Number 12 Looks Just Like You
- Episode aired Jan 24, 1964
- TV-PG
- 25m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
2.7K
YOUR RATING
In a future society, everyone must undergo an operation at age 19 to become beautiful and conform to society. One young woman desperately wants to hold onto her own identity.In a future society, everyone must undergo an operation at age 19 to become beautiful and conform to society. One young woman desperately wants to hold onto her own identity.In a future society, everyone must undergo an operation at age 19 to become beautiful and conform to society. One young woman desperately wants to hold onto her own identity.
Collin Wilcox Paxton
- Marilyn Cuberle
- (as Collin Wilcox)
Pamela Austin
- Valerie
- (as Pam Austin)
- …
Rod Serling
- Narrator
- (uncredited)
- …
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAll the characters are named after conventionally beautiful film stars of the day: Lana for Lana Turner, Marilyn for Marilyn Monroe, Grace for Grace Kelly, Rex for Rex Harrison, Eva for Eva Marie Saint, Valerie for Valerie Allen.
- GoofsWhen Marilyn first walks into Dr. Rex's office, part of her arm is cut off by the split screen process used to enable Suzy Parker to appear on screen as two different characters.
- Quotes
Marilyn Cuberle: Yes, but is that good? Being like everybody? I mean, isn't that the same as being nobody?
- ConnectionsFeatured in American Masters: Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval (1995)
Featured review
Prescient Futuristic Tale
This dystopian tale of a future society dominated by superficiality and conformism hits very close to home. Much of what was presaged on THE TWILIGHT ZONE has come to pass, and one feels this particularly acutely with "Number 12 Looks Just Like You." Never mind that Collin Wilcox' appearance and hairstyle eerily foreshadow the '70's (the episode was made in 1963); the more crucial point is that we are fast evolving into a society very much like the one depicted in the episode. True, we haven't gone as far as signing into law mandatory cosmetic "transformations." But we are not much less stultified than the zombie-like human beings portrayed here. Obsession with youth? Check; see middle-aged mothers trying to look like their teenaged daughters. Narcissistic? Check; walk down a city street today and see the young people: pale androgynous figures ambling along in unisex clothing (rather like the spandex jumpsuits worn in the episode), eyes fixed upon their electronic devices, anesthetized in total self-absorption. Lack of emotion? Check; as television and movies attest, we are evolving into a culture wrapped in a gauze of snark, in which sincerity of feeling barely exists. A post-literate age? Check; bookstores are closing down, libraries are doubling as computer labs, and school children are fed political propaganda instead of the classics. Our motto could well be Val's in this episode: "Life is pretty, life is fun, I am all and all is one."
It has been often said that "Number 12" is a meditation on beauty and individuality. I would argue further that it is a meditation on the true *nature* of beauty. Is beauty merely a pleasant symmetrical arrangement of features; or are character and personality essential elements? The synthetic kind of beauty represented by Lana and Val, while outwardly alluring, turns out to be vapid because it is not animated by feeling and intelligence - qualities possessed in abundance by Marilyn. Marilyn is a lone flame burning in the encroaching darkness; will the darkness overcome her?
The episode maintains a successful balance between futuristic camp and serious socio-philosophical content. Among all the principals, Wilcox shines brightly as Marilyn, and it's a pleasure to see Richard Long again (after his buoyant performance in Season 3's "Person or Persons Unknown"). I can't go so far as to say that "Number 12 Is Just Like You" represents TZ at its very finest as another reviewer stated; visually I find it a bit flat and lacking the pure cinematic brilliance of other ZONES. But whatever the episode's shortcomings from an aesthetic standpoint, it jumps to the head of the pack of the most prescient, ahead-of-its-time episodes the series produced.
In sum: unsettling as it may be to say, "Number 12" looks just like us.
It has been often said that "Number 12" is a meditation on beauty and individuality. I would argue further that it is a meditation on the true *nature* of beauty. Is beauty merely a pleasant symmetrical arrangement of features; or are character and personality essential elements? The synthetic kind of beauty represented by Lana and Val, while outwardly alluring, turns out to be vapid because it is not animated by feeling and intelligence - qualities possessed in abundance by Marilyn. Marilyn is a lone flame burning in the encroaching darkness; will the darkness overcome her?
The episode maintains a successful balance between futuristic camp and serious socio-philosophical content. Among all the principals, Wilcox shines brightly as Marilyn, and it's a pleasure to see Richard Long again (after his buoyant performance in Season 3's "Person or Persons Unknown"). I can't go so far as to say that "Number 12 Is Just Like You" represents TZ at its very finest as another reviewer stated; visually I find it a bit flat and lacking the pure cinematic brilliance of other ZONES. But whatever the episode's shortcomings from an aesthetic standpoint, it jumps to the head of the pack of the most prescient, ahead-of-its-time episodes the series produced.
In sum: unsettling as it may be to say, "Number 12" looks just like us.
helpful•242
- MichaelMartinDeSapio
- Dec 11, 2015
Details
- Runtime25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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