The Twilight Zone (TV Series) Nick of Time (1960) User Reviews

"Nick of Time" covers a lot of psychological areas

[chuck-reilly · 9/10 · 24 July 2008]

William Shatner and Patricia Breslin play a honeymooning couple who stop to get a bite to eat at a small-town diner while their car is being repaired. In their booth, a strange penny-for-your-fortune machine (complete with a wobbling devil's head) attracts their attention while they await their food order. Shatner decides to insert a penny to see how his luck is going. The brief and terse answer that pops out turns out to be exactly what happens to the couple after they leave the diner. Intrigued by the possibility that the machine may have some innate power, Shatner and his new wife head back to the diner to find out some more information about their "future." It doesn't take long before Shatner becomes a slave to the devilish device and can't wait for the next answer, and the next...

"Nick of Time," written by Richard Matheson, explores many psychological areas, the most obvious being the nature of superstition itself and a lesser one involving thought inducement from suggestive persuasion. The answers Shatner and his wife receive are nothing but ordinary statements (e.g. "You'll find out soon enough," "That is to be determined" etc.). Unfortunately, they misinterpret them as all-knowing and all-omniscient and begin to completely fall under the control of the inanimate machine. It takes all their collective will-power to finally break free from the diner and resume their lives. As they leave the scene, another much older couple enter the diner and put a penny into the devil's slot. It appears the honeymoon is over for them.

Shatner does a great job as the young and confident married man who seems to have all the answers until he meets his match with the devil's own device. Patricia Breslin provides fine support as his loving but increasingly desperate wife who tries her best to tear him away from the diner before he loses his soul. "Nick of Time" is truly an original premise that has plenty to say about man's fears, superstitions and psychological problems. It's one of the more interesting episodes in the Twilight Zone series and has a real "hidden" message for viewers.

Superstitious young Shatner

[Coventry · 7/10 · 15 November 2017]

In a couple of ways, "Nick of Time" is quite reminiscent to an episode of season one entitled "The Fever". First there are the substantial similarities. Both stories revolve on married couples growing increasingly obsessed with a lifeless device that somehow communicates with them and mentally doesn't allow for them to leave. In "The Fever" it was a Las Vegas slots-machine and here it's a weird kind of fortune-telling napkin dispenser, but in both cases the wives stands aside reluctantly while their husbands destroy their otherwise perfect lives coin by coin, and penny per penny. Secondly, both episodes are a bit atypical "Twilight Zone" tales that are not immediately linked to science-fiction or supernatural themes, but instead deal with the much more complex matter of human psychology. Richard Matheson, brilliant and versatile writer that he is, subtly processes delicate topics like superstition and "self- deceit". The predictions that are coming out of this silly gadget (because it's nothing more than a simple gadget) couldn't be more vague or meaningless, yet the young Don Carter interprets them as wise and accurate statements that correspond with their lives. One final thing that "The Fever" and "Nick in Time" have in common, although this might be very personal, is that both stories don't exactly leave a very strong first impression but their impact gradually become more powerful when the subject matter sinks in. Tales like these naturally don't contain a lot of action or special effects. They depend on intelligent scripts, unsettling ideas, tense atmosphere, convincing acting performances and surprise endings. "Nick of Time" has most of these qualities, particularly with regards to the acting. William Shatner, still at the start of his rich career, is very convincing as the mentally vulnerable husband and Patricia Breslin impresses as his rational but emotional wife.

What does the machine say?

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 20 November 2018]

Driving cross country newlyweds William Shatner and Patricia Breslin stop in the small town of Ridgeview, Ohio when the car breaks down and needs repair. Going to your typical American Graffiti like diner of the period, the two sit at a booth where there's a penny fortune machine with a character of satan on top of it.

For laughs they throw in a penny and the machine spits out these enigmatic answers which can be interpreted just about any old way. Pretty soon Shatner and Breslin are hooked.

Can they get themselves unhooked.

No interdimensional phenomena, no monsters of the ID. Just a fascinating tale about the power of superstition.

A really great coda about another couple ends this episode.

