Season 1 - 10 episodes (2019)
Season 2 - 10 episodes (2020)
Rent The Twilight Zone (2019) on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Rod Serling
Developed by: Simon Kinberg, Jordan Peele, Marco Ramirez
Starring: Kumail Nanjiani, Adam Scott, Sanaa Lathan, Damson Idris, Steven Yeun, Greg Kinnear, John Cho, Jacob Tremblay, DeWanda Wise, Jessica Williams, Taissa Farmiga, Rhea Seehorn, Ginnifer Goodwin, Chris O'Dowd, Zazie Beetz, Seth Rogen, Jason Priestley, Jimmi Simpson, Morena Baccarin, Colman Domingo, Tony Hale, Ethan Embry, Jurnee Smollett, Tawny Newsome, Joel McHale, Jenna Elfman, Christopher Meloni, Damon Wayans Jr., Topher Grace, Gretchen Mol, George Takei
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
The third revival of the classic anthology series hosted by Jordan Peele features various tales of science fiction, mystery, and horror.
Verdict
I thought the first season was really good, though the second season couldn't quite match it. This frequently explores social issues through science fiction. With each episode being self contained, the story must stand alone. I appreciate that this show examines current social issues like politics, racism, and sexism, though the second season focuses more on action and drama. There's almost no social commentary, which I miss. Despite that I like the format, presenting new ideas with every episode. A character discovers a perfect solution to a problem but unfortunately that rarely fixes the situation. This series offers a number great episodes.
Watch It.
Review
I watched the original 1959 The Twilight Zone a few years ago. Despite
being from the 60s, the stories were great. I soon forgot how old the
series was, and that it was in black and white. The ideas are really
good. Being an anthology, the stories have to stand on their own, and so
many episodes presented are now classics.
There was a 3 season revival in 1985, then a 1 season revival in 2002, followed by this revival that lasted 2 seasons.
Season 1
A bevy of guest stars for every episode denote the investment in the series. Episodes explore social issues, how far people will go for fame, as well as revisiting a classic episode. The community problems are the most interesting with the episodes using exaggeration to make a point. The message adds a nice bit of depth to the episodes. Each episode presents an engrossing story. Jordan Peele plays the narrator, introducing himself into the beginning and end of each skit.
In episode one Kumail Nanjiani plays a comedian that discovers when his act becomes personal people find him hilarious. There's only one catch. Success comes with a sacrifice. He's enjoying his good fortune, but we know that has to end. The problem is that it's so easy to get laughs going down that path and the praise becomes addictive.
 |
| S1E1: Kumail Nanjiani plays Samir Wassan |
Episode two revisits the 1963 episode Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. Justin (Adam Scott) begins listening to a podcast that seems to be about the flight he's currently on. There's too many coincidences for it to be a fluke. He's spiraling and of course everyone thinks he's losing it. I knew I recognized the podcast narrator, it's Dan Carlin from the Hardcore History podcast. I began to wonder if Justin could change the events, or would he only serve to fulfill the future.
 |
| S1E2: Adam Scott plays Justin Sanderson |
A mother drives her son to college in episode three. She discovers her old family camcorder can rewind time. That proves useful as they encounter a seemingly racist cop with worsening outcomes. No matter what she tries, they can't seem to avoid the cop. She even tries to stop it preemptively, and he seems nice enough. That doesn't stop what appears inevitable.
 |
| S1E3: Sanaa Lathan, Damson Idris play Nina, Dorian Harrison |
Episode four introduces a mysterious traveler who knows too much. It's a weaker episode. While I hoped the ending would help, it didn't.
A political strategist suffers a huge failure that derails his career in the fifth episode. He sees opportunity when an eleven year old wants to run for President. It's self serving for both of them, a potentially lucrative stunt. It works too well. I wondered how the kid got elected, but I assume it follows the mantra of laws are only laws if enforced. This kid sees the win as wish fulfillment. Everyone blindly follows his orders to avoid confrontation and fights. There's no way to undo the situation, and this kid wants unconditional loyalty. Everyone believes the kid because he's a child, but this kid a sociopath. It's a wild episode with a big wink.
 |
| S1E5: John Cho plays Raff Hanks |
In episode six astronauts launch into space just as a nuclear bomb launches on Earth's surface. While they left everything behind, it's completely different knowing there's nothing left if they were to ever come back. I didn't like this one as much.
