Early in 2016, at the Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Films, I attended the world premiere of a Mexican movie called "The Similars"/ "Los Parecidos". The writer and director, Isaac Ezban, was present at the event and explained to the audience that he has been a huge fan of "The Twilight Zone" since his childhood and that his latest film was intended as a giant homage to this fantastic Sci-Fi/Fantasy series. He definitely succeeded as far as I'm concerned, and I certainly wouldn't hesitate to recommend "The Similars" to all fans of old-fashioned science-fiction. It wasn't until I watched the episode "Mirror Image" that I learned that Ezban's film wasn't just a tribute to the series in general but that it was, in fact, almost entirely modeled after one episode in particular
this one! The eerie setting, the weather conditions, the main characters and their questionable mental state, the doppelganger premise
. "The Similars" isn't just a homage, it's an almost blatant imitation and my sympathy for Isaac Ezban already cooled down quite a lot. It's once again the genius Rod Serling who exclusively deserves all the credit, because he invented the entire franchise and he also penned down this uncanny episode with a non- stop ominous atmosphere and a nightmarish premise. On a rainy night at the bus station outside of New York, the lovable Millicent Barnes notices that her bus is already half an hour late. When she asks station clerk for an update, he replies her in an annoyed fashion that she shouldn't repeat the same question she already asked, even though she hasn't bothered him before! Also the toilet lady asks Millicent if she's feeling better than before, but she hasn't set a foot in the bathroom yet! Things go from bad to worse when Millicent also sees her luggage popping up in places she hasn't left it and – ultimately – when she sees herself (or at least someone who looks exactly like her) waiting on a bench with a sneer. Is this poor woman losing her mind or has she bumped into her doppelganger from a parallel universe? An ordeal such as this you can only face
in the Twilight Zone! This is a terrific episode from the hands of Rod Serling, and he also turned this into a very personal tale. The trivia section claims that the story was inspired by a personal real-life experience and all the city names that are mentioned inside the bus station (Binghamton, Syracuse
) are places where he either was born or grew up. Of course, the strength of "Mirror Image" isn't Serling's merit alone. John Brahm's direction is as impeccable as always. This was his fourth of twelve Twilight Zone episodes that he directed in total, and they all four belong to the better ones of the first season. I said it before and I'll say it again, Brahm is one of the most criminally underrated directors in history! Last but not least, Vera Miles also contributes a great deal to the powerful impact of "Mirror Image" with her integer and emotional – but definitely not hysterical – portrayal of Millicent.
40 Reviews
The fragility of identity
NParisi425618 May 2006
Mirror Image concerns a woman who discovers a double of herself during an overnight stay in a bus station. Is she losing her mind, or does the double actually exist? One of the series' earliest dealings with the question of identity - man's (or woman's) struggle to hold onto it and how it can be attacked by natural or supernatural means. That question of identity would be revisited several times in the series' run. This one is particularly notable for the fact that the protagonist is a woman, and she generally keeps herself from degenerating into hysterics despite the circumstances. That's notable for 1959-1960 television. Very good episode.
The Twilight Zone-Mirror Image
Scarecrow-882 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The ultimate Doppleganger story, MIRROR IMAGE is a tour-de-force for Vera Miles(PSYCHO; THE WRONG MAN)who portrays a tormented young woman waiting for a bus to arrive and who may be the victim of a person who looks exactly like her. Millicent Barnes is a secretary waiting in a bus station for a trip to Buffalo who experiences odd occurrences(the annoyed, disgruntled station master informing her that she continues to ask him about when the bus was to arrive, the bag disappearing and reappearing, seeing a direct reflection of herself sitting at the exact spot on the bench where she had been, etc)and feels her fragile psyche slipping away, worried that these are more than mere delusions. It's really heartbreaking to watch an innocent woman terrorized by an identical who wants to "replace her". Martin Milner enters the story as a fellow passenger named Paul Grinstead who offers friendship, a helping hand, and ears to listen to her haunting theory of parallel identical twins who may "cross over" to take the place of the one who inhibits the world so they can survive. The ending, which adds merit to Millicent's metaphysical theory--and leads to her undoing since everyone in the station considers her "suffering from a leak in the attic" and wants to get help--sure is a humdinger and it involves Paul himself. Vera Miles' performance, her fearful eyes and mind seeking answers to what it ailing her, is tragic and eerie. Directed with gloom and doom by John Brahm who never releases us from the grip of terror weighing on Miles.
