So I made some changes to Part I and Part II of my New Year's Twilight Zone Guide, which reviews all of the Twilight Zone episodes to be aired on SyFy this weekend.
I added the "blue" category to Part I (i.e. episodes that are not great, but are worth watching for good performances). And, once again, if you are reading this entry in my FB Notes and want to see all the pretty colors, please view it here.
Plus I added IMDB links to all the actor and series' names, as well as jump links to the short lists in both parts so you can quickly get to the descriptions without scrolling.
Now, if you recall, Part I covers episodes airing New Year's Eve from 8am through Midnight.
Part II covers episodes on New Year's Day from Midnight through 7pm.
Part III covers episodes airing 7pm through 6am Sunday morning -- and SyFy has indeed saved many of the best for last! There are so many good episodes that my "short" list is not so short!!
It includes:
(1) Episodes on the Time Top 10 List -- These are the acknowledged classics; titles and times are red with bold underline.
(2) My Personal Favorite Episodes -- These are underrated gems with strong scripts and beautiful performances; titles and times are fuchsia with bold italics.
(3) Episodes Worth Watching -- These have flawed scripts or execution, but often have strong performances and/or ideas; titles and times are blue with bold.
My Favorites -- Not-So-Short List
7:00 PM -- The Invaders
7:30 PM -- Five Characters In Search Of An Exit
8:00 PM -- The Odyssey Of Flight 33
8:30 PM -- Where Is Everybody?
9:00 PM -- To Serve Man
9:30 PM -- Time Enough At Last
10:00 PM -- Nightmare At 20,000 Feet
10:30 PM -- Living Doll
11:30 PM -- The Obsolete Man
12:00 AM -- The After Hours
12:30 AM -- Death's-Head Revisited
1:00 AM -- Two
1:30 AM -- Mirror Image
2:00 AM -- The Changing Of The Guard
3:00 AM -- The Lonely
4:30 AM -- Nothing In The Dark
Full List -- With Descriptions
7:00 PM -- The Invaders -- Agnes Moorehead's virtuoso 25-minute wordless monologue; riveting with a slick twist at the end. #4 on the Time list
7:30 PM -- Five Characters In Search Of An Exit -- A soldier, a clown, a tramp, a bagpiper and a ballerina wake to find themselves in a doorless empty room. Well-played and engaging.
8:00 PM -- The Odyssey Of Flight 33 -- A 707 picks up a freak tail wind and travels back in time. Run-of-the-mill by modern sci-fi standards, but notable for its apparently realistic cockpit dialogue created by Serling's aviation writer brother, Robert Serling.
8:30 PM -- Where Is Everybody? -- Guy finds himself alone in an empty town, with hints of residents recently present (lit cigarette in ashtray, etc.). Eerie and amusing, most worth watching because this is the pilot that sold the series to CBS.
9:00 PM -- To Serve Man -- Aliens come to earth offering solutions to all the world's woes; their trouble-entendre mission: "To serve man." An undisputed classic, #3 on the Time list.
9:30 PM -- Time Enough At Last -- Burgess Meredith at his lovable best as a devoted bookworm constantly thwarted by his boss, wife, and everyone else -- until a touch of armageddon gives him new lease on life. #9 on the Time list.
10:00 PM -- Nightmare At 20,000 Feet -- "There's a man out on the wing!!" Shatner at his whiteknuckle best. #7 on the Time list.
10:30 PM -- Living Doll -- "My name is Talky Tina -- and you'd better be nice to me!" Telly Savalas takes on June Foray's creepy voiced doll. This one gave me nightmares. #6 on the Time list.
11:00 PM -- A Stop At Willoughby -- Beleagured exec finds himself in his childhood hometown. Similar to "Walking Distance" but trades insight for sentiment. Some people really like this one; I can do without it.
11:30 PM -- The Obsolete Man -- The superb Burgess Meredith is back to his book-loving ways, this time as a librarian in a dystopic totalitarian future, where both he and his books are declared obsolete.
12:00 AM -- The After Hours -- Stunning Anne Francis finds herself wandering the non-existent floors of a creepy department store. (Wait... is that mannequin watching me??)
12:30 AM -- Death's-Head Revisited -- Former Nazi captain's trot down memory lane via Dachau brings him to some unexpected denizens. Top-notch performances by Joseph Schildkraut and Oscar Beregi Jr.
1:00 AM -- Two -- Apocalypse survivors Charles Bronson and Elizabeth Montgomery approach each other warily in this sparsely written, beautifully acted episode.
1:30 AM -- Mirror Image -- Frightened bus traveller Vera Miles (best known as Janet Leigh's Psycho sister) is sure an evil doppelgänger is trying to replace her. Top-notch acting and direction.
2:00 AM -- The Changing Of The Guard -- It's A Wonderful Life meets Goodbye, Mr. Chips, TZ-style. Sweet, sentimental, with beautiful acting by Donald Pleasence.
2:30 AM -- Twenty-Two -- Recovering dancer is troubled by prescient dreams. "Room for one more, honey!" Shrill performances, flat writing. Mediocre tale best suited to Internet urban myth.
3:00 AM -- The Lonely -- Convict Jack Warden spends lonely days on an asteroid until his supply ship pal brings him a realistic robot -- in the ethereally beautiful form of a young Jean Marsh (best known as Rose from Upstairs, Downstairs). A touching, romantic story. Features Ted Knight as an obnoxious crew member.
3:30 AM -- Dead Man's Shoes -- Bum dons dead gangster's wing-tips and finds himself stepping into the thug's revenge-thirsty life. You might feel bad for the bum if you find yourself caring about anything in this one.
4:00 AM -- Hocus-Pocus and Frisby -- A braggart gas station attendant's tales of prowess are believed by some seriously gullible aliens who want to take him home as a specimen of Earth's finest.
4:30 AM -- Nothing In The Dark -- Aging Gladys Cooper tries to keep Death at bay by shutting her door -- until angelically beautiful Robert Redford shows up. I guarantee, it's not his acting that convinces her to open up..... Worth watching for her nuanced performance -- and his mesmerizing good looks!
5:00 AM -- Ninety Years Without Slumbering -- Ed Wynn fears that if his heirloom grandfather clock stops ticking, so will his heart! Pragmatic pregnant daughter sends him to a shrink for some serious de-Zoning. Too bad. According to Marc Scott Zicree, the original superior script stayed within (and was worthy of) the Zone.
5:30 AM -- The Last Rights Of Jeff Myrtlebank -- Small town home boy James Best wakes up at his own funeral, and seems much improved by the experience! Cute, folksy tale.
No comments:
Post a Comment