The Twilight Zone - Vol. 36

Rating:
Summary: "The New Exhibit": Dark and Disturbing
Review: "The New Exhibit," by Charles Beaumont, is my favorite episode on this DVD. The dark, psychological script is typical of Beaumont's work for THE TWILIGHT ZONE. Gentle Martin Lombard Senesceu (Martin Balsam) is the avid curator of the "Murderer's Row" exhibit at Ferguson's Wax Museum. Trouble starts when Senesceu, upon learning that the museum will soon be abandoned, buys the life-size figures of such legendary murderers as Jack the Ripper, Albert W. Hicks, and Henri Landru and stores them in his basement. In time, Senesceu becomes so attached to his "friends" that he even begins to guide them with his own will. This is the perfect role for Balsam (who had previously played the detective in Hitchcock's PSYCHO), with his unassuming manner and intense eyes; his performance is a tour de force, from the quietly eerie opening scene in which one can see the first glimmerings of Senesceu's madness, to the explosive climax. "The New Exhibit" also boasts an excellent supporting cast -- including Will Kuluva as the kindly Mr. Ferguson and Maggie Mahoney as Senesceu's meek wife, Emma - and a musical score that effectively suggests the deterioration of Senesceu's reason. The hour-long episode unfolds at a slow pace, enhancing the suspense. "The New Exhibit" is a masterful production that becomes more fascinating with repeated viewings. I recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Best laid plans go horribly astray in "The Twilight Zone"
Review: The best laid plans of mice and men in invariably go astray in "The Twilight Zone" as evidenced by the trio of episodes collected on Volume 36 of the DVD series. Love potions do not work well in the Zone, as Roger Shackleforth (George Grizzard) learns in "The Chaser," written by Robert Presnell, Jr. and based on the short story by John Collier. Roger is desperately in love with Leila (Patricia Barry), and purchases a love potion from a professor named "A. Daemon." The potion works so well that after six months of marriage Roger is back looking for something a bit more deadly. In "The Rip Van Winkle Caper," written by Rod Serling, four men steal a million dollars worth of gold bars off of a train from Fort Knox. To get away with their crime, Farwell (Oscar Beregi) has created a gas that will put them in suspended animation. They awake 100 years later, but it seems one of them, DeCruz (Simon Oakland), is greedy enough not to want to share any of the stolen gold. "The New Exhibit," written by Jerry Sohl, is set in Ferugson's Wax Museum, where attendance has been poor. Ferguson has sold the place, which will be demolished and replaced by a supermarket. But Martin Lombard Senescu (Martin Balsam), who has worked there for 30 years, can not stand the idea since five of the figures, notorious murderers such as Jack the Ripper and Albert W. Hicks, have become almost like friends to him. Reluctantly, Ferguson agrees to let Martin take the figures to his own basement, in hopes that someday he can start his own museum. Martin's wife Emma does not like the fact that they are starving while the electricity runs all night to preserve the wax figures. But when she goes down there one night to pull the plug, Martin finds here dead the next morning with her blood on Jack the Ripper's knife. This is one of the better hour-long episodes from the Zone's sub-par fourth season. While none of these episodes are classics the last two are certainly well above average, so we will round up to 5 stars for this one. What stands out on this DVD are not so much the stories but the performances by Balsam, Oakland and Beregi.

Rating:
Summary: Best laid plans go horribly astray in "The Twilight Zone"
Review: The best laid plans of mice and men in invariably go astray in "The Twilight Zone" as evidenced by the trio of episodes collected on Volume 36 of the DVD series. Love potions do not work well in the Zone, as Roger Shackleforth (George Grizzard) learns in "The Chaser," written by Robert Presnell, Jr. and based on the short story by John Collier. Roger is desperately in love with Leila (Patricia Barry), and purchases a love potion from a professor named "A. Daemon." The potion works so well that after six months of marriage Roger is back looking for something a bit more deadly. In "The Rip Van Winkle Caper," written by Rod Serling, four men steal a million dollars worth of gold bars off of a train from Fort Knox. To get away with their crime, Farwell (Oscar Beregi) has created a gas that will put them in suspended animation. They awake 100 years later, but it seems one of them, DeCruz (Simon Oakland), is greedy enough not to want to share any of the stolen gold. "The New Exhibit," written by Jerry Sohl, is set in Ferugson's Wax Museum, where attendance has been poor. Ferguson has sold the place, which will be demolished and replaced by a supermarket. But Martin Lombard Senescu (Martin Balsam), who has worked there for 30 years, can not stand the idea since five of the figures, notorious murderers such as Jack the Ripper and Albert W. Hicks, have become almost like friends to him. Reluctantly, Ferguson agrees to let Martin take the figures to his own basement, in hopes that someday he can start his own museum. Martin's wife Emma does not like the fact that they are starving while the electricity runs all night to preserve the wax figures. But when she goes down there one night to pull the plug, Martin finds here dead the next morning with her blood on Jack the Ripper's knife. This is one of the better hour-long episodes from the Zone's sub-par fourth season. While none of these episodes are classics the last two are certainly well above average, so we will round up to 5 stars for this one. What stands out on this DVD are not so much the stories but the performances by Balsam, Oakland and Beregi.