Completely Freaked Me Out
deemo3131 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this when it first aired. I was a kid, maybe 8 or 9 years old. But I guess I was old enough to understand what true terror is all about. A lonely woman waiting for a bus keeps seeing someone who looks like her double. Strange things start to happen. People tell her she did things she doesn't remember doing. Her luggage mysteriously moves from one spot to another. She is sure someone is playing tricks on her, but nobody believes her. She makes friends with another would be passenger and he tries to help. But she is too far gone. Instead of boarding the bus, she is tricked into being taken away for her own protection. The end is sheer terror. No blood. No gore. No guts. Just the concept of parallel worlds colliding at a bus stop somewhere in New York. Or was it?
If you only see one Twilight Zone, make sure this is it.
If you only see one Twilight Zone, make sure this is it.
Superb, Haunting, Atmospheric Episode
MichaelMartinDeSapio22 November 2015
My favorite TWILIGHT ZONE episode and possibly one of the most perfect entries in the series. The luminous Vera Miles delivers one of TZ's outstanding female lead performances as a young secretary who while waiting for a bus on a rainy November night has a series of disorienting experiences that cause her to doubt her sanity - experiences which culminate in her glimpsing her doppelganger (her "mirror image"). The late Martin Milner gives a fine low-key performance as the good-natured fellow passenger who tries to help her (or is he secretly the "mirror image" from the other world trying to "move her out"?) And who can ever forget Joe Hamilton as the crotchety ticket taker, everyone's nightmare of a rude service employee?
The episode looks fantastic, with creamy black and white photography and film noir style from director John Brahm. The script shows Rod Serling at his best - no pretentiousness or preaching, just terse, simple and effective writing.
"Mirror Image" is one of those TZ episodes that lend themselves to symbolic and psychological interpretations. Loss of Identity and The Individual Versus Society were key themes of TZ, and what happens to Vera Miles here could be interpreted as an allegory of persecution of the individual by a repressive state. The bus depot certainly has a bleak, totalitarian atmosphere to it. The ticket taker clearly wants to "get rid of" Miles because she questions the goings-on in the depot, and her carting off to the hospital could be read as society's stigmatization of independent thought as mental disease.
But apart from such heavy-duty analysis, "Mirror Image" functions simply as a captivating half-hour thriller, subtly and artistically done.
That last point - the artistry - brings me to the final thing I'd like to say about "Mirror Image." What a time-capsule this piece is, aesthetically speaking. It was first aired in February 1960. Less than a decade later, and Miles and Milner with their trench coats and hats would have seemed like visitors from another planet. Old-fashioned too would have seemed the film noir photography and the Stravinsky-ish musical score (stock music mostly composed by Bernard Herrmann). By the 1970s television shows would be in color and all about "social issues" and "relevance." "Mirror Image" is one of the last artifacts of a bygone era, and that's part of its appeal for us today.
The episode looks fantastic, with creamy black and white photography and film noir style from director John Brahm. The script shows Rod Serling at his best - no pretentiousness or preaching, just terse, simple and effective writing.
"Mirror Image" is one of those TZ episodes that lend themselves to symbolic and psychological interpretations. Loss of Identity and The Individual Versus Society were key themes of TZ, and what happens to Vera Miles here could be interpreted as an allegory of persecution of the individual by a repressive state. The bus depot certainly has a bleak, totalitarian atmosphere to it. The ticket taker clearly wants to "get rid of" Miles because she questions the goings-on in the depot, and her carting off to the hospital could be read as society's stigmatization of independent thought as mental disease.
But apart from such heavy-duty analysis, "Mirror Image" functions simply as a captivating half-hour thriller, subtly and artistically done.