A Penny 's Worth of Trouble

[dougdoepke · 26 May 2007]

Writer Richard Matheson and director Richard Bare manage to squeeze maximum worth out of this very slender premise. One of those bobble-head fortune teller novelties from the fifties proves to be more than just a teenage amusement. This devil's head claims to predict the future and actually does-- or at least appears to. There it sits booth-side in a cheap diner waiting for some unsuspecting customer to get caught up in the clairvoyant vortex. Unsuspecting newly-weds Pat Breslin and William Shatner make for very charming victims. Notice how Bare shifts camera angles as the couple falls under the demonic spell. He uses Breslin's mounting anxiety in the foreground to communicate emotions as Shatner gets caught up in the background. It's very effective. (Also-- consider how the couple gets a hearty lunch for under two dollars. Sign me up!)

The better TZ's usually posed an interesting philosophical question. Here the quandary is what you would do if you believed your future was already mapped out. Would you try to duck it? Could you avoid it? Or is fate unstoppable? Breslin doesn't want to find out, and when it comes down to it, neither does Shatner. Maybe their choice is the wisest. Live your life as though you are in charge. Let the gods sort out the rest. All in all, a worthy little episode.

Strange oddities....

[MarieGabrielle · 10/10 · 15 August 2006]

and William Shatner in this episode of "Twilight Zone". What more could the audience want?. A seemingly innocent road trip, two honeymooners in middle America; all is safe and pleasant.

Until they have to stop in a small town, to eat lunch and get their car repaired. An innocent soothsaying machine, with a snaggle toothed devil's head on top of it, is Shatner's past time as he starts to place coins in the machine, to see if he and his wife will ever get out of this town. The wife, as portrayed by Patricia Breslin is appropriately amused, at first.

After awhile, the answers the fortune-telling machine gives Shatner are ominous, and he develops a fixation on the machine: ..."What if...?"... he keeps wondering.

You will truly enjoy this episode, and anyone who knows if the props are available, I would be interested in the devil fortune-telling machine!. 10/10.

" It's not possible to predict the future, is it?"- It all depends on your point of view

[mlraymond · 10/10 · 22 January 2007]

This episode is like a good short story. It's tightly focused on two specific characters in a specific situation, building to a strong ending, but with an even more ironic conclusion than any viewer might guess.

William Shatner and Patricia Breslin are both excellent as the honeymooning couple. The small town diner has a realistic feel to it and the whole storyline is based in the every day world, but with a hint of the unknown and occult suggested ambiguously. The grinning devil head that bobbles on top of the fortune telling machine seems to mock Shatner's eager quest for answers.

One of the best moments occurs when the wife asks him, "Don't you realize you could get the same answers from a dozen machines just like it in this place?" The husband fails to see the logic of her idea and responds by saying " The same kind of answers maybe, but not the exact right answers." He insists that every one of the random answers the machine has given him is a literal prediction and confirmation of things that have happened recently. The way that he stares at the machine in fascination makes it seem almost a rival for Patricia Breslin's affections.

This is a powerful and absorbing episode that stands as one of the series' best.

Superstition

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 24 April 2018]

While driving on honeymoon trip through Ohio, the newlywed Don and Pat Carter have to stop in Ridgeview since their gas pump is broken. The mechanic asks for a few hours to repair the car and Don and Pat go to a diner to have lunch. On the table, there is a fortune-telling machine "mystic seer" and Don starts questioning the machine about their future. When the machine apparently respond accurate replies, the superstitious Don becomes addicted to ask about their future threatening his marriage.

"Nick of Time" is an intriguing episode of "The Twilight Zone". Don´s interpretation to the answers of the mystic seer indicates that the machine provides accurate answer. Fortunately for him his wife is wiser and asks him to let them make their future. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Na Hora H" ("In the Right Time")

The Twilight Zone-Nick of Time

[Scarecrow-88 · 9/10 · 1 January 2011]

A young couple are traveling through Ohio when their car's fuel pump takes out, having to wait in a café for a few hours. Don(William Shatner)is an accountant wanting a promotion for office manager, Pat(Patricia Breslin)his lady. Don becomes overwhelmed by a devil-headed penny machine napkin holder that shoots out cards which supposedly foretells the future. Pat tries desperately to pull Don away from it so they can be relinquished from the fear such a machine causes to those who honestly believe of its power to dictate the future. This is an episode dependent on the performers with only a small, rather unintimidating machine as the "doom device". Shatner scores again as a young man who becomes so dependent on the machine(even though it could just be popping out random messages) that he considers it too accurate to be anything but legit. Patricia tries to be the more grounded one who attempts to break her man from the machine's hold on him. Sadly, NICK OF TIME is overshadowed by the other Shatner TWILIGHT ZONE episode, but this is quite a good showcase for his talents(he can deliver a subtle performance, you know).

"It has already been taken care of".

