MovieChat Forums > The Twilight Zone (1959) Discussion > Name a half hour episode that could have...

Name a half hour episode that could have also worked in the hour long format


The Trade-Ins

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Walking Distance. I think it could have been fleshed out a bit more by providing more background about what Martin Sloan had going on in his adult life that made him long to return to the past.

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I'd go with that one too, I think. It was wonderful as a short episode, but might have been even just a little better given an extra 25 minutes. The only question is what to add and where?

I keep thinking of "Patterns" the television episode alongside "Patterns" the film. In the film I've always thought they added about 20 minutes too much!

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It would be interesting to see what caused Martin Sloan to hop in his car and drive as far away from work as possible in the first place. In the similar "A Stop At Willoughby" Gart's boss yells "Push! Push! Push!" one too many times for Gart's liking causing him to yell back "fat man" before beating a hasty retreat. Perhaps Martin had a similar meltdown while at work. But unlike Gart's outburst Martin's leads to his dismissal. We could be observing at the start of "Walking Distance" a man who has just wrecked a career. Who knows where he'll drive to next after Homewood. He could chart a course for Oblivion like Gart ultimately does in "Willoughby."

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Definitely not Shadow Play or A Nice Place To Visit.

Maybe Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up? It could have started on the bus, shown us the characters interacting, had some scenes to establish the location, set the tone, allowed the viewer to settle in for a while prior to the diner part of the episode. How, I can't say, but I think it could have been done.

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I agree. People are alike all over seems it could work or even it's a good life showing more about his the aliens or farmers live.

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Elegy, though it's a sad tale in the end might have worked as an hour long. Something about the setup, with the astronauts wandering around the earth-like asteroid (I think that's what it was) was strangely seductive, even reassuring, even with all the "frozen" people. It was very like Willoughby or Walking Distance's Homewood,--and then bada bing! The ending would have been even more of a shocker, what with the benevolent seeming Mr. Wickwire turning into something very different what he appeared to be over a longer period of time.

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The hour long format would have allowed the audience to better acquaint themselves with the astronauts, making their ultimate fate all the more poignant.

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