Well it finally happened - a Twilight Zone episode that quite literally, was written and acted in The Twilight Zone. How else do you explain Burt Reynolds doing Marlon Brando, and then have John McGiver doing Burt Reynolds doing Marlon Brando? Now I have to say, I take delight in whimsy, and this is one that took extreme poetic license with the legacy of the Bard himself, William Shakespeare. It was kind of a neat idea actually, but sadly, the idea went nowhere. The best takeaway from this story (from the perspective of almost a half century later), is the recollection of the New York Mets in only their second year of baseball. They went 51-111 in 1963, as Julius Moomer's (John Weston) landlady laments the trade of Gil Hodges to the Washington Senators. Maybe it was Julius' book of the black arts that got them their first World Series win just six years later. (Now there's a Twilight Zone story all by itself).
There are a few other one-liner gems in the episode, but they're buried in the plodding story. Like Julius' dream of becoming a Wurlitzer Prize winner. But my favorite was the idea he pitched for a game show - 'Pick Your Own Embalmer'. Did you catch that? I didn't think so. You'll have to go back and listen for it, while I come to grips with the idea that this might be the next great reality TV show concept of the decade. It just might work.
There are a few other one-liner gems in the episode, but they're buried in the plodding story. Like Julius' dream of becoming a Wurlitzer Prize winner. But my favorite was the idea he pitched for a game show - 'Pick Your Own Embalmer'. Did you catch that? I didn't think so. You'll have to go back and listen for it, while I come to grips with the idea that this might be the next great reality TV show concept of the decade. It just might work.