A meteor shower makes people more aggressive in episode seven, except it only affects men. The anxiety and fear women feel in general skyrockets when all men become more violent and aggressive. The reveal at the end is that it didn't infect men, it activated what was always present.
 |
| S1E7: Rhea Seahorn, Taissa Farmiga play Martha, Annie |
Episode eight looks at immigration through a wealthy family. They hire maids that are illegals, but of course blame everything on their employees when they enable the very thing they criticize. We don't know why, but this affluent family is now being treated like immigrants. This has a neat twist where the family is treated poorly when they're suspected of being illegals. I won't reveal the big twist that's twofold, but they experience all the horrors of imprisonment and persecution with a sci-fi twist. The point it makes is that we're all immigrants.
Jeff's world implodes in episode nine. His wife divorces him and his father passes, but he finds a gun his father owned that he never knew about. On a bullet is the inscribed the name Jeff. He slowly becomes obsessed with the gun, wondering for whom the bullet is intended. Is it himself? Is it his ex-wife's new boyfriend also named Jeff? Is it one of the other people he seems to be meeting named Jeff? While he rebuilds his life, we wonder if the gun is helping him.
 |
| S1E9: Chris O'Dowd plays Jeff Storck |
I didn't like the tenth episode as much. It breaks the fourth wall with a writer trying to improve her episode of The Twilight Zone. While writer's usually create a victim, this time she is the victim. She's on a quest to write an opening narration. It's meta but doesn't have an impact.
My favorite episodes were 1, 2, 5, and 7. The ones I liked the least were 4, 6, and 10, but these episodes are better than most other television.
Season 2
This season is good, but lacks the social commentary of the first season. The added depth would have helped.
The first episode is a wild ride of two people in each other's minds. That leads to a friendship before they finally decide to meet and it turns into a rescue. The ending is wild. It's an exhilarating episode that's very intense.
A hotel manager gets a highly desired promotion before the world ends. This pushes the question of what happened nearly to a breaking point before the reveal. What's real, what's not, and what do you do about it? It feels very Black Mirror.
In episode three a struggling actor becomes desperate and decides to rob a bank. He's caught and he's not, and that is what makes it fun. He's able to constantly elude the police. I never knew where it was going and the conclusion provides a nice exclamation point.
 |
| S2E3: Ethan Embry, Daniel Sunjata play Harry Pine, Detective Reese |
Episode four feels very similar to the first season's episode. It's a be careful what you wish for scenario. Jasmine wanted applause, got it, and now she regrets that.
The fifth episode involves high school bullies, psychic powers, and a friendship that develops despite that. This explores the root cause of bullying. It often seems to be a symptom of frustration.
We go to the Antarctic research station in the sixth episode. That's the setting for an attack on a diver by a killer octopus. This episode is horror, and these characters should be careful with what they don't understand. It turns out no one is there purely for science and definitely not to help the planet. I do have to wonder if the octopus had a plan from the beginning to steal genetic information or if that developed. Can the octopus alter it's genetic code immediately? It's a neat idea that leaves a lot of open questions.
Episode seven reveals there's an alien in the basement. It's a touching episode where a couple that lost their daughter see this alien as a way to fill that void. The alien is perceptive, learning a lot about the kid by what's in the house and even transforming physically into the child. The alien questions both parents, their actions, and how they treated their daughter. Could this alien be manifesting the projection both parents have, bringing their thoughts into existence? At the end, we don't know if the alien was won over by love or still intends to conquer. Could the two species forge something new?
 |
| S2E7: Jenna Elfman, Tavi Gevinson, Christopher Meloni play Barbara, Maggie, Robert |
In the eighth episode Jason finds a scale model, discovering that changes made in the model affect reality. He wants to improve his town, but as you could expect things quickly get out of hand.
A man in a time loop soon appears to be a stalker in episode nine. He admits what's happening to a woman, and she's alarmed. He's practiced this date hundreds of times. He knows her well, but she doesn't know him at all. This level of adoration is bordering on obsession. We often see this loop from the other side with someone trying to fix it, help someone, or save the world. Now we're seeing someone that's the object of affection and their shock, realizing there's no moment that can't be manipulated. He thinks his effort should be rewarded on merit alone.
Episode ten is a mess. Even at the end I wasn't sure what was happening. I even looked up what the episode was about, and that didn't clear it up.
My favorite episodes were 1, 3, and 7. My least favorites were 4, 6, and 10.
I like the format of the series with anthology episodes which feature a new idea every time. Almost every episode is a 'what if.' Often when a character gets what they want the consequences far outweigh the benefit.
No comments :
Post a Comment