The Twilight Zone Zone - Episode 13: “To Serve Man” and “The Dummy”

Every week on The Twilight Zone Zone,we go down Donald
Liebenson’s list The 26 Episodes We Talk About When We Talk
About The Twilight Zone from Vanity Fair, chronologically by
release date and compare two episodes and choose which one to
recommend. This week we watched  “To Serve Man” and
“The Dummy”


 
“To Serve Man”

Kanamits, nine-foot-tall creatures from outer space, promise they
have come to our planet, “above all things, to help the people of
Earth.” They have no ulterior motive, they reassure: “We ask only
that you trust us.” Which leads to The Twilight Zone’s
darkest and most famous punch line. This episode is also notable
for inspiring the aliens Kodos and Kang on The Simpsons.


 
“The Dummy”

It’s a battle of wills between Jerry (Cliff Robertson), a
second-rate nightclub ventriloquist, and Willie, 24 inches of
timber, who Jerry is convinced is alive. “He talks when I don’t
talk. He tells jokes I’ve never heard before,” he insists to his
long-suffering agent (a pre-Gomer Pyle Frank Sutton). Unsteadying
expressionistic camerawork by director Abner Biberman anticipates
which personality will win out with an absolutely creepy final
shot.


 
There are many paths in life, but which one will you travel
down in the Twilight Zone, Zone…

Host: Nic Hoffmann


Panel: Matthew and Daniel