Reviews

Career criminal Henry Francis "Rocky" Valentine meets his end when he is shot by a cop after robbing a jewelry story. Rocky wakes up in his afterlife and meets a white-suited man named Pip, who describes himself as Rocky's guide. Pip then takes Rocky to a swank apartment built just for him, along with one million dollars cash, and women for the taking. Once Rocky realizes that he's dead, he thinks he somehow made it into Heaven and Pip is his guardian angel. Rocky's not sure if he's in Heaven by mistake, but he decides that if God isn't worried about it, then he won't worry about it either.

Eventually, the setup is too good for Rocky's taste: he wins every game at the casino, sinks every ball playing pool when he breaks the rack, and every girl he wants is his for the asking. Rocky tries to explain to Pip that there's no excitement if everything is already prearranged; he wants risk and the thrill of the chase. Frustrated, Rocky tells Pip that he doesn't belong in Heaven and begs Pip to take him to "the other place." Pip then responds, "Heaven? Whatever gave you the idea you were in Heaven, Mr. Valentine? THIS IS THE OTHER PLACE!!!" Stunned, Rocky tries to run out of the room, but the door is now locked...and Pip is mercilessly laughing at Rocky.

The casting was perfect for this episode. Sebastian Cabot, who had to bleach his trademark black hair white to portray Pip, was flawless in his delivery. Pip was friendly, patient, and accommodating all the way until the big reveal. Larry Blyden hit a grand slam playing Rocky Valentine. He played Valentine as a wannabe Dutch Schultz who never made it beyond that of a small-time hoodlum, only to reach the pinnacle of getting all he's ever wanted...or so he thinks.

This episode is an underrated gem.

Mobster August Kolodney survives a gunshot wound in the latest attempt on his life in a deserted restaurant. He later confronts his girlfriend, Molly Mitchell, and accuses her of turning down his dinner invitation because she already knew of the upcoming hit attempt. After he dismisses Molly, Kolodney calls his right hand man, Tony, to take him to a doctor.

After the doctor removes the slug from Kolodney's arm, he tells the mobster that not only did the bullet narrowly miss a main artery that surely would have killed him, the doctor also advises Kolodney that his blood pressure is dangerously high and suggests that he retire. Kolodney responds that he wants out of the rackets, but even if he got out Kolodney knows that there would always be rivals gunning for him. The doctor gives Kolodney the name of a contact that might be able to help him. He says that it will cost Kolodney a lot, but he'll stay alive.

Later, Kolodney arrives at the mansion of Dr. Glendon. After being shown several pieces of Dr. Glendon's collection of rare art and statuary, Kolodney tells Dr. Glendon immediately that he does not like the secrecy of the meeting, and does not like that Dr. Glendon insisted that Kolodney meet him alone. Eventually, they get down to business: Dr. Glendon offers Kolodney an amazing long, stress free life with uninterrupted physical comfort for as long as he lives...in exchange for all Kolodney owns. As Dr. Glendon offers Kolodney a glass of wine, Kolodney tells him that he'll need some time to think about it. Dr. Glendon reminds Kolodney of all of the recent attempts on his life and his luck may not hold out beyond the next week.

Dr. Glendon clinches his case by telling Kolodney that Tony is the one who has been selling him out to his rivals. While Kolodney struggles with this realization, he begins feeling ill. It is at this point that Dr. Glendon has sprung the trap: the wine was laced with a tranquilizer. Dr. Glendon tells Kolodney that he will be the recipient of a drug that he has used for the past 73 years which will add untold years to the normal life span. At this point, Kolodney is too drugged to put up any fight.

Dr. Glendon (along with his butler) takes Kolodney to a secret corridor which has barred cells, each housing a well-known missing person, long-presumed dead. Dr. Glendon's "collection" here includes the Grand Dutchess Anastasia, Boss Joseph Crater, Roald Amundsen, Amelia Earhardt, and even Adolf Hitler. Then, Dr. Glendon leads Kolodney to a cell that has AUGUST KOLODNEY on the nameplate. Dr. Glendon tells Kolodney that he no longer has any pressure or fear to worry about ever again, and will now live a very, very long time. He then walks off, leaving Kolodney to ponder his "retirement." Oh, the irony.

