I really didn't want to use this for what seems to be such a throwaway viewing of "Queen of the Nile". I love to use Rod Serling inserts for marathon posts. And the above might be one of my favorites with Serling. For a lackluster episode as the above, that says something, I reckon.
This episode has always been a late nighter, for whatever reason. Nothing special and rather forgettable despite a fetching Blyth as a preying mantis luring young men to her mansion estate under false pretenses, using an ancient Egyptian scarab to dry them of their youth so she can remain eternally beautiful, rejecting aging. Why her daughter, who is elderly in the episode, has let Blyth get away with murdering so many handsome men remains that particularly nagging question that persists every time I watch "Queen of the Nile". Lovsky doesn't ever just come out and say it to Philips, and when Blyth orders her actual daughter (not mother, as Philips is led to believe) to do something, she does. How the scarab drains youth from men, such Philips when incapacitated by a drug Blyth puts in his coffee, until they are dust and skeleton is anybody's guess. The process sort of reminded me of "Long Live Walter Jameson" but while he was dying after being shot, having lived a life eternal for quite a long time, Blyth needs to use the scarab, it seems, quite a lot in order to attain her youth. Not very long after Philips has been dried to his bones, Blyth has another stud in a suit arriving at her home to seduce and eventually kill. I have no idea how she can remain young year after year without it becoming a problem considering she's in the entertainment business. If I'm perfectly honest, this episode just isn't particularly noteworthy, another unfortunate example of a series running out of steam. Eternal youth had been used before as a plot device, and someone digging up the past has also been part of that story. Blyth as a predator who streamlines a steady diet of eventual thirsty men in order to keep off the wrinkles and grey hairs is an alteration in the
Walter Jameson formula, though.
I have to admit: I really need to get out of the fifth season for a bit because, despite some real gems featured in this season, it has been a drag. Souring on a series I love so much is never a good thing. It could also be that I need to better mix in some good quality episodes here and there with the mediocre to bad episodes. I have brought this up for sure, but during one of the more recent marathons when I had a Twitter account, I kept up with fellow fans and this devotee with a strong website I frequent who drops anecdotes each and every day, but especially on Zoners' very special two days. One Twitter Zoner mentioned during a stretch of fifth season episodes he was ready for primetime so "some better classic episodes" could be shown.
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