That last point - the artistry - brings me to the final thing I'd like to say about "Mirror Image." What a time-capsule this piece is, aesthetically speaking. It was first aired in February 1960. Less than a decade later, and Miles and Milner with their trench coats and hats would have seemed like visitors from another planet. Old-fashioned too would have seemed the film noir photography and the Stravinsky-ish musical score (stock music mostly composed by Bernard Herrmann). By the 1970s television shows would be in color and all about "social issues" and "relevance." "Mirror Image" is one of the last artifacts of a bygone era, and that's part of its appeal for us today.
Don't Punch That Ticket
dougdoepke3 July 2006
A woman (Vera Miles) awaits a bus in a deserted station and undergoes a strange experience.
Perhaps the creepiest of all the episodes. The dimly-lit old station presided over by a grouchy ticket seller is the very model of a late night bad dream, the kind of place where sounds echo off the walls and different dimensions come together. Then too, no one in 1959 was better at portraying afflicted women than Vera Miles, which is probably why producer Houghton got her for the show. Watch the subtlety of her expressions as she drifts deeper into emotional torment-- no wonder she was a Hitchcock favorite. The direction by Gothic ace John Brahm is also outstanding. In fact, his movie career specialized in just such psychologically troubled subjects. Also hard to say enough about Bernard Hermann's wonderfully eerie score that blends in with developments at exactly the right moments, leading us ever further into the suspense. Even the cop car abduction adds to the overall effect with an unnerving police-state abruptness about it. Baby-face Martin Milner registers too, as a concerned stranger or is he just "on-the-make"-- certainly the thought must have crossed his mind as he sits down next to her. Perhaps that was his big mistake.
Almost a perfectly wrought little gem from that marvelous first year of the series.
Perhaps the creepiest of all the episodes. The dimly-lit old station presided over by a grouchy ticket seller is the very model of a late night bad dream, the kind of place where sounds echo off the walls and different dimensions come together. Then too, no one in 1959 was better at portraying afflicted women than Vera Miles, which is probably why producer Houghton got her for the show. Watch the subtlety of her expressions as she drifts deeper into emotional torment-- no wonder she was a Hitchcock favorite. The direction by Gothic ace John Brahm is also outstanding. In fact, his movie career specialized in just such psychologically troubled subjects. Also hard to say enough about Bernard Hermann's wonderfully eerie score that blends in with developments at exactly the right moments, leading us ever further into the suspense. Even the cop car abduction adds to the overall effect with an unnerving police-state abruptness about it. Baby-face Martin Milner registers too, as a concerned stranger or is he just "on-the-make"-- certainly the thought must have crossed his mind as he sits down next to her. Perhaps that was his big mistake.
Almost a perfectly wrought little gem from that marvelous first year of the series.
Harrowing portrait of a woman encountering the inexplicable
mlraymond3 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Many viewers feel that this is the single most frightening episode of all Twilight Zone stories. The basic idea is truly unnerving, and it is presented in such a creepy, but strangely plausible way, that the audience really connects with the fear and bewilderment of the young woman played by Vera Miles.
The supporting characters are vividly etched too, from the grumpy old man in charge of the bus station, to the kindly cleaning woman, and the well meaning young businessman played by Martin Milner. The bus station itself is utterly real, from its dim lighting, to its uncomfortable looking benches, faded signs and candy and cigarette machines. The way that such a familiar, ordinary and dull setting is transformed into an eerie place where the fantastic can mingle with the every day, is remarkable. The cinematography and editing, together with the use of music, are brilliantly used to create the mundane, yet ominous bus station on a dark, rainy night.
What is especially ingenious is the way that the viewer shares Millicent Barnes' terrifying experience, and knows that it's really happening, but at the same time, are aware of how we would react if a person started talking to us in real life the way she does. What would you think? This is where the down to earth, concerned man wants to help the unfortunate woman, but logically concludes that she must be delusional, only to find himself confronted by the same nightmarish situation at the end.
