"The Twilight Zone" Take My Life... Please!/Devil's Alphabet/The Library (1986)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Directors:

Ben Bolt
John D. Hancock

Writers:

Anne Collins (segment)
Arthur Gray (short story "The Everlasting Club") (segment)

TV Series:

"The Twilight Zone" (1985)

Original Air Date:

28 March 1986 (Season 1, Episode 22)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller | Horror

Plot:

"Take My Life... Please!": A comedian finds himself in a tough gig in the afterlife. "Devil's Alphabet": In Victorian England...

Plot Keywords:

Library | Comedian | Afterlife | Oath | Aspiring Writer

Cast

Tim Thomerson	...	Billy Diamond (segment "Take My Life...Please!")
Ray Buktenica	...	Max (segment "Take My Life...Please!")
Xander Berkeley	...	Dave (segment "Take My Life...Please!")
Jim McKrell	...	Marty (segment "Take My Life...Please!")
Ben Cross	...	Frederick (segment "Devil's Alphabet")
Hywel Bennett	...	Grant (segment "Devil's Alphabet")
Robert Schenkkan	...	Eli (segment "Devil's Alphabet")
Wayne Alexander	...	Cornelius (segment "Devil's Alphabet")
Ethan Phillips	...	Deaver (segment "Devil's Alphabet")
Osmund Bullock	...	Andrew (segment "Devil's Alphabet")
Jim Piddock	...	Brian (segment "Devil's Alphabet")
Stuart Dowling	...	Creditor (segment "Devil's Alphabet")
Christopher Carroll	...	Chimney Sweep (segment "Devil's Alphabet")
Christopher Grove	...	Assistant Chimney Sweep (segment "Devil's Alphabet")
Uta Hagen	...	Gloria (segment "The Library")

Runtime:

60 min

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Atlantis Films

Trivia:

"Devil's Alphabet" is not syndicated.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: A crew-member's reflection is visible in Billy's car-window as he enters it.

Tim Thomerson is outstanding as a shameless hack stand-up comedian

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I've been a huge fan of Tim Thomerson every since he portrayed tough-as-nails detective Jack Deth in "Trancers." He's one of my all-time favorite character actors who's appeared in such excellent movies as "Uncommon Valor," "Near Dark," "Nemesis," and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." He usually plays laconic rough'n'tumble macho guys or goofy tongue-in-cheek parts, but Tim really shows his substantial dramatic range here as shameless hack stand-up comedian Billy Diamond, who steals whole bits and pieces of his act from other comics' routines. One fateful day Diamond gets fatally shot by a struggling comic he stole a gag from. He winds up in a particularly ironic kind of hell in which he's forced to talk about the worst things that happened in his life while an audience laughs uproariously at his abject pain and misery. Thomerson was a stand-up comedian prior to embarking on his acting career. He brings a real pathos and conviction to the role of the smarmy Diamond that's both surprising and impressive. His acting in this terrific episode rates highly as some of the best he's ever done and offers proof positive that Tim Thomerson is one tremendously talented and versatile actor who doesn't get the attention and accolades he deserves as often as he should.