User Reviews

Barbara "Bunny" Blake (Maggie McNamara) is a movie star who's been away from her hometown for far too long. On her way to another exotic location, she receives a mysterious ring that sends her a vision of her former townspeople in some kind of imminent danger. Acting on impulse, she changes her schedule and flies home to see her family and old friends. But does she really arrive? That is the mystery of the story. After meeting her family and friends, Bunny decides (on impulse again) to stage a one-woman show at the high school auditorium, drawing away nearly everyone from the annual summer outing at the town park. Some of her family members are resentful; they feel she's "upstaging" the outing for her own gratification. But before she can appear, a jet plane crashes at the town park. Except for the passengers (all killed) nearly everyone in the town escapes unscathed. They're all safely seated at the auditorium waiting for Bunny's show. Then the eerie news arrives: Bunny was actually a passenger on the plane. Was her visit to her hometown an illusion, or was she really in two places at once? The viewers are left with this paradox. The only reality is that her "appearance" in the town saved everyone's life there.

The story is mysterious in itself, but even more so when one considers the tragic life of its real-life star, Maggie McNamara. Her promising career spiraled downward nearly overnight and she committed suicide at the age of 48.

SPOILERS INCLUDED This haunting episode is a favorite of mine. Bunny Blake, famous actress, gets a ring from her hometown fans, the ones who raised the money to send her to Hollywood. On her way to Rome for a film, she begins to see images in the new ring, of people from home telling her they need her. She stops off at her hometown to see her sister, on the day of the Founder's picnic- the ring warns her that the town needs her so she arranges to give a one woman show-at the same time as the picnic- forcing people to choose. The townspeople are all in the school auditorium, away from the picnic grounds, when there is a huge passenger plane crash in a thunderstorm. The townspeople are all saved, but Bunny Blake was a passenger on the plane and she is dead.

A haunting performance by Maggie McNamara- when she says goodbye to her sister, her reading of the line sent chills down my spine, and her expression, a woman who has just sacrificed to save others, as she walks out, unblinking into the rain and disappears, is unforgettable.

There is, however a glaring flaw in this episode: Bunny has come back to make sure the people stay away from the picnic grounds, where her plane will crash. But since there is a huge thunderstorm (which was already going on in the previous scene) which rips the plane from the sky, the townspeople would have already left the park and the heavy rain anyway!!! So the entire story makes no sense- except that in spite of this, the performances are so good that we can overlook it all. Maggie McNamara was truly underrated.

And for a bit of levity: I'm glad she left the mink coat behind for her sister! And for a bit of trivia, the Trooper who announces Bunny's death is the same Vic Perrin who worked on many Star Trek episodes as the voice of aliens (and the voice of the Guardian of Forever for you Trekkies).

Delving into the area of pre-cognition and the psychic, this episode features similar elements that were present in the Season Two story 'Twenty Two'. That one was a bit more ghoulish with it's 'Room for one more honey' girl. In this story, actress Bunny Blake (Maggie McNamara) is summoned to her home town of Howardville by virtue of a mysterious ring she receives as a gift. McNamara's performance is very effective here, because the entire time I perceived her as irritable and self-centered, particularly when she attempts to hijack the Founder's Day picnic to suit her own ego. Of course her actions turn out to save the lives of many, in a way that can't be explained by those who saw her throughout the day prior to the events that would claim her own life.

Now as I'm sitting here and watching the story, I'm thinking that it was highly unlikely that Bunny would have succeeded in stealing most of the town away from it's annual celebration, especially since she arrived unannounced. But a rainstorm would certainly have kept everyone inside. So did the citizens show up at the town hall to get a glimpse of Bunny, or to get out of the rain? If there was going to be a major storm, the folks of Howardville wouldn't have been celebrating outside and they wouldn't have been in any danger. Which means those prophetic visions Bunny had in the ring wouldn't have mattered. The plane crashing on the picnic site in a storm is believable enough, but there wouldn't have been any people there!

Sorry if I'm being nit-picky with this appraisal, but the only way for this story to work is if Bunny convinced the town to abandon it's plans on a nice sunny day. But then there wouldn't have been a reason for the plane to crash, except for mechanical failure. Which it could have. But it didn't. Ring-a-ding.

***SPOILERS)*** How many of us truly wish that we could thank, or apologize to people who have either helped us, or whom we have offended? I, for one, certainly have and do. In this stellar episode, Bunny Blake (lovely Maggie McNamara) gets that chance. In doing so, she guarantees her he place in the hearts of those people who made it possible for her to have the life that she dreamed about. What an opportunity!! She arrives in her home town, greets old friends and relatives and bids them farewell with courage and grace. Now, I've always thought that Maggie's career was too short, and her life as well, so, anytime this episode, or the movie "The Moon Is Blue" show up on the screen, I try to watch her acting (R.I.P. Maggie) This story moves well, shows the inherent charm that most actors have, and has a great memory of love for a person's past friends and relations. By the way, that's a great hot rod that Bud has, ain't it? I'm giving this one a 10.

