Open the door to the Twilight Zone!
Step through a doorway into another dimension again. Enter a world where a normal man finds himself filled with thoughts of murder, spacemen are trapped in an endless cycle of life and death, an unmarried man falls in love with a doll in a museum, and Shakespeare can live again as a television writer. The doorway to mystery, horror, comedy, and science fiction has been opened…and those trapped inside might not escape.
The Twilight Zone—Season 4 aired from January 3, 196 and May 23, 1963 on CBS. The series changed from a half-hour format to an hour format. The season was a mid-season replacement for Fair Exchange. The season featured a new intro.
The Twilight Zone was a series that I loved. On special holidays, a local station would air all the big episodes of The Twilight Zone for a day or the weekend and I would “binge” (before that was a thing) the episodes provide…only taking off time to eat and go to the bathroom. It was often one of my favorite days. The Twilight Zone—Season 4 is different than the other season with its hour running time…and many episodes haven’t been seen often.
Yeah….I’m Burt Reynolds trying to channel my Marlon Brando
The hour episode format doesn’t really work here. The Twilight Zone always has a twist, and the twist is generally obvious. The series relies on the twist and by stretching it out for the whole hour, it just becomes a waiting game. The series is still relatively strong, but the episodes would be better served in a half-hour format.
The Twilight Zone continues to be a who’s-who of up-and-coming stars and actors now on the path down. Dennis Hopper, Robert Duvall, Julie Newmar, Ann Jillian, and Burt Reynolds appear in roles which helped start their acting careers. Veteran actors like James Whitmore, Joyce Van Patten, Pat Hingle, Albert Salmi, Jack Albertson, Dana Andrews, Burgess Meredith, Anne Francist, James Best, and Jack Klugman (in his third Twilight Zone appearance) also lend themselves to the season.
You see one Twilight Zone UFO, you’ve seen them all…
The season continues to look like The Twilight Zone. It is dated and set-based, but there is something comforting about the fact that the show always looked the same. The nice black-and-white photography lends itself to the stories and the sci-fi nature of the series…I don’t know that it would have worked in color.
The Twilight Zone is probably my all-time favorite show because it evokes good memories and even in these flawed episodes, there still is a style to it. The episodes are interesting also in that they are rarely seen in comparison to the half-hour episodes. The experiment with this season didn’t seem to work. Rod Serling returned to half hour episodes for the final season of the series.
The Twilight Zone—Season 4 Complete Episode Guide:
“In His Image”
4.1 In His Image (Episode #103) Airdate: 01/03/63
Alan Talbot (George Grizzard) has met the love of his life in a week trip into the city. Now engaged to Jessica Connelly (Gail Kobe), Alan is about to take her home to meet his aunt and see the town where he grew up and works. Alan finds the town is different than he remembered and no one seems to know him. Alan is plagued with rage and the urge to kill…and he’s about to find out why.
“The Thirty-Fathom Grave”
4.2 The Thirty-Fathom Grave (Episode #104) Airdate: 01/10/63
A Navy destroyer is alerted to the discovery of a sunken submarine…that no one can explain how it sunk or who it is. With a strange banging from inside the submarine, the crew tries to determine if someone is alive inside. Meanwhile, Chief Bell (Mike Kellin) is suffering flashbacks from World War II and the ghosts of his pasts.
“Valley of the Shadow”
4.3 Valley of the Shadow (Episode #105) Airdate: 01/17/63
Philip Redfield (Ed Nelson) passes through a small town called Peaceful Valley in New Mexico. When his dog disappears and he smashes into an invisible barrier, Philip learns that he isn’t able to leave Peaceful Valley and that Peaceful Valley has a secret.
“He’s Alive”
4.4 He’s Alive (Episode #106) Airdate: 01/24/63
Peter Vollmer (Dennis Hopper) is a man full of hate. With a young neo-Nazi group forming behind him, Peter is gaining strength and power against the wishes of his friend Ernst Ganz (Ludwig Donath)…and he has an unseen helper in the shadows.
“Mute”
4.5 Mute (Episode #107) Airdate: 01/31/63
A girl named Ilse (Ann Jillian) survives a fire that claims the life of her parents and destroys all evidence of her relatives. Placed with Harry Wheeler (Frank Overton) and his wife Cora (Barbara Baxley) who are trying to get over the death of their own child, Ilse is unable to speak…but Ilse has other gifts that no one understands.
“Death Ship”
4.6 Death Ship (Episode #108) Airdate: 02/07/63
Captain Paul Ross (Jack Klugman), Lieutenant Ted Mason (Ross Martin), and Lieutenant Mike Carter (Frederick Beir) are on an expedition for Earth to explore new worlds. When they see signs of alien life on a planet, they discover a crashed ship that looks exactly like their ship and filled with their bodies. The crew must decide if they are caught in a time loop or an alien deception.
“Jess-Belle”
4.7 Jess-Belle (Episode #109) Airdate: 02/14/63
Jesse-Belle (Anne Francis) loves Billy-Ben Turner (James Best) but unfortunately Billy-Ben loves Ellwyn Glover (Laura Devon). When Jesse-Belle learns Billy-Ben is engaged to Ellwyn, she goes to a witch for help…and finds true-love might just be a curse.
