TZ Promo: "I Dream of Genie" (3/21/1963)

 Season 4, Episode 12 (#114 overall)

Cayuga Production #4860

Originally aired March 21, 1963

50 years ago tonight, another genie visited The Twilight Zone, this time only offering one wish instead of the customary three. I dunno, maybe times were tough (I imagine this would happen today too, with all the sequestering and whatnot going on).

John Furia Jr.’s “I Dream of Genie” introduces us to George P. Hanley, another of The Twilight Zone’s spineless doormat types (on the ObnoxioMeter ™, I’d probably place him somewhere between Roger Shackleforth and Henry Bemis; at least he’s nowhere near James B.W. Bevis levels of noxiousness).

Here’s “I Dream of Genie” in a nutshell (spoiler alert, if you care):  guy inadvertently buys a lamp, which houses a modernized genie who only offers him one wish.  Guy spends the next hour imagining different wishes and their resultant consequences.  Guy can’t make up his mind.  Guy finally decides to take over the genie job himself, restores all the classic Middle Eastern flair associated with genies in lamps, and starts dolling out the customary three wishes per customer.

“I Dream of Genie” tries to be light and charming, and there is a certain Walter Mittyesque quality therein as George entertains elaborate fantasies in the form of dream sequences, but unfortunately there’s just not enough actual content here to fill an hour, so it gets tedious pretty fast. It doesn't help that TZ has already done this basic story (season two’s “The Man in the Bottle,” which also featured a genie in modern attire), so there’s nothing new or original here (except the ending, which I’ll admit is a well-played surprise). 

One bright spot is the fact that George’s pet dog, Attila, changes from fantasy to fantasy (all told, four different breeds play the various versions of the pooch).  I’m a dog lover, so naturally I was tickled.  And I can’t deny that I enjoy the scene early in act two in which George mulls over possible new vocations before the actual dream sequences kick in (scientist, army general, etc).

However, these elements wouldn't be enough to sustain a half hour format, much less this season’s double length requirement.  Sad to report, “I Dream of Genie” is probably my least favorite episode of the entire fourth season.  There’s just nothing here to hold my interest, man.  Nothing, that is, except…

Arroooooogah!  Patricia Barry!  TZ babe alert! Barry Previously appeared in season one’s “The Chaser” (alongside George Grizzard as the above-mentioned Roger Shackleforth).  Funny --- the coworker she flirts with here is also named “Roger.”

Barry also appeared in 1983’s Twilight Zone: The Movie as Anthony Fremont’s unfortunate mother in the “It’s a Good Life” segment (not sure why they didn't get Cloris Leachman to reprise her role from the original episode, though). 

We last saw Jack Albertson in season three’s “The Shelter.” It’s hard not to picture him surrounded by Oompa Loompas in 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (in which he played Charlie’s beloved grandfather); however, he’s probably best remembered for his Emmy-winning role as “The Man” himself from TV’s Chico and the Man.

Other TZ alumni on display here include Loring Smith, who previously appeared in season two’s “The Whole Truth” as politician “Honest” Luther Grimbley.  We also get another dose of James Millhollin, who delighted us in season one’s “The After Hours” and season two’s “Mr. Dingle, the Strong.” Less delightful (and more head-scratchingly bizarre) was his choice to appear as Willoughby (!) the llama in the “Great Vegetable Rebellion” episode of TV’s Lost in Space.

George P. Hanley is played by Howard Morris in his only TZ appearance. He’s probably best remembered as Ernest T. Bass on TV’s The Andy Griffith Show, but you've probably heard his voice in numerous television cartoon series, including The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Magilla Gorilla and, more recently, Cow and Chicken on Cartoon Network.  He was also the original voice of McDonald’s Hamburglar!

 I got yer Robble Robble right here, Andy!

I cannot for the life of me fathom why this episode was endowed with an original score, while worthy season four episodes like “In His Image” and “Death Ship” got the recycled library music treatment (imagine Bernard Herrmann tackling either of those!). If it’s any consolation (it’s unfortunately not), Fred Steiner’s work is serviceable enough… but instantly forgettable.

“I Dream of Genie” strives to be a light comedy with supernatural overtones, but it wears out its welcome long before the hour is up.  And even if it didn't, if it somehow managed to hold our attention till the silly end… well, The Twilight Zone has done this story before, rendering this effort completely superfluous.  File it under “U” for Unnecessary and hey, while you’re at it, take next week off.

In two weeks:

Sorry to WAX rhapsodic, but Martin Balsam just plain KILLS in his return to The Twilight Zone.

Seriously, he SLAYS ‘em.

