TZ Promo: “The Dummy” (5/04/1962)

Season 3, Episode 33 (98 overall)

Cayuga Production # 4834

“He talks when I don’t talk.  He tells jokes I’ve never heard before.  He gives me bum cues.  He’s alive, Frank.  That’s why I locked him in that trunk.”

That’s ventriloquist Jerry Etherson, explaining to his manager why he can’t use Willie --- his most popular dummy --- in his act anymore.  Is it all in his head?  Or is Willie in fact alive? 

“The Dummy,” written by Rod Serling and directed by Abner Biberman, premiered 50 years ago tonight.  Cliff Robertson, last seen in season two’s “A Hundred Yards over the Rim,” is excellent as the tortured Jerry.  Sure, he might drink too much, and he might just be imagining the whole thing, but Robertson makes his torment so real, so immediate, that we feel for him even if it is his own damned alcohol-fueled fault.  Of course, this is The Twilight Zone, so there’s probably more to it… right?

Aw, screw it.  There’s no way I can write this whole thing without spoiling it.  Willie is indeed alive, and he’s actively rebelling against Jerry.  But there’s more to it than that:  by the end, Willie will somehow switch places with Jerry altogether.  That’s right, Willie will become human and the unfortunate Jerry will be reduced to a wooden puppet.  And while this allows for a marvelous reveal shot, it certainly opens up some questions.

Now, I’m on board with the psychological struggle between master and puppet. I’m cool with an alternate personality transmogrifying into a living being.  But honestly, they lose me a little bit when they have Jerry --- an innocent, decent guy --- literally turned into a dummy.  It’s just plain unfair; furthermore, how the hell did Willie pull it off?  Is there some sort of witchcraft curse at play here?  Maybe Willie was carved from the trunk of an ancient tree, which was inhabited by an evil forest spirit?  We don’t know, because we’re never told.  It just happens. Somehow Willie just has crazy awesome powers, and we’ve got no choice but to roll with it.

Otherwise, “The Dummy” is a fine episode.  There’s some great cinematography to savor, particularly in high definition:  Willie’s visage, reflected in a broken mirror at the end of the act one. The tilted camera angles as Jerry desperately paws at a go-go dancer to avoid being alone.  Willie’s shadow on a wall as Jerry runs around backstage like a lunatic after hours.  And again, the fabulously-staged reveal shot when we see Jerry’s fate and Willie’s triumph.

"The Dummy" features one of my favorite Serling intros. It's nothing particularly innovative or surprising... it's just good ol' Rod, sitting at a table in the nightclub, but goddammit, he is just plain OWNING that room. Arlen Schumer said it best:  "Serling had that authority that makes him one of the three coolest guys of the early ‘60s. Him, John F. Kennedy… and there was something about Serling, he had that sort of Frank Sinatra... swanky, sophisticated look, but he had that dark charm of Bond, James Bond."  If anybody ever gets around to making a Serling biopic, I think Jon Hamm (of Mad Men fame) would be a great choice.  They'll have to work around Hamm's excessive height, however....

Since I'm providing some suave male eye candy, I should also point out that "The Dummy" features a whole bevy of TZ Babes.  Check 'em out!

Bif Bang Pow! has immortalized Willie the Dummy twice, in both action figure and bobblehead form.  Both are still available as of this writing from Entertainment Earth. See here and here for my reviews of ‘em.

The Twilight Zone will revisit the living dummy idea in season five’s “Caesar and Me.”  And yes, it will suck pretty badly.  But that’s a couple of years off yet.

Next week, “Young Man’s Fancy” proves that you can take the mama’s boy out of the house, but you can’t take the…. wait…. aw damn it, never mind.  Thought I had something clever there.  Now who’s the dummy?

Spotlight: Willie & Jerry bobblehead (Bif Bang Pow!)

The second of three new TZ bobbleheads tweaks the format a bit: we get not one bobbling head, but two!


Willie & Jerry (the dummy and his ventriloquist, respectively) are from season three's "The Dummy." Jerry is played by veteran TV and film actor Cliff Robertson (who recently passed away), and Willie is played by... well, a block of wood. The patented Twilight Zone twist in this particular episode involves Willie gaining psychological --- and eventually physical --- control over Jerry, ultimately switching places with him. Bif Bang Pow! captures this metaphysical switcheroo brilliantly.



In the Willie & Jerry bobblehead, Willie is the master over Jerry. However, Willie is still clearly a wooden puppet, and Jerry is a miniaturized human. The episode found Jerry actually becoming a wooden dummy (and Willie becoming a man), but the choice to toy with the outcome (har har) here is an inspired one, as it adds another layer of TZesque weirdness. The fact that BOTH heads bobble elevates the piece even further.

Left view.

Right view (with spooky shadow).

As with several other TZ bobbleheads, the Twilight Zone logo is prominently featured out in front of the piece's base. The Bif Bang Pow! logo, and the usual copyright lingo, is printed on the underside of the base.



Willie & Jerry weighs in at 15.5 ounces, which places it in the middle of the pack (The Gremlin still rules the roost at almost 2 pounds!). It's heavy enough to break a window, though, so don't go tossing it around.


Willie (in his pre-transformative dummy state) was immortalized in action figure form last year, but he's much more menacing here, and not just because he has his hand stuffed inside Jerry's unfortunate back. He just looks.... y'now, evil.


