It took me nearly half a century to learn that the greatest one-two punch in Twilight Zone history occurred back to back in Season III of the series. Well, for me at least, as on any given day, 'To Serve Man' and 'The Fugitive' could trade places as my top two favorite episodes. Rod Serling was pretty good when he pulled out the 'magic' card. I think there's a lot to be said about kids who believe in magic, and adults who indulge their childhood dreams by easing the transition into adulthood by gently preparing the way. You want to be like Mrs. Gann, fine, but prepare to go it alone. Old Ben (J. Pat O'Malley) could teach us all a thing or two about being a friend and going the extra mile to keep one.
One of the things I found interesting in the story was how a kid like Jenny (Susan Gordon) could intuitively know that a person is responsible for their own behavior. Look around now, and as a society, it looks like we've completely reversed course. That's just such a sad commentary on how we've progressed (intended as an oxymoron) as a nation. I don't know how Rod Serling would have written his stories today, but my hunch is that he would have been nearly apoplectic at the state of the country and the world as it exists in 2010.
Getting back to Mrs. Gann (Nancy Kulp) for just a minute, do you think that was a beer she took out of the refrigerator? The label was never shown, but it was one of those dark bottles that beer traditionally came packaged in during the Sixties. It wasn't quite the typical shape of a beer brand that I can recall from back then, but Utica Club and Rheingold come to mind as possibilities. Serling was an upstate New York guy, so the Utica Club idea might not be that much of a stretch.
Of course the best part of the story was the way Jenny and Ben put one over on the intergalactic police duo. Come on now, how many of you thought that the cops would find two Ben's in the room? That finale was perfect.
As far as Serling's treatment of how things went after the story ended, I didn't get nearly as creeped out as some of the other reviewers on this board. Ben's being a handsome young man in Earth terms was a bit of a cop-out I'll admit, but the bigger question I have is how Mrs. Gann explained that her niece turned up missing. Considering her character throughout the story, she probably got everything that was coming to her.
One of the things I found interesting in the story was how a kid like Jenny (Susan Gordon) could intuitively know that a person is responsible for their own behavior. Look around now, and as a society, it looks like we've completely reversed course. That's just such a sad commentary on how we've progressed (intended as an oxymoron) as a nation. I don't know how Rod Serling would have written his stories today, but my hunch is that he would have been nearly apoplectic at the state of the country and the world as it exists in 2010.
Getting back to Mrs. Gann (Nancy Kulp) for just a minute, do you think that was a beer she took out of the refrigerator? The label was never shown, but it was one of those dark bottles that beer traditionally came packaged in during the Sixties. It wasn't quite the typical shape of a beer brand that I can recall from back then, but Utica Club and Rheingold come to mind as possibilities. Serling was an upstate New York guy, so the Utica Club idea might not be that much of a stretch.
Of course the best part of the story was the way Jenny and Ben put one over on the intergalactic police duo. Come on now, how many of you thought that the cops would find two Ben's in the room? That finale was perfect.
As far as Serling's treatment of how things went after the story ended, I didn't get nearly as creeped out as some of the other reviewers on this board. Ben's being a handsome young man in Earth terms was a bit of a cop-out I'll admit, but the bigger question I have is how Mrs. Gann explained that her niece turned up missing. Considering her character throughout the story, she probably got everything that was coming to her.