“Long Distance Call” (Season 2, Episode 22) And from the moment everyone puts these horrific things on - the better to reveal the ugliness inside all of them, my dear - we’re treated to one of the most unsettling collections of blank-faced characters delving into a dark night of the soul short of that Eyes Wide Shut orgy. Before he goes gently into the night, however, the man has one caveat: his future “mourners” must spend the evening wearing grotesque masks until the clock strikes midnight. A dying patriarch (Robert Keith) has assembled his family so they can say their goodbyes the greedy bastards are more interested in divvying up his wealth. This late-season highlight - directed by actor-turned-pioneering-female-filmmaker Ida Lupino - starts out as a slow-burner brimming with passive-aggressive bitchery. From hidden martians and hungry aliens to the monsters living next door to you, here are our contenders for the 25 best Twilight Zone episodes. It’s remarkably similar to “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” but I don’t think it’s quite as good as that one.And as Jordan Peele steps into Serling’s shoes and gives us a Twilight Zone for the Trump era, courtesy of CBS All Access, there’s no better time to revisit the original show’s high points. I find some of the dialogue a little too on the nose. It’s a very good episode, if a little preachy. Only Bill understands the seriousness of what has happened while the bomb didn’t kill them, they destroyed themselves nonteheless. Jerry says that they should throw a block party and raise money to repay Bill for the damage to his shelter. As the door is broken down, the broadcast on the radio is heard, saying that the objects overhead have been identified as satellites, and that the state of emergency has been called off.Įveryone calms down, and people apologize to Marty. The neighbors come back with the flagpole and use it to break down the door. Marty steps in to try and calm things down as well, but gets punched. This causes Jerry to see how wrong they’re acting. Someone else mentions that if they take it, that’ll get another family involved, and they don’t want to save them.
Jerry tries to explain that he won’t let anyone in, and Marty proposes that they draw lots to see if perhaps just one family could be let in, which pisses people off thinking he’d try and just save his family, causing him to be called a “wop,” and a “semi-American.”Īfter arguing outside Bill’s shelter, one neighbor mentions that someone on another street has a big flagpole that they could use as a battering ram. They are also turned away.Īll of Bill’s neighbors come together and argue.
As Jerry turns to leave, Marty (Joseph Bernard) shows up with his family incluing his infant child. Bill feels bad, but he has to turn him away, saying that there is not enough room. They move everything down to the shelter, which Bill says has enough food and water for two or three weeks.Īfter Bill locks the three of them inside the bomb shelter, Jerry shows up, begging for Bill to let him in. The familes all scatter, trying to prepare for what’s about to come.Īt the Stockton house, Bill and his wife, Grace (Peggy Stewart), collect as much water as they can before the water runs out.
They do just that, and find that the President has declared a state of emergency due to unidentified objects flying overhead that they think could be enemy missiles. The neighbors tease him a bit over his construction project at odd hours of the night and morning, but all admit that they overlook it due to their appreciation for him.Īs the party is wrapping up, Bill’s 12-year-old son comes down saying that the television went out and told them to tune in to the emergency broadcast station on the radio. Bill Stockton (Larry Gates), who gets a toast from his neighbor, Jerry Harlowe (Jack Albertson, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory). The episode begins pleasant enough with a surprise birthday party for Dr. Thematically, it’s very similar to episode 1’s “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” but may even go further into showing the deteriorization of society. “The Shelter” is a wonderful time capsule of mid-century America. Episode 3.3 “The Shelter” Original air date: SeptemWriter: Rod Serling Director: Lamont Johnson
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