We all see them, the drunks, the ones that can barely function in society, and for some reason clean up their act for a month to be the mall store Santa. This type of gig is only reserved for those that want to help others, but when entering the Twilight Zone, something magical happens, when you’re down and out.
This episode from the second season of the series is called “The Night of the Meek” and we see a bum, for all intents and purposes trying to walk through the night and out of trouble. He is dirty, he is not welcome and when the sad clown goes down, he is met with Johnny Law. The man gets nearly thrown into jail, but in the course of his night, ends up becoming, the man in the suit.
The episode is a nice welcome change to the series, where most twists end up being cruel and unusual to the protagonist. Not this time, the twilight zone really makes for quite the story and Serling ends it with a little warning for all of us children, that the meek are in fact great, and should be considered in these modern times of ours.
This episode aired on December 23, 1960 and was written by Rod Serling. The actors were Art Carney, John fielder, Robert P. Lieb, Val Avery, Meg Wyllie, Kay Cousins, and Burt Mustin. The unusual story was filmed with a very different camera approach that proliferates the second season, but was later wiped out for later seasons. This is a classic tale for Christmas, one that sends a cool message for the down and out.
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