Worst episode(s) - The Twilight Zone (1959) Discussion

[–] DoctorJuliaHoffman 8 years ago

Many shows have episodes that some people love/hate more than others. While I love every episode of "I Love Lucy" and "The Honeymooners", naturally there are episodes I prefer over others. But, I don't hate any of the episodes.

When it comes to shows such as "The Twilight Zone", "One Step Beyond" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", they were often marred by mixed-bag episodes. Different stories of these kinds vary like mystery/horror/fantasy short stories. It's hit or miss (depending on one's POV).

Unlike you, I do like "The Bewitchin' Pool". I know many can't stand June Foray's voice coming out of Mary Badham's mouth. Back in the day (when June Foray's voice was popping up everwhere) it was quite jarring. But, over the years I've accepted it and have learned to expect it with a smile.

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[–] Catbookss (13664) 8 years ago

Well said. Never was a fan of The Honeymooners, myself, but by far most of the I Love Lucy, TZ, One Step Beyond, and AH Presents episodes were great. Some better than others, of course, because what else could one reasonably expect?

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[–] Kjnetz (19) 8 years ago

Oh man, I really, really hate The Honeymooners. I always wanted to send him "to the moon".

Loved a lot of the AH Presents and Hour, especially An Unlocked Window. So scary! FUN scary.

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[–] Catbookss (13664) 8 years ago

Ha ha! I felt the same way. Ralph (was that his name?) was the one who deserved to be sent to the moon, not his wife or neighbors.

Wish I remembered the episode names. Don't recall An Unlocked Window, only that many AHP and TZ episodes were either scary or at least unsettling.

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[–] Kjnetz (19) 8 years ago

An Unlocked Window is the one with the two nurses caring for an ailing man in a big creepy house (the Psycho house, to be exact) during a raging storm with a strangler on the loose, who preys on, who else? Pretty young nurses!

If you haven't seen it, it's a must. Best ending ever! We screamed. Okay, I was about 12 when I saw it, but still...😲

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[–] richspenc 8 years ago

I totally agree with Sounds and silences being a terrible episode. Very annoying.

Bewitching pool, not my least favorite but not my favorite either, and I didn't understand why the kids had southern accents but the parents didn't.

I really liked Piano in the house.

I agree, the ones on videotape were not the best.

A couple other horrible ones were The mind and the matter (very annoying main character and some other sight gags such as him seeing everyone else look and act like him was awful), Night of the jockey (Mickey Rooney did nothing but stand in a room and yell and act angry whole ep), and From Agnus with love (that whole ep was a joke, and not a good funny joke).

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[–] WilliamCutting92 8 years ago

Usually the ones that have one person are bound to be bad. The Invaders comes to mind. And Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room.

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[–] gbennett5 8 years ago

Actually, "The Invaders" is an acknowledged classic; highly atmospheric, with a
stunning performance from the great Agnes Moorehead. Good script and nice twist,
as well.

To me, a true stinker is "Still Valley", especially when one considers that this
was produced during a still very creative time in the series. Simply awful.

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[–] AngularTurnip (3337) 8 years ago

What is so stunning about Moorehead's performance? I would really be interested in knowing.

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[–] Kjnetz (19) 8 years ago

I would, too. Her performance kind of makes me cringe, sorry. Don't mean to offend, we all like what we like. For example, I actually do like Still Valley...

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[–] wordsatplaytoday 8 years ago

Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room.

Agreed.
That was more of an Alfred Hitchcock episode than TZ.
There was nothing mysterious or supernatural about it as in all the other episodes.

Humans are not the only species on earth.
We just act like it.

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[–] gbennett5 8 years ago

First off, AHP was a quality series, and in ten years, never had as
many stinkers as TZ.

Secondly, TZ was much more than just the "supernatural."

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[–] rhs6358 8 years ago

Usually the ones that have one person are bound to be bad. The Invaders comes to mind. And Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room.

But "Nervous Man" had George! You know, as in "Boy, it's really a hot night isn't it, George?"

