★★★1/2 December 4, 1959 Season 1 Episode 10
If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.
Rod Serling served in WW2 and he does have quite a few episodes about war. It’s been said that you pay for everything you do in this life. The character Carl Lanser will be paying for an eternity. World War II hadn’t been over for 15 years when Judgment Night premiered. It was still fresh in everyone’s mind.
Serling had a message starting with this episode. When Nazi’s fall in the Twilight Zone they will get their comeuppance. Serling didn’t make light of Nazis, pull any punches, or turn them into a cartoon stereotype. Carl is portrayed as someone who perpetuated a deep evil and will be punished by God for it…and punished he is.
I love the twist in this episode but I think it is a little slow moving…but still a good one to watch. There are better WWII episodes.
This show was written by Rod Serling
Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:
Her name is the S.S. Queen of Glasgow. Her registry: British. Gross tonnage: five thousand. Age: Indeterminate. At this moment she’s one day out of Liverpool, her destination New York. Duly recorded on the ship’s log is the sailing time, course to destination, weather conditions, temperature, longitude and latitude. But what is never recorded in a log is the fear that washes over a deck like fog and ocean spray. Fear like the throbbing strokes of engine pistons, each like a heartbeat, parceling out of every hour into breathless minutes of watching, waiting and dreading… For the year is 1942, and this particular ship has lost its convoy. It travels alone like an aged blind thing groping through the unfriendly dark, stalked by unseen periscopes of steel killers. Yes, the Queen of Glasgow is a frightened ship, and she carries with her a premonition of death.
Summary
During World War II, a confused Carl Lancer finds himself as one of only a few passengers on a freighter, the S.S. Queen of Glasgow, traveling from London to New York. As he sits with other passengers, he begins to realize that he is the captain of a U-Boat that is at that very moment tracking the freighter with a view to sinking it. He also knows that in just over an hour the freighter will be attacked.
Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:
“The S.S. Queen of Glasgow, heading for New York, and the time is 1942. For one man it is always 1942—and this man will ride the ghost ship every night for eternity. This is what is meant by paying the fiddler. This is the comeuppance awaiting every man when the ledger of his life is opened and examined, the tally made, and then the reward or the penalty paid. And in the case of Carl Lanser, former Kapitan Lieutenant, Navy of the Third Reich, this is the penalty. This is the justice meted out. This is judgment night in the Twilight Zone.”
CAST
Rod Serling … Narrator (voice)
Nehemiah Persoff … Carl Lanser
Deirdre Owens … Barbara Stanley (as Deirdre Owen)
Patrick Macnee … First Officer McLeod
Ben Wright … Captain Wilbur
Leslie Bradley … Major Devereaux
Kendrick Huxham … Bartender
Hugh Sanders … Jerry Potter
Richard Peel … 1st Steward
Donald Journeaux … 2nd Steward
Barry Bernard … Engineer
James Franciscus… Lt. Mueller
…
The difference between paying the fiddler and paying the piper is that to pay the fiddler means to face the consequences of one’s actions, whereas pay the piper means to pay expenses for something, and thus be in a position to be in control.
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3 1/2 sounds right- i think it could have been done a little better but a solid episode.
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I was waivering because I liked the story a lot…it was just missing something.
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I think it would have been better had he been a guard at a camp- but they did that later- and better.
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Oh that one…I think it’s Death’s Head Revisited…I think that one is a 5… I’ve always liked that one.
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yes not sure which season is is- I’ve been taking a break the past few days -will start season 2 soon. yes that one is an easy 5!
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I have a 5 coming up…I’m anxious to see what you think. It’s not a classic and it might just be me.
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My worst fear is to have to pay for my poor choices for eternity. I’d rather face oblivion than that.
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Yea I know what you mean…but there is forgiveness! But it’s hard to forgive evil.
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agree with the rating although I would almost give it a 4 based on the opening narration – Rod Serling reading was so good I was kind of freaked out thinking of being on that ship in that fog by end of it! My favorite scene is when Lanser looks out and sees himself on the sub ordering the firing of the guns – sort of a nightmare Groundhog Day!
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The look on his face when he sees himself. I do like the episode but I think it could have been better…I waivered back and forth between the score and a 4.
The next one on Saturday I want to see what you think…I think some might disagree with the score I give it.
I agree with the his reading. The man was brilliant at the wording and his voice…just spot on.
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Looking forward to Saturday ! 😀
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Definitely in my top five.
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