This was one of the better episodes of Night Gallery's final season, and both lead actors played well off each other. Mickey Rooney was perfect as the bombastic, ill-tempered, and intimidating Kolodney, and Raymond Massey was a perfect match as the urbane Dr. Glendon, who's untold menace was perfectly camouflaged by his outer charm.

This weird, terrifying turn of events begins with Frank Lucas taking the inventory of a somewhat eccentric collector, recently deceased. Upon the collector's items, is an Egyptian mummy with a large amulet around its neck. When Lucas leaves the room for a few minutes, a thief breaks into the house and steals the amulet. A short time later, Lucas sees that the mummy's coffin is now empty and is then attacked and killed by a growling, snarling...yet ordinary sized...cat. Lieutenant Marco arrives on the scene to investigate the crime. Marco is accompanied by Roger Edmonds, a professor and archaeologist at the local university. Roger notices that there are some sort of claw marks on the mummy's coffin, but neither has an explanation for why the coffin is empty. At an occult curio shop run by Hester Black, the thief, Joe Sung, attempts to sell Hester the amulet, but she throws him out. After closing, Hester's employee, Sherrie Hastings is on her way home when she comes across a stray black cat. She takes the cat home to feed it, but the cat's eyes suddenly glow, putting Sherrie into a trance. Seconds later, Sherrie jumps off her terrace to her death. A short time later, Hester offers a young girl, Rena Carter, new in town, Sherrie's old job. Seemingly unaware of Sherrie's apparent suicide, Rena accepts Hester's offer. Roger and Lt. Marco stop at Hester's shop. Hester and Marco know each other as Hester used to fence stolen goods years ago. Marco asks if anyone tried to sell her an amulet, and Hester replies that an older Oriental gentlemen tried to sell her one only a few days ago, but she refused to buy. When Marco asks if anyone else was in the store, Hester tells him that Sherrie Hastings was the only other person in the store. Marco remembers the name Sherrie Hastings from a recent suicide, and Rena is so rattled that her predecessor is the same girl, she drops a statue on the floor. After closing time, Roger returns to Hester's store and asks Rena to go to dinner with him, and Rena accepts. On the date, Rena only tells Roger that she's from back east and new in town, but the two develop a mutual attraction. After the date, the couple passes a pet shop and when a group of cats rush the store window, Rena is simply panic stricken. Roger calms her down and they continue walking. A few days later, when Roger is visiting Rena at her home, a cat rushes to Rina's patio door, causing Rena to panic yet again. Obviously, Rena is deathly afraid of cats, and Roger can't figure out why. Lt. Marco learns Joe Sung lives at a local flop house in town. While Marco is interviewing some people at the flop house, they all hear blood curdling screams coming from an upstairs room. Marco rushes in and finds Sung dead in his bed, with claw marks on his throat. Roger and Lt. Marco next visit the coroner, who tells them that the cause of death of Lucas and Sung were claw marks on each victim's throat, and the bodies were drained of blood. Later, Marco discovers that Sung sold the amulet dirt cheap to a local pawn shop. He and Roger visit the shop, only to find the pawnbroker with a knife sticking out of his back. Neither man notices that a black cat is lurking in the store. As Lt. Marco called Roger from Hester's store telling him about a $50,000 reward for the safe return of the amulet, Marco assumes that Hester, who has disappeared, may be responsible for the pawnbroker's murder. He convinces Rena to keep the store open late, under police guard, thinking that Hester will return to her store to pick up some getaway money. Later that night, the cat appears and hypnotizes the police guard to sleep. He's awakened by a scream from the back room. Rena and the officer rush in to find Hester on the floor mortally wounded, with claw marks on her throat. Hester is able to say only one word...cat...and then she dies. Lt. Marco tells Roger that the amulet was hidden in the lining of Hester's coat, and lets Roger take the amulet to the university to try to translate the inscription. Back in his office, Roger has a discussion of the amulet with the University Librarian about the Egyptian cat-god Bast, and how the Bast cult members could transform into cats, similar to how vampires transform into bats in search of blood. The librarian theorizes that the heavy chain might be used to keep a spirit imprisoned after death. A short time later, the University Librarian returns to Roger with the complete translation on the amulet, which confirms that the amulet was originally put around the mummy's neck to keep it from returning to life...and subsequently killing for blood. A few minutes later, Lt. Marco calls Roger and tells him that a background check on Rena shows no prior history, her showing up out of nowhere...and suggests that Rena knows more than she's let on about the chain of murders, making Rena his top suspect. Lt. Marco also tells Roger that the only two people who knew of their recent activities in their investigation were the now-dead Hester...and Rena. Roger replays everything in his mind and decides to pay Rena a visit. At Rena's darkened house, there are cats roaming all over the patio outside, and Rena has a packed suitcase and is about to make a run for it when Roger intercepts her at the front door. Roger tells Rena that Lt. Marco is about to arrest her. Roger also explains how the amulet around the mummy's neck serves the same purpose as driving a stake through a vampire's heart, to stop the mummy from continuing a murderous search for blood. He goes on to tell Rena that the translation refers to the high priestess of the Egyptian cat-god Bast, and his belief that Rena eliminated anyone between her and the amulet in the hope that she would destroy it and guarantee her immortality. Rena finally confesses the truth about the situation but tries to justify her actions as self-preservation after coming back to life after centuries of post-death nothingness. Roger reminds Rena that her victims are still dead and that he knows that she's deathly afraid of cats because they recognize Rena for what she is, the evil high priestess of Bast. Rena passionately kisses Roger with a promise of eternal life if he joins up with her, but Roger refuses and pushes her off. A few seconds later, the black cat appears with glowing eyes and hypnotizes Roger. The cat then pounces on Roger, intent on killing him, as it killed the other victims, but Roger is able to wrap the amulet around the murderous cat and throws it off. Instantaneously, Rena materializes in full Egyptian priestess attire, growling and snarling at Roger but she can't do anything further with the amulet around her neck. Priestess Rena then goes out to the patio, turns back into the mummy...and the neighborhood cats swarm the mummy and rip it to shreds. When Lt. Marco arrives, all that's left of Rena is a pile of dust, a skull, and the amulet wrapped around the skull. I enjoyed the acting performances all around. A very young Meredith Baxter really shines as the deceptively introverted Rena, David Hedison is excellent as (the Carl Kolchak-esque) Roger, and the always dependable Stuart Whitman as the dogged Lt. Marco. Finally, Gale Sondergaard really stole every scene she was in as Hester. This is an underrated 1973 gem.

