Shadow Play/Grace Note

SHADOW PLAY is a largely uninteresting story from THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE which is actually the remake of a tale from the original 1960s TV series. It stars veteran actor Peter Coyote as a Death Row convict who's convinced he's living in some kind of nightmare where his death will spell the end for everyone involved in the dream.

Unfortunately the plotting is largely uninteresting despite the presence of some notable cast members, like biker star William Smith playing a prison guard. The tale just feels convoluted throughout and the denouement is a big disappointment.

GRACE NOTE isn't a bad story for THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE; it doesn't have much in the way of a decent narrative, but it makes up for this with a ton of emotion that you don't expect.

In it, an aspiring opera singer sees her life wasting away as she cares for her terminally ill younger sister, but then she has a glimpse of the future that changes everything. There's tragedy in this story, but it also teaches a moral lesson in which a person's hopes and aspirations can be rewarded by their morally decent behaviour.

GRACE NOTE is a well acted story and a heartwarming one too; not my favourite of genres truth be told, but certainly well made for this show and a surprise given the junk that pads out other episodes.