And now, Mr. Staffenhagen.


King Nine Will Not Return

GOOD

I like the part where James gives up and starts cackling.

BAD

James constantly being in denial that his crewmates obviously aren't there gets tiresome.

The Man in the Bottle

GOOD

I love the contrast between how Arthur and Edna react to finding a genie. She's scared and wants nothing to do with it and he's extremely excited about the nearly limitless possibilities. The reactions are the complete opposite of each other and yet they're equally realistic.

BAD

The Genie: I grant four wishes to the owner, then go back inside the bottle for a century and a year until a summons comes from the next owner.

What? Is he saying the exact same amount of time passes between openings of his bottle every time? Why? Or does he mean he can't come out unless 101 years have gone by?

Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room

GOOD

Rod: What you're about to watch in this room is a strange and mortal combat between a man and himself.

Another accidental video game reference. Cool.

BAD

Jackie: Don't you ever look in a mirror?

Within the context of the scene, that's a dumb thing to a say.

A Thing About Machines

GOOD

Finchley: Telephones. Just like the rest. Exactly like all the rest. Their whole existence dedicated to embarrassing me or irritating me or making my life miserable. Well, who needs you?

This episode is from 61 years ago and yet what he says to his phone is an accurate depiction of what phones are like now.

BAD

The typewriter can't be bothered to put a comma when it types "Get out of here, Finchley."

The Howling Man

GOOD

The slow pace really works to the episode's advantage. It adds a lot to the mysterious and creepy vibe.

BAD

Jerome: As I have heard it every hour of every day for five long years.

That makes it sound like there's a howl every 60 minutes. However, I know that's not the case because there's a scene where there's two howls within only about a minute of each other.

Eye of the Beholder

GOOD

The message is obviously that you shouldn't shame people for looking different. It's clear that they're talking about in terms of how good-looking they are, but it could easily be interpreted as a message about racism as well. Morals don't often have double meanings, so it's neat to see one like that here.

BAD

The text down below is a parody of Eye of the Tiger. I'm sorry for listing multiple bad things for this episode. I needed more lyrics.

It's the Eye of the Beholder
And I didn't like it
I could see the twist coming from a mile
When they first show the leader
It's for an oddly short time
And an uncreative title's The Eye
of the Beholder

Nick of Time

GOOD

William Shatner and Patricia Breslin have great chemistry as Don and Pat.

BAD

I thought the two other people who use the fortune telling machine at the end would build up to something interesting, but it didn't lead to anything at all. I get what they were going for, but it felt forced.

The Lateness of the Hour

GOOD

I love the twist ending. Gets me to wonder what this sort of thing would be like if it were possible in real life. The episode's already ahead of its time (It has the theme of being too dependent on technology and Jana being forced to stay at home has obvious covid parallels), so maybe it'll be ahead of its time in another way someday.

BAD

Father: And we'd eat some greasy, unpalatable food served off of dirty unwashed plates, and after that, it would be a moot question whether we'd succumb to ptomaine or pneumonia.

No. Not every restaurant is that low quality and they most certainly give you clean plates. I get that the intent was to indicate that he has really high standards, but they made what he says too silly.

The Trouble with Templeton

GOOD

Sid: Not my racket, but I know what's good and what's bad as well as the next guy.

In that case, maybe Sid should be writing this instead of me.

BAD

When Booth reads the poster out loud, it's zoomed in on just one spot of it, the part that says "1927's," for some reason. Weird choice for a shot because we still would've saw the number just fine if they showed the whole poster. My point is, it feels wrong to listen to him read the whole thing when we only see one word.

A Most Unusual Camera

GOOD

Rod: It happens to be a fact that the pictures that it takes can only be developed in The Twilight Zone.

This part of the opening narration.

BAD

The reactions the three main characters have to the pictures when they first learn what the camera does are really weird.

The Night of the Meek

GOOD

It's an episode of The Twilight Zone about Santa Claus.

BAD

The episode uses Christmas music as a crutch for getting emotion out of the viewers. I personally love it and it completely worked on me, but it's still technically bad because I know that a lot of people hate that kind of thing, especially since it does the same song over and over again.

Dust

GOOD

The ending's pretty good.

BAD

It's never made clear if the girl he was asking to speak for him is really Gallegos's daughter or not.

Back There

GOOD

It's about a person going back in time and trying to prevent Abraham Lincoln's death. Where has this episode been all my life?! I think I even would've liked it when I was a kid.

BAD

Rod: Interesting and theoretical, because who ever heard of a man going back in time?

Just about everyone on Earth.

Rod: Before tonight, that is.

Same answer. Even back in 1961, the idea of time travel wasn't a new one. Far from it.