The spookiest part of the whole thing is the look on Vera Miles' face, her empty stare ,as she talks softly but with an alarming intensity, about an idea she read or heard of somewhere, about parallel worlds. We know she must be right, but who wouldn't be startled and scared by a person talking like that, if we met them in real life? An all time classic, the kind of story that made this program the timeless success it is .
The supporting characters are vividly etched too, from the grumpy old man in charge of the bus station, to the kindly cleaning woman, and the well meaning young businessman played by Martin Milner. The bus station itself is utterly real, from its dim lighting, to its uncomfortable looking benches, faded signs and candy and cigarette machines. The way that such a familiar, ordinary and dull setting is transformed into an eerie place where the fantastic can mingle with the every day, is remarkable. The cinematography and editing, together with the use of music, are brilliantly used to create the mundane, yet ominous bus station on a dark, rainy night.
What is especially ingenious is the way that the viewer shares Millicent Barnes' terrifying experience, and knows that it's really happening, but at the same time, are aware of how we would react if a person started talking to us in real life the way she does. What would you think? This is where the down to earth, concerned man wants to help the unfortunate woman, but logically concludes that she must be delusional, only to find himself confronted by the same nightmarish situation at the end.
The spookiest part of the whole thing is the look on Vera Miles' face, her empty stare ,as she talks softly but with an alarming intensity, about an idea she read or heard of somewhere, about parallel worlds. We know she must be right, but who wouldn't be startled and scared by a person talking like that, if we met them in real life? An all time classic, the kind of story that made this program the timeless success it is .
Top Notch Story Telling
Foxbarking28 May 2013
Although I have always been a fan of The Twilight Zone, it is only recently that I have decided to try and watch all of the episodes. I had never seen or even heard of "Mirror Image" before, but I am so glad that I got to see this episode tonight. This is easily one of the best episodes, not only of season one, but maybe the whole series.
Millicent Barnes is in a bus stop waiting for a bus that is late. Strange things start happening while she is waiting. The workers in the station tell her that she has been doing things that she has no memory of doing. Her bag moves around the building. And she sees something very interesting in the mirror that even gave me a start.
The Twilight Zone is one of the only television series in which it is generally more enjoyable when you cannot figure out what is going on. This episode will take your mind into several interesting places. As the other reviewers have mentioned, it is imaginative, suspenseful and even a small tad scary. I am surprised I had never heard of it before because it ranks up near the top of the list of good episodes, on par with all the classics.
Millicent Barnes is in a bus stop waiting for a bus that is late. Strange things start happening while she is waiting. The workers in the station tell her that she has been doing things that she has no memory of doing. Her bag moves around the building. And she sees something very interesting in the mirror that even gave me a start.
The Twilight Zone is one of the only television series in which it is generally more enjoyable when you cannot figure out what is going on. This episode will take your mind into several interesting places. As the other reviewers have mentioned, it is imaginative, suspenseful and even a small tad scary. I am surprised I had never heard of it before because it ranks up near the top of the list of good episodes, on par with all the classics.
Double Trouble
sol-kay6 September 2011
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** One a cold and rainy Novermber night at the almost deserted Ithaca bus station Millicent Barnes, Vera Miles, is a bit concerned about the bus that's to take her to her new secretarial job in Buffalo that's already over an half hour late. Asking the ticket agent, Joe Hamilton, when he expected the bus is to arrive Millicent is told to stop pestering him in that she asked him that same question at least three times and got the same answer from him: Whenever it shows up!
A bit confused in that this was the only time that Millicent ever ask Hamilton that question she gets even more spooked out when she sees her suitcase, with a broken handle, in the luggers compartment not where she had it by her seat at the bus station! Feeling a bit faint and going to the ladies room to wash up Millicent is confronted by the lady wash-room attendant, Naomie Stevens, who tells her that she's been in and out of the wash-room some three times already when this is the very first time Millicent was in it! The clincher is when Millicent is about to go back to her seat in the bus station and sees herself, in the wash-room mirror, sitting in the same place that she just left!
