The Twilight Zone (CBS All Access) (1 Viewer)

[Josh Steinberg]

I kinda thought the point of the episode was that we sometimes make our worst dreads come true by obsessing over them too much.

I agree, I think that was the point too, but it didn't really work from me.

By showing the Adam Scott character discovering an MP3 player with a podcast describing the actual flight he's on, the episode is already taking a supernatural turn because that device can't actually exist. So the fear that Scott shows isn't paranoia and isn't merely the result of some dread he hasn't dealt with; it's an entirely sane reaction to being given a window into the future and the knowledge that you're about to crash and die. I don't think you can make the argument that Scott was obsessing about it too much. Now, if he had gotten on the plane and was afraid and there was no supernatural object telling him the truth about the future and stoking his fears, then I think they could have told an interesting story about how his fear was the cause of the plane's demise.

But they couldn't resist putting their finger on the scale, and the problem with that is, we the audience know that Scott isn't crazy. We know that the plane is in danger, and that no one is listening to Scott. It may be true that he ultimately helped created the conditions which allowed the plane to be crashed, but he was pushed to do so.

 

[Nelson Au]

Regarding the first episode, It could have been like Nick of Time too. His girl friend could have talked him
out of the spiral he was in and he could have walked away and gave the power to the girl comedian, if he could.

About Nightmare at 30,000 Feet, Josh your post made me realize that the pilot Scott met in the bookstore might have known about his nervous breakdown, and set that MP3 player in that seat for Scott to find. And then let his fears play along till eventually he was able to get into the cockpit to crash the plane. So it’s not so supernatural. Though the ending is the part that seems supernatural.

 

[TonyD]

Nelson the entire ep of 30K is alt reality of sorts.
Even if that guy put the player there for him to find how would he be able to put all the info after the plane crash on there?
Also it’s preposterous that everyone lived.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

About Nightmare at 30,000 Feet, Josh your post made me realize that the pilot Scott met in the bookstore might have known about his nervous breakdown, and set that MP3 player in that seat for Scott to find. And then let his fears play along till eventually he was able to get into the cockpit to crash the plane. So it’s not so supernatural. Though the ending is the part that seems supernatural.

I think the MP3 player itself is a supernatural object, since it’s recounting a story in the past tense that Scott is living in the present. It describes actions Scott takes, both before and after he’s taken them, but remains in his possession so it’s not as if someone could have added things to it in between his listening sessions. The MP3 player isn’t an elaborate prank as far as I can tell; it’s some spooky shit. And the brand name for it was “Whipple” (presumably a nod to the original episode “The Brain Center at Whipple’s”).

 

[TonyD]

Yeah that’s my take too. The player and whoever put it there are of a supernatural creation

 

[TonyD]

It’s the Twilight Zone connection. That’s where it came from.

 

[Nelson Au]

Ok Tony, Josh. I’ll give you that the player is the supernatural object. And the way it ended makes the whole episode an alternate reality. Then the MP3 player is like the talking doll, Talky Tina. And I’m going to kill you.

 

[Carabimero]

Hey we're all talking about The Twilight Zone again. That in itself is pretty good.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Look how much better Discovery got.... one can only hope here

 

[Simon Massey]

I assume cross episode connections are just Easter eggs ? Like the plane flying overhead in The Comedian and the magazines in the airport showing The Comedian and Jacob Tremblay who is in a later episode ? Or are they trying to connect them in some way ?

Enjoyed the first two though not amazing

 

[Lord Dalek]

Anybody catch the other easter egg in "...30,000 Feet"?

 

[TonyD]

Anybody catch the other easter egg in "...30,000 Feet"?

There’s already been a couple mentioned so can you just say what you referring to.

 

[TonyD]

I thought it was weird that they were bickering over one specific copy of a magazine while there where at least a dozen more on the same shelf.

 

[Lord Dalek]

There’s already been a couple mentioned so can you just say what you referring to.

The fact that the Mp3 player was made by the Whipple corporation.

 

[TonyD]

Yeah someone said it.

Whipple was also on a space travel sign in the airport.

 

[TravisR]

The fact that the Mp3 player was made by the Whipple corporation.

They're such fans that they gave a shout to one of the worst episodes of the original series.

 

[Nelson Au]

Like Josh who selects a TOS Star Trek episode after watching the latest Star Trek Discovery, I chose to watch an episode of the original Twilight Zone. I chose Penny for Your Thoughts. It’s a favorite and it was a delightful story that wasn’t so dark like the two new episodes. There was supernatural elements with the coin, humor, intrigue and love and Hector Pool comes out the other end as a new man.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

That’s a great idea! I should do that too!

And I also love Penny for Your Thoughts. Great fun all around. I like the TZs with a sense of humor.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey Josh, you inspired it!

I planned to do a viewing of several epeisodes from the Blu rays. But in this case, since it was convenient, I actually watched several episodes via CBS All Access. I was also curious how they would look. It probably has more to do with which Apple TV I used, the quality was good, but not great. I watched Penny on a 4th Generation Apple TV, the model before the 4K version and Penny looked fine. This was on a 65” plasma and I watched from my seat. The next day I watched Mirror Image and People Are Alike All Over. “You were right! “ I watched via a 3rd Generation Apple TV on a 50” Pioneer 720 plasma. The image wasn’t as nice on the Apple TV 3, the background had what I’m guessing is compression artifacts. I did get up close to the screen to just see how the image looked.

It is nice to casually watch via streaming, it’s convenient and quick and easy. But the Blu rays are definitely the way to watch!

 

[Lord Dalek]

At least with All Access you get season 4. For whatever reason, its omitted from Netflix and Prime Video.