I got my set of 'The Twilight Zone Definitive Edition' today and couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than by watching the pilot episode - "Where is Everybody?". As with most of the stories in the series, I've seen this one before, while remembering some better than others. I would never have guessed that this was the premiere episode, but in it's way, it quite appropriately places the viewer at the center of each story right from the start, allowing one to imagine how you might feel if you were the protagonist instead of the actor on screen.
Whether it's movies or TV shows of the era, I always get a kick out of seeing those time capsule reminders of life from the age in which I grew up. "Battle Hymn" at The Savoy and 'The Last Man on Earth' on the book rack. Twenty nine cent toothpaste and forty cent banana splits at the soda shop, those good old days just a distant memory now. The town of Oakwood itself looked absolutely impressive in all it's post War hope and promise of a better life for all America.
I guess that's why it's all the more shocking when the story reveals what might appear to be an almost sinister side to Earl Holliman's isolation experiment. Military bigwigs conspire to learn how twenty days in solitary confinement might prepare future space explorers to survive long periods of loneliness. It startled me somewhat how much of Holliman's experience resembled a virtual reality scenario by the time it was all over. All those wires and probes connected to him to provide feedback and monitor his vital signs. Very creepy.
Judging by this first episode, the remastered Definitive Edition has done a remarkable job in putting out a terrific product. The picture was so clear that you could pick out the individual hairs in Holliman's beard and the pores of his face. The best though was the fly that landed on the mannequin's car door and remained there for Holliman's entire dialog. Had Rod Serling scripted that, I would be truly amazed.
As Holliman's character is carried away on a stretcher at the finale, I found it rather intriguing that he seems to invite the viewer to come back for future episodes by uttering the words 'Don't go away'. Fans of "The Twilight Zone" in fact never go away, they just keep coming back for more.
Whether it's movies or TV shows of the era, I always get a kick out of seeing those time capsule reminders of life from the age in which I grew up. "Battle Hymn" at The Savoy and 'The Last Man on Earth' on the book rack. Twenty nine cent toothpaste and forty cent banana splits at the soda shop, those good old days just a distant memory now. The town of Oakwood itself looked absolutely impressive in all it's post War hope and promise of a better life for all America.
I guess that's why it's all the more shocking when the story reveals what might appear to be an almost sinister side to Earl Holliman's isolation experiment. Military bigwigs conspire to learn how twenty days in solitary confinement might prepare future space explorers to survive long periods of loneliness. It startled me somewhat how much of Holliman's experience resembled a virtual reality scenario by the time it was all over. All those wires and probes connected to him to provide feedback and monitor his vital signs. Very creepy.
Judging by this first episode, the remastered Definitive Edition has done a remarkable job in putting out a terrific product. The picture was so clear that you could pick out the individual hairs in Holliman's beard and the pores of his face. The best though was the fly that landed on the mannequin's car door and remained there for Holliman's entire dialog. Had Rod Serling scripted that, I would be truly amazed.
As Holliman's character is carried away on a stretcher at the finale, I found it rather intriguing that he seems to invite the viewer to come back for future episodes by uttering the words 'Don't go away'. Fans of "The Twilight Zone" in fact never go away, they just keep coming back for more.