I love this episode with something to always remember: Things are not as they appear... The story begins on a seemingly ordinary night as gunfighter Sam Dichter rides past a hanged figure with a mask over his face. Minutes later, Dichter arrives at a local saloon and orders a drink. He notices some poker players nearby and walks over to their table. To his surprise, one of the men, Dr. Soames, knows all about Dichter and his fearsome reputation: "The eminent Samuel Dichter...taskmaster of the six-gun...lightning-fast draw and a devilish, deadly aim...you're KNOWN, Mr. Dichter." Soon after, the clock strikes 9pm, one of the men, Charlie McKinley, gets up to leave. Dichter recognizes him as an old friend rumored to have had the back of his head shot off in Abilene. McKinley sternly tells Dichter not to be too relieved at seeing him and then leaves the saloon...followed quickly by the sound of a gunshot. When Dichter tries to see what happened, Dr. Soames calmly explains that McKinley just got the back of his head shot off...and then invites Dichter to take his place and join the poker game. While the confused Dichter is studying his hand and trying to read the other players, the loudmouth to his left, Joe Bristol, yells to Dichter to make up his mind. Dichter tells Bristol that he'll assume that Bristol doesn't know who he's talking to. Bristol replies, "That's a dead wrong assumption; I thought we made it clear WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE. You're Sam Dichter, who fancies himself lord of the gun! The trouble with you is you have no memory for things. FAST HANDS, SLOW BRAIN! Now dig into that muddy swamp you call a brain and try to conjure up a few recollections!" Dichter now realizes something is very wrong when he remembers actually seeing Bristol killed in a gunfight with a younger, faster opponent. Dr. Soames asks Dichter if he understands what's going on, but Dichter has no clue. Bristol taunts him further by remarking that his gun hand was always fast, but not his brain. Enraged, Dichter challenges Bristol to a duel, dead or not. Just then, as the clock strikes 10pm, a voice from outside the saloon calls for Bristol to come out, and Bristol leaves...again quickly followed by the sound of gunshots. Next up is Abe Bennett, who asks if Dichter remembers his story. Dichter vaguely recalls the story about Bennett getting caught inside a church. Bennett refreshes Dichter's recollection by telling how Bennett robbed a bank and killed a bank teller in the process. Bennett then hid in a church belfry, and the first time he stuck his head up to see what was outside, a sharpshooter hit him between the eyes and Bennett fell to his death. At the chime of 11pm, Bennett leaves the saloon and more gunshots ring out accompanied by the sound of a church bell ringing. When Dr. Soames again asks Dichter if he understands what's going on now, Dichter responds that the proceedings are nothing but a looney bin. Soames goes on to tell Dichter that he was a surgeon who had a very lucrative practice patching up wounded gunslingers. Dr. Soames further explains that he had a crisis of conscience when he realized that every gunfighter he was able to save eventually went on to kill again, and the realization of this caused Soames to go to his office, take out HIS gun, and then turn it on himself and commit suicide. Soames then tells Dichter the point he'd been missing all along: that they were all doomed when they made the decision to take up firearms. Soames then leaves as the clock strikes midnight and we hear one more gunshot. Stunned, Dichter asks the bartender the name of this town, and the bartender replies that it is merely a waiting room where the inhabitants play out that which is preordained...and some call it hell. Unimpressed, Dichter leaves after the clock strikes at 1am. When he returns to the hanging figure, with a leer Dichter pulls the mask off the corpse only to see that the dead man's face...IS HIS OWN!!! The terrified Dichter runs back to the bar to find the poker players and the bartender in place as if nothing happened. At that point, the clock begins to chime in perpetuity. Turns out all the poker players, and now Dichter, are doomed to replay their violent deaths for all eternity. Sam Dichter, WELCOME TO HELL!!! A wonderful episode with great performances by a flawless, all-world cast: Steve Forrest (the increasingly not-so-cocksure Sam Dichter); Buddy Ebsen (the ironically sagacious Dr. Soames); Albert Salmi (the overbearing Joe Bristol); Lex Barker (the not-too-happy Charlie McKinley); Jim Davis (the reckless Abe Bennett); and Gilbert Roland (the very stoic bartender).