The Whole Truth

GOOD

Harvey: Irv, for you to get more money outta me would be just about as easy as pouring hot butter into a wildcat's ear.

I definitely don't wanna try that, but it's certainly an interesting idea.

BAD

The part where Irv punches Harvey doesn't even come close to looking real.

The Invaders

GOOD

It has a really good, albeit unoriginal, twist at the very end.

BAD

This episode is very slow paced and has almost no dialogue. I can definitely see how someone would enjoy that, but it didn't do it for me. I was bored out of my mind.

A Penny for Your Thoughts

GOOD

I love the part where Helen is giving Hector instructions in her head.

BAD

I wish the newspapers cost a penny instead of a quarter. That way, the title would make much more sense.

...Resist, Anthony. RESIST!

...Ooh, I can't.

I wish the newspapers cost a penny instead of a quarter. That way, the title would make much more CENTS!

Twenty Two

GOOD

And now for another coin pun. This episode stars an actress named Barbara Nichols.

BAD

Barney: That's a weirdo, doc.

Who uses the word "weirdo" to describe a dream?

The Odyssey of Flight 33

GOOD

Man on Radio: Global 33, you're cleared to land on runway 22.

22? Is that on purpose? I bet it is.

BAD

How come none of the passengers can tell how fast the plane is going?

Mr. Dingle, the Strong

GOOD

Mr. Dingle rips a phone book in half and this is a live action show! How did they even do that? It's obviously fake, but even finding a way to do the effect is impressive.

BAD

They don't really do anything to establish that Mr. Dingle is physically weak before the Martians start talking about how he's the weakest Earthling they've ever seen.

Static

GOOD

I don't have anything specific to say because nothing stood out to me. I will say this though. It's a decently solid episode.

BAD

Vinnie: Right now, Ed Lindsay, you're- you're just about the meanest sourest most cantankerous old man on the face of the Earth.

That was completely uncalled for. He was a little rude at the beginning of the episode, but that is far from enough to earn the description she gives him.

The Prime Mover

GOOD

Rod: Some people possess talent, others are possessed by it. When that happens, the talent becomes a curse.

This.

BAD

Jimbo: When you two gonna get married?

Ace: On what?

What the heck does that mean? He's not talking about money because he says "And with what?" immediately after.

Long Distance Call

GOOD

The scene where Chris uses the phone. It's so good!

BAD

They let Billy start opening his birthday presents before everyone's in the room. Who does that?

A Hundred Yards Over the Rim

GOOD

Unlike The Invaders, I like the parts where there's no talking in this episode. Chris's simple facial expressions while he's looking around at stuff he's never seen before say so much.

BAD

The downside to that is he doesn't get much of a chance to show that he's concerned about his dying son.

The Rip Van Winkle Caper

GOOD

The way it ends! Stuff like THAT is what The Twilight Zone is about.

BAD

I don't understand how Erbie died. When the gas got out of his box, shouldn't that have woken him up? No one in that situation would just lay there and wait to die.

The Silence

GOOD

While watching this, it started to remind me of a short story I had to read for school once, The Bet by Anton Chekhov. Turns out, the episode is based on the short story. That was a fun thing to discover.

BAD

When Archie was trying to convince Tennyson to give up, he should've tried telling him that he wasn't going to be able to pay him the promised 500 grand. Tennyson probably wouldn't have believed him, but it would've been worth a try. There would be no good reason to continue with the bet if he wasn't going to get any reward for winning.

Shadow Play

GOOD

I really like how this episode explores the concept of how people would react to the idea of their whole world being someone's dream.

BAD

Only certain people from Adam's life appear in the dream each time he has it. I don't see why it would be limited to this small and pretty random selection of people instead of anyone he's seen before potentially showing up.

The Mind and the Matter

GOOD

Archibald: I don't drink, Mr. Rogers.

This made me burst out laughing. It's a sentence I never knew I needed to hear.

BAD

Archibald: Then jamming into an elevator, like, part of a herd of cattle.

Maybe that was less cliché back then, but now it just comes across as a "They could've come up with something more creative" moment. In fact, I will. He could've said that being in that elevator feels like he's a single page in the middle of a really long novel.

Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?

GOOD

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! This episode's awesome. If you can't tell, I recommend it.

BAD

Olmstead The Bus Driver: I picked up six and I'm supposed to deliver six.

Using the word "deliver" when referring to the people riding your bus.

The Obsolete Man

GOOD

The dynamic between Mr. Wordsworth and the chancellor is great.

BAD

Since they make such a big deal about the fact they found proof God isn't real, I wish they had said what that proof was.