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 10 April 2010]

Something very strange - I've seen this episode about three or four times over a span of years dating back to it's original series run, and I can never remember how it ends. That won't happen again since I'm writing about it now, but it gives you an idea that not all the Twilight Zone's had to go for a shocking finale or a twist ending.

But how can you forget William Shatner's paranoia over a penny fortune telling machine? Fresh on his honeymoon with the Mrs. (Patricia Breslin), Don Carter (Shatner) is distracted to a fault over his impending promotion to office manager back in New York. Taking refuge at a diner in every-town Ridgeview, Ohio, the couple falls victim to an inanimate object that can seemingly predict the future. Well, Shatner's character falls victim, his wife has the strength of will and reason to break the machine's spell over her husband so they can eventually make their escape.

Whenever I tune into a period piece like this, I make it a point to key in on those reminders of a time gone by. The most striking thing here is that Don Carter's seventy five cent phone call back to his office cost a nickel more than a plate of bacon, eggs and hot cakes at the Busy Bee. Can you imagine that? The fried shrimp with french fries and cole slaw for eighty five cents sounded like a real bargain, making me wonder why anyone wouldn't want to pony up the extra spare change instead of simply getting a sandwich for four bits. Or if you find yourself in the middle, there's the hamburger steak for sixty five cents, topping that off with an ice cream soda for another fifteen cents. Seems like the cook though was pushing the chicken fried steak big time.

The irony of the episode, as it boils down to an examination of superstition and how it can take control of one's life, is that one can never know what negative unintended consequences you leave behind if you refuse to play the game. The elderly couple who replace the Carter's in the diner booth are just such an example, having fallen victim to the mystic seer. That could have been the Carter's, if not for breaking through the haze of inertia caused by an innate desire to see and know the future instead of creating it for themselves.

So, should you see the episode? - It has been decided in your favor.

When will people outgrow superstition? Never

[darrenpearce111 · 8/10 · 11 November 2013]

A story unlike any other in the TZ. It works very well as a tale with a message about superstition. Amazingly, the 21st century is full of mystic nutters predicting the end of the world,mediums,astrologers etc. So perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that Don Carter (William Shatner) should appear so gullible about the mystic seer at the Busy Bee Cafe holding all the secrets that fate has in store. I think Pat Carter (Patricia Breslin, later to star in 'No Time Like The Past' in series 4) speaks for the majority when she says it's her husband not the seer that is frightening. Even so superstition seems disproportionately powerful for 1960 here, given that Don Carter is getting such non specific answers. Would have been much more spooky if the seer had foretold of the near-future Chief O'Hara of 'Batman' appearing very briefly (Stafford Repp) or of a flight to be avoided by William Shatner in another story.

Worth seeing for the anti-superstition message and Patricia Breslin as the sensible suffering wife.

Chance is the fool's name for fate.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 2 January 2010]

It seems to be about newly minted husband, William Shatner, and his dealings with a cheap fortune-telling machine at a booth in the local lunch counter. He and his wife, Pat Breslin, are waiting for their car to be fixed in this hick town in Ohio while on their honeymoon.

Shatner is a superstitious fellow. He carries a rabbit's foot AND a four-leaf clover on his key ring. Worse, as he feed this demonic little machine pennies, he begins to believe it can foretell the future. Actually, it's like one of those Magic Eight Balls put through a step-up transducer, or like the oracel at Delphi. Each time Shatner puts a penny in the slot, asks it a question, and pulls out the answer slip, it is uncannily appropriate. But in an ambiguous frame. Shatner is supposed to ask only "yes or no" questions, and the fiendish device comes up with answers like, "It has already been decided." Shatner is obsessed. His wife finally pulls him away and they resume their journey.

Shatner has a line of dialog that always cracks me up. His wife protests that the answers are vague and general, and he replies, "What am I supposed to do? Ask it how it is? And it's supposed to say, 'I'm fine, Don and Pat, so how's by you?'"

I said it "seems to be" about Shatner and the little machine, but actually it's rather more than that, whether the writers intended it or not. What it's really about is connecting the dots.

Shatner is all too willing to believe that the machine is divulging some fundamental truth and connects the dots to his own situation eagerly. (Who wouldn't want to know the future?) The problem that Shatner is dealing with is that you can find a pattern that suits your beliefs in any assembly of random events. That's one of the reasons we (and the Chinese) have zodiacs. Taken to its extremes, what you wind up with is a psychosis. Those lights in the next-door neighbors house? That's the IRS developing information with which to prosecute you. (That example is from Ernest Hemingway's later years.) Do you turn on your PC and find the desktop icons rearranged? They did it. Lose a lens from your eyeglasses? They've taken it deliberately. (That's another real example from a case of paranoid schizophrenia.)

