Mulligan would shout his lines, whereas Carney mangles his, the slurred words of someone who truly knew the bottom of a bottle. The material was toned down there, and, while Mulligan's "drunkenness" may have seemed more theatrical, he didn't have the advantages Carney had, which is that Carney did have issues with alcoholism and is possibly a bit of a method actor in this regard. And drinking is so much more subtle." The episode was remade for the 80s revival in a so-so new version with Richard Mulligan. In fact, it's always a joy to watch.Īrt Carney is superb as a drunken Santa having an existential crisis and uttering lines like "I find of late that I have very little choice in the matter of expressing emotions. A Penny For Your Thoughts is one of the few comedic episodes that did get aired, but it's more quirky, light and offbeat than outright silly.
Dingle, The Strong never seemed to get airtime, leaving the England-based viewer in blissful ignorance of their existence.
#Shadow play twilight zone series#
While Johnson isn't above a blonde joke, he even has York railing against sexism, and the innocent lead's turn to blackmail at the end adds another layer to events.Īs a kid, waiting for repeats of the Twilight Zone on selected UK screenings, I saw just a fraction of the series and had no idea that the series played with comedy so regularly. Another interesting twist is the elderly bank worker who plans to use his anonymity to rob the place, only to later reveal that it's just a fantasy he toys with. Bagby is the dominant ogre, he's not without sympathetic edges, and doesn't seek to railroad York throughout. What also helps is that Johnson populates his script with great variations on the comic archetypes: while boss Mr. However, York's character is so well-meaning that he puts his newfound ability to positive use.
Often with stories where a character acquires a gift of supernature it's frustrating that they don't use it to wider effect, even if restrained by the 23 minute runtime, such as The Mind and the Matter. A Penny For Your Thoughts sees Dick York as a man who develops telepathy when a flipped coin lands on its edge, the phenomena echoing the million-to-one chance.
George Clayton Johnson's hit rate with the series was phenomenal, with four stories and not a dud amongst them.
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