3x14 "Through a Glass, Markie"

Sheesh, astral projection phantom kids can be SO annoying, am I right?  Join Craig as he sips some hot chocolate and digs into the classic Twilight Zone episode “Nightmare as a Child,” then jumps forward 25 years into the future to give the 80’s TZ effort “Little Boy Lost” the KID gloves treatment (ha! See what we did there?). Look (well, listen) for a guest appearance by Andrew Ramage of twilightzonemuseum.com fame, then revel in the triumphant return of Dr. Reba Wissner, our very own TZ Music Guru.

Theme: “Neither Here Nor There (9/22/2019 Revision)” by Twin Loops

“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “The Hole/TV People” (from the Poltergeist soundtrack composed by Jerry Goldsmith, copyright 1982 by Polygram Records)

“Axel F” performed by Harold Faltermeyer (from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, copyright 1984 by MCA Records)

“Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” performed by Rupert Holmes (from the album Partners in Crime, copyright 1979 by Infinity Records/MCA Records)

“Twinkle Twinkle” (from the album Nature Sounds: Forest Mystique, copyright 2018 by Simply Relaxing Tunes)

“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” performed by Fabio Perry (music) and Dead-Rose (vocals) (copyright status unknown)

Terry Burnham Memorial Project 2016: 

http://www.twilightzonemuseum.com/actors/terrymemorial.php

Dr. Reba Wissner’s A DIMENSION OF SOUND: MUSIC IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE:

https://www.amazon.com/Dimension-Sound-Music-Twilight-Media/dp/1576472167/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=reba+wissner&qid=1574613494&sr=8-1

Craig’s Twilight Zone 16mm (Mis)Adventure:

http://mylifeintheshadowofthetwilightzone.blogspot.com/search/label/Hollywood%20Theatre

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.

Repeat Report: Summer 1961, Part 2

The Twilight Zone's repeat schedule for summer 1961 (post-season 2) was 14 weeks in length, and was composed entirely of repeats from the show's first season. We covered the first half here, and we'll cover the second half here. It appears I missed two fairly obvious Forbidden Planet connections in my initial episode promos, so I'll spotlight 'em here. Oh, and make sure to click on the images to see the full-size HD beauty, thanks to Image Entertainment's stunning blu-ray release.

07/28/1961
"Elegy"
(originally broadcast 02/19/1960)

Forbidden Planet alert! Check out the mega-cool "Pac Man" lights, which were originally part of the film's ancient Krell laboratory... we also saw them previously in "People Are Alike All Over," and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they pop up again in the series' run.

08/04/1961

"Mirror Image"
(originally broadcast 02/26/1960)

Damn you, Vera Miles! I'm still waiting for my autographed 8x10...

08/11/1961

"One for the Angels"
(originally broadcast 10/09/1959)

Forbidden Planet alert! There's Robby the Robot, in wind-up toy form, making his first of three Twilight Zone appearances. Note the rather TZesque eyeball sticker on his dome.

08/18/1961

"The Big Tall Wish"
(originally broadcast 04/08/1960)


08/25/1961
"The Chaser"
(originally broadcast 05/13/1960)

09/01/1961

"Nightmare as a Child"
(originally broadcast 04/29/1960)

09/08/1961

"A World of His Own"
(originally broadcast 07/01/1960)

What can I say? I'm kind of a big deal.

Season 3 commences on 9/15 with a haunting tale of a chance encounter between mortal enemies. We'll witness firsthand that the line between love and hate is quite thin indeed. It's "Two" good to miss.

TZ Promo: "Nightmare as a Child" (4/29/1960)

Helen Foley arrives home after a typical day of teaching school and finds a solemn little girl named Markie on her doorstep.  She invites the child in for a cup of hot chocolate (wow, how times have changed!).  As they talk, two things become clear:  Markie is no ordinary child, and her appearance at Ms. Foley's home is no coincidence.

"Nightmare as a Child," written by Rod Serling and directed by Alvin Ganzer, is a neat psychological thriller that, for its time, was probably quite innovative (and has subsequently been copied ad infinitum over the ensuing years).  Ms. Foley is clearly a very disturbed woman, and is well played by Janice Rule (Bell Book and Candle, The Swimmer, Missing).  I won't give anything away, but it's safe to say that Markie isn't who we think she is.  For that matter, neither is this creepy guy who shows up at her door:

Whenever I see this episode, I usually yell the following at the TV:  "Don't trust him!  Run!!!"  You'll see why.  The original score by Jerry Goldsmith maintains a constant mood of dread and, ultimately, terror.

Interesting historical note:  Rod Serling's favorite teacher was named Helen Foley.  Also of note:  actress Janice Rule was once engaged to actor Farley Granger (Rope, Strangers on a Train), who came out of the closet in 2007.  Guess she dodged a sham-marriage bullet there.  But (sigh) just look at her.  What a beauty.

Speaking of beauty, the other little girl who appears at the end of the episode was played by Suzanne Cupito, who would go on to appear in two more Twilight Zone episodes (season four's "Valley of the Shadow" and season five's "Caesar and Me," not to mention the two-part Outer Limits classic "The Inheritors").  We know her today as the gorgeous Morgan Brittany (Dallas).

 

Next week:  Gart Williams is at the end of his rope, both professionally and personally.  His only salvation lies on a train, of all places.  More to the point:  a certain stop.  The stop is Willoughby, and it's a true Zone classic.  Get your ticket punched and tune in.