TZ Promo: "The Shelter" (9/29/1961)

Season 3, Episode 3 (#68 overall)
Cayuga Production # 4803

Fifty years ago tonight, a jolly (i.e. alcohol-fueled) birthday party was interrupted by an emergency radio announcement: unidentified objects, presumably enemy missiles, have been spotted heading toward the US. Sheesh, talk about a buzzkill.


“The Shelter,” written by Rod Serling and directed by Lamont Johnson, has all the hallmarks of a classic Serling script: crisis (the possibility of a nuclear attack), moral dilemma (only one family on the block has a bomb shelter), and a preachy indictment of man’s tendency to act badly in the face of adversity (the rest of the neighborhood wants access to the bomb shelter, and isn’t interested in taking no for an answer). What’s missing? Well, there’s virtually zero supernatural or fantasy trappings (in fact, this is the third straight TZ episode that lacks an overt divergence from reality), but that’s not an automatic deal breaker.


What is a deal breaker, however, is the fact that Serling already told this same story, back in season one’s “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.” The unseen menace there was a presumed alien invasion, but the basic story --- in which neighbors turn on one another --- is essentially the same. As with last week’s “The Arrival,” Serling’s idea well seems to have run dry, so he’s pilfering earlier episodes for ideas. It’s a disappointing trend that will continue throughout the rest of the series. Great, even brilliant Serling-penned episodes are still to come, but consistent quality is no longer guaranteed. The glory days of the first two seasons are clearly over.


Having said all of that, “The Shelter” is by no means terrible. It’s just… stale. Predictable. Maybe it was more shocking and relevant in 1961, given the political climate. My mom remembers lying awake at night when she was young, scared half out of her mind that Russia could launch its missiles at any time. Even as late as my own childhood in the 70’s and early 80’s, all-out nuclear war was a real and vivid possibility. Remember that 80’s TV movie The Day After? I was in 7th grade when it aired, and let me tell ya, that thing scared the shit out of me. Fast forward 30 years: how often does the concept of World War III even cross our minds? The world is a different place now. My kids, who are now transitioning into adulthood, have never lived in fear of a nuclear holocaust. The more plausible threat to their way of life? A complete economic collapse, followed by worldwide Chinese rule.


“The Shelter” sports two familiar TZ faces: Sandy Kenyon (who we last saw in season two’s “The Odyssey of Flight 33,” and who we’ll see again in season four’s “Valley of the Shadow”) and Jack Albertson (who will appear --- and reappear --- as the titular genie in season four’s “I Dream of Genie”). Albertson is better known as Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, not to mention “The Man” himself on TV’s Chico and the Man.



THE MUSIC

“The Shelter” does not feature an original musical score; rather, existing cues were selected by the series’ musical director Lud Gluskin from the vast CBS Music Library (this practice is commonly referred to as “stock scoring”). Most stock-scored episodes feature cues by various composers from various sources; however, almost every cue heard in “The Shelter” was composed by Robert Drasnin from a suite called, simply, “Serling.”

Drasnin in 1998.

Drasnin is also responsible for one of my all-time favorite exotica LPs, 1959’s Voodoo: Exotic Music from Polynesia and the Far East (he recorded a follow up in 2007, Voodoo II, which is equally wonderful). Drasnin isn’t typically named among exotica luminaries like Les Baxter and Martin Denny, presumably because of his relatively slim contribution to the genre, but what he did give us is simply marvelous. As of this writing, only the first Voodoo volume is available on iTunes, but both are readily available from Amazon.com. I highly recommend both of 'em. For more information on Mr. Drasnin, go here.



AH, MEMORIES

Flashback to 1983: my 7th grade literature teacher, Mike Nygren, gave us an intriguing assignment: create a radio play based on an existing literary work. Having recently discovered The Twilight Zone, I immediately hit upon the idea of adapting an episode. I hadn’t seen “The Shelter” at that point, but I had read Serling’s short story version in his New Stories from The Twilight Zone paperback. The dialogue-heavy story seemed well suited to radio, so I condensed the story into a ten-minute script. My group for the assignment consisted of myself and my friends Donovan Littlejohn and Ignacio Palacios (both of whom I'm still in touch with). We recorded the script using my old Radio Shack tape recorder, and we even included Marius Constant's classic TZ theme (taped directly from a syndication airing on KPTV-12; I tape recorded many episodes before my parents finally gave in to my impassioned pleas and bought a VCR). We got an A for our efforts, as I recall. Damn, I’d love to hear that recording again. I don’t recall if Mr. Nygren kept it, or if maybe I ended up with it afterwards, but either way, I’m pretty sure that cassette is deep inside a landfill by now. Shame. If by some crazy twist of fate I find it, I'll upload it for your listening pleasure (torture?).

Next week: Scarlet O’Hara meets Nicole Kidman. Don’t worry, it’ll make more sense in context.