This thirty year old episode of 'Ray Bradbury Theater' opens with something you don't see every day anymore - a bunch of kids playing in the back yard with little or no supervision! I don't know what the name 'Mink' might be short for, but that was the young girl's name in this story, striking me as just a little odd. In any event, she and her friends seem to be playing with an imaginary boy named 'Drill', who directs them to raid their households for various innocuous objects, while Mink's mother in particular casts a cynical glance at what's going on outside. Oddly, when Mary Morris's (Sally Kirkland) sister calls, she too remarks that her kid has a playmate named Drill who she's never seen. Mink's earlier reference to a game she calls 'Invasion' recalls an earlier Bradbury story titled "Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in Your Cellar!". I thought the ending to this one was a little awkward, ending abruptly with Mink's sinister melting of the attic door and her less than cheery 'Peek-a-boo'!
4 Reviews
"But Mom, who wants to eat when the world is going to end?"
classicsoncall10 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
More Lethal Children
Hitchcoc2 April 2015
Once again Ray Bradbury serves up a tale of children, resenting being born, thrust into the real world. The parents are nice enough, but disinterested. The kids, who in this episode seem to have the good life (no poverty, lots of playtime, the run of the house and little conflict) have decided to assist some alien force into their neighborhood (or the earth in general) by building devices made out of kitchen utensils. Of course, these new people will be killing off their parents because they are so bossy (which they really are not). I know that childhood is a magical time. I just don't see where the issues are in this offering. That little girl was really offensive.
A perfectly creepy tale
calsinic27 August 2013
There is some awful acting in this (the husband in particular comes to mind) but I think overall this is a good adaptation of a great Bradbury story. There are good takeaways from it to ponder as well: 1. The consequences of a world where adults are increasingly obligated to spend more time working (take notice of the fact that both the main character & her husband are working on Saturday) which turns parenting into short segments of the day.
2. Even if world peace were possible, is being less guarded & defensive among our fellow Earthlings a gateway to becoming the victim of enemies whose existence might not be known to us for the pure fact that they've identified us as capable of defending ourselves? For science-fiction fans that might make more sense.
3. As times continually change has the world become a place where it simply is no longer safe for children to be running around unsupervised ANYWHERE? While the villains in this story are the epitome of fictional, are they much different from the real-life & online predators waiting to prey on naive & trusting children? One can't help but notice in this story that had these parents been more watchful of their children's playing that "zero hour" never would've come to be.
2. Even if world peace were possible, is being less guarded & defensive among our fellow Earthlings a gateway to becoming the victim of enemies whose existence might not be known to us for the pure fact that they've identified us as capable of defending ourselves? For science-fiction fans that might make more sense.
3. As times continually change has the world become a place where it simply is no longer safe for children to be running around unsupervised ANYWHERE? While the villains in this story are the epitome of fictional, are they much different from the real-life & online predators waiting to prey on naive & trusting children? One can't help but notice in this story that had these parents been more watchful of their children's playing that "zero hour" never would've come to be.
As if Stephen King ghost-scripted this mess...
fedor821 May 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This kind of baloney is what one would expect from Stephen King, not so much Bradbury whose stories aren't quite this dumb usually. (Nobody's writing is as bad as King's, except Argento, De Palma and Zombie.) The kids help aliens invade Earth and terrorize their parents, but we never find out WHY these kids are so hateful, borderline misanthropic. Bradbury gives us absolutely no viable rationalization, aside from some vague nonsense about "parents never listening to their children". What the hell is there to listen to!
Nor would this even remotely justify kids murdering their parents - let alone help out in an invasion. Clearly, Bradbury didn't think this through at all, he just scribbled it up.
Sally Kirkland's daughter is practically a sociopath, her behaviour makes zero sense. Yes, "Zero Sense", not "Zero Hour".
The kid is played by Katherine Isabelle, who is almost totally unrecognizable. One of the better nepotist kids, though not judging by this very lame episode.
Nothing here makes sense. Sally notices that the kids are constantly congregated around a bush, but she never actually makes the "effort" to check it out - which would have involved walking several steps TOWARD the bush, to find out what's there. Isn't she at least a bit curious? I mean, a few steps is all it would have taken...
Ditto the older boys who never bother to actually CHECK the bushes, which completely goes against kids' natural curiosity.
This episode completely disintegrates under the weight of its own idiocy.
Nor would this even remotely justify kids murdering their parents - let alone help out in an invasion. Clearly, Bradbury didn't think this through at all, he just scribbled it up.
Sally Kirkland's daughter is practically a sociopath, her behaviour makes zero sense. Yes, "Zero Sense", not "Zero Hour".
The kid is played by Katherine Isabelle, who is almost totally unrecognizable. One of the better nepotist kids, though not judging by this very lame episode.
Nothing here makes sense. Sally notices that the kids are constantly congregated around a bush, but she never actually makes the "effort" to check it out - which would have involved walking several steps TOWARD the bush, to find out what's there. Isn't she at least a bit curious? I mean, a few steps is all it would have taken...
Ditto the older boys who never bother to actually CHECK the bushes, which completely goes against kids' natural curiosity.
This episode completely disintegrates under the weight of its own idiocy.
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