“Miniature”
4.8 Miniature (Episode #110) Airdate: 02/21/63
Charley Parkes (Robert Duvall) is a lonely, unmarried man who lives with his mother (Pert Kelton). Despite the encouragement from his sister (Barbara Barrie) and brother-in-law (Lennie Weinrib) to get out and about, Charley finds the only love is a small miniature house in a museum which houses a secret only Charley can see.
“Printer’s Devil”
4.9 Printer’s Devil (Episode #111) Airdate: 02/28/63
Douglas Winter (Robert Sterling) is the owner of a failing paper. Despite the pleas of his employee Jackie (Pat Crowley), Douglas sees himself out of luck and money and is considering suicide. When he meets a man named Mr. Smith (Burgess Meredith), Smith could bring new life to Winter’s paper The Courier. Winter is about to discover that Mr. Smith’s help might not be wanted or welcomed.
“No Time Like the Past”
4.10 No Time Like the Past (Episode #112) Airdate: 03/07/63
Paul Driscoll (Dana Andrews) is out to stop the world from being destroyed by war. Travelling back in time, Driscoll heads into the past to try to alter things. When he finds his futile attempts at changing the past don’t seem to work, Driscoll plans to live peacefully in the past…but even that might be difficult.
“The Parallel”
4.11 The Parallel (Episode #113) Airdate: 03/14/63
Major Robert Gaines (Steve Forrest) travels into space to orbit the Earth, but loses contact during the trip. When he returns, Gaines notices things seem slightly different. His work, his family, and his life seems off, or it could be the entire world.
“I Dream of Jeanie”
4.12 I Dream of Genie (Episode #114) Airdate: 03/21/63
George P. Hanley (Howard Morris) is a man down on his luck. When he buys an antique lamp from a junk shop as a failed gift, he discovers a genie (Jack Albertson) lives in the lamp. With one wish, George debates what to wish for.
“The New Exhibit”
4.13 The New Exhibit (Episode #115) Airdate: 04/04/63
Martin Senescu (Martin Balsam) works in wax museum run by Mr. Ferguson (Will Kuluva) where he sees statues as almost humans itself. When Ferguson decides to sell the wax museum, Martin decides to house his “friends” Jack the Ripper, Albert W. Hicks, Henri Desire Landru, William Burke, and William Hare in his basement. Martin must defend his “villains”, but the sculptures might be able to defend themselves.
“Of Late, I Think of Cliffordville”
4.14 Of Late I Think of Cliffordville (Episode #116) Airdate: 04/11/63
William J. Feathersmith (Albert Salmi) is a cruel and ruthless businessman near the end of his life. When he meets a janitor named Mr. Hecate (Wright King) from his hometown of Cliffordville, Indiana, Feathersmith realizes the missed opportunities for wealth that he could have capitalized on if he had only known. When an agent of evil named Miss Devlin (Julie Newmar) offers Feathersmith a chance to travel into his past and earn the wealth he always dreamed of…but knowing how to get rich doesn’t necessarily equate money.
“The Incredible World of Horace Ford”
4.15 The Incredible World of Horace Ford (Episode #117) Airdate: 04/18/63
Horace Ford (Pat Hingle) lives in the past. Despite his wife (Nan Martin), mother (Ruth White), and friend Leonard (Philip Pine) and his job at a toy factory, Horace dreams of being young again and his friends. When a visit to his old street takes him back in time, Horace learns the cold truth of seeing the world through rose-colored glasses.
“On Thursday We Leave for Home”
4.16 On Thursday We Leave for Home (Episode #118) Airdate: 05/02/63
A colony on V9-Gamma awaits a return of ships from Earth. Captain William Benteen (James Whitmore) finds that people are losing hope as condition on V9-Gamma continue degrade. When a ship arrives carrying Colonel Sloane (Tim O’Connor), Captain Benteen discovers that his time as leader might have come to an end…but giving it up might be harder than he thought.
“Passage on the Lady Anne”
4.17 Passage on the Lady Anne (Episode #119) Airdate: 05/09/63
Alan Ranseome (Lee Philips) and his wife Eileen (Joyce Van Patten) intend to take a ship to England and book passage on the Lady Anne. As they attempt to salvage their marriage, Alan and Eileen find that everyone on the ship doesn’t seem to want them on the Lady Anne and they could be on a trip to death.
“The Bard”
4.18 The Bard (Episode #120) Airdate: 05/23/63
Julius Moomer (Jack Weston) is a writer who has never quite made it. When he learns that a pilot for a series about the black arts is floating around, he decides to research it…accidentally summoning William Shakespeare (John Williams). Shakespeare’s ideas of what is a play and what people expect on TV might differ.
Related Links:
The Twilight Zone—Season 1 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The Twilight Zone—Season 2 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The Twilight Zone—Season 3 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The Twilight Zone—Season 5 Review and Complete Episode Guide
