By Geno McGahee
This was the very first Twilight Zone episode and concerns a man alone in a town. Mike Ferris (Earl Holliman) wanders aimlessly and confused, seeking humanity but not finding it anywhere. He roams into a diner looking for some grub and the place is empty…not a soul. He sees a woman in a car and when he runs over to speak with her, he discovers that it is a mannequin, but still talks with her because she is the closest thing to another person.
He decides to the police station and once again, there is nobody there. There is some activity however. There is a lit cigar and the water is running in one of the cells. When he makes it to a movie theater, he realizes that there is a film playing but when he makes it into the projection booth, nobody’s home.
This episode is what may have inspired the movies “The Last Man on Earth” with Vincent Price and “The Omega Man” with Charlton Heston, but it cannot be compared with either. Although this is not a bad tale, it’s not a very good one either. By Twilight Zone standards, it doesn’t match up, but it is watchable and if you like the two above mentioned movies, you will like this one, even if it is merely to compare them.
The ending of this episode is satisfying and probably played out a lot better at the time it was released, but knowing history, you will appreciate it. I thought that the ending was the best part of the entire story, and for that, I recommend it.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6/10. A Mediocre Episode
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