Twilight Zone- 80s Revival: If She Dies...

The 60s classic sci-fi series was revived twice, once in the mid 80s and later in 2002-2003. While I can briefly recall a memory of the show’s return to television and my excited knowledge of it, it wasn’t until 2009 (I had assumed it was earlier, but just the same…), when it debuted on Chiller, that I could truly get an idea of how it compares to my favorite television show of all time. I will also be watching the 02-03 revival for the first time.

“If she dies…” is part of a double-story episode first season (along with “Ye Gods”), fifth overall. I’m a fan of Tony Lo Bianco from the wonderfully odd Larry Cohen film, God Told Me To. 

Here he’s a widower facing the horrible possible inevitable loss of his daughter after a kid doing a wheelie on his bike in the middle of a street causes Tony to swerve into a parked car in a neighborhood on the way to work/school. While she lies at the point of death, comatose, Tony’s girl (Andrea Barber, the annoying pal to Candace Cameron on Full House) could go at any moment as her doctor at the hospital seems accepting of the loss. Tony is urged to get some rest (rocking the night shade gruffy chin, he does look like he’s had little sleep and a lot of worry), and as he walks to his car notices a red-headed girl in a gown at the roof of a Catholic orphanage being emptied of staff for another location. The head nun at the orphanage (Nan Martin; she might be best remembered by horror fans as the ghost of Freddy’s mom, disguised as a nun and often visiting Craig Wasson in A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors) is trying to sell off items as they coordinate their exit. She is startled by Tony’s knowledge of a girl named Sarah (Jenny Lewis) and her teddy bear, Toby. Sarah had visited Tony after he purchases her old bed (he didn’t realize when she was pointing towards it that it was hers), with him even tucking her in. For whatever reason, he feels that if she is reunited with Toby it will help his own situation. He even goes as far as to confiscate his sleeping daughter from the hospital as the nurses insist he don’t. Placing his daughter in the bed Sarah once slept while dying of tuberculosis many years ago, it seems to be a healing method…a miracle from God?

I think these kinds of stories are more in tune with Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories than what many of us Twilight Zone fans might consider—content wise—closer to the Rod Serling classic series. “If She Dies…” has the supernatural / spiritual angle to it, but without the ghost of Sarah included in the plot, very little of the story would seem creepy or thought-provoking. I think this was made with the family audience watching in mind. I think it has its audience, but those watching something like “To Serve Man” or “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” might not necessarily see “If She Dies…” in the same context. Tony’s good, though. He’s a sympathetic figure considering he lost his wife just prior to his daughter’s life endangerment. I think some will certainly consider this too sugary and sappy to be effective. It provides a pleasing conclusion for those uplifted by seeing children, withering away, resurrected by spiritual forces beyond medical practice and rescue.

The heart-warming, tickly sweets that come with this episode might be just too much for those wanting an episode with a kick in the pants.

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