One of the great things about watching The Twilight Zone today is seeing who shows up in the story. Character actors who weren't well known fifty years ago but eventually achieved stardom were often on display, and it's a hoot to catch them in reruns or on DVD. This particular episode offers up a couple - Burgess Meredith in his second TZ appearance (see #1.8 - Time Enough at Last), and Don Rickles in a role that's embarrassingly mean spirited, more so than his usual schtick of insulting friends and enemies alike. Rickles' character takes pleasure in pushing around hapless salesman Luther Dingle (Meredith), usually following a disagreement over some sports triviality that the average person couldn't care less about.
Which brings me to another great facet of these TZ stories. They often bring to mind names and places from a half century ago that many fans like myself grew up with. When I was a kid, I thought the 1959 Topps baseball cards were the best ever, and I had every one of the players mentioned in this story - Duke Snider, Elston Howard, Wally Moon, Robin Roberts and Clem Labine. Funny how the names stay with you after all these years.
As far as the story goes though, this one is pretty much a throw away and is played more for amusement than your usual entry. I didn't care much for the goofy alien set up this show used, and Serling compounded the matter by doing it a second time with the mustached Venusians. I guess the Zone was entitled to it's share of clunkers, so this one fit the bill in that regard. Still, I'll give it some slack, as given the choice between a Twilight Zone episode and most anything offered as reality TV today, I'll go with Serling every time.
Which brings me to another great facet of these TZ stories. They often bring to mind names and places from a half century ago that many fans like myself grew up with. When I was a kid, I thought the 1959 Topps baseball cards were the best ever, and I had every one of the players mentioned in this story - Duke Snider, Elston Howard, Wally Moon, Robin Roberts and Clem Labine. Funny how the names stay with you after all these years.
As far as the story goes though, this one is pretty much a throw away and is played more for amusement than your usual entry. I didn't care much for the goofy alien set up this show used, and Serling compounded the matter by doing it a second time with the mustached Venusians. I guess the Zone was entitled to it's share of clunkers, so this one fit the bill in that regard. Still, I'll give it some slack, as given the choice between a Twilight Zone episode and most anything offered as reality TV today, I'll go with Serling every time.