Episode 2
One For The Angels feels a bit lighthearted because there doesn't seem to be an awful lot at stake. Nobody wants to die of course especially if they're feeling healthy, but the somewhat comical tone takes the sting out of it.
Mr. Bookman manages to cheat Mr. Death, but then without warning Mr. Death chooses Bookman's replacement, a young girl. And then it's not so lighthearted anymore.
I really love this episode with its unexpected little moments of poignancy, but what really sells it is the dialogue between Bookman and Death.
It kinda reminded me of Jack and Verge in Lars von Trier's
The House That Jack Built (2018).
Episode 3
Mr. Denton On Doomsday.....well, I just didn't get it. I liked Jeanne Cooper as the icy saloon girl with a heart of gold.
Episode 4
The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine should have been my cup of tea because I love that freaky stuff about people disappearing into paintings and snow globes and whatnot but the fact that former screen legend Barbara Jean simply
wishes it makes it look random.
I guess I'm supposed to keep in mind that that very wish could only be granted in that particular "Twilight" moment, but the impact is experienced by outsiders, not Barbara Jean herself. And I hated it that Martin Balsam kept calling her "Barbie".
Episode 5
Walking Distance features a restless "Mad Man" who's going to learn that it's pointless to wallow in nostalgia, and that being grateful for the good things that have happened is more important than grieving the loss of it - and the only way to create memories is to live in the present, just like his younger self did.
Time travel was, is and always will be a fascinating concept but this is much more of a character drama. I find it impossible
not to love it.
Gig Young....yeah, he was also in one of my favourite films
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Episode 6
Escape Clause is the first truly nasty story in the Twilight Zone series, and also the first one with a big twist. And yet, it's also the funniest episode so far.
David Wayne plays a selfish hypochondriac who's constantly bitching at this suffering wife. I'm a nice person and that's why I felt sorry for her but at the same time I couldn't help but chuckle.
I thought the story was about to reveal that the wife was the real sick one since the doctor prescribed her vitamines - much to her husband's jealousy and outrage - but no, she wasn't. Well let's say there was no time to find out because she
died when she tried to stop her husband jumping from the roof in order to prove his immortality.
A very entertaining episode.
Episode 7
The Lonely deals with the ongoing dilemma: is it possible to love and to be loved by a non-biological person? I think the most recent version was Spike Jonze's
Her (2013).
It's a shocking sight to see the hardware technology underneath that friendly face, although a human face been shot to pieces probably doesn't look
much better.
In a strange way I found this episode more "Western" than episode 3, and I think I'm going to remember it.
And that was disc 1.