Anywhere you can hang your head.

Dang it, I'm behind again. I watched this episode last Tuesday, then did nothing about it.

"Homewood" is a terrible mess of an episode. First of all, it had the worst time travel machine I've ever seen in a time travel movie. Walking? Sheesh. Second, I'm not big on nostalgia. I have some fond childhood memories, but there's no temptation to go back to some golden era. Because there was no golden era. And going back and living in the past only gets you a gimpy leg.

This episode is a dud as far as I'm concerned.

Meh.

Homewood...really?

There's not much to be said about this episode that hasn't already been said, or question that hasn't already been asked. It seems to be one of the most revered episodes of TZ with praises coming form all sorts of media outlets and personalities, including, a personal favorite of mine, J.J. Abrams. Supposedly this is his favorite twilight episode even including an homage to it in his feature film 'Super8' (a movie I immensely  enjoyed and seem to be in the minority in doing so). However, with that said, i wasn't really a big fan of this one. I guess my biggest problem is my dislike of the main character Martin. The man just irks me, i don't know why. He was being a dick right off the bat to the gas station attendant and i guess it just rubbed me the wrong way. He didn't deserve to go back to his childhood and experience that whole ordeal. It's not like he took anything away from it aside form a bum leg. He's still content to live his life the way hes living, maybe he had a happier childhood because of it.... maybe he didn't, who knows... and to be honest.. I don't care.

HOWEVER...

                       WHO IS THIS MAGNIFICENT CREATURE???

What a beauty!

I don't think she's credited so if anyone can tell me who she is... it would be GREATLY appreciated.

Living in the Past

I didn't end up watching both episodes, as my son wanted to end on an episode of Portlandia (which has actually been our pattern after TZ episodes) because the Twilight Zone is "creepy." At least he's watching them with us. Who knows how long that will last.

So an aging actress can't cope with reality. As unlikeable as she was, I still couldn't help but feel sorry for her, as I feel sorry for anyone who is not able to endure loss in life and resorts to escapism. Best case scenario, she is able to adjust and accept and embrace what is, and forge a new identity for herself. But barring that, she's really better off disappearing into a fantasy world (in the TZ for real) and sparing those around her from her continuing misery.

Messing Everything Up

I can't believe the time got away from me already! I don't know what I was doing last week, but I missed TZ Tuesday. And here it is another one already.

A brief word about the western one before I watch two tonight to catch up.

I thought the elixir guy was a bad guy at first, setting up the drunk gunslinger for even more trouble. So I was a little surprised at the ending. Unlike Michael, I like westerns, but this one was ultimately unsatisfying. I guess I thought it was going to be more complex than it was, that there was going to be more of a twist. I don't know. However, I did like John's thoughts on the episode, and reading them made me appreciate it more.

My Ida Lupino Shrine

"Sixteen Millimeter Shrine"

This episode feels slight after the previous three episodes. Even so, it stars the never old Ida Lupino in what was surely a personal role. It's a well-known fact that Hollywood actresses rarely aged in their careers successfully. The next young thing was always ready to take over. Some of the lucky ones made it into TV. Many ended their careers early. This TZ episode is a sad acknowledgment and respectful nod of the head at all of these women cut off in their careers much too early.

"The poor man's Bette Davis"

Meet Barbara Trenton. Classy actress and belle of the ball. On top of the world starring in movies with the hottest actors and probably attending every high luxury party in Hollywood. However, this is not the Ms. Trenton we are introduced too. We meet Barbara 20+ years after her prime. An aging actress cutting herself off from a world who has forgotten her and living in her OWN world where she is still relevant. Still proud, still a lady. Even if shes pounding cocktails at noon. She would NEVER refer to herself as the "Poor man's Bette Davis". And yet, this is the way Ida Lupino (the woman playing Ms. Trenton) described herself in her career. Some quick research actually turns up that Ida Lupino was constantly at odds with the movie studios and was adamant about not taking on roles she felt were “beneath her dignity as an actress.” Coincidence? I think not. I cant help but think Ida was purposely picked for this role because of her likeness to the character. Who knows, maybe Trenton was written differently in the original script and when Ida got her hands on it she changed the motivation behind the character. Whatever the case, the performance is believable.

By the end of the episode things have gone supernatural which i don't think any of us were surprised about. This IS The Twilight Zone. However, this episode felt to me like an episode of "Amazing Stories" (which i guess is really a twilight zone ripoff). And not even just the "twist",  something about the pacing of it. I cant really describe it. Amazing Stories was MY Twilight Zone having grown up in the 80's.  One particular episode entitled "Welcome to My Nightmare" a teenager, through his love for horror movies, is transported into Hitchcock's "Psycho". Kind of the same premise our leading lady has here. I wonder how many episodes will have similar themes between the 2.

and..

Martin Balsam will always be Detective Balsam in Ezzio Greggio's "Silence of the Hams". Which also happens to involve "Psycho"...and "Silence of the Lambs".... and its genius.


Rating-- 4 out of 5 *'s

The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine

This week we get an episode much different than the first three. It doesn't have to do with science fictional concepts or philosophical problems like death and fate. Rather, episode 4 is about the human mind and an unwillingness to move forward.

Barbara Dean Trenton is an aging actress who spends most of her time secluded away reliving her life through the films she made 15 or 20 years ago. Throughout this episode Barbara is confronted with the reality of present day in the form of the sunlight bursting through the windows and old enemies and friends. But she refuses to accept any of it. Consciously and loudly, Barbara decides to seclude herself and to live in the past. I think this is part of the problem with the episode. Barbara tells us that she refuses to recognize reality and it seems too melodramatic and unreasonable. Unconsciously slipping into the past is one thing. Making an effort to do so seems like another.

