of their fate and pursue something more satisfying. I hope so.

The Hitch-Hiker

“A Stop at Willoughby” was for me the most impactful episode of season one, but “The Hitch-Hiker” was by far the most unsettling. Rod Serling’s script ramps up the terror slowly but gradually, to the point where you know what’s coming but it’s still scary when it happens.

Inger Stevens plays a woman on a cross-country drive. Along the way she sees a middle-aged man in slovenly clothes trying to thumb a ride. She passes him by as any young woman traveling alone should but is surprised when later that day, after driving many miles, she sees him again, still standing by the side of the road, hoping she’ll stop this time. And then it happens again. And again.

The hitcher is played by Leonard Strong, a veteran character actor whom you’ve seen in dozens of shows. There’s really nothing frightening about him – but here, without even trying, he’s scarier than Freddy Krueger. If you don’t believe any story from a 65-year-old TV show could have you pulling a blanket up over your head, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Judgment Night

This one really snuck up on me, because I don’t think it ranks highly among fans. It wasn’t doing much for me either for the first half or so, but then its rather confusing scenario is crystallized in a way that changes everything we thought we just watched.

Nehemiah Persoff plays a man on a fog-bound ship in the Atlantic Ocean headed for New York in 1942. He has no memory of how he got there and does not recognize any of the other passengers. But he is certain that something terrible is going to happen to the ship at 1:15am.

As with “The Hitch-Hiker” there is a sense of dread that hangs over the entire episode. When the reality of the situation is revealed, viewers like me realized that we should have paid more attention to the episode’s title, as the fate of Persoff’s character proves to be far worse than a case of amnesia.

This could have easily been a top five list. If I were to add a fourth choice it would be “The After Hours” which I recall watching as a kid and it scaring the heck out of me. It’s still pretty unsettling at times, as Anne Francis wanders through an empty department store where the mannequins seem just a little too real.

What - no “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”? some may be asking. I know that episode is in most TZ aficionados’ lists of classics. Here’s what always bothered me about that show: It opens with some weird stuff happening to lights and car motors, and the neighbors all get together to try and figure out what’s going on. They’re calmly trying to assess the situation together, but turn into a frenzied, paranoid mob because one kid says he thinks aliens are to blame because of what he read in a comic book. I know the point Serling was trying to make, but I wish he could have gotten there in a more credible way.

Other contenders: “Time Enough at Last” with Burgess Meredith as a meek bookworm who survives a nuclear holocaust, and “Escape Clause,” with David Wayne making a deal with the devil for immortality, are both good episodes but were memorable mostly for their climactic twists.

I also quite liked “Mirror Image” with Vera Miles, though its final scene either makes the episode for some, or ruins it for others.

And while there’s not much original in “A Passage for Trumpet,” about a down-and-out musician given a second chance at life after a suicide attempt, it’s beautifully written and shot and features a poignant performance from Jack Klugman.

The 3 Worst

What You Need

Rod Serling loved his humble eccentrics – the simple souls who found joy and meaning in their lives in a harsh and cruel world. They were the central characters in first-season episodes like “Mr. Bevis” and “One for the Angels,” and here again, with Ernest Truex as a peddler who somehow always has exactly what his customers need. That gift is noticed by a vicious bully who tries to take advantage of the situation and lives (though not long) to regret it.

The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine

This was basically a small screen take on the film Sunset Boulevard with a supernatural twist at the end. Ida Lupino plays a former movie star who sits alone in her lavish mansion and spends her days watching the old movies in which she appeared. According to the website The Twilight Zone Vortex, Rod Serling held no love for this episode and considered it an all-around failure. I agree.

The Fever

Having lived in and around Las Vegas for decades I know that gambling addiction is no joke and is a subject that could have been explored in a TZ story. But this wasn’t it. The scene in which the fine actor Everett Sloan is chased by a slot machine until he falls to his death from a hotel balcony was just silly – an adjective that should never be associated with this series.

Which first season shows were your favorites?