If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Those wise words would have done CBS a world of good back in the ‘60s duringThe Twilight Zone’s second season. The show — a sci-fi/horror anthology series — was a smash-hit with audiences and its parent network in every way but one: the budget. By Season 2, each episode of the now-iconic show was clocking in at $65,000 a piece. That’s roughly $750,000 per episode. (Still cheaper thanAndor, though.)
Unhappy with the cost, CBS made the budget-conscious decision to shoot six of Season 2’s episodes on videotape, rather than film. The choice was decried by series creatorRod Serling,who saidthe move was neither “fish nor fowl.” Videotape was a lower-quality medium and severely restricted the creative bounds of the show. The camera couldn’t move as much, and due to how difficult videotape was to edit, cuts had to be made in-camera as the episode was filmed. This gave the six episodes a cheap, soap-opera look. Along with the limited locations they were able to film in, the combination of struggles made for some very ugly-looking episodes — and proved to be all for naught, as the decision only saved CBS around $30,000 for all six episodes. Oof.
The Twilight Zone
6“The Lateness of the Hour”
Season 2, Episode 8
A young girl grows concerned that her family’s over-reliance on their robotic servants will have dire consequences for them. Jana (Inger Stevens) feels trapped in her family’s home — she’s never been allowed to leave it, to step foot in the real world. When she eventually convinces her father to retire the servants, she is horrified to discover that she, too, is a robot. She was built by Dr. William Loren (John Hoyt) after he and his wife (Irene Tedrow), were unable to conceive a child. Jana’s distress over her inability to feel anything leads her to break down, and Dr. Loren swiftly erases her memories and instead appoints her the new maid of the house.
The episode features some classic sci-fi twists and turns, made all the more special by the fact thatthey’re actually establishing those twists as time-honored tropes of the genre for the first time.Jana’s concern for her family’s isolation due to technology is eerily prescient, but so too is her father’s almost nonchalant attitude towards his artificial “child.” Technology has taken away a bit of Dr. Loren’s humanity — and he clearly has no interest in getting in back.
5“The Night of the Meek”
Season 2, Episode 11
The meek shall inherit the Earth! When Santa impersonator Henry Corwin (Art Carney) decides to drink away his anguish over not being able to provide gifts for the impoverished people he lives with, he’s sacked by his employer. But fortune quickly turns around for Corwin: he discovers a magical bag that allows him to gift anything the receiver desires — if they’re not naughty, that is. Corwin delights in his ability to provide for those in need and wishes to be able to do the same thing every year. That wish is granted by an elf, who leads Corwin away in a sleigh to fulfill his new destiny as the real Santa.
“The Night of the Meek” is a beautiful, empathetic explorationof what the kindest of souls will do when given the proper means to help others. At no point does Corwin think of pulling something for himself from the bag — no, he merely wants to give away as much as he can.The world could use more Corwins, and more stories of people like him.
4“The Whole Truth”
Season 2, Episode 14
A smooth-talking used car salesman finds himself unable to lie after acquiring an antique Ford the previous owner claims is “haunted.” Harvey Hunnicut (Jack Carson) is forced to tell the truth about everything, from the quality of the cars he sells (all lemons) to why he really comes home late to his wife (he’s playing poker). He must rid himself of the car. A local politician who obviously turns down buying the car gives him an idea: sell it to an enemy politician. Hunnicut does — he sells it to Soviet leaderNikita Khrushchev, and presumably changes the course of history.
The almost charming honesty of the American politician is the kind of pro-American sentiment that defined the mid-20th century.It’s a tongue-in-cheek jokethat wouldn’t be out of place onSNLthese days…for better, or for worse. Speaking of comedy: one has to wonder if some of the inspiration forLiar, Liarcame from this particular episode.
3“Twenty-Two”
Season 2, Episode 17
Professional dancer Liz Powell (Barbara Nichols) just can’t stop having nightmares. She’s been hospitalized for exhaustion, but she finds little rest in sleep. In her nightmares, she knocks over a glass of water that shatters, then follows the shadow of a nurse to the hospital morgue, where a night nurse (Arline Sax) tells her there’s room for one more. Liz is assured the nightmare is just that, and that nothing she’s experiencing in her dreams is real. Surely her knowing the morgue is room number 22 — despite having never visited in the waking world — is a fluke. She eventually leaves the hospital and attempts to travel home, where she lives out another version of her dream in an airport. Her flight number? 22.
Sometimes, the very best television episodes are the ones that don’t have definitive conclusions.Why was Liz having the dream, and was any of it real? Was she ever really awake at all? No one knows, and that’swhere the fun of thisTwilight Zoneepisode lies— it will forever be open for interpretation by viewers. Debated forevermore.
Season 2, Episode 20
Ed Lindsay is a boarding house resident who longs for entertainment with substance. He stumbles across his old radio and is delighted to discover it still plays programs and music from the 1930s and 40s. The catch? Only he can hear it, and the radio station playing his old favorites went off the air years ago. Fellow resident and old flame, Vinnie (Carmen Mathews), implores Ed to leave the past — and his obsession with the radio — behind. Ed refuses. He finds himself listening to an old love song he used to dance with Vinnie to, and calls for her to join him. When she does,the two are apparently transported back in time to the 1940s, and swear to do things differently this time around.
“Static” is all about those lost chances. Ed never got it together enough to be a good partner for Vinnie, and Vinnie couldn’t save him from himself.But with a little magic, the two are given a chance to try again.Aw, romance.
1“Long Distance Call”
Season 2, Episode 22
Billy’s (Bill Mumy) ailing grandmother (Lili Darvas) gifts him with a toy telephone for his fifth birthday. She passes not long after, and Billy’s parents grow concerned that Billy seems to be spending all his time talking his “grandmother” on the toy. While his parents attend his grandmother’s funeral, Billy attempts to run in front of a car, saying he was compelled to do it but doesn’t know why. His father, Chris (Philip Abbott), explains to his wife, Sylvia (Patricia Smith), that his mother was so attached to him and their son due to the loss of his siblings early in life. Sylvia later accidentally breaks the toy, and in a fit of anger, Billy runs from the house and is found floating in the fountain. Chris grabs the phone and begs his mother to give Billy back, telling her that her love for him should mean she wants him to live a full life. Billy magically awakens, revived once more.
Grief and science fiction, fantasy, and horror all go hand in hand.It’s easier to explore the complexities of such a heart-wrenching experiencethrough a lens of unreality, allowing viewers to see into a world beyond and find comfort in it. While Billy will miss his grandmother, her love for him and her son was enough to let her own grief go and allow selflessness to replace selfishness.