I think that this is our first truly depressing and unhappy ending. There is a little bit about how Barbara will be happier living in her fantasy world. But do we believe that? Is it really better to take the blue pill? Is she even in this fantasy world or is she just lost even more deeply in her mind?

So, while there were some interesting things going on in this episode, it isn't going to be a memorable one for me. It's a bit tedious and overdone.

You and me....12:00.... at the Bike Rack

“Love Your Fate, which is in fact your life.” 
― Friedrich Nietzsche

Im not exactly a fan of westerns, never was. I just don't care i guess. I struggle to connect with characters, locations and motivations in westerns. It's very foreign to me, in fact more foreign than a sci-fi epic taking place on a distant planet, or a fantasy land of trolls and wizards, or even an alternate reality within dimensions beyond our own. These places and settings ARE  quite different form our own reality. A "civilization" far removed from what we call the real life. Citizens in these places play by a foreign set of rules and claim victory, or defeat,  with a foreign sense of pride, or shame , respectively,.. BUT, in some way... its always familiar.  Our heroes in these stories are heroes for a reason. KILL, KILL, KILL! the monster for the horrible things it's done to the "innocents". Are the innocent REALLY innocent? Or do we just sympathize with them, because they are the standard "Good" guys. The heroes. US.. PEOPLE.....HEROES... or sometimes common men functioning at a level  higher than the status quo. A "virtuistic" attempt to thwart do-badders, no matter what the cost. DESTROY the MONSTER. At first the "monsters" motivation for killing, maiming  hurting, taking, scaring, tearing, ripping, loathing etc.....  are unknown to us. We have no connection and no sympathy for the "monster". Why should we?? We've all grown to hate and fear the "monster". However, more often than not.... (especially in current story telling arcs and scripts) ...by the end of our journey we usually have an explanation of motivation behind the "monsters" heinous actions. We UNDERSTAND the emotion, or lack of emotion, that guides the "monsters" to act the way they have acted. We may not AGREE with it, but we UNDERSTAND it.

Here lies my issues with westerns.

I don't UNDERSTAND why the bad guys are bad. And to be quite honest, i don't UNDERSTAND why the good guys are good. Gunfights and showdowns and Quick Draw McGraw type actions at High Noon are a myth. The setting is real, the locations are real, hell.. even sometimes the MEN are real.. but the actions.. aren't. Hollywood made westerns what they are, or at least what I'VE come to know them as. Its a format where you KNOW who the BAD guys are and KNOW who the GOOD guys are and that's ALL you need to know. For some, that's enough. For MOST, that's enough and i am sure at some point during some movie it's even been enough for me... BUT not this time. It's the one thing i think of when watching a western and unfortunately it more often distracts me from the story then intrigues me. I just don't CARE what peoples motivations are because 9 times out of 10 we don't get to find out.

Im being harsh on westerns and feel bad about it. This episode just was a bore to me and didnt feel like delving into why without explaing my reasons for it. That would be the "Western" way out...... Bastard Westerns.

Rating-- 2 out of 5 *'s.

fate can work that way

Well, I've learned my lesson. If I don't write about the episode immediately after watching it, I put it off until the last day. It's even harder when John has already written some great thoughts.

Did anyone not like this episode?

Doomsday

Is it any surprise that this is my favorite episode so far?

Twilight Zone + Westerns = TV Gold

Here is the Twilight Zone near its best. As an audience, we're dragged through a full range of emotions, all of them earned.

Al Denton, when introduced, is pathetic. We witness as Denton will suffer any humiliation for a drop of drink. And those of us who have had any experience with addictions know that this moment is true. A silly song is a small price to pay for a moment's peace.

But, it's only ever a moment.

When Fate steps in, Mr. Denton stands up tall and strong once more. We learn how and why he was ever brought so low. And, again, we sympathize. And it feels good as Denton cleans up, gaining strength as he confesses his woes.

I'll stop walking through the plot.

What was amazing to me is how happy this all ends. Fate, often so callous and cruel, here hangs around simply to give a helping hand to two troubled souls.

"Mr. Henry Fate, dealer in utensils and pots and pans, linaments and potions. A fanciful little man in a black frock coat who can help a man climbing out of a pit—or another man from falling into one. Because, you see, Fate can work that way...in the Twilight Zone."

Even more amazing is that Serling gets away with this title, Mr. Denton on Doomsday. There is no mention of any Doomsday during the episode. There is no end of the world scenario at all. It's much more personal than that. This is Mr. Denton on Mr. Denton's Doomsday. The end of an entire world and way of life for one man. In a sense, Denton had been living out a "Doomslife," a slow torment of a life in which not-feeling and not-acting were preferable to anything else. When the "final" Doomsday comes that Fate arranges for Mr. Denton, well, Al Denton sees things through to the other side. After Doomsday? New Life.

Final thought. Dan Duryea was no stranger to western films. I've seen him in two great westerns (Night Passage, Winchester '73; and I've seen him in a small role in Lang's so-so noir Ministry of Fear). As far as I know, he always played supporting roles. Only in the Twilight Zone could he take center stage. (EDIT: It only took me a minute to look it up after posting this. Duryea did indeed have a star role in at least one western, Al Jennings of Oklahoma, in which he plays Al Jennings of Oklahoma! Now, I'm really wanting to see that movie!).