Tandava's Guide to the Zone--2015-16--Part VI: January 2nd 12pm to Midnight

Please note: This entry is a work in progress. Check for updates each hour. Thanks!! 

And the  Zone goes on  – with Part VI of this year's whopping seven-part Guide to the Zone.

As mentioned in prior Parts I,  II, III,  IV, and  V he SyFy channel is airing the whole series -- all 156 episodes of The Twilight Zone in order, twice as many as the usual 80-90 that they show

Telly Savalas in the Fabulously Creepy "Living Doll", airing at 8:30pm

Over the past three days, we've gotten through Seasons One, Two, and Three (36, 29, and 37 episodes, respectively).

We are nearly done with Season Four, and at 6pm enter Season Five – the final season which contains some of the best ("Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" at 7 PM, and "Living Doll" at 8:30 PM) and some of the worst ("A Kind of Stopwatch" at 7:30 PM and "Uncle Simon" at 9:30 PM)

As always, at the top is a short list including the current Time Top 10, my personal favorites, other noteworthy episodes, and the episodes which have not been aired recently.

[Note, I'm picking up with Season Five and will update the descriptions for Season Four later.]

The colors marking these categories are:

(1) Episodes on the Time Top 10 List – Listed in red.

(2) My Personal Favorite Episodes – These are underrated gems with strong scripts and beautiful performances – in green.

(3) Episodes Worth Watching – These have flawed scripts or execution, but often have compelling performances and/or ideas – in blue.

(4) Episodes That Haven't Been Aired Recently – These may or may not be good, but they are worth watching just because they have been off the air for so long – in purple.

Happy Zoning!!

My Favorites – Short List
(Click the time to jump to the episode description.)

6:00 PM – In Praise Of Pip
6:30 PM – Steel
7:30 PM – Nightmare At 20,000 Feet
8:00 PM – Jockey
8:30 PM – Living Doll


Full List – With Descriptions

6:00 PM – In Praise Of Pip – S5.E1 | I LOVE this episode. I REALLY love this episode (and did I mention I love this episode?). Jack Klugman  delivers a top-notch, tragic performance as a dying no-good trying to do right by his serviceman son, Pip (a much less fearsome Billy Mumy). Sweet, sad magical ending.

6:30 PM  – Steel – S5.E2 | [Description to be added later]

7:00 PM – Nightmare At 20,000 Feet –  S5.E3 | "There's a man out on the wing!!" Shatner at his whiteknuckle best. #6 on the Time list.

7:30 PM – A Kind Of Stopwatch –  S5.E4 | Blabbering bore gets comeuppance via magical timepiece. Perhaps an inspiration for the 80s' silly Girl, the Gold Watch and Everything?

8:00 PM  – The Last Night of a Jockey –  S5.E5 | Mickey Rooney in the tour de force monologue of a ne'er-do-well jockey who is offered his deepest desire. TZ once again examines the "be careful what you wish for" theme, this time delivered powerfully by good writing the excellent Rooney.

8:30 PM – Living Doll – S5.E6 | "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. #1 on the Time list.

9:00 PM – The Old Man In The Cave – S5.E7 | Confused story set in a post-apocalyptic future of 1974 (!!!). Town listens to the “old man” until soldiers tell them not to be superstitious – and it doesn’t work out well for anyone. What’s the message? Don’t trust your own perceptions? Ugh. Only worth watching for a young James Coburn.

9:30 PM – Uncle Simon –  S5.E8 | Two despicable people in a screeching, unredeemable story. Sadistic eponymous Uncle berates greedy, gold-digging niece caretaker into an "accidental" (and fatal) lapse in care. Twist ending? Yeah, but who cares. By the time it's over you'll want to twist off your head. Geeks may get a kick out of the brief cameo of Forbidden Planet's Robby the Robot; the ambulatory prop also appears on "The Brain Center at Whipple's" (10:00 AM 1/3) and in miniature in "One for the Angels" (7:30 PM 12/30).

9:30 PM – Probe 7 Over and Out – S5.E9 | Stranded astronaut Richard Basehart, meets hostile alien female on deserted planet. She hurls rocks at him. Or maybe it's just foreplay. Now, what shall we call this place...? (Appropriately rhymes with "dearth.") The same story is better told in "Two" (5:30 AM 1/1).

10:00 PM – The 7th Is Made Up Of Phantoms – S5.E10 | Spooked National Guard tank crew gets drafted into Custer's 7th Cavalry. Big whoop.

10:30 PM – A Short Drink From A Certain Fountain – S5.E11 | Here we go again with the be-careful-what-you-wish-for theme. Rich geezer wants to keep up with his greedy vain young wife; comeuppance awaits them both.

11:30 PM – Ninety Years Without Slumbering – S5.E11 | 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.


Descriptions are Being Updated; Please Check Back Later 
(for now, the notable episodes are marked with asterisks)

1200p S4.E13 The New Exhibit *
100p S4.E14 Of Late I Think of Cliffordville *
200p S4.E15 The Incredible World of Horace Ford *
300p S4.E16 On Thursday We Leave for Home *
400p S4.E17 Passage on the Lady Anne *
500p S4.E18 The Bard *