There's more to this episode than meets the eye. I think Rod Serling and Richard Matheson were conspiring to tell us something. I think the machine was wired and the persons writing the answers to Shatner's questions were a bunch of secret government agents and Freemasons. They wanted him to stay in that one-horse town in Ohio because they plotted to put a communist mole in his place at the agency he worked for.

I'm just kidding. I think Matheson (whose title for the episode is a pun; "Nick" = "devil") just dreamed up the idea out of nowhere and thought it would make an interesting episode. At the same time, I sense a lot of us normal folks out here who are connecting dots that do not cry out for connection.

A Timeless Lesson

[mlifrevol · 9/10 · 2 January 2010]

Not a lot can be added to what has already been said by other reviewers but I wanted to point out just a couple of things. What happens to Don Carter (Shatner) routinely happens to many of us in the form of looking for signs from horoscopes, religion, and an over-sensitivity to coincidences. You can convince yourself that the universe, God (or the gods), and fate are all lined up in your favor.

I found it very interesting that Don Carter saves his wife from the speeding car but he is also the one the put her there in the first place. You can hear her yell out to wait and he tells her that they can make it. They both see only the truck and are unaware of the speeding car that is passing on the other side. When one allows signs and superstitions to guide their life away from danger, it can also be taking you toward danger.

Great writing and acting!

Don't ever let the devil tell your fortune.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 19 April 2019]

Even a penny is too much to know what the great deceiver has in store for you, or wants you to think he has in store. For engaged couple William Shatner and Patricia Breslin, being stuck in a roadside diner, it starts off as a novelty but quickly turns to obsession for Shatner. The questions start off simply but quickly become more serious and sinister, with the obviously superstitious Shatner getting more and more paranoid. The bobble headed Satan is creepy enough to see in small shots, but the close-ups are downright horrific as Shatner obviously starts to go mad in spite of Breslin's plea for him to stop.

Only two episodes after "The Howling Man", this seems to be a follow-up as the married couple seem to be dealing with the escaped evil of that classic episode. The young Shatner is perfectly obsessive with the need to know the future, and this of course indicates that their future will not be a happy one. The subjects of trinkets like rabbits feet and four-leaf clovers are dealt with subtlety as a way of warning the audience of how superstition can take over one's mind to the point of no return. The perfect little Ohio town is a great setting for such a sinister subject to be set in, and the final scene creates a bit of irony as well.

What?

[Anonymous_Maxine · 5/10 · 25 June 2008]

I borrowed Season 2 of the Twilight Zone from my mother-in-law about a week ago (my brother's wife's mother. Is that my mother-in-law? Stepmother-in-law?), and this was the first episode that I watched, just because I was surprised to see that William Shatner was starring in it. He looks absolutely nothing like the William Shatner that we now know and love (seriously, nothing at all. If it wasn't for his voice it would be hard to believe it's the same guy), and the second thing that struck me was that there was nothing at all strange or paranormal taking place in the episode from beginning to end, which is something that I haven't come to expect from a Twilight Zone episode.

Shatner stars as Don Carter, and one day he and his wife Pat go into a cafe that has a little penny machine on the table that tells your future. Casually, he puts in a few pennies and asks a few yes or no questions, and is absolutely astonished by the generic answers that he gets. Why is he so stunned by the answers? Never once does the machine give anything but a generic response, and never once does it give either a yes answer or a no answer to one of Don's yes or no questions.

All he ever gets are things like "What do you think?" and "It has already been taken care of," and "Your chances are good." Don is blown away. I would hate to see this guy reading some fortune cookies or his horoscope, he might lose his mind! The black and white lighting, as usual, is one of the best elements of the episode, and the music does a fine job of lending a tone of otherworldly presence in a show whose most otherworldly thing is the incredible gullibility of the main characters. Even though the episode is ultimately disappointing in its lack of content, it's still another interesting look at that Back to the Future set at Universal Studios and the early career of one of science fiction's most recognizable stars.

Q: Will I watch the rest of the season? A: It has already been decided.

