Last Week, David And I Traveled To A Dimension Between Time And Space!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                              "It is the middle ground between light and shadow,
                                                 between science and superstition, and it lies between
                                                the pit of man's fears, and the summit of his
                                                  knowledge.  This is the dimension of imagination.
                                                It is an area which we call 'The Twilight Zone'."
                                                    --Rod Serling

                                      On the evening of November 14th, FANTOM Events, at the Regal Union Square Theatre, off 14th Street, sponsored a three hour event, devoted to Rod Serling, and "The Twilight Zone."  It featured some episodes I had never seen, as well as those I had seen only bits and pieces of.

                                         Let's start with them.

                                       

"Walking Distance"--The forerunner to my personal favorite, "A Stop At Willoughby."  Gig Young plays a disillusioned ad exec who magically returns to the world of his childhood.  Only he does not fit in, because time has already happened for him.  He learns this in a scene with his father,, who finally understands, telling him to go back to where he came from, and look ahead, not back.

Superb, nostalgic; who among us has not wanted to visit our past, and do you recognize that

kid with Gig?  It is Ronnie Howard!

"Time Enough, At Last"--I groaned when I heard this one was being shown.  Anyone who is a serious reader can empathize with Burgess Meredith's brilliant performance.  And when those glasses fall off, I wanted to scream!  'Nuff said about this one!

"The Invaders"--I had always wanted to see this one.  Those who know Agnes Moorehead only as Endora, on "Bewitched" will get a chance to see what a truly brilliant actress she was.  It is a completely speechless, internalized performance, which very few out there were able to do, then, and I doubt only MERYL could do today.  While it does recall the "Trilogy Of Terror" segment, where Karen Black is menaced by a voodoo doll, this episode never goes into the realm of camp that the latter does.  Here, it is gripping and mesmerizing!

"The Nightmare At 20,000 Feet"-- This was the most classic of all the episodes shown.  This is the famous one, where William Shatner plays a paranoid patient, recently released from a hospital, and imagines--or does he?--seeing some kind of gremlin thing on the wing of his plane, outside the window.  When first presented, it was state of the art, so it creeped out a lot of people, but now, especially watching it on a big screen, the gremlin looks like nothing more than a lost cast member of the musical, "CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street"--I had seen this one re-done, as one of the many feeble attempts to reboot "The Twilight Zone."  But nothing succeeds, like the original.  This is the only time I have ever seen Claude Akins act, while Jack Weston and Ann Barton (who would later play the mother in 'Baby Jane!') are superb.  I have no doubt Serling, who was an intelligent man, had read Shirley Jackson's short story classic, "The Lottery," which I now realized this reminded me very much of.  Still, the message that the monsters are ourselves comes through with terror and skill!

"Eye Of The Beholder"--Baby Boomers, and those of a certain age, recall this as the one with Donna Douglas, (known especially as Elly May Clampett on "The Beverly Hillbillies!") in the role of Janet Tyler.  But did you know, darlings, there were two Janets--the bandaged up one is done by Maxine Stuart?  I have to wonder if Serling was influenced by DC Comics' creation of The Bizzarros--a community of chalk white skinned people, where the opposite of earthy things is practiced--"Us hate beauty.  Us love ugliness.  Is big crime to make anything perfect on Bizzarro world."  The big reveal, for Donna, is pretty much the same--she is the ugly one, while the attractive ones around here wear faces identical to another, and better "Twilight Episode" called "The Masks."

Rod Serling loved taking stabs at conformity of all kinds, and he really nails it here!  Not one of my favorites, but a great episode, worth showing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"To Serve Man"-- I have only one thing to say about this one!  I hope Julia Child saw it!!!!!!!!!  She would have LOVED it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, everyone has their favorites, so there is no pleasing everyone.   But the house was packed, and the theater screwed us, by listing the starting time as 8PM.  We were smart enough to arrive one hour before--at 7--and so, did not miss a thing.

After these gems, the documentary, though interesting, and with comments from Serling's friends and associates, including his daughter, Jodi, was anti-climactic.  Although two of my favorite episodes were referenced in it, and I wish they had been shown--"A Stop At Willoughby," and "It's A Good Life."  There was also talk of Serling's dramas--"Patterns," his indictment of Corporate America, which still stands up today, and "Requiem For A Heavyweight."  He was not just a one-note writer!

We hardly go out at night, but it was a worthwhile evening.

But, really, how can you hold a "Twilight Zone" event, with a theater full of queens, and not show anything with Anne Francis????????????????????????