Twilight Zone Season 5 Rod Serling scripts

Started by Karl Henning, March 13, 2024, 06:50:51 AM

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Which one from among these is your favorite?

"In Praise of Pip"
1 (25%)
"Uncle Simon"
0 (0%)
"A Kind of Stopwatch"
1 (25%)
"The 7th Is Made up of Phantoms"
0 (0%)
"The Old Man in the Cave"
0 (0%)
"A Short Drink From a Certain Fountain"
0 (0%)
"The Masks"
1 (25%)
"The Last Night of a Jockey "
0 (0%)
"Sounds and Silences"
0 (0%)
"The Fear"
0 (0%)
"The Brain Center at Whipple's"
0 (0%)
"The Long Morrow"
0 (0%)
"I Am the Night​—Color Me Black"
0 (0%)
"Probe 7​—Over and Out"
1 (25%)
"The Jeopardy Room"
0 (0%)
"Mr Garrity and the Graves"
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 4

Voting closes: May 12, 2024, 06:50:51 AM

T. D.

#20
Quote from: Karl Henning on March 19, 2024, 05:53:45 AMIf you give it a fresh shot, I'd be interested to hear your current thoughts. I think the negative voting is driven partly by a "This is the swan song for this great show?!" factor. I certainly think it better than the aggregate review suggests. I find the drama poignant.

I watched it again. Didn't have quite the same magic as an oldster: the acting (especially the parents) was too unsubtle with the siblings also a bit over the top.

Couldn't rate it among the season's best, but still enjoyed it. Definitely poignant, and there was a nervous moment during the siblings' first visit to Aunt T when one wondered whether Aunt T could possibly be malevolent in some way. (After the kids left and Aunt T went to look out her window.) I didn't catch that subtlety as a 6 or 7 year old.  ;) And no, she was thoroughly good.

Karl Henning

Quote from: T. D. on March 19, 2024, 04:44:27 PMI watched it again. Didn't have quite the same magic as an oldster: the acting (especially the parents) was too unsubtle with the siblings also a bit over the top.

Couldn't rate it among the season's best, but still enjoyed it. Definitely poignant, and there was a nervous moment during the siblings' first visit to Aunt T when one wondered whether Aunt T could possibly be malevolent in some way. (After the kids left and Aunt T went to look out her window). I didn't catch that subtlety as a 6 or 7 year old.  ;) And no, she was thoroughly good.
Agreed: not the season's best, but a good deal better than the consensus allows.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

#22
"Uncle Simon" is not my favorite, yet one must concede it to be acidically well written. The show is fundamentally a dysfunctional family of two, a curmudgeonly uncle and his long-suffering yet equally loveless niece. In a wry way they deserve one another. Still, considering the pains Uncle Simon took to build the cruel joke which he posthumously plays upon Barbara. I admire the episode more than enjoy it, but I must admit that the possibility of selecting it as a top show is not a crazy hypothetical. Indeed, the episode was positively reviewed in more than one periodical at the time.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

LKB

Quote from: Karl Henning on March 19, 2024, 07:41:56 PM"Uncle Simon" is not my favorite, yet one must concede it to be acidically well written. The show is fundamentally a dysfunctional family of two, a curmudgeonly uncle and his long-suffering yet equally loveless niece. In a wry way they deserve one another. Still, considering the pains Uncle Simon took to build the cruel joke which he posthumously plays upon Barbara. I admire the episode more than enjoy it, but I must admit that the possibility of selecting it as a top show is not a crazy hypothetical. Indeed, the episode was positively reviewed in more than one periodical at the time.

" If my circuits become overheated, I'll throw you on the floor! "

(  How they might have updated the hot chocolate line.  ;)  )
Mit Flügeln, die ich mir errungen...

Mandryka

#24
I think one reason I enjoyed The Bewitchin' Pool was the authenticity of the childrens' response to their parents failed marriage, especially where one says to the other "they're going to hurt each other", and the way they blame themselves for the all the hatred. I thought the portrayal of the mother was pretty good actually. My own parents were like that, especially my mother, so maybe I'm a bit too invested in the theme.

Good understanding of kids' relation to cake too. Irrelevently, in the Uk we have the expression "cakeism"

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cakeism

I also was intrigued by the strange accents,
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

T. D.

#25
Quote from: Mandryka on March 20, 2024, 04:57:08 AMI think one reason I enjoyed The Bewitchin' Pool was the authenticity of the childrens' response to their parents failed marriage, especially where one says to the other "they're going to hurt each other", and the way they blame themselves for the all the hatred. I thought the portrayal of the mother was pretty good actually. My own parents were like that, especially my mother, so maybe I'm a bit too invested in the theme.

Good understanding of kids' relation to cake too. Irrelevently, in the Uk we have the expression "cakeism"

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/cakeism

I also was intrigued by the strange accents,

The accents were indeed weird. I was trying to locate the house. California came to mind (clearly warm weather, near reasonably large and cosmopolitan city per mother's remarks), but the children's accents were more or less Southern.

One of the reasons I loved and related to the episode at the time was the family dynamics. I think the episode / script was far ahead of its time (1964) in addressing divorce and implications.

Karl Henning

Last night was a "7" Double-feature: "Probe 7—Over and Out" and "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms."

Both very fine scripts, I'd forgotten just how good.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

Tonight, "A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain," which Serling based on an idea by Lou Holtz. I don't see this making anyone's short list of TZ's Best, but the conclusion is wrily comic.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

I didn't really remember "The Long Morrow," though maybe that will change now: one of the most poignant shows in the series. Shan't say more.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

T. D.

Quote from: Karl Henning on March 21, 2024, 06:45:01 AMLast night was a "7" Double-feature: "Probe 7—Over and Out" and "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms."

Both very fine scripts, I'd forgotten just how good.

I didn't recognize either episode offhand, but googled the titles.
Upon reading plot synopses, "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" is a classic episode I recall most vividly (aside from the title  :laugh: ).
Surely one of the strongest of the season. Eerie aurally (near quiet) and visually (isolation), with a sense of foreboding that ratchets up as the show progresses.

relm1

Quote from: Karl Henning on March 25, 2024, 07:32:55 PMI didn't really remember "The Long Morrow," though maybe that will change now: one of the most poignant shows in the series. Shan't say more.

I always loved that one and found the ending so tragic. 

Cato

Quote from: Karl Henning on March 21, 2024, 06:45:01 AMLast night was a "7" Double-feature: "Probe 7—Over and Out" and "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms."

Both very fine scripts, I'd forgotten just how good.



Probe 7 received my vote!   8)


Quote from: T. D. on March 25, 2024, 07:44:26 PMUpon reading plot synopses, "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" is a classic episode I recall most vividly (aside from the title  :laugh: ).

Surely one of the strongest of the season. Eerie aurally (near quiet) and visually (isolation), with a sense of foreboding that ratchets up as the show progresses.


Yes, one of the episodes which made choosing a "best episode" difficult!



"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)