[bombersflyup · 9/10 · 25 August 2019]

Wow, Nick of Time is intense. I thought for sure it would be over between them, that she had seen that he couldn't control his vices and test his belief in it in regards to her. Though so convinced that he believed it, she didn't dare and avoided the subject. Extracting him with affection, not conviction. Though I reckon they could of hypothesized a question as they're walking out the door and a card fall out, revealing their fate. Quality acting, Patricia Breslin in particular. The standout of the season thus far, rejuvenating my interest in the show.

Superstition

[AaronCapenBanner · 10/10 · 26 October 2014]

William Shatner & Patricia Breslin play a young married couple named Don & Pat Carter whose car breaks down as they are traveling in Ridgeview Ohio. While waiting for it to be prepared, they visit a nearby diner to get something to eat and drink, when Don discovers a devil-headed fortune telling machine that consumes many of his coins as he becomes obsessed with learning his fate, since the machine seems to be making accurate predictions on bits of paper it ejects to the recipient. Can this couple escape the clutches of this machine before they are trapped there? Excellent low-key episode most effectively conveys the dangers in handing over your destiny to a machine, and avoiding superstition taking a stranglehold on your life.

"I'm the world's biggest jerk"

[behaynes-55279 · 9/10 · 7 December 2023]

Okay... so the title is for all the Shatner haters out there. Despite... his history... ofscenerychewinginStarTrek... and... odd... cadences... oftenassociated... Shatner, in my opinion, did a good job in this episode. Hell, he even managed to look good without having his shirt ripped or torn off altogether, lol. The rest of you need to get a life 😉

On a more serious note, this is an excellent essay in freewill vs destiny; having faith in yourself vs having faith in something outside of yourself. Maybe you just need to have someone who believes in you. Even when... especially when... you may not believe in yourself. Most of us don't have an "easy" life. It does help when there is someone to have our back. Don, in this case, would have been lost without Pat pulling him back from the brink.

As the episode progresses, it's interesting to see the change between them. Initially, Don and Pat are holding hands, or arms around each other... but as Don's superstition kicks into high gear, the connection fades. When they get back to "their" table in the diner, they are now sitting on opposite sides. Pat loves her husband, no doubt in my mind... but she fights for him logically, not trying to belittle him or emasculate him. I say this as someone who will listen and respond to logical, thought out arguments, but hates ad hominem attacks. She doesn't stop loving him at the first sign of trouble, instead she doubles down on her desire to not let *anything* come between her and the one she loves. The world could be a better place if more people had that kind of commitment.

Hi Donsy and Patsy, how's by you? Get the hell out of that town as quick as you can, and call me when you reach NYC.

An episode about chance and choice of life decisions.

[blanbrn · 8/10 · 3 January 2019]

This "Twilight Zone" episode from 1960 called "Nick of Time" is one that's interesting and filled with a little drama and suspense plus it features the work of a young William Shatner(however his classic later episode of the series "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" would become better known and respected). The story is pretty simple Shatner and Pat Breslin play a newly married couple Don and Pat Carter who have car trouble and break down on their way to New York, as during their breakdown in a small Ohio town they visit a local diner for lunch. It's during this time that a small fortune telling device at their eating table which features a devil face predicts events as they ask questions by putting a penny in each time! It's like an addiction as they are hooked selling their soul to the devil! As they rely on this small device to make choices and decisions about their futures! Only as with anything in life thoughts and mind sets boil down to chance, choices, and luck. As the episode closes out they decide to venture out and see what life really holds for them without depending on a machine device! Because life is about chance, and happenings of luck, choice, and decision making. Overall well done episode that challenges one to live life for what it's worth.

The Jukebox in this episode

[javadud · 9/10 · 17 August 2009]

I really like this episode. Most of the TZ episodes are good. I agree with most of the other posts on this one.

The thing I wanted to add was something about that jukebox in the background. My parents own one that is the same model. It is a Wurlitzer model 1050. I was very surprised to see the same model in an episode. They have owned theirs since the 60s.

Anyway, if you watch the jukebox throughout the episode, they have turned it off during the closeup shots. There is a light at the top towards the back that is on and off throughout the episode. This would probably qualify as a goof.

The other thing is, the particular model had to search out the disc and then bring it up for play. It would not have come on as fast as it does in this episode.

That is a bit of a long winded explanation, but oh well. We have had that machine in our family for over 40 years. It's cool to see one on a TV show.

Now, the fortune machine...I have never seen one like that anywhere.

A napkin dispenser that knows your future...