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[–] richspenc 8 years ago

Nervous man in 4 dollar room, the parts with George I liked cause he was a good, menacing character. But all the parts with him and his reflections in the mirror talking, I did not like.

The invaders was great. It was one of the classics with a great twist.

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[–] AngularTurnip (3337) 8 years ago

"Nervous Man" though has one of Mr. Serling's essential insults. He says of the titular "Nervous Man": " ... and where some men leave a mark of their lives ... this man leaves a blot, a dirty, discolored blemish to mark a cheap and undistinguished sojourn amongst his bettors."

"Where is Everybody" is a one-person show and it's a winner.

"I Sing The Body Electric," particularly since it was from the pen of Ray Bradbury.

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 8 years ago

Ray Bradbury could write a check and it would be a work of art.

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[–] AngularTurnip (3337) 8 years ago

I'm a huge Ray Bradbury fan (so was "The Twilight Zone" since he's referenced in both "A Stop at Willoughby" and "Walking Distance") but considering the final product if something besides a check occupied Bradbury's mind when he wrote "I Sing The Body Electric" I'd be very surprised.

If you want a Bradbury contribution to "The Twilight Zone" that's decent check out "The Burning Man" from the '80s series.

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 8 years ago

I, too, revere Brardbury. I by no means meant that he did the story for a paycheck. I meant that the most trivial thing he could imaginableynwrite would be art.

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[–] AngularTurnip (3337) 8 years ago

What do you think happen with "I Sing The Body Electric"? The first time I was going through the series I got so excited when I saw the episode coming up was by the estimable Mr. Bradbury. Imagine my surprise when I finished it and felt what I just sat through could have been written by anybody. "The Twilight Zone" owes such a huge debt to Mr. Bradbury and his contribution to it should have stood with the series' greats. So much potential was squandered here (which might explain why I rank it so low since while it's no "Cavender is Coming" it's so much harder to sit through owing to my higher expectations).

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[–] Kjnetz (19) 8 years ago

I know a lot of people love The Invaders and even though I do think the ending is pretty clever, I really do not enjoy this one.

Agree with your other choice, too.

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[–] Scarecrow-88 8 years ago

For me, Bewitchin' Pool is the major stinker of the show. I plan to watch Piano and Jungle next week thanks to this thread.

--
"Get the cheese to sickbay."

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[–] SidekickinWhiteFury 8 years ago

I Sing the Body Electric
King Nine Will Not Return
The Fugitive
The Seventh is Made Up of Phantoms
Come Wander With Me
The Lateness of the Hour
The Passerby
Spur of the Moment
The Incredible World of Horace Ford
Passage on the Lady Anne
I Dream of Genie
A Nice Place to Visit
Mr. Bevis
Cavender is Coming
Ninety Years Without Slumbering
Ring a Ding Girl
The Bewitchin' Pool
The Mighty Casey
A Thing About Machines
The Whole Truth
Mr. Dingle the Strong
The Fear
Static
Young Man's Fancy
Kick The Can
Long Distance Call
Showdown with Rance McGrew
From Agnes with Love
The Trade Ins
The Gift
Probe Seven Over and Out
The Long Morrow
Sounds and Silences

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[–] movieghoul 8 years ago

Agree lots of clinkers here, but Nice Place to Visit is a great episode. And all this list means that 2-3% of all episodes were bad, a pretty good ratio.

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[–] richspenc 8 years ago

I think that the episodes that are the worst are the ones where the main character is very unlikable such as A thing about machines, Sounds and silences, Escape clause, etc. I know that sometimes when the unlikable characters lose out in the end, it definitely improves the episode. But sometimes even so, some characters are really so unnecessarily miserable, complaining, and rude or so exaggeratingly cartoonish and ridiculous in their behavior that it still ruins the episodes.

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[–] Tristan_Booth 8 years ago

I think that the episodes that are the worst are the ones where the main character is very unlikable such as A thing about machines

However, sometimes one might like the episode because one likes the actor, even if the character is unlikable. I really like Richard Haydn, so I like (not love) "A Thing About Machines." On the other hand, I rarely watch "Living Doll" because I hate that step father so much (and I'm indifferent toward Telly Savalas).

