4x04 "Quantum Gleep"

Howdy pardners! This week we saddle up and transcend the shackles of time to corral the classic Twilight Zone episodes “Execution” and “BackThere.” Along the way host Craig does his usual drooling over Forbidden Planet props and related gadget porn, and somehow The Smiths make an unlikely appearance. Giddyup!

Mohawk Midgetape 300 gadget porn:

http://vintage-technics.ru/Eng-Mohawk_Midgetape_300.htm

http://www.pimall.com/nais/pivintage/midgetrecorder.html

“Oscillate Wildly” performed by The Smiths (“How Soon Is Now?” single B-side, copyright 1985 by Rough Trade Records)

“The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Il Buono, Il Butto, Il Cattivo)” composed and conducted by Ennio Morricone (from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, copyright 1966 by Capitol Records)

The Twilight Zone is a trademark of CBS, Inc.

Between Light and Shadow: A Twilight Zone Podcast is a nonprofit podcast. Music clips and dialogue excerpts used herein are the property of their respective copyright owners; we claim no ownership of these materials. Their use is strictly for illustrative purposes and should be considered Fair Use as stated in the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. section 107.

TZ Promo: “Back There” (1/13/1961)

“Back There”
Season Two, Episode 13 (#49 overall)
Cayuga Production # 173-3648

♪ The professor and Mary Ann ♪.... oh wait, wrong theme song. Ahem. 50 years ago tonight, the man best remembered as the Professor on Gilligan's Island found himself in the past, and compelled to change history.


Russell Johnson stars as Peter Corrigan in Rod Serling's "Back There," directed by David Orrick McDearmon. The plot is really easy to encapsulate. Guy finds himself inexplicably in the past, tries to prevent Lincoln's assassination, instead gets c-blocked by John Wilkes Booth. Fail.



"Back There" has all the makings of a good episode... however, two things stand in its way: first, there's not much in the way of actual tension. The Twilight Zone requires the viewer to suspend its disbelief... up to a point. Some things are just too much to ask. We know Corrigan won't be able to stop Lincoln's assassination, so the whole affair is ultimately pointless. Second, as much as I like Russell Johnson (he was great in season one's "Execution"), he totally overacts here.


The best thing about the episode is Jerry Goldsmith's haunting, harpsichord-tinged score. The more recognizable cues will be reused later, to great effect, in season three's "To Serve Man" and season four's "Death Ship." The score was first released on Varese Sarabande’s The Twilight Zone: The Original Television Scores, Volume 3 LP (and CD in Japan), and later appeared on Silva’s The Twilight Zone 40th Anniversary Collection. It’s also presented in isolated form (on an alternate audio track) on Image Entertainment’s The Twilight Zone, Season 2: The Definitive Edition DVD, and on the recently-released blu-ray edition as well.



* The Professor, incidentally, did have a name... it was Roy Hinkley. How many of you knew that?

Next week: another videotaped episode. Unfortunately, it's the worst of the bunch. It stinks like a cheap used car.