If you watch this episode of The Twilight Zone today, and you weren't around in the late 1950's, it's going to be hard to imagine that the paranoia that comes through actually existed back then. I would have been nine years old in 1960, and we were doing duck and cover drills in my parochial school because of a palpable threat that existed from the former Soviet Union. Nikita Kruschev's earlier threat to 'bury' the West was more a defense of Marxism than a military threat, but that's how many perceived it. Rod Serling's treatment of the impending doom of nuclear annihilation takes center stage in this story, and elevates it to one of the great classics of the series.
With my recent acquisition of the Twilight Zone Definitive Edition, I'm watching the stories in episode order, ever on the lookout for my favorites from back in the day. This is the first one I'm willing to consider for my personal Top Ten list, as it slowly builds a foreboding atmosphere and increases the tension with hints of an insider conspiracy at subversion. The character of Carling (Edward Andrews) is a curious one, the viewer is never sure what faction he represents. Does he want in on the plan being formulated by Sturka (Fritz Weaver) and Jerry (Joe Maross), or is he looking to expose them? There's some great cryptic dialog among them at the card party, filled with double meaning and secrecy that portends an unknown fate.
Others on this board have mentioned the effective use of odd camera angles done with surreal effect. I thought the pocket watch hand off was cleverly done shifting the scene from the Sturka living room to the workshop basement. It's an abrupt shift that catches you a little by surprise, once again ratcheting up the tension for what's to follow. The one thing that could have been done to make the twist ending even better would have been to refrain from telegraphing the outcome with the title of the story. 'Third From The Sun' is just too much of a dead giveaway if you're paying attention, and makes the revelation of the destination planet almost a foregone conclusion. But lay it on an unsuspecting first time watcher without the preview, and I'll bet it takes most anyone by surprise.
With my recent acquisition of the Twilight Zone Definitive Edition, I'm watching the stories in episode order, ever on the lookout for my favorites from back in the day. This is the first one I'm willing to consider for my personal Top Ten list, as it slowly builds a foreboding atmosphere and increases the tension with hints of an insider conspiracy at subversion. The character of Carling (Edward Andrews) is a curious one, the viewer is never sure what faction he represents. Does he want in on the plan being formulated by Sturka (Fritz Weaver) and Jerry (Joe Maross), or is he looking to expose them? There's some great cryptic dialog among them at the card party, filled with double meaning and secrecy that portends an unknown fate.
Others on this board have mentioned the effective use of odd camera angles done with surreal effect. I thought the pocket watch hand off was cleverly done shifting the scene from the Sturka living room to the workshop basement. It's an abrupt shift that catches you a little by surprise, once again ratcheting up the tension for what's to follow. The one thing that could have been done to make the twist ending even better would have been to refrain from telegraphing the outcome with the title of the story. 'Third From The Sun' is just too much of a dead giveaway if you're paying attention, and makes the revelation of the destination planet almost a foregone conclusion. But lay it on an unsuspecting first time watcher without the preview, and I'll bet it takes most anyone by surprise.