The quality and originality of these "Twilight Zone" episodes never cease to amaze me! Here I was, once again, blown away by the powerful impact of "Dust". I didn't have great expectations for this tale at first, because by default I don't think the format of a fantasy/Sci-Fi show works very well in a western setting, but Rod Serling delivers another wondrously absorbing and poignant story with an intense atmosphere and unique characters. In his small-town Arizona prison cell, Luis Gallegos awaits to be hung. The Sheriff is melancholic because Gallegos isn't the type of man who deserves to hang from the gallows. He killed a little girl, but it was an accident as a ran over her with his wagon at night and when he was drunk. Luis' desperate father begs the townspeople, particularly the grieving parents of the young girl, to spare his son's life. This gives the sleazy and unscrupulous salesman Peter Sykes the idea to exploit the father's misery even further, and he sells him a bag of dust that allegedly is magical and causes people to become forgiving when it's sprinkled over them. Of course, it's just ordinary dust, but you know anything can happen in "The Twilight Zone". I was particularly enchanted by the character of Sheriff Koch He's such a pure, emotional and sincere human being. He isn't the type of character you expect to find in a western story, and most certainly not as the town's Sheriff, but at the same time he's 100% believable. I usually like the overly sentimental and preachy episodes the least, but "Dust" forms an exception. It's a moving, recognizable and highly recommended story. Moreover, any TV-show episode that succeeds in getting the song "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas stuck in my head deserves my biggest possible support!
