The Twilight Zone Hall of Fame

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I forgot the opening line.
Twilight Zone Hall of Fame Recap

Well, seeing as we're near the end I'd like to briefly recap the episodes nominated like I intend to do with every Hall of Fame. This particular Hall of Fame has been interesting - I've enjoyed everyone's reviews - but it was hard to keep up with current conversations because I avoided reviews (and discussion) of episodes I hadn't seen yet like the plague. The Twilight Zone is so spoiler-sensitive and spoiler-centric that coming in blind is certainly the only way to watch it - everything apart from the Season 1 and revival episodes I hadn't seen before, and even then there were some Season 1 nominations that had departed my memory.

I hope another Twilight Zone Hall of Fame trundles along one day (soon) - there are more great Jack Klugman performances hidden amongst all the episodes it seems. He was great in A Game of Pool, but Jonathan Winters in a straight role stole the episode from him, where we learn that becoming the best at something has a particularly crushing burden - even in the afterlife. I liked it. Most of us liked A Passage for Trumpet a great deal, and while Klugman's performance in that was absolutely terrific (possibly the best performance in all the nominated episodes) the story itself let me down a little. There was a conversation about why he was the living man amongst ghosts, and I think it was to point out that as sad a character as he was, he was truly alive because he had a passion in his life - while others, perhaps happier, nevertheless sleepwalk through it. A Nice Place to Visit was another piece showing us the downside of wish fulfillment. Just imagine, Henry Francis 'Rocky' Valentine is still there to this day, trying to figure a way to con the Devil into allowing a little danger and chance back into his now empty existence. Middle of the road Twilight Zone for me. A Stop At Willoughby had a conclusion that is all kinds of awesome - did Gart know that he was going to die by visiting this quaint old town with it's name borrowed from his eventual undertaker? And just how many Twilight Zone characters are named Gart? We went through a few just in this nominated bunch. I liked A Stop At Willoughby a lot. The After Hours swings from spooky and chilling to warm and feel-good with a bit of humour to cap it off with - it has always stuck in my memory from the first time I saw it. An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge is a great short film, and is certainly unique as a kind of "adopted" episode. I think it will still do well. And When the Sky Was Opened is quintessential Twilight Zone, not to mention gripping science fiction. Definitely got a tick from me. The Encounter seemed to be the most controversial pick, with most people agreeing that apportioning guilt to Arthur by having his father participate in the raid on Pearl Harbor a mistake. It was certainly a dark episode. The Invaders was incredible - a classic episode that everyone seemed to enjoy - I loved it, while It's a Good Life I consider to be the best episode of The Twilight Zone ever made - I'm cheering it on and hope it wins and makes it into the Hall of Fame. The Midnight Sun impressed in it's unnerving 'end of the world' manner, while The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street is recognized as a classic and emblematic of the era it was made in. There's Nothing in the Dark but Robert Redford - the perfect disguise for Death when he comes to take reluctant old ladies away. I've warmed to that episode since I saw it. I really enjoyed Murray Hamilton in One for the Angels as Death, who always attracts the best actors it seems. Time Enough At Last is perhaps the most remembered episode from the original series. I think it's okay, and I'm curious to see how it does. Walking Distance taught us all not to pine for a return to the past, and Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up? was by far the most light-hearted episode nominated. Only one 1985 revival episode was nominated and going by everyone's comments it doesn't measure up to the original series and will be last on most ballots and dead-last in the count.

That was longer than I anticipated...
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The Monsters are Due on Maple Street


I feel like if they ever do a TZ mini-series this is a great episode to base it on. Basically a small street ends up losing power and the neighbors quickly devolve into crazy people. The cast is very solid, they do a good job giving us different versions of 50's dad.


I also really like how they shot this episode, they use montage which I don't think they've used in other episodes. That makes this stand out a bit more. While the messaging is a bit heavy handed and I wish the Aliens would be a bit more creative it was still a great episode.





And When the Sky Was Open

Sometimes the best drama can be done in a single room. In And When the Sky was Open three astronauts return to earth...one has a broken leg and is stuck in bed the other two go to a bar. At the bar one of the astronauts disappears and everyone acts like he never existed.

