★★★★1/2 January 3, 1963 Season 4 Episode 1
If you want to see where we are…HERE is a list of the episodes.
In His Image is a great sci-fi episode that has more twists and turns than a cheap garden hose. George Grizzard plays both title characters and does a great job of going through a book of emotions. You get a shock to start out the episode and the changes keep coming at you. It explores a familiar theme in the Twilight Zone of “no one knows who I am.” The difference is this time, with the hour format, it is fully explored.
This episode is one of the best of the 4th season. It takes a little time to get accustomed to the hour long format. You need to watch the fourth season with a different frame of mind. This episode would have been almost impossible for the 30 minute format. In His Image keeps you guessing on what is going on. I would like to expand on this but I would give it away.
In His Image is exciting, suspenseful and thought-provoking. If this was to be a representative example of the hour-long shows, the series had nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, such was not the case.
First of 4th series episodes, airing from January to May 1963. These episodes were one hour in length. CBS executives decided to switch the show’s time, and for this single season, the longer timeslot allowed for hour-long episodes
This show was written by Charles Beaumont and Rod Serling
Rod Serling’s Opening Narration:
What you have just witnessed could be the end of a particularly terrifying nightmare. It isn’t – it’s the beginning. Although Alan Talbot doesn’t know it, he’s about to enter a strange new world, too incredible to be real, too real to be a dream. It’s called The Twilight Zone.
Summary
A young man grapples with an urge to kill and confusion about his origins. After a shocking scene on a subway platform he goes to his fiancé’s apartment and takes her and visit his old home town. When they get there nothing is the same and he is not known.
Rod Serling’s Closing Narration:
In a way, it can be said that Walter Ryder succeeded in his life’s ambition, even though the man he created was, after all, himself. There may be easier ways to self-improvement, but sometimes it happens that the shortest distance between two points is a crooked line – through the Twilight Zone.
CAST
Rod Serling … Narrator / Self – Host (uncredited)
George Grizzard … Alan Talbot / Walter Ryder, Jr.
Gail Kobe Gail Kobe … Jessica Connelly
Katherine Squire … The Old Woman (as Katharine Squire)
Wallace Rooney … Man
George Petrie … Driver
James Seay … Sheriff
Jamie Forster … Hotel Clerk
Sherry Granato … Girl
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this one sounds familiar but I can’t remember how it goes. I’m guessing the Twilight Zone might have benefitted from being in today’s media environment… half hour episodes often required some unexplained plot points or over-simplification, but one hour ones could drag maybe. Probably a 40 or 45 minute format would have been ideal for Serling, but that wouldn’t fit TV (but these days it would be OK on a service like Netflix)
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This one really benefitted from the hour but some others…did NOT. If all were like this…there would be no trouble.
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Max, I finished S4 and know of a few of the duds in it. Two of them I just couldn’t finish. Good to know S5 the series gets good again, yes?
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I will issue my lowest mark to one of them…namely the last one!
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That was the one I could not finish!
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Dave, I think with the commercial breaks the episodes are more like 45 minutes than an hour (I could be wrong?) Perfect for non-commercial TV.
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This has to be frustrating when things change that much, that nobody recognizes you anymore.
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Great episode – really enjoyed it. You’re right it took some getting used to watching an hour long episode. Too bad they weren’t all like this from what you say
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I could have rated this a 5…I’m watching them differently this season. A movie could have been made of this one.
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And it had a great ending too!
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I can’t recall ever watching the hour-long episodes, but I must have seen some of them at some point.
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There are a few famous ones… Burgess Meredith playing the devil as a printer and a few more. It’s different though in this format.
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I love what you say here: “In His Image is a great sci-fi episode that has more twists and turns than a cheap garden hose.” Accurate description. It did throw me to realize the episode kept going on beyond its usual length. I really enjoyed this episode, especially Grizzard. I did some imdb research on him and learned that he did relatively few films or TV but was very well-known in theater. Great start to the 4th season.
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Thank you!
This is a great start…I could have easily made it a 5…these I have to grade on a different scale…it changes the show with the hour.
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You’re welcome. I understand where your scale might change with the length change. Grizzard is a danged good actor.
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Great acting and even the special effects were good….it looked like two of him.
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