The beauty of most of the "Twilight Zone" episodes I've seen so far from the classic first series is how they tell their story so well from start to surprising finish in just twenty-five minutes or so. It's noticeable that the two reboots of the programmes, one very recently of course and the other in the 80's, not to mention the film version also in the 80's all felt it necessary to stretch the story lengths considerably.
This was really about the first one I've watched where I felt the ending was rushed and unsatisfactory. The premise is brilliant in this Richard Matheson-scripted tale. We are dropped in on the office-life of an ordinary businessman who suddenly hears the word "Cut" and turns around to see that he's being filmed on the set of a movie and worse still everyone believes him to be an actor playing out his real life existence. His paranoia increases when a woman claiming to be his wife turns up demanding alimony while his agent is pressing him to literally get his act together and go on with the show.
It all seems to be boiling up nicely when he makes a despairing George Bailey-type make-everything-alright-again wish which in the last reel seems to pay off but with no explanation at all as to how this wonder has occurred or why he's been forced to go through with it.
Of course we've since seen this "watching you, watching me" scenario played out in "The Truman Show" and even better yet in a British TV series from later the same year this episode was made, called "The Strange World of Gurney Slade" which starred Anthony Newley.
Who knows, maybe this story inspired both of the sbove, but in any case, I think this episode perhaps seemed too rushed and inconclusive to be ranked among the best of them.
This was really about the first one I've watched where I felt the ending was rushed and unsatisfactory. The premise is brilliant in this Richard Matheson-scripted tale. We are dropped in on the office-life of an ordinary businessman who suddenly hears the word "Cut" and turns around to see that he's being filmed on the set of a movie and worse still everyone believes him to be an actor playing out his real life existence. His paranoia increases when a woman claiming to be his wife turns up demanding alimony while his agent is pressing him to literally get his act together and go on with the show.
It all seems to be boiling up nicely when he makes a despairing George Bailey-type make-everything-alright-again wish which in the last reel seems to pay off but with no explanation at all as to how this wonder has occurred or why he's been forced to go through with it.
Of course we've since seen this "watching you, watching me" scenario played out in "The Truman Show" and even better yet in a British TV series from later the same year this episode was made, called "The Strange World of Gurney Slade" which starred Anthony Newley.
Who knows, maybe this story inspired both of the sbove, but in any case, I think this episode perhaps seemed too rushed and inconclusive to be ranked among the best of them.