Now this is a very predictable and dark story...doesn't make it a bad one though. It reminded me a lot of the movie I saw recently called Old in that it really dives into peoples mortality. I do think they could have made this into a great hour long episode because the three act structure of the story is great but it could have been elongated.

But damnit I wanted to know about the new school bonds issued.



@PHOENIX74 I read your recap and just wanted to say it was nicely written and a good idea too. I liked that you had a positive vibe and something brief but interesting to say about each of the episodes.

and yes we need a TZHOFII





A Nice Place To Visit

A crook ends up shot and living his best life or is it in this episode of The Twilight Zone. The two man story is a common trope in Twilight Zone episodes and while A Passage for Trumpet bored me this was at the very lease enjoyable. Johnny Valentine is very charismatic figure and this version of Hell is pretty great.

I do find it a little hard to believe he would only be bored eating the best food, sleeping with beuatiful women and doing whatever he wanted for a month...would have been a better kicker if it was a year or 10 or 100...but still this was a hoot.



[IMG]https://miro.medium.com/max/1000/1*8ibCTyVrTAD23Aq8N9KlFw.png[/IMG]

The Midnight Sun

This is such a great classic concept, a city is evacuating as the Sun is permanently heating the earth. A pair of women are the last people left in an apartment complex. The second act twist of a crazed man searching for water kinda falls flat to me but the twist of having the planet cool down without a sun was great.

It's very much a mixed bag type episode but the highs are really good even if the low kinda sucks. Still love this episode.



It's a Good Life

This is a dark episode, what makes this so good is what you can't see. This is the story of a six year old boy who has incredible powers. He's taken and isolated his town and now he gets to do whatever he wants with the animals, people, and weather.

Part of what makes this episode so good is that all the actors get to work on one note..terror. Everyone is scared of the child and they play it great. It's a shame we don't get sequels because I would love to see 4-5 episodes with this character.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé




Season 1 Episode 2: Wordplay/Dreams For Sale/Chameleon

Broken into three mini-episodes the revisited version of Twilight Zone during the Eighties was a nice bit of Fan Fiction but like a lot of fan fiction, never quite slips into what makes the original all that we love and cherish.

Wordplay does have a good premise and Klein and Potts do hold their own.

I have always been fascinated by Meg Foster's light grey eyes and would have enjoyed a little more of her in Dreams for Sale though the glitches were best left as a one-time thing.

Chameleon COULD have been something intriguing if not for the characters acting more like they belonged in a mid-level office building than scientists.
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"I want mine to win!"

But seriously, I'm not sure. I thought it would be "Time Enough at Last" as soon as I saw it on the list, but not everyone ranked it as a classic.



Which episode do you guys think won?
Not mine Which is totally OK, I went with noms of TZ episodes that weren't that well known. I actually just forgot what my third nom was? To lazy to go look. I know there was the two Jack Klugman episodes, but the third has evaporated from my mind.



Which episode do you guys think won?
Hard to say. There was a lot of great episodes. Maybe The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street? Or Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?

Maybe there will be a twist ending and none of the episodes were real and we never watched them at all...




"I want mine to win!"

But seriously, I'm not sure. I thought it would be "Time Enough at Last" as soon as I saw it on the list, but not everyone ranked it as a classic.
Was yours that one? That might win, so might the Midnight Sun and The Invaders the one with Agnes Moorehead. I think mine will come in towards the bottom. The one that everyone seemed to love but me was the Gig Young episode Walking Distance it'll probably do good too.



Also, it was a real blast hosting this Hall and getting to revisit some episodes I haven't seen in a while. A few people requested for a part 2 so, if enough people express interest in it, I might host it in the future (unless someone else wants to host it, that is). After this Hall ends though, I'm going to take a break from hosting. I'm currently in my last semester of college and, after it ends, I'll be busy with looking for a job.



Hard to say. There was a lot of great episodes. Maybe The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street? Or Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?

Maybe there will be a twist ending and none of the episodes were real and we never watched them at all...
Ha