Well, that's certainly a left-field thread bump.

Better even that he joined the forum to make it.

Welcome, Crackshot. Yes, I do still think "To Serve Man" is silly and gimmicky. It has legendary punchline, but it doesn't hold up. The entire linguistic concept is a complete failure IMO. As to "The Howling Man", it's immaterial to the story how you catch the Devil, simply that he has been caught. I don't have a problem suspending my disbelief there. It's the base premise. I agree that the morality is a bit heavy-handed, but again, it's not really important to the crux of the story. The story is about the interaction between the Devil and his captors and man's capacity for belief and disbelief, and I think it succeeds there. It's not a "Top 5" for me, probably not even "Top 10", but it's on my list of favorites. As for Zicree, I disagree with him quite often and it will come to fisticuffs if we ever discuss "Death Ship".

das

It was called "To See The Invisible Man." Definately one of the best offerings from the 80s Twilight Zone. Well written and had a good ending.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

I could watch it every day.

Thanks for the welcome, das. Personally, I find "Death Ship" to be a good, but not fantastic TZ episode. To be sure, Klugman seems really out of place there. In the same way you state that the howling man's capture is not the centerpiece of his title episode but instead the interaction between captive and captor, I would assert that the translation of the Kanamit book is not important to "To Serve Man" but rather the old chestnut of not judging a book by its cover.

Credit should be extended where it is due. das, in his DE reviews, does a pretty good job of identifying which episodes miss the mark and explaining why (i.e. "One More Pallbearer", "I Am the Night - Color Me Black", etc.). On the other hand, the Season Four review was a bit harsh. Three or four of the segments could NOT have been done in the half-hour format. Also, the opening of "In His Image" (one of the three or four such episodes) wherein the lady gets thrown in front of a subway car *does* have a purpose; it's clearly explained in the final act.

BTW, these are some of my favorites:

"The After Hours"
"Eye of the Beholder"
"A Game of Pool"
"The Invaders"
"It's a Good Life"
"The Lonely"
"Long Distance Call"
"The Masks"
"Mirror Image"
"The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"
"Nick of Time"
"On Thursday We Leave for Home" <-- the only hour-long that measures up to the best half-hour TZs
"Shadow Play"
"A Stop at Willoughby"
"To Serve Man"

Was it a Twilight Zone episode where the guy is being chased by the slot machine? I remember seeing this as a kid, and always assumed it was TZ. Creeped me out when I saw it.

I expected you to say that , but I don't think it parallels. Perhaps it's just differing levels of personal suspension of disbelief. I find it easier to just accept that they captured the Devil behind a staff as the base premise and go from there. Accepting the linguistic nonsense in "To Serve Man" (not to mention the way they even get the book), however, I find much more difficult. Still, while I think it's silly and gimmicky, I don't think it's bad. I still gave it a positive review. I just don't think it stands as one of the top episodes, certainly not a personal favorite. Over time, I think the classic catchphrase has overshadowed the shoddy storytelling.

Thanks ... I think. I don't think I was unreasonably harsh on Season 4. Watching it was a downright painful experience. Just remaining awake through many of them was hard enough, and I think it deserves all the criticism I heaped on it. If you recall, though, I spoke highly of "Jess-Belle" (an episode that was way better than it had a right to be), "Printer's Devil", "The Bard", and of course, "On Thursday We Leave For Home". With "In His Image", I get the purpose and explanation, but it's ignored for so much of the episode that I don't identify with the character. It makes the hour-long journey into Talbot's past that much more tedious.

That's a good list. I think you'll find we agree far more than we disagree. The only episode from your list that I don't particularly like is "Mirror Image", and I don't even dislike it that much; it's just middle of the road. I hope we both agree that the chase sequence is awful.

After reviewing those monster DVD sets, I'm not sure I ever want to see another Zone episode for the rest of my life, but it's certainly fun to talk about it.

das

"The Fever", from the first season. I've never liked it, but Sloane gives a strong performance, and the sound effects for the slot machine are pretty cool. I can see how it would really creep someone out, though.

das

Four O'Clock - Theodore Bikel is so great in this one.
The Monsters are Due on Maple Street
The Shelter
The Rip Van Winkle Caper
Once Upon a Time - funny!
The Little People

I love Labor Day and New Years when they (usually) have TZ marathons on the SCIFI Channel.

I've been interspersing Netflix movies with Twilight Zone discs. It is always welcome, and very rarely am I left disappointed.

To name just one episode; the same as many others have said:

"Time Enough at Last"

I don't really like Time Enough at Last and Terror at... anymore because they've been played to death and overexposed.

I really liked The Hunt (even though I know you didn't, das). It was simple and had a decent story. The fact that my dog died around the time I saw it, could be a factor also.