Now even more determined, the major fashions a grappling hook out of loose bits of clothing and his sword. The plan almost works, but a loud sound shakes the cylinder and sends the five tumbling to the ground.

The major then concludes that they are in Hell.Įventually, the major suggests a plan to escape: forming a tower of people, each person on the other's shoulders. The ballerina informs the major, 'We are in the darkness nameless things with no memory-no knowledge of what went before, no understanding of what is now, no knowledge of what will be.' Guesses are made about the nature of where they have been placed: the ballerina speculates that they are on another planet or a spaceship or that they are insane and are perceiving a mirage the hobo that they are all dead and in limbo the bagpiper that they do not exist but are dream figures of somebody else's imagination while the clown, who ironically, seems to be the most reasoning of them all, claims they are all players in each other's dreams, but then suggests the answers to these questions are infinite, thus unsolvable and immaterial. The characters question where, what and who they are. The major's questioning reveals that the characters have no need for food or water and indeed feel nothing in general, except for pain. He is told there is no way out except the ceiling, which is too high to reach but nonetheless he investigates and perseveres. The major, being the newest arrival, is the most determined to escape. None of them have any memory of who they are or how they became trapped. We will not end the nightmare, we'll only explain it - because this is the Twilight Zone.' Episode SummaryĪ uniformed Army major wakes up to find himself trapped inside in a large metal cylinder, where he meets a hobo, a ballet dancer, a bagpiper, and a clown. In a moment, we'll start collecting clues as to the whys, the whats, and the wheres. No logic, no reason, no explanation just a prolonged nightmare in which fear, loneliness, and the unexplainable walk hand in hand through the shadows. Five improbable entities stuck together into a pit of darkness. But if it didn’t, what’s your favorite episode of the show? Sound off in the comments section below.'Clown, hobo, ballet dancer, bagpiper, and an Army major - a collection of question marks. I also made an obscure Twilight Zone list, so your favorite might have ended up on there. Opinions are purely subjective, but I think most people would agree with many of the picks on this list. This episode’s not really trying to make any grand point, but from a storytelling perspective, there’s nothing better.Īnd that’s the list. The concept is mind-blowing, and the performances of everybody cringing their way through their entire lives so as not to upset a little boy is the most effective the show has ever been. “It’s a Good Life” is the only episode that has ever actually given me a nightmare. And then he’ll turn them into a jack-in-the-box before he sends them to the cornfield.īy far the scariest, most hair-raising episode in the entire series. He’s telepathic, so nobody in town can even think negative thoughts about him, because he’ll know.

Unfortunately, there’s a twist at the end that kind of spoils the rest of the episode, but overall, it’s one of the best in the series.Ī little boy (played by Billy Mumy) has godlike powers, and can basically kill you by just thinking about it.

And that image of the dripping paint at the end coupled with the music always gives me the chills. It all feels just way too claustrophobic and uncomfortable, which it’s supposed to. Climate change! How many other shows in the ‘60s were tackling that topic? But the interaction between the two characters (well, three, but I won’t spoil the episode), is great as well. This episode is especially great since it was so ahead of its time. Bronson, who just wants Norma to stop painting the sun and to start painting something cool for a change! Bronson (Betty Garde) are the last people to stay in an apartment complex, but they slowly go insane from the excessive heat. The earth is slowly, but surely, moving closer to the sun, creating an unbearably hot planet Earth.

Twilight zone midnight sun