The Twilight Zone Season 1 Episode 7 The Lonely

A Prisoner Falls In Love With A Realistic Robot? What is Love? 

One of my favorite movies from the past few years was “Ex Machina”. But did you know that the Twilight Zone explored this notion long ago? Seriously. On November 13, 1959 the notion of loving machine came into play, and it really shook things up. Rod Serling once again tapped into a very unique circumstance, and gets you thinking about the “What if” factors of what love is. Long before movies started to come into play with this, you are going to think about sex, love, and loneliness when it comes to robots, artificial intelligence, and the realities of loneliness in the seventh episode of the first season of The Twilight Zone.

The plot of this one is simple, as many are. A prisoner is cast off to a planet, alone. He wants to go back to Earth, but the powers that be won’t let him. The same time warp that was in “Interstellar” is described here, as a crew comes to the planet to check in on the prisoner. They say that there is no hope and he is going to stay put. He is given food, and supplies, and the crew leaves. Later a box arrives and in that box is a woman. A woman that is in fact a robot, but has all the elements of humanity, including synthetic skin, and anatomical elements, with an artificial intelligence that feels, cries, and more. It’s essentially a sex robot, come on. The prisoner doesn’t want her at first, but over time, learns to love this robot woman.

The Twilight Zone Season 1 Blu Ray - On Sale here!

Pick Up The Twilight Zone Box Set by Clicking Here, and save up to 40% on the complete Blu Ray Edition of the series!

The crew comes back. And our prisoner named Corry is allowed to go back to earth! However, they have to leave in 20 minutes, and that’s it. The crew that is there to pick him up only has room for him and a few of his things, and not the robot, whom is named Alicia. Corry screams and runs after the robot, and swears that he loves her, and that she loves him, only to find out that the world is a cold, cold place, with Alicia taking a gunshot to the face and dying.

What is love? Can you love a robot? The story here is fascinating, and it truly is epic in light of “Ex Machina” and the themes presented in that movie. There are only 5 people in this cast, and yet you get full emotion. Jack Warden and Jean Marsh put on a good performance, and you really start to feel for the lonely. But reality sets in and shakes you up. What is love? You’re left thinking as Rod Serling’s narration gives you a jolt.

“On a microscopic piece of sand that floats through space is a fragment of a man's life. Left to rust is the place he lived in and the machines he used. Without use, they will disintegrate from the wind and the sand and the years that act upon them. All of Mr. Corry's machines, including the one made in his image, kept alive by love, but now obsolete.”

And that my friends, makes for one of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone yet. It’s beyond good, seek it out. Buy the box set, holy crap. It’s an intellectual proponent that you can easily study as an academic, or at least enjoy as entertainment.

The Twilight Zone Season 1 Episode 6 The Escape Clause Review

The Twilight Zone Explores Immortality 

What if you could be immortal? Would you go for it? That’s the question posed with the sixth episode of the first season of The Twilight Zone. In this case, “The Escape Clause” is the title, and it stars David Wayne, Thomas Gomez, and several others. It was first aired in 1959, and it really does showcase an interesting premise. One that we have explored in horror literature and movies for quite some time. Often, it’s the werewolf or the vampire that lives forever, but what if you didn’t have to be either?

Walter Bedeker is always thinking he is sick; he thinks he’s dying. But out of the blue comes a rogue. The devil shows up and tells him that he can in fact make sure that he lives forever. There is of course an escape clause, and Bedeker can choose to die when he’d like. Simple enough, right?

The Twilight Zone Season 1 Blu Ray - On Sale here!

Pick Up The Twilight Zone Box Set by Clicking Here, and save up to 40% on the complete Blu Ray Edition of the series!

What would you do? I don’t know what I would do, it’d be insane. Bedeker in this case uses his immortality to try and collect on a lot of money. He throws himself into insane situations, and collects money from accidents. After he gets bored of all of this, he ends up losing his wife to a fall off a roof. He admits he murdered her, hoping to go the electric chair and surviving, but nope. He gets life in prison and that’s where he asks for the escape.

And that’s that. It’s not a huge twist, but one that got me thinking yet again. This is a morality tale at heart, and one that asks what you would do with immortality? I don’t know what I would do. I can’t imagine living forever, unless I had a bit of money. I guess that’s the big deal here. Money. One has to live, right? And forever? What a cost! Oh well. This is just an example of how great Serling’s mind was. There is only one Rod Serling, and this morality play showcases that. I loved it.

The Twilight Zone The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine Season 1 Episode 4 (1959) Review

Just when you thought I had thrown in the towel, I come up with a new review for you 2 readers left. This time around, I managed to watch an episode of The Twilight Zone from 1959, the first season. This one came to me right after watching Hot Tub Time Machine 2, which can be easily one of the worst sequels ever made. Regardless, this episode of the pivotal television showcase came out on October 23, 1959, and it starred Ida Lupino, Martin Balsam, Jerome Cowan, and Ted de Corsia.

Four Episodes Into The First Season 

“The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine” is the fourth episode in the first season of the series, and it hinges on what many Hollywood stars must go through. An aging actress is watching old movies of her performances, and wishes that she could go back to a place where she was wanted, adored, and the likes. As her days go on, she is in the darkness, drinking, and just doesn’t really go out. When an opportunity to star in a new movie comes about, she jumps at the chance, but recoils when they ask her to play someone more her, “age”. She goes home and is depressed. In her depression, she decides it’s better to go into the screen and live with the past. Well, in The Twilight Zone, anything is possible, and that’s what happens. Barbara Jean Trenton jumps into the screen, and that’s where she stays forever.

Do Actors Wish For This? 

