The young Earl Holliman proves that he was more than just a handsome young actor in this premiere episode of "The Twilight Zone" that features only him for the first three quarters of the episode. Lost and seemingly having amnesia, Holliman wanders into a small town where everything seems to be normal outside of the bizarre quietness of the community. He is trying to find anybody he can oh, and of course that does not happen. Through his isolation, he basically begins to lose his mind and when we finally get to see somebody else, it is the army led by James Gregory (of "The Manchurian Candidate", ironically) viewing him through special military devices and revealing the secrets in Holliman's visit to the Twilight Zone.
This is an acting tour de force for Holliman, several years after the film version of "Bus Stop" and years before "Police Woman". Everything he does in his energetic and ranting performance has a major purpose and when everything comes together, it gets to be the first official moment in the series that can be considered a jaw-dropper. The themes of isolation and human beings having control are disturbing and certainly open up all sorts of discussion as to the genius behind the series and how as frustrating as humanity can be, how much we need others. The extended pilot features a lengthy discussion by Sterling over the purpose of the series and is basically meant for the sponsors as a way of selling the series which of course worked. So the next time you complain about too many commercials, you can remember this entry to the very first Twilight Zone episode and be grateful that sponsors were willing to buy in to advertise their products.
This is an acting tour de force for Holliman, several years after the film version of "Bus Stop" and years before "Police Woman". Everything he does in his energetic and ranting performance has a major purpose and when everything comes together, it gets to be the first official moment in the series that can be considered a jaw-dropper. The themes of isolation and human beings having control are disturbing and certainly open up all sorts of discussion as to the genius behind the series and how as frustrating as humanity can be, how much we need others. The extended pilot features a lengthy discussion by Sterling over the purpose of the series and is basically meant for the sponsors as a way of selling the series which of course worked. So the next time you complain about too many commercials, you can remember this entry to the very first Twilight Zone episode and be grateful that sponsors were willing to buy in to advertise their products.