[The_Void · 8/10 · 9 March 2006]

Episodes of The Twilight Zone are always based on intriguing ideas that make you think, and this one takes its plot from the idea of superstitions. Nick of Time was the follow up to the stunning 'Eye of the Beholder', and as you might expect; it can't live up to that episode. However, this tale benefits from its good natured humour and intriguing premise. We follow a honeymooning couple, who have to stop in a small town after their car breaks down. They go for a bite to eat in the local café, and soon become obsessed with the gimmicky napkin dispenser that will predict your future for a penny. When several of its predictions come true...they come to believe that there may be more to this item that its gimmicky exterior suggests. This tale is very dialogue based, and most of the plot stems from the chatter between the couple. This dialogue is well written, and the tale constantly pulls you into their plight. Nick of Time then climaxes nicely with a stimulating finale that is typical of Rod Serling's TV show. Sure, it's not the best episode of the series; but as usual, this tale is well worth 25 minutes of your life.

Make your own luck.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 4 March 2022]

The first of William Shatner's visits to The Twilight Zone (the other being the brilliant Nightmare at 20,000 Feet in Season Three), Nick of Time shows how superstition can rule and ruin your life if you let it. Shatner plays superstitious newlywed Don Carter who becomes obsessed with a fortune telling napkin dispenser in a diner which he believes is predicting his future. Don's wife Pat is the voice of reason, and attempts to explain away any seemingly accurate predictions as mere coincidence, explaining to her husband that they if they are to be happy they must be masters of their own destiny. Don and Pat escape becoming enslaved by the machine (which is fittingly topped with a devil bobblehead), but another couple aren't as lucky.

Nick of Time is one of those rare episodes that isn't rooted in the fantastical (unless you believe that the devil is really at work): it's more a keen observation of human nature, showing how some people take the easy way out by basing important life decisions and blaming any negatives outcomes on groundless predictions from the likes of fortune tellers and horoscopes. Serling's story espouses seizing control of your own future--put away your rabbit's foot and four leaf clover and make your own luck! The lack of any supernatural goings-on might be a tad disappointing for some, myself included (I like monsters and aliens!), but I did enjoy the sentiment of this episode, and Shatner is always entertaining.

Great episode...

[charihar · 9/10 · 3 January 2009]

Don't let anyone fool you.

This is a great episode that you can relate to. It sounds foolish and downright laughable, but really, you can feel it in your bones. I truly mean that, too. Seriously, think about it for a moment...

Whether eating a fortune cookie or looking at your horoscope (and we are a horoscope culture), you cannot deny the practical transportability of this episode. One can easily succumb to the downfall presented in this situation, no matter how far fetched it may initially seem. It can easily relate to any superstitious moment you've ever had in your everyday lives. I especially recommend you waiting for a very politically incorrect moment by William Shatner when he berates handicapped children. Now that was unexpected.

When can we leave?!

[Calicodreamin · 7/10 · 4 June 2021]

A more eerie episode of the Twilight Zone because the fear and suspense are created solely by the main characters. A cheap fortune telling machine and the human disposition. Decent acting, and loved seeing a young Shatner.

Shatner is good in this. No, wait, hear me out first.

[fedor8 · 5 April 2022]

This episode shows just how good Shatner can be when he doesn't overact. (Don't crucify me.)

Very well written, realistic dialog, but it's the acting that holds everything in place. Shatner's descent into madness is on target, and while there is no major plot-twist - as is nearly always the case - at least none that directly relates to the main characters, there is an intelligent point to be made, devoid of the over-the-top preaching. But then again, Serling didn't write it, which is why it doesn't have the usual teezonian foibles and nonsense.

In fact, TZ would have been a much better series overall had Serling not been so egotistic, wanting to script most episodes. Had the writing work-load been fairly distributed among more writers, the series would have had far less duds, and more classic episodes.

Pat should of got an annulment.

[vitoscotti · 5/10 · 23 March 2024]

Wonderful seeing William Shatner as odd ball Don. Stafford Rapp (Chief O'Hara) in Batman) here is a generic car mechanic. The highlight of the episode were the actors and their performances in a too simplistic script.

I know these stories will defy logic but this one was way over the top. Pat (Patricia Breslin) we're supposed to believe just is finding out Don has some mental issues.

More imagination in the writing instead of the dry predicability could have made for a more memorable story. Especially the fact a young man is just recently married having his attention stray off his pretty bride to his bizarre obsession so easily had a creepy vibe to it.

Not a total time waster. But, only an ok episode.