“Nick of Time”
Season Two, Episode 7 (#43 overall)
Cayuga Production # 173-3643
Season Two, Episode 7 (#43 overall)
Cayuga Production # 173-3643
Two weeks ago we had a run-in with the Prince of Darkness himself, masquerading as a rather vocal prisoner in a European hermitage. Tonight, we meet him again (so soon!), but this time he’ll appear in a much more innocuous guise… however, as we’ll quickly discover, he’s still pretty dangerous.
“Nick of Time,” written by Richard Matheson and directed by Richard L. Bare, tells the tale of a young married couple (William Shatner and Patricia Breslin) who find themselves stranded in a small town with car trouble. As they wait for their vehicle to be repaired, they head over to a nearby diner for lunch, where they encounter this charming object:
Yep, it’s that old rascal, the Mystic Seer fortune telling napkin dispenser. This object has appeared many times in my blog, thanks largely to Bif Bang Pow!’s rendering of it in bobblehead form (in two flavors, no less: monochrome and full color; both are still available as of this writing from Entertainment Earth. As our hapless hero gets progressively hooked on the vague fortunes the machine spits out at him, his wife becomes increasingly aware (or rather, afraid) that the machine may be determining their future for them.
It’s a pretty mild episode, but it’s well done. It’s not necessarily a favorite of mine, but I have no complaints about it. Well, okay, if I’m being totally honest...
I find Breslin a bit... well, homely. I mean, just look at Shatner. He was a really handsome guy when he was young (he still looks pretty good today, actually), and given those dashing good looks, I think he (okay, his character, Don Carter) would have... well, a hotter wife. Man, that’s pretty shallow of me, isn’t it? After "Eye of the Beholder" last week, you’d think I’d at least try to look beneath the surface. Okay, she’s also a bit of a nag. I guess Carter deserves it, being the superstitious jellyfish that he is, but still.
*Ahem* Anyway, the episode turns 50 tonight. And if any of you wish to reenact your own home version of this episode, Bif Bang Pow! will be releasing a life-size, fully-functioning (!) replica of the Mystic Seer in the spring. I definitely plan on owning one; moreover, I’m planning on making my own custom fortunes to place inside for unsuspecting victims.
Next week: Nothing. The show was pre-empted on 11/25/1960 by "Harvest of Shame," an exposé of sorts by Edward R. Murrow regarding migrant farm workers… which gives me a chance to plug the brilliant Good Night, and Good Luck., George Clooney’s 2005 film about Murrow’s legendary television crusade against Senator Joe “Better Dead Than Red” McCarthy. It’s a black and white film, and it’s a nice companion period piece to The Twilight Zone, what with the CBS connection and all. I highly recommend it.
Two weeks from tonight: Last season, she tried to outrun Death but lost. Now, Inger Stevens returns to The Twilight Zone as another unhappy young lady, this time trying to cope with a life of leisure in a house full of…robots? It sounds like a comedy, but it’s really not. Tune in.
Yes, it looks blurry. There's a reason. I'll explain in two weeks.
2 comments:
Another one of my favorites episodes, thanks to the "magic" gadget. Also, the episode is slightly eerie and great acting by all.
I like reading your blog!
I admire much of The (original) Zone but can count on the fingers of one hand the episodes that hit me right in the labonza in the final minute (or so). You can probably guess most of them. Count this one among them. And at first viewing I was young enough to figure out just what the he(ck) was going on.
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