This television showcase is an interesting one. It reminds me a lot of what many older people go through. I met a lot of aging rock stars in my day, and a lot of them act the way Trenton acts. They want that old glory, but they don’t want to admit they are old. The same goes for action sports. A lot of professional skateboarders are dealing with issues of this type. It’s a sad state, but it’s a true state. It got me thinking. What about me? Will I be there? I’m already there, who am I kidding. I used to own a record label. I used to have a huge record collection. I had a lot going for me, and now, I’m battling anxiety and depression on a regular basis, without any health insurance. The struggles of a writer are real.

Oh, the episode! My bad. Overall, this is an interesting episode. It features that nostalgia of past experience, mixed with the present realities. What if you could escape? That’s the premise. Would you live in your greatness and that’s it? I don’t know. The escapism attached to former glory is incredible, even if you only tasted it for a second. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to get a second chance at being a record label owner. Then again, I’m a writer. I can dream up a lot of things for myself. But as far as this episode, it’s a good one. It has good acting, clever pacing, and that classic twist you’d expect from Serling and company.

Ida Lupino Is Quite The Actress

Is it my favorite thus far? No. It’s only 4 episodes into the first season. I do like the camera work, scripting, and acting. At one point Ida Lupino behaves drunk, but ever so slightly. You’ll have to watch how she plays it in the agent’s office. There’s a subtly to her movements and it’s stellar acting. Ida Lupino died in 1995, but man did she have a beautiful face in 1959. Such a good actress, and famous too. Anyways, this is a good episode, and I enjoyed it. You may like it too.

Order the complete Twilight Zone on Blu Ray by clicking here, please.

The Twilight Zone Mr. Denton on Doomsday (1959) Review

Mr Denton Contemplates Fate

Back to our regularly scheduled program, we have been discussing The Twilight Zone from start to finish, and here I am with another edition. This time around, we are at episode 3. This episode originally hit the airwaves in 1959. It stars Martin Landau, Jeanne Cooper, and Dan Duryea. It’s well acted, streamlined, and hits you right in the “what if” cycle of life. There are some interesting puns used for this episode, and things really get through to a whole different wavelength then the previous two episodes of the series. This is a serious mind numbing episode, because if you’re like me, you are a bit anxious about your own abilities. The story is interesting, set in the wild west, a drunkard is made to dance and sing for his drink. There is a group of bullies that continually tease and cause him to dance and drink, and he hits rock bottom. Jeanne Cooper here is absolutely beautiful, as she comes out of the saloon to talk to Denton and encourage him for to change. Denton being the drunk.

The Twilight Zone One For The Angels – Season 1 Episode 2 (1959) Review

Twilight Zone - Episode 2: One For The Angels - Blu Ray Here

The second episode of the mighty Twilight Zone series was definitely a serious one. It hit me hard as I watched it again for the purpose of a review for this site. This one written by Rod Serling, is a powerful, and moving story of a man that meets up with death. Ed Wynn plays Lou Bookman, and Murray Hamilton plays “death”. When a man is approached by death himself, he starts to panic, and tries to get out of dying, as he wants to continue staying alive. It’s his time though, but Bookman, finds a way to get a little more time, thinking he has outsmarted death this time around, and therefore puts on a showcase, only to find out that if he doesn’t go, someone else just might. It’s there that the morality play starts and ends, in my opinion.

The Twilight Zone Where Is Everybody – Season 1 Episode 1 (1959) Review

Where Is Everybody? Episode 1 Season 1 of The Twilight Zone

As promised, here we go, talking about all things Twilight Zone. We start with the first episode entitled “Where Is Everybody”. Going back to see this one, my wife and I were guessing as to the plot twist. Knowing full well that Rod Serling twists and turns in his writing, we each had different ideas as to what was going on with the character.

In this episode a man finds himself alone in an empty town. He has a lot of dialogue, and yet he isn’t talking to anyone. He keeps looking for people and eventually gives up. When a phone rings, he figures he has found someone and can call for help. It’s to no avail. As he goes through the empty city, there are signs of life, but he starts to panic. As panic keeps setting in he eventually realizes that he’s alone, and perhaps he may be the last one. The direct symbolism that is shown with the books “The Last Man On Earth” really comes through as our hero runs into mirrors, tries to figure out what is going on, and just can’t seem to figure out what is going on and why he is stuck.

The Twilight Zone Season 1 Blu Ray - On Sale here!

Pick Up The Twilight Zone Box Set by Clicking Here, and save up to 40% on the complete Blu Ray Edition of the series!

Earl Holliman here does a great job. He plays it straight before going into a deep madness. When he thinks it’s all over, we see a group of men sitting in a room watching. They are from the Air Force, and it’s revealed that our hero was stuck in a sensory deprivation, virtual reality room. It took him 484 hours and 36 minutes to finally panic from the isolation. As the press rushes in they question the Air Force, and it is revealed that they were testing to see how long a person can last alone, traveling in space, and that Mike Ferris was able to go 484 hours, ample time to get to the moon and back without going insane.

With the Twilight Zone’s first season, you really got a sense for the series. Earl Holliman should be praised for his acting skills in this one. He plays it well and then goes insane over the course of a half an hour. The writing is crisp, even though it was originally aired in 1959. Rod Serling has a way of writing very well, with good overall music by Bernard Hermann, and cinematography by Joseph La Shelle.

This episode made me question isolation myself. How long could you go without human interaction? I work solo, as a writer. I haven’t had a coworker since 2009. I wonder how long it will take me to crack? Until then, this is a great episode of this classic series.

The Twilight Zone Complete Season 1 is available here on Blu Ray. You can also see it via streaming  media, but if you want to collect this, go for it, and get the box set by clicking here. It’s well worth your time, if I do say so myself.