Classic episode of the Twilight Zone, "Living Doll" is like "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and "Time Enough at Last" in regards to its status as one of the all-time most popular episodes. Telly Savalas, in his lone episode of TZ, stars as a bit of a prick, Erich, the stepfather of cute Christie (Tracy Stratford), who just got a new doll named Talky Tina (voiced by June Foray, of Rocky & Bullwinkle fame). Mary LaRoche is Annabelle, the soft-spoken wife of Erich.
Erich has a rather short fuse and there's a bit of a devious twinkle and mischief about him. Look at how he eyes to get rid of the doll almost immediately after seeing Christie with it. When alone with the doll, he talks with wicked glee about how he plans to throw it away. Erich puts Tina on notice and the doll *does* as well. Tina warns Erich, claiming that he will be killed by it! The episode is a contest between doll and daddy. Well, Erich seems torn betwixt two. He loves the wife yet has this noticeable contempt he can't hide for a little girl who hasn't done a damn thing to him. It is subtle and careful in the dialogue, but Erich can't produce a child with Annabelle. That failure eats away at him. Christie looks at Erich as daddy while he can't seem to altogether accept her as his daughter. That rift is exploited by Tina who works as a kind of *protector* for Christie. Annabelle is soon accused of being the *voice* of Tina as Erich believes it has to be her trying to get back at him for his often snarly attitude. Soon he has to come to terms with Tina actually being the one he's up against.
The conflict is rather creepy as a doll, this inanimate object with a sweet face and seemingly innocuous looks, is targeting a grown man and he never knows where it might be. He soon finds out the hard way. Tina's deliberate method to get even with Erich (she tells him she doesn't forgive him for tossing her in a garbage barrel in his garage): (1) The sound Erich hears while in bed. (2) The stairs where the sound seems to come from. (3) Tina with a warning to mom, "You better be nice to me."
Savalas sure isn't a nice character in this episode so his fate I can imagine over all these years wasn't exactly mourned. That scheming mind that seems to be looking for ways to cause discomfort and unease in his family, with the relish he takes in trying to dispose of Tina behind his wife and stepdaughter's back, Erich doesn't exactly ingratiate himself to us. The rub: the little doll, which does appear to be the least threatening weapon of destruction ever, is dangerous. One scene that is a bit too much: Tina contacts Erich on the phone. Perhaps this one moment goes a bit over the top. Still, job well done by all.
Erich has a rather short fuse and there's a bit of a devious twinkle and mischief about him. Look at how he eyes to get rid of the doll almost immediately after seeing Christie with it. When alone with the doll, he talks with wicked glee about how he plans to throw it away. Erich puts Tina on notice and the doll *does* as well. Tina warns Erich, claiming that he will be killed by it! The episode is a contest between doll and daddy. Well, Erich seems torn betwixt two. He loves the wife yet has this noticeable contempt he can't hide for a little girl who hasn't done a damn thing to him. It is subtle and careful in the dialogue, but Erich can't produce a child with Annabelle. That failure eats away at him. Christie looks at Erich as daddy while he can't seem to altogether accept her as his daughter. That rift is exploited by Tina who works as a kind of *protector* for Christie. Annabelle is soon accused of being the *voice* of Tina as Erich believes it has to be her trying to get back at him for his often snarly attitude. Soon he has to come to terms with Tina actually being the one he's up against.
The conflict is rather creepy as a doll, this inanimate object with a sweet face and seemingly innocuous looks, is targeting a grown man and he never knows where it might be. He soon finds out the hard way. Tina's deliberate method to get even with Erich (she tells him she doesn't forgive him for tossing her in a garbage barrel in his garage): (1) The sound Erich hears while in bed. (2) The stairs where the sound seems to come from. (3) Tina with a warning to mom, "You better be nice to me."
Savalas sure isn't a nice character in this episode so his fate I can imagine over all these years wasn't exactly mourned. That scheming mind that seems to be looking for ways to cause discomfort and unease in his family, with the relish he takes in trying to dispose of Tina behind his wife and stepdaughter's back, Erich doesn't exactly ingratiate himself to us. The rub: the little doll, which does appear to be the least threatening weapon of destruction ever, is dangerous. One scene that is a bit too much: Tina contacts Erich on the phone. Perhaps this one moment goes a bit over the top. Still, job well done by all.