Twilight Zone - A Nice Place to Visit / Nightmare as a Child

 

A Nice Place to Visit

Mr. Valentine is yet another hood who gets focus on the Twilight Zone and, if I'm honest, just doesn't deserve it. He isn't interesting or compelling. He has a big mouth, remains this bossy, unpleasant, wholly irredeemable thug pulling out a gun on Sebastian Cabot's "Fats" (Valentine's name for the guy in a white suit offering him a ton of pleasantries after he is rightfully shot dead when engaging with police in a shootout after robbing a safe in a store), just not satisfied with rewards for nothing, continuing to bully "Fats" around despite every reason to thank him for luxurious digs, the finest wardrobe closet, all the women he could ask for, and an unlimited supply of casino success. It just doesn't bring the same thrill as robbing a store and facing down the fuzz with the chance of being killed. The danger of being caught or dying in the act of robbery isn't available. There is a scene where "Fats" does nothing to provoke Mr. Valentine and, despite that, he pulls out his gun and tries to shoot the angel anyway. I realize that this is about Valentine being denied what brings him that thrill, and this "hell" is a different kind of horrible eternity...still, Valentine can have a lot of plenty even if that thrill of a life of crime is no longer an option. It is hard for any of us to feel he's gotten a raw deal just because he can't hold up a liquor store or form a gang that threatens the public at large. Just a big nope. No effectiveness unless you enjoy the performances of only two basic characters. Cabot seems quite harmless until his "hell's angel" leaves Valentine feeling blue. I guess for a lot of us, his eternity is far from some hellscape. There is one amusing moment in the episode: Valentine tries to determine what good thing he ever did in life to deserve all the plenty provided him. The record on file sure gives us a laundry list of bad deeds in a life of nothing but crime. (SYFY; 8:00AM, Mon, Nov 15)

Nightmare as a Child

I think this will be of interest to audiences of today because it touches on the subconscious communicating to a victim of a tragic past her mind had buried, reawakening through the form of a little child version of herself named Markie (Terry Burnham) what had been lost. It was probably sparked by seeing Peter Selden (Shepperd Strudwick), because he was responsible for her mother's death. I think what works against this episode is 60 years of crime television about victims who had this memory block and the murderers endangering them when those repressed memories would eventually emerge to implicate them. There is this talk between cop and doctor that reminded me of "Psycho" where  screenplay felt the need to explain why Helen saw Markie and how lucky she was to even be alive.  (HULU)