What's left to say? Bif Bang Pow! continues its perfect Twilight Zone bobblehead record with Willie & Jerry, and you'd have to be a dummy not to add this one to your collection. Yes, I really did just type that.

News Flash: New TZ bobbleheads available NOW!

Two new Twilight Zone bobbleheads are available NOW from Bif Bang Pow!


First up, we've got the long-awaited companion piece to last year's wonderful Gremlin bobblehead (from season five's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"). It's William Shatner himself, as the beleaguered Bob Wilson. This piece is especially cool because, when paired with The Gremlin, you've got an awesome set of bookends!

I've been using my Gremlin's limited-edition color brother as a placeholder until I get my Bob Wilson. Looks like my wait is almost over (I'm placing my order this week)...



Next up we've got the ventriloquist's-dummy-gets-revenge-by-pulling-the-ultimate-switcheroo act, immortalized in bobblehead form. From season three's "The Dummy," it's Willie and Jerry!


Each bobblehead is $12.99, and are available NOW. Click on the links, if you're so inclined. I certainly am.

Bif Bang Pow! Celebration, Day V: Twilight Zone action figures, Series III (SDCC Exclusive)

Welcome to Day 5 of our weeklong celebration of Bif Bang Pow!'s considerable efforts to make The Twilight Zone a force to be reckoned with in the collectibles marketplace. So far we've examined four different action figures, and five limited-edition variants of their earlier bobblehead releases, which were also San Diego Comic Con exclusives. Today's spotlight features two more SDCC exclusives, two little plastic beings who are based on... two little plastic beings.

Talky Tina

(from "Living Doll")

Talky Tina stands 6 inches tall. The base body is similar to the one used in the adult-sized figures, but it's obviously smaller, which is perfect for figures like this (and Willie, spotlighted below, and maybe a future Anthony Fremont). It has the same points of articulation, and features the same monochromatic paint scheme as the other TZ action figures.


Technically, Tina is perfectly rendered. The outfit is correct, and she certainly looks enough like the real thing. The visible arm and wrist joints actually reinforce the fact that she IS a doll, which works to her benefit. This Talky Tina (Tiny Tina?) is actually MORE articulated than the actual doll!

Interesting note: Tina's white socks are accomplished in two steps: her ankles are painted white, and her feet are molded in white plastic. She can kick off her shoes safely.

Sock it to me!

In "Living Doll," the Talky Tina doll is a static object; her evil is revealed solely through her dialogue. Therefore, she appears completely innocent without the benefit of a sound chip to recite her diabolical lines. Displayed alongside the other TZ figures, she makes some sense on a contextual level, but on her own, Tina's just.... well, a nice little girl. Again, she's incredibly well done... she's just (unfortunately) not creepy enough in this format. I'm normally big on accuracy, but in this case I would've supported a touch of creative license with the face. Just a little subtle menace would've went a long way here.

Talky Tina must be really popular around the Bif Bang Pow! offices. We've already seen her in bobblehead form (in both monochrome and color), we've got her here as an action figure, and we'll see her again next year in a full-size, fully-functioning version, which was first unveiled at SDCC:


This is the only picture I've seen (so far), but this one looks a bit more menacing. I'm told that the life-sized version will indeed contain a sound chip, along with a "safe mode" that will disable the scary stuff and only play Tina's friendly lines of dialogue. Kid safe!

* * *

Willie the Dummy

(from "The Dummy")

Like Talky Tina, Willie uses the smaller child-sized base body and is presented in a black and white color scheme. Of the six initial action figures, Willie is by far the most basic. To pull off a successful Willie, one only needs a sailor outfit and something resembling a ventriloquist's puppet's head. That's it. A simple task, but Bif Bang Pow! manages without a hitch.




Sailor outfit? Check. The white striping is nice, and the scarf is a nice touch. The head sculpt is what really makes this figure. Big fat eyebrows? Check. Willie's head sculpt certainly evokes a ventriloquist's dummy but, beyond that, there's a touch of menace in his expression, which makes all the difference. Tina looks even more innocent standing next to him.


What's to complain about? They may not be as exciting to look at as their taller cohorts, but Talky Tina and Willie are perfect incarnations of their onscreen characters. And if you're collecting the others, you can't pass on these.... can you?

The SDCC color bobbleheads are limited to 504 pieces each (except for the Mystic Seer, which is limited to 1,500 pieces). I don't know if Talky Tina and Willie are similarly limited, but I wouldn't wait around to find out. Click through the links above to order them, now exclusively available through Entertainment Earth.


Okay, now that we've covered all six action figures, I guess a couple of group shots are in order. This is how I have mine displayed:

To honor their creators, however, I convinced them to move in closer for a cozier group shot:

Note that the two most evil characters (The Devil and The Kanamit) appear to be mentoring Willie and Talky Tina. I didn't plan it that way, but it does make sense....

Tomorrow: The 6th and final day of our Bif Bang Pow! celebration. I'll be chatting with Jason Lenzi and Jason Labowitz from Bif Bang Pow!, the guys responsible for all this celebrating. We'll also gaze into the proverbial crystal ball for a hazy look at what the future holds for the line. Don't miss it.