I love this episode. Hitchcock must have been green with envy as 1963 was also an active year for Hitchcock. The unexpected twist at the end of this tale is absolutely chilling! Good job Earl Hamner, Jr., and Rod Serling! Definitely a departure for Hamner! My impression is that the fainting figure of Bunny Blake was the lady about to use up her last microseconds on Earth prior to her launch into her afterlife. LOVED the addition of the actress walking though water and saying goodbye to loved one(s) at the end! Bunny used her misfortune (death in the plane crash) to parlay those few dwindling moments on Earth prior to departure to the river Styx , her last bit of energy as a spirit only (Bunny died in that plane crash in her hometown) to warn her fellow hometown people that they needed to move away from the appointed location of the town's festival to a safer location otherwise the doomed plane would land on them! Great plot twist that Bunny's only plan was to distract her hometown fair-goers away from the event venue by staging a function meant for adoration of herself, thereby saving her townspeople from having a plane land on them in the plane's plunge to Earth! Most noble of Bunny! Had it been me.....I think I would have spent those last seconds allowed to me on Earth visiting an exotic location I hadn't checked off my bucket list prior to death. Bunny was noble with her remaining time prior to having her spirit taken away to eternity. AND I loved that Bunny walked OUT through the rain after saying her goodbyes and continued walking to her fate - No angel sidling up to her to escort Bunny to the next world. Not sure how Bunny's sister will take the news that Bunny's body was found amongst the plane crash victims, but hey, for 1963 this WAS Avant Garde! Awesome plot by the Hamner/Serling writing team and a BIG leap in Hamner's typical offerings (Spencer's Mountain, The Waltons, Apple's Way). Hamner found that one cell in his brain that told him to write a plot enmeshed in ethereal topics on this one occasion and to have a female hero in the lead! Chilling TZ episode that is appropriate for viewing in any decade!

I have always loved this one. Bunny Blake is a movie star played perfectly by Maggie McNamara . She's meant to be rather self centered and think she can get her way. She isn't however mean or cruel or vicious . She gets a ring from her hometown because she's called the Ring A Ding Girl and collects rings.

The ring seems to have powers she gets signs from it by the people of her hometown including her sister they need her help.

She returns home visiting her down to earth ,kind but no nonsense sister and likable nephew . The mother/son have a natural believable way on interacting.

Bunny finds both excitement and irritation at her return from various people . She wants people to come to her one woman show not the founders day picnic. Her sister Hildy at first says she and Bud ( her son) will attend the picnic they have duties to perform and she thinks Bunny is being a show off . Quickly though Hildy realizes how much it means to Bunny and says they will be at the performance. They have a touching moment between them.

But it's not as it seems Bunny is still on the plane that has crashed at the picnic sight and she's dead! Most of the town went to see the performance and are safe . The rain as I understood wasn't reported to be near the picnic only later does it hit the side of town near the picnic.

This is one of the more sentimental episodes. A chance for a character to look back and give thanks to the people who mean the most to them. There is a poignancy to this episode and MM performance especially in a couple of Bunny's scenes with her sister Hildy. Interesting too Bunny's real first name is Barbara as we hear from old Mr Gentry at the school. Her sister and nephew call her Bunny. Stage name or nickname I guess Bunny was considered more fitting for her image as a Hollywood starlet/ actress.

It's not clear how she'll in both places but it is The Twilight Zone.

This feels very much like a Twilight Zone episode but it also has a different tone and feel to it . It's one that always stands out for me.

Today, astral projection may be a casual thing in Doctor Sleep, Sabrina, Insidious, or Legion. But this episode is the one that brought the concept of astral projection on screen, and managed to make the plot so interesting & surprising & fulfilling, without even mentioning it, especially at that time period.

There's a whole lot that works here, and not least of which is that it feels like a town legend that several people would swear to their grave occurred.

It's not easy to create believable characters in a 25 minute anthology show, but the three main characters really do feel like a family.

This episode is (literally) haunting, but Maggie McNamara particularly nails her final moments on the screen.

It's unusually poignant because it paints a Hollywood star as an actual human with an actual family-- while all the time she is (seemingly) playing the starlet role to a hilt. She clearly is struggling desperately to save people's lives.

This is one of the most touching episodes TZ ever made.

It's easy and common to see celebrities as cynical unfeeling monsters. Sure, there are some like that, but most are regular people just with a weird job in an unusual world.

Some reviewers consider it a plot hole that people wouldn't be at the fairgrounds because of the rain, and thus would have survived anyway.

This was a sudden unexpected storm, it wasn't supposed to rain in this area. In some climates, a short storm can occur suddenly and be over ten minutes later. The people at the fairgrounds would run inside a building there for at least a half hour (or whatever) to see if it blows over.