This episode starts with a great premise, where we learn of the mortally wounded outlaw Pinto Sykes' deathbed threat to bounty hunter Conny Miller that Sykes would actually reach up and grab Miller if Miller went to his grave site. What made this episode so memorable was that everything was left to the viewer's imagination. To wit: 1) Was Miller really scared of Pinto Sykes? There's the definite suggestion of Sykes' deathbed accusation of Miller's supposed cowardice along with Miller's barroom cronies saying that Miller never did catch up to Sykes himself. 2) Was Miller really brave enough to visit Sykes' grave...or was it just false bravado? Miller noticeably flinches when he sees Sykes' sister Ione approaching him from his grave. And Miller is also noticeably rattled by the door swinging in the wind. And as one poster commented, Miller is afterwards looking at his gun as if he remembers Mothershed telling him that his quick draw skills would be useless out there in the graveyard in the dead of night. 3) And of course, what really happened once Miller got to Sykes' grave? Did Miller inadvertently stick the knife through his coat into Sykes' grave and that the sudden tug literally scare him to death as Steinhart suggested? Or, as Ione suggested, did Sykes really pull Miller's coat onto the grave...when the wind that night would have blown Miller's coat in the opposite direction...AWAY FROM THE GRAVE??? Hmmm... Of course, the flawless performances by an all-world cast makes this episode a joy to watch: Lee Marvin as the (maybe) not-so fearless hired gun, Miller; James Best as the town gossip, Johnny-Rob, who makes the initial wager that Miller wouldn't have the nerve to visit Sykes' grave; Lee van Cleef as Steinhart, the card shark who makes the same wager; Strother Martin as Mothershed, who tells Miller of Sykes' deathbed threat to Miller; and Ellen Willard as Ione who taunted Miller more than once.

