The Twilight Zone (1959) -- Season 2 Episode 6 (Eye of the Beholder/A Private World Of Darkness)

There are certain situations where spoilers should be withheld.  There are others where spoiler warnings are unnecessary.  This is a case where I don’t feel bad about giving away major details, as most people should be able to see the twist coming.  It’s almost impossible for me to review this episode without at least hinting at it, even if subconsciously.

You see, Janet Tyler is undergoing her eleventh attempt at corrective surgery.  This is her last chance.  If the bandages come off and she’s still abnormal, there are few alternatives left for her.  All of the characters, including the doctors and nurses, spend the beginning of the episode either in the shadows or blocked from the camera’s view so that we can’t see their faces.

When the bandages come off of Janet’s face, we see a beautiful woman.  The norm is a warped, pig-like face that we would consider hideous.  This society, wherever it is, values conformity.  It values standard people with a standard look.  Janet doesn’t fit the bill, so she’s to be sent to live with others of her kind.  The hospital even brings in a man to ease her into the transition.

When I first saw this episode, I took it at face value, if you’ll pardon the pun.  Ours is a species that values attractiveness.  What attractiveness means is subjective, but we can be cruel to those who don’t have it.  Sure, Janet will still be able to live a productive life.  She just won’t be able to do it with normal society.

It wasn’t until I started reading about the episode that I picked up on other details, like the fact that she’s basically being set to a ghetto.  When the episode ran in syndication, it was called The Private World Of Darkness.  (The alternate title plays on not only the lack of light in the beginning of the episode, but on the fact that darker skin tends not to be viewed as desirable.)

There’s a reason that this is one of the most iconic episodes of the series.  There are subtle jabs at segregation and race that would still have meaning today.  Appearance shouldn’t matter, but it does.  It’s as relevant now as it was in 1960, almost 60 years ago.  We don’t even need to know if the characters are human or not.  It doesn’t really matter.

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The Twilight Zone (1959) -- Season 2 Episode 3 (Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room)

Jackie Rhoades is a petty criminal.  More than that, he’s a relatively minor person in the overall scheme of the criminal organization and life in general.  He never stands up to people and has nothing to show for his inaction.  He’s a nobody.

Jackie begins the episode in a cheap motel room, as the title would imply, waiting for instructions from his handler, George.  Those instructions are to kill a barkeeper who isn’t keeping up with protection money.  This is beyond what Jackie thinks himself capable of, which is exactly why he’s given the job.

While talking to himself in a mirror, Jackie finds a different version of himself.  This version is confident and willing to do what it takes to get noticed.  For purposes of this review, we’ll call this version John Rhoades.  John and Jackie argue about what to do.  Jackie could shoot the barkeep and risk the death penalty or he could not do the job and risk the wrath of George.

The term bottle episode originated with Star Trek, although such episodes have been found in series both before and since.  A bottle episode tends to refer to episodic television using established sets and as few guest actors as possible.  (The term comes from Star Trek having to use only ship sets, hence a ship-in-a-bottle episode.)   The Twilight Zone also had a few entries, this being one of them.

The entire narrative for Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room takes place in one room and involves only two characters.  To make it more of a character study, George only appears for a minute or two at the beginning and the end of the episode.  The advantage is that we get to know both sides of Mr. Rhoades very well.

It actually works kind of well.  The say that you have to be able to look at the man in the mirror.  Imagine having a whole conversation.  It would seem a little simple by today’s standards.  I imagine that this is why the show keeps getting an update every few decades.  Given that the second-season episodes are only 30 minutes each, it’s worth a watch, especially if you can get it streaming.

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