The Twilight Zone - Elegy

* *½ / * * * *
I had watched and reviewed this back in September of 2011, but Elegy isn't an episode I have seen a lot, as its presence in any type of serious rotation or schedule is quite lacking. I guess the reason why is the story isn't really much beyond astronauts landing on an asteroid "cemetery" where a robotic, "scientific" caretaker (the delightful Cecil Kellaway, who has such an innocent grandpa face, that when the three earth men collapse to the ground after being poisoned, it is more startling due to how trusting he seems, with no sense of menace or sinister about him) sees to the operations when "called upon".

The episode does spend a great deal of time following the astronauts as they investigate the asteroid, finding dead people fixed and positioned in motions during "life moments" (like a mayor winning a candidacy, a band in the middle of playing, a serenade for a couple during a romantic dinner, a beauty pageant, etc.), wondering where the hell they have forcibly landed. Although they just want to know where they are and why everyone is not moving, Wickwire (Kellaway) sees them as a danger, admitting so as they are dying, considering the atomic war they had to recover from such an example. I seemed to have enjoyed it a lot more the previous viewing in 2011, and I would certainly rewatch it if it came on. That said, none of the performances besides Kellaway stand out, as the three leads (as the astronauts) fail to really distinguish themselves beyond their curiosity, frustration, and need for answers. I think you can do with or without this episode, and once it ends there isn't the lasting effect or impact that remains on the mind (the show more often than not does this for me, with even some of the lesser ones certain scenes and performances lay on the mind for a bit). Kellaway and his duster tending to the frozen dead astronauts in their ship that can go nowhere before settling in his chair until needed again is one of those black humor gags clever but not long lasting. Within a first season full of gems, Elegy sort of offers a cast of folks doing their best to stay still while "live" actors move around them (which I admire), and seeing a neighborhood of inactivity  serving as a backdrop for the dead might be of eerie significance, but overall the episode disappears into the ether as the first season continues.

Three astronauts (Jeff Morrow, Don Dubbins, and Kevin Hagen) on a "routine geological mission" getting lost in a meteorite storm, find an asteroid to land on as fuel runs out. The atmosphere is surprisingly breathable, but what the astronauts find is a place similar to earth for the exception that the humans and animals don't move! Rightfully, the astronauts are concerned. What they encounter is a rather unusual fellow named Wickwire who serves as "caretaker" on this asteroid—what does he take care of you might ask? The asteroid is in actuality a cemetery! Absurd as the plot might be, it has a comment on how peace cannot exist as long as mankind is present. Through the astronauts, we understand that the Earth was decimated by atomic war; 200 years of reconstruction has took place since. This fear that such trouble awaits the asteroid will leave Wickwire (Cecil Kellaway; Beast from 20000 Fathoms) with no alternative but to keep his cemetery safe from intrusion. I was as much focused on how hard it must've been for the extras to keep totally still (one poor fellow couldn't help but blink since he had to remain in his pose for long periods in the background as the astronauts discussed their calamity on this asteroid that presents events frozen in time) as I was the plight of the astronauts. I give them credit, these actors/actresses hold still as long as they can, some with wide smiles. Except for the fate of the astronauts, this episode plays as a farce, well even with the grim result, there's a bit of black humor involved. "Elegy" I don't figure will ever be featured prominently on the top lists of Twilight Zone fans like myself, but any plot that has astronauts walking around a city with humans caught in frozen expressions should appeal to the base.
"So this is a dream come true once you stop dreaming?"