The Twilight Zone (TV Series) Night Route (2002) User Reviews

Life Needs to Be Grasped

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 7 July 2017]

An attractive young woman professional is walking her dog when a car nearly hits her. Shortly thereafter, a bus pulls up. The people on board are really depressed looking and the driver quite mute. She now goes on with an exciting life, but parts of it start to fall away, including her profession and her fiancée. There are a few red herrings and the conclusion is a bit confusing at first, but overall this is a decent offering. One problem as with many of the TZ episodes is that the principle character never really has a chance to save herself or to act against outside forces.

"We're waiting for you."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 24 February 2023]

This story was entirely predictable, but the ending made what went before rather convoluted. When the bus driver told Melina Kroner (Ione Skye) that she missed out on life by not getting on the bus, it turned into a big question mark for this viewer. The earlier part of the story showed how Melina was a successful English professor, she had a loving fiancé she was about to marry, and she's shown making preparations for the wedding with her mother (Wanda Cannon). So it wasn't really correct to claim that Melina was missing out on life. The parts of the story dealing with her memory loss and strangers recognizing who she was when she didn't know who they were was well done, and her angst over seeing the bus make its daily stop made each of those situations unnerving. Perhaps the writers were trying to be clever by putting a reverse spin on things, but the resolution to the story would have worked a whole lot better if that bus driver didn't say anything at all. Then all the pieces would have logically fit.

Fork in the Road

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 29 November 2014]

****SPOILERS**** Taking her dog Vigo out for an evening walk Collage English Professor Melina Kroner, Lone Skye,is almost hit by a car that speeds off into the night like a ghost leaving her both angry and confused. It's just then that a bus pulls up and the driver opens the door as if wanting Melina and her dog Vigo to get on board. Planning to marry her fiancé Adam, Dylan Walsh, Melina has more important things to look forward to then a bus ride to what seems like nowhere.

It's later that the bus as well as bus driver again shows up as if he wants Melina to get on for the ride of her life. It's only much later that Melina realizes what the significance of all this is and why all these strange things are suddenly starting to happen to her. As well as why she suddenly is not only starting to lose her memory but grip on reality as well.

****SPOILERS**** The sad ending in this "Twiglight Zone" episode has Melina finally realize that she doesn't belong in the world that she now finds herself in. And by not boarding the mystery bus, like her dog Vigo finally did, she forever is to aimlessly walk the earth forever without ever finding any peace or meaning in her, if you can call it that, life.

Awfully familiar and easy to predict.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 12 February 2022]

Melina is walking her dog when a car nearly hits her. Soon after, a bus arrives and seems to be waiting for her to board...but she doesn't because it all seems pretty creepy. Later, Melina starts noticing odd things...like a total stranger who somehow knows her name and her memories...which seem to be slowly disappearing. And, to make it worse, the bus keeps appearing...waiting for her.

I had a huge problem with the episode because the 'big twist' at the end was obvious about two minutes into the episode. Add to that the similarity of the plot to other shows and films as well as season one's episode "The Hitch-Hiker" from the original series and you have an episode with zero surprises. Sure, the plot's been reworked a bit...bit it's still predictable. It's a shame, as the cast actually did a nice job here...but the material just wasn't up to "Twilight Zone" quality.