This is a great episode, but the finish was the beginning of the end for the series. David Vincent and Colonel Archie Harmon arrive at a military base with an alien in custody. They place the alien in a holding cell while Harmon leaves to summon his superior officer, General Samuel Arlington Concannon. As Harmon is meeting Concannon, an alien dressed as an Army officer is able to slip a suicide capsule in the other alien's cell. The prisoner disintegrates just as Harmon and Concannon arrive but the alien dressed as the Army officer is shot, and Harmon and Concannon witness this. General Concannon suggests to Vincent and Col. Harmon that there might be a solution to the problem and is willing to negotiate a peaceful settlement with the aliens. Vincent agrees to meet with the alien leader, Ryder, and give the proposal. Ryder cautiously agrees to the meeting, and agrees to have top alien personnel attend as well. General Concannon notifies top military personnel to attend the meeting along with Vincent and his top ally, Edgar Scoville. The general gives each member of the human contingent sealed orders, which the General claims come from higher authorities. Unfortunately, all this turns out to be an elaborate setup. General Concannon, under the guise of a practice bombing, intends to bomb the meeting site, killing all in attendance, including Vincent, Scoville, and the General's military colleagues. Luckily, Col. Harmon tells the General's long-suffering wife, Sara, about his scheme, and Sara tells Vincent. Vincent, Sara, and her son race to the meeting site in the hope that they can contact the General and talk him out of his scheme, a sure suicide mission guaranteed to spark an intergalactic war. In the meantime, Col. Harmon confesses to the General that he dismissed the flight crew and they are the only people on the plane, a B52 bomber. Harmon goes on to tell Concannon that he also told Sara about his plan and that she and their son are on their way to the summit meeting to try to talk him out of it. Enraged, Concannon knocks Harmon out with his gun and takes over the plane. Vincent gets to the meeting place and tells both Scoville and Ryder that Concannon double-crossed them and will bomb the meeting in mere minutes. Ryder allows Vincent to set up communications with the General's plane and Sara pleads with the General not to go through with it. Sara's pleas fall on deaf ears and Concannon cuts off the communication. Vincent apologizes to Sara and asks Ryder if his group can destroy the General's plane. Ryder gives the order and an alien ship is dispatched to intercept and destroy the plane. In the cockpit, Harmon regains consciousness. At that moment, both he and Concannon see the alien ship coming at them. Concannon has a look of absolute, stunned disbelief on his face, and Harmon has a knowing smile on his face, seeing that Concannon is about to fail. Within seconds, the alien spaceship blows up the B52, killing both Concannon and Harmon. Afterward, Vincent and Scoville try to convince Ryder to have a summit meeting with government personnel who are more responsible and less violent than General Concannon. Ryder leaves, unimpressed with their motives. James Daly steals the show here as General Concannon, who shows himself not only as a shoot first, ask questions later warmonger, but one who is also cruel and abusive to Sara and eventually Harmon, who he knocks out on the plane. But, the look on the heretofore fearless Concannon's face of absolute panic when he sees the alien ship coming at his plane is the signal of the General's imminent doom. Again, James Daly's ability to convey the raw emotion of General Concannon's doom leaves no doubt that the General is about to go down hard. Unfortunately, this episode is the one where the series jumps the shark. Why? The original premise was built on David Vincent's lonely quest trying to prove that the alien invasion is underway. When he finally gets some help in the form of the influential Edgar Scoville and some others, Vincent is now reduced to getting Ryder (played with a cool quiet menace by Alfred Ryder) to blow up Concannon's plane, which Ryder easily obliges. Still a great episode.

