The Twilight Zone: Where Is Everybody? (1959)
Season 1, Episode 1
Your next stop: the Twilight Zone!
29 August 2011
It is testament to the brilliance of Rod Serling that the pilot episode for his classic series The Twilight Zone can consist almost entirely of one man wandering around a deserted town and still be a hugely entertaining experience. 'Where Is Everybody?' begins with a man (Earl Holliman) wandering down a dusty road with no recollection of how he came to be there, or any knowledge of who he is. On arriving at a town (the same Universal back-lot used for Back To The Future and Gremlins), he continues his search for signs of life, but starts to crack up when he realises that he is all alone.

A thoroughly engrossing study of the fragility of the human psyche, convincingly portrayed by Holliman and brilliantly directed by Robert Stevens, this story is extremely eerie throughout, provides a smashing 'shock' midway through, and packs a terribly dated but still very cool twist ending, thus setting the high standard for many more episodes to come.
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