The Twilight Zone (1959) -- Season 2 Episode 4 (A Thing About Machines)

The Twilight Zone had a lot of great episodes.  It also had a few not-so-great episodes.  There are a few, like A Thing About Machines, that I probably never would have heard of had it not been for my ability to stream them.  Unless a TV station is dedicated to playing the series in order or you buy the boxed set, I don’t imagine you’re likely to come across this one, either.

It’s about one Mr. Bartlett Finchley, a writer for food magazines.  He’s surrounded himself with all manner of devices that he hates.  (The episode starts with a repairman fixing the TV.)  It’s not clear how this came to be, but two things are clear:  It’s been going on for a while and Finchley is not a nice person.

His mistreatment of devices may be an outlet for his dim view of other people, as neither the repairman nor his secretary seems pleased to deal with him.  He’s the kind of guy that would chase people off his property just because they’re there.

Things come to a head when the devices start to talk back.  The woman on the television tells Finchley to leave.  The typewriter keeps producing a similar message.  His electric razor even chases him.  The episode ends with Finchley being chased into a neighbor’s pool.

I think the reason that this episode is forgotten is that there’s no real plot other than Kill Finchley.  It’s not even explained why he has so many electric devices.  A car is understandable; it’s necessary for mobility.  One could easily do without a TV or radio, though.  An electric razor could be replaced with a regular blade.  Even an electric typewriter/word processor could be replaced with a manual typewriter.  It seems a bit excessive for someone that doesn’t want it unless it’s neurotic behavior we’re talking about.

This is where the episode falls flat.  We never come to understand Finchley.  We never come to appreciate him or sympathize with him.  Even villains have to be relatable.  This is someone who has probably never been relatable.  He makes no attempt to relate to others.

There’s not even a twist ending.  Other similar episodes have some sort of clue that it might have been real, even when all other indicators point toward fantasy.  Fortunately, episodes like this are rare among The Twilight Zone.   Most are at least decent.  I’m happy to think of this episode as being the exception rather than the rule.

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The Twilight Zone (1959) -- Season 1 Episode 19 (The Purple Testament)

Sometimes, a character is given a gift to show that it can also be a curse.  What if a character was given something he knew to be a curse to begin with?  Lt. Fitzgerald is serving in World War II in the Philippines.  At the start of the episode, Fitzgerald is horrified that he can predict who in his company will die next.

The episode begins with him claiming to have foreseen four deaths.  Is he going crazy?  His superior officer, Capt. Phil Riker, consults the doctor, but there’s nothing that would indicate any mental problems.  Still, be sees an eerie light for a soldier in a bed; the soldier dies moments later.

When Riker says that he’ll go out on a mission, Fitzgerald begs him not to.  Fitzgerald has seen the light on Riker’s face, meaning Riker won’t be coming back; he doesn’t see the light on anyone else’s face.  When everyone comes back, there’s only one casualty.  The last death that Fitzgerald predicts is his own.  When he’s given orders to report back t headquarters, he doesn’t even resist.  He picks his stuff and leaves.

It’s not easy being Fitzgerald.  We do see the light on the faces of people destined to die, so we’re led to believe that he really does have this ability.  However, we don’t actually see many of the deaths.  The first four occur before the start of the episode.  Riker dies off screen, as does Fitzgerald.

It’s not explained how or why Fitzgerald can predict the deaths.  He simply can.  It’s possible that it was imagined, as he only really called two deaths that he could have prevented.  Maybe he just happened to be right twice.  Then again, would it matter?

It’s also not explained how long he’s had this ability.  He doesn’t explicitly state that the four men Fitzgerald told Riker about were his first four or how he knew that the light meant death.  It could have been an actual ability brought on by being surrounded by death.  He did call several deaths.

Either way, he really did need to get out of there.  Staying with that ability would have put an unfair burden on Fitzgerald, assuming he could actually do anything about it.  He doesn’t know how people will die.  It could be a bullet or a shaving accident.  He could have the condemned stay behind only to see them die another way.  It’s understandable that the episode didn’t go down this path.  The point is that war is hell.

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