Al Denton (Dan Duryea, in a tour-de-force portrayal), formerly the town's top gun, is now a hopeless drunk who will sink to any level for his next drink, and is mercilessly bullied by Dan Hotaling (Martin Landau, who was brilliantly sadistic) in the process, even calling Al "Rummy." After the seemingly nondescript traveling salesman, Henry J. Fate (Malcolm Atterbury, arguably the real hero of this story), lends a hand to the proceedings, Al miraculously gets two shots off to disarm Hotaling. After the second shot knocks Hotaling to the barroom floor, Hotaling staggers back up and attempts to stare down Denton with an evil, intimidating leer. The suddenly recovered Denton, with no reaction whatsoever, simply stares back at Hotaling...and then smacks him silly, telling him...no, ORDERING him not to call him Rummy anymore. This is the first time Al confirms he's recovered his manhood. Al unfortunately realizes the recovery of his manhood and gun-slinging reputation will inevitably bring someone into town to challenge him as the fastest gun in town...just like the old days... and Al is sure he will die because of it. Sure enough, Pete Grant (a very young Doug McClure), rides into town as the next guy to try to take down Al. It is here when Al realizes his recovered manhood a second time when he gets ready to take on Grant in the bar. When Al drinks the magic potion from Fate (guaranteed to give him 10 seconds of perfect accuracy) he sees Grant drinking the VERY SAME THING! You can tell by the look on Grant's face that he's absolutely scared. Al on the other hand, while slightly taken aback by what just happened, understands that no matter what happens next, he'll face it like a man, dammit. At that very second, Al knows that he CAN'T win this gunfight, and possibly may not come out of it alive, but now has the inner confidence to face up to whatever happens. If he's to die like a man, so be it. The story has a happy ending where Al and Grant shoot each other in the hand, thus sustaining injuries where they can never again shoot a gun. Al, now free of the burden of being the town's top gun, is now the older and wiser voice of reason as he tells Grant that Grant is also blessed that he will never again have to shoot a gun in anger. And Henry J. Fate, who stepped in to save both of them from a gunfighter's violent end, rides off into the night. A great Old West story from the master storyteller, Mr. Rod Serling.

In my humble opinion, the principal actors did a splendid job in this story: Ted DeCorsia as the angry plant foreman Dickerson, who just saw his steady, decades-long job ripped out from under him with presumably no future prospects, Paul Newlan as the chief engineer, Hanley who tries to show the CFO the error of his ways, Jack Crowder (later known as Thalmus Rasulala) as the technician who has some choice words for the CEO and his overreliance on automation, and of course, Richard Deacon as the heartless CEO, Wallace V. Whipple. Deacon's Whipple perfectly catches the attitude and aura of a CEO who would not let a little thing like common decency get in the way of turning a profit. Case in point: when Hanley tries to explain to Whipple that Whipple's father doubled company profits while looking out for his employees, Whipple gleefully and venomously responds that his father's competitors QUADRUPLED company profits, leaving the Whipple Company in the dust. Consequently, Whipple has no problem or conscience in seeing his employees ground under the wheels of progress. Sadly, to this day, there are any number of corporate executives out there who have that same mindset. Whipple's attitude reminds me of a corporation I worked for many years ago when I was a struggling young accountant. This firm's culture, from the top down, made quite sure the employees knew that they were expendable. They made everyone's job a living hell on earth, and made it so that they wouldn't fire you; you would have to quit...that way the company would not have to pay unemployment. This job was so bad that I took another job...at a pay cut...to get away from that place AND save my sanity. I wonder if Wallace V. Whipple was their role model. While other posters pointed out the lack of a supernatural twist that the Twilight Zone was noted for, the straightforward punch in the gut that Whipple took in the form of his own position being downsized for a robot was a fitting punishment. Perhaps a scene where Whipple gets shown a glimpse of a possible future by his dead father might have been a possibility. But I could see Whipple callously disregarding his father's sagacious advice and Whipple's hard-charging, Type A personality and obsession over making the company even more profitable would have put him in an early grave anyway. That certainly would have robbed Whipple of any long-term enjoyment of the fruits of his labor. Again, Whipple getting fired by the board of directors of his own company brought him to the same end. I add my compliments to this very talented cast. May they all rest in peace.

