The Twilight Zone
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So begins Rod Serlings opening narration to Where Is Everybody?, the pilot episode ofThe Twilight Zone.
(That is, if you count this episode, The Comedian, as the first episode.
Its premiering alongside another episode, Nightmare at 30,000 Feet,which weve also recapped.)
Its crazy times, guys.
Good news: well be getting you 89 percent of the way there.
Bad news: that puts as the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
It gets a few polite chuckles.
The only problem: Nobodys laughing.
J.C. Wheeler is a legend who walked away at the height of his success.
Only problem, it turns out to be a pretty horrible secret: You have to give yourself away.
You are a country with one export and you are that export, he tells Samir.
Put yourself out there and you will get laughs.
But, he warns, Once you put it out there, they connect.
And once they connect to it, its theirs.
And once its theirs, that shit is gone forever.
That dog is gone forever.
How personal is too personal?
How much openness is too much?
Then, after a promising opening, the episode starts to lose hold of its metaphor.
Not at first, though.
Thats when things start to get a little confusing.
When Samir talks about the Second Amendment, hes decidedly unfunny.
When he gets personal, he is.
Or maybe its just a matter of the show trying to stretch it too far.
The originalTwilight Zoneran for five seasons.
(Nightmare at 30,000 Feet is the tightest at just over 30 minutes.)
It stays true to the spirit of the original show without feeling confined by it.
It layers topical references on top of the sturdy frame built by Serlings show.
Its not the most promising start for the series, but its not the worst proof-of-concept exercise either.
Lingering in this newZonewill pay off, just not right away.
Im not sure he even blinks.
It will be interesting to see if the show pushes the boundaries in other ways.
Could we have a truly gory horror episode?
Will there be explicit sex in thisTwilight Zone?
This isnt broadcast TV anymore, folks.
Did you spot others?
Rubens is no stranger to comedy, or to some of his co-workers here.