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[–] richspenc 8 years ago

Oh I agree, I couldn't stand The living doll step dad either. He was another character that wanting to be mean and miserable right from the start for no apparent reason.
The living doll and It's a good life are the two TZ episodes where The Simpsons' versions were much better.

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[–] Jennie_Portrait 8 years ago

He was another character that wanting to be mean and miserable right from the start for no apparent reason.

Well, actually there was a reason. He married this beautiful woman with a lovely child. He fully had the expectation that they would have children of their own "together." But they are not able to have biological children of their own and he mentions this several times with seething resentment towards poor little Christie. It's not right and he is a total bastard. But that is what we know of his backstory.

___________________________________
Never say never...

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[–] richspenc 8 years ago

Yeh, that's right. I remember something about that now with the stepdad. But that character in Sounds and silences, he was something else. I think it was one of those episodes not meant to be taken seriously, like Cavender is coming. The Sounds and silences guy had an interesting reason in being obsessed with making noise, remember when he said that when he was a kid, his mother wouldn't let him eat cookies because of the chewing being too loud, that he always got fudge brownies instead?

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[–] Jennie_Portrait 8 years ago

because of the chewing being too loud, that he always got fudge brownies instead?

I'd prefer cheesecake and ice cream.

___________________________________
Never say never...

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[–] richspenc 8 years ago

Especially Rocky road. Or cherry chocolate chip with hot fudge and whipped cream.

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[–] Jennie_Portrait 8 years ago

All good-- caloric and quiet,,,,😀

___________________________________
Never say never...

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[–] doug65oh 8 years ago

Cheesecake? Damn the hour anyway. 

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[–] mgreen9715 8 years ago

This is a trick question because they're all good. Just some of them have a few mishaps overall.

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[–] [deleted] 8 years ago

Sounds and Silences was pretty lame.

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[–] AngularTurnip (3337) 8 years ago

Its only virtue is the main character's name: Roswell Flemington.

"I Dream of Genie" from Season Four is worse.

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[–] Kjnetz (19) 8 years ago

When I was a kid, I loved the Bewitching Pool. I didn't realize it was half Rocky Squirrel's voice til years later. Other than that, I don't think it's too awful. But, yes the dubbed parts are pretty bad.

I like A Piano in the House and the Jungle.

I do not like: Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room, Last Night of a Jockey, Steel, The Mighty Casey, The Mind and the Matter, Sounds and Silences, From Agnes with Love (I liked it as a kid though, strangely), The Invaders, Cavender is Coming, Mr. Bevis, and, sorry, I Sing the Body Electric (ducks).

But, overall so many more good episodes than bad.

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[–] AngularTurnip (3337) 8 years ago

Never understand the love for "The Invaders." Like "Jaws" or "Jurassic Park" (hell, most of Spielberg's movies) "The Invaders" makes more of an impact, I think, if you saw it as a kid.

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[–] Jennie_Portrait (804) 8 years ago

I don't understand the love for the Invaders either. Once you know the twist, that's pretty much it for me. Whenever it's on during a marathon, i take a break and fold laundry.

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[–] AngularTurnip (3337) 8 years ago

The lighting is good, so is the score, but the pacing is off and so is Agnes Moorehead's performance. Sure, the ending is a kick in the head but getting there is such a chore.

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[–] Jennie_Portrait (804) 8 years ago

I feel like "Mr. Bevis" and "Cavender is Coming" are the identical stories with just the genders reversed. Of the two, I actually like "Mr. Bevis." And I love "A Piano in the House."

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[–] Kjnetz (19) 8 years ago

And to top it off, they're both It's a Wonderful Life, TZ edition!

I agree Bevis is better, which is strange because I do love Carol Burnett.

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[–] MarilynManson (33) 8 years ago

Ray Bradbury episodes sucked

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[–] AngularTurnip (3337) 8 years ago

Which baffles me since if anything would seem like a sure-thing for "The Twilight Zone" it would be an adaptation of a Ray Bradbury story.

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