"The Twilight Zone" Living Doll (1963)

User Rating:

8.9/10   

Director:

Richard C. Sarafian

Writers:

Charles Beaumont (writer)
Rod Serling (creator)

TV Series:

"The Twilight Zone" (1959)

Original Air Date:

1 November 1963 (Season 5, Episode 6)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

A frustrated father does battle with his stepdaughter's talking doll, whose vocabulary includes such phrases as "I hate you" and "I'm going to kill you". |

Plot Keywords:

Doll | Talking Doll | Broken Neck | Stepfather Stepdaughter Relationship | Winking

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 4

6:30 PM

SCIFI

Living Doll

#5.6

Cast

Telly Savalas	...	Erich Streator
Mary LaRoche	...	Annabelle Streator
Tracy Stratford	...	Christie Streator

Runtime:

26 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Cayuga Productions

Trivia:

Tina and Christie are both nicknames for Christina. The doll and the child share a name, so among many other interpretations it could be argued that the doll is a proxy through which Christie expresses hostility toward her stepfather and protects her shy, frightened mother.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Eric pulls Tina from the trash can after he agrees to return her to Christie, he unwraps the cord from around her neck twice.

Quotes:

Talky Tina: My Name is Talky Tina and I am going to kill you.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror III (#4.5)" (1992)

An early, subtle look at domestic abuse

The main thing to note about this episode is that Erich (Telly Savalas) is quite obviously an abuser, even though the extent of his abuse is likely understated because of the sensitivity of the subject at the time. One sees that his wife and stepdaughter live in terror of him, yet also are too fearful of what he may do to try to leave him or tell anyone else. As such, Talking Tina is not just an evil doll like Chucky, but the only hope for escape that this mother and daughter have. Talking Tina sees Erich for the abuser that he is and is not afraid of him, and realizing this, he sets out to destroy her.

The one thing that disappoints me is the ending, which seems a bit rushed and could have been handled more dramatically. (I have an idea for a different ending with the same basic result, but I'll hold it for now). I feel that the writers chickened out a little there. For overall effect, however, this is one of the true classics of the original Twilight Zone.