This is one of The Twilight Zone's few attempts at comedy that actually worked. Andy Devine really shines here as Mr. Somerset Frisby, the trash-talking hillbilly protagonist. Frisby's self-aggrandizement is also a source of entertainment/minor irritation to his long-time friends. Frisby's storytelling ability also happens to attract some out-of towners, who happen to be visitors from another planet. Their goal is to bring Frisby to their home planet and put him on display as the pre-eminent specimen Earthling. Making matters worse is that Frisby cannot convince the aliens that his stories are just that...STORIES...as the supposedly advanced aliens have no concept of what a lie is. Just when it looks like all is lost, Frisby's harmonica playing proves anathema to the aliens and is the instrument (pardon the pun) of his escape. When he gets back home and tells his friends of his latest "adventure," they laugh it off as just another of Frisby's tall tales. Honorable mention goes to Milton Selzer as the alien ringleader, with his very quiet and understated menace, as well as Dabbs Greer and Howard McNear as Frisby's pals who although are initially irritated at Frisby's phony stories, genuinely love him just the same.

This is a wonderful episode with some brilliant performances by some top notch actors: John Dehner as the would-be con artist, Garrity, Norman Leavitt as the sheriff who might not have been the town's top gun after all...especially when Garrity reminds him of the shady details of the sheriff's supposed showdown with a noted outlaw, Stanley Adams as the barkeep who first paid Garrity to make sure his brother stayed dead, and J. Pat O'Malley as the town drunk...and battered husband, as later revealed. After Garrity supposedly resurrects a dead dog, the townsfolk are ecstatic, and then increasingly unnerved by the possible return of their not-so-dear departed.

As great as the ending scene of the departed actually coming out of their graves (with one remarking about Garrity's underestimating his resurrecting ability) was, one more scene with the departed confronting the townspeople would have packed an extra punch. Consider the following:

The Sheriff facing the outlaw who he actually shot in the back; The drunk facing his wife who had broken his arm six times previously; The bartender facing his brother who was embezzling from their business who he actually shot.

Aside from that, this is an enjoyable episode; probably the best from the last season when the series finally ran out of gas.

Many other posters have commented on Joe Mantell's tour de force performance as Jackie/John. I will only add my admiration for Mantell's job in this episode; he was brilliant. I submit here that William D. Gordon's thug George also undergoes a role reversal, only not as mystical as that of Jackie/John Rhodes. When George orders the hit, he IS a downright arrogant bully, especially when he decks the scared to death Jackie and orders him to do the hit...or be hit himself. Later, after the upstanding, self-assured John comes into being, he returns the favor and nails George with a devastating jawbreaker of his own. And when John throws George out of the room, George gives John a very wide berth as he slinks out of the room, looking very much like the coward that John exposed him to be. For me, this is an excellent episode and both actors showed their excellent prowess.

For me this is one of the all time best episodes and the scene where Superman comes out of the acid is worth the price of admission. That said, I've always wondered how Clark Kent would have explained getting out of the acid without giving his Superman identity away. Then it hit me: George Reeves always played Kent as a guy who could think fast on his feet, so his explanation might have been that Kent & Superman agreed ahead of time to have Superman masquerade as Kent and have the crooks kidnap him, thinking he's Kent (which of course is how Kent/Superman played it anyway.). That way, Superman would have found out the kidnappers' plans for Jimmy, Lois, & Perry and he would start the race against the clock to save them. That would have been a plausible story that Kent/Superman could have pulled off.