Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 alpha 4/15/85; site leadsv.UUCP
Path: utzoo!decvax!linus!philabs!prls!amdimage!amdcad!cae780!leadsv!sas
From: sas@leadsv.UUCP (Scott Stewart)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers,net.tv
Subject: Re: "Shatterday" to be first new TWILIGHT ZONE story
Message-ID: <635@leadsv.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 2-Oct-85 16:15:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: leadsv.635
Posted: Wed Oct  2 16:15:58 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 5-Oct-85 17:54:08 EDT
References: <325@lzwi.UUCP> <610@petrus.UUCP>
Distribution: na
Organization: LMSC-LEADS, Sunnyvale, Ca.
Lines: 32
Xref: linus net.sf-lovers:9279 net.tv:3099

In article <610@petrus.UUCP>, karn@petrus.UUCP (Phil R. Karn) writes:
> As a fan of the original Twilight Zone, I guess I expected to be vaguely
> disappointed by the season premiere of the (new) Twilight Zone.
> 
> It did not take long in either episode to recognize the original episodes
> from which the two new ones were drawn. The first half, "Shatterday",
> plagarizes its theme from "Nervous Man in a Four-Dollar Room", a far better
> show. ... 

I thought I read somewhere, perhaps in net.sf-lovers, that "Shatterday"
was based on a Harlan Ellison story, and that he wrote the screenplay.
To say that the epeisode was drawn from an original one is being a little
unfair to the author, unless he stole his idea straight from the earlier
episode. To me, the stories weren't really the same. In "Nervous Man in
a Four-Dollar Room", the main character in the end is redeamed and becomes
a better person. In "Shatterday", I don't really feel that the Peter Novins
that is left at the end is a great deal better than the original, just
different and possesing some good traits. He still seemed to be somewhat
unlikable.

I too recognized the the second episode immediatley. I did not expect
the ending though. Instead of having someone trapped themselves permantly
in suspended time by destroying the device, the person has to remain
by choice, even though the choice to get out of suspended time is not a
choice. She has to live her life in the agony of solitude while knkowing that
she can get out of solitude, but only briefly, before the world is destroyed.
Sure she doesn't deserve her fate, but then do any of us deserve our current
fate if the bombs to go off. I agree that there was no ironic twist, as in
Serling's stories, but at least they tried something new.

						Scott A. Stewart
						LMSC - Sunnyvale


Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com