Feeling that she's either losing it or hallucinating Millicent later is joined in the bus station by handsome and concerned for her safety Paul Grnstead played by the blond all-American looking Martin Milner. After hearing Millicent's story and even later when she freaked out when boarding the bus where she claimed to see herself, with an evil looking smirk on her face, sitting in it Paul realizes that she needs help, mental help, and needs it fast. Paul in an effort to help the by now totally out of it Millicent telephones the police to take her to the nearest hospital from mental observation before she hurts herself or someone else in the bus station!
***SPOILERS*** With Millicent grabbed and taken away by the cops and put in the cooler to cool off Paul now feels that he did his good deed for the day in getting this nut-case off the street or out of the bus station before she does any more damage to herself or anyone else. Relived and satisfied in what he did Paul takes a drink from the water fountain and glances at where he put his suitcase that he left by his seat at the bus station. It's gone! And not only that the person who took it is non other then Paul himself! And with that Paul finally realizes that Millicent wasn't that crazy after all as he tries to catch the fleeing Paul who, like Millicent's double, has this evil smirk on his face who's both outrunning him and leading Paul straight into the dark recesses of the "Twilight Zone"!
A bit confused in that this was the only time that Millicent ever ask Hamilton that question she gets even more spooked out when she sees her suitcase, with a broken handle, in the luggers compartment not where she had it by her seat at the bus station! Feeling a bit faint and going to the ladies room to wash up Millicent is confronted by the lady wash-room attendant, Naomie Stevens, who tells her that she's been in and out of the wash-room some three times already when this is the very first time Millicent was in it! The clincher is when Millicent is about to go back to her seat in the bus station and sees herself, in the wash-room mirror, sitting in the same place that she just left!
Feeling that she's either losing it or hallucinating Millicent later is joined in the bus station by handsome and concerned for her safety Paul Grnstead played by the blond all-American looking Martin Milner. After hearing Millicent's story and even later when she freaked out when boarding the bus where she claimed to see herself, with an evil looking smirk on her face, sitting in it Paul realizes that she needs help, mental help, and needs it fast. Paul in an effort to help the by now totally out of it Millicent telephones the police to take her to the nearest hospital from mental observation before she hurts herself or someone else in the bus station!
***SPOILERS*** With Millicent grabbed and taken away by the cops and put in the cooler to cool off Paul now feels that he did his good deed for the day in getting this nut-case off the street or out of the bus station before she does any more damage to herself or anyone else. Relived and satisfied in what he did Paul takes a drink from the water fountain and glances at where he put his suitcase that he left by his seat at the bus station. It's gone! And not only that the person who took it is non other then Paul himself! And with that Paul finally realizes that Millicent wasn't that crazy after all as he tries to catch the fleeing Paul who, like Millicent's double, has this evil smirk on his face who's both outrunning him and leading Paul straight into the dark recesses of the "Twilight Zone"!
Don't look in the mirror
philhodgman15 September 2010
Mirror Image is the kind of creepy, nightmarish episode that delves deep into your subconscious and stays there for years, ready to leap out into your conscious mind and scare you when reminded of its terrifying premise. The idea that a "double" can steal your identity and replace you is inherently unsettling. Think Invasion of the Body Snatchers - a movie with a similar premise. And as in Body Snatcher, the idea that no one believes what you know is true and that you are viewed as "going insane" adds to the horror of the protagonist and the empathy of the audience.
I particularly liked the ending because, although disconcerting, it represents the expanded possibility of an alternate reality over the smug, narrow-mindedness of conventional wisdom and leads to the question, who's crazy now?
I particularly liked the ending because, although disconcerting, it represents the expanded possibility of an alternate reality over the smug, narrow-mindedness of conventional wisdom and leads to the question, who's crazy now?
What goes around
Calicodreamin27 May 2021
Amazing- The Twilight Zone and Rod Serling at Their Best!
classicmovieman2 June 2008
As a happily zany Twilight Zone fan, I have enjoyed Mirror Image many times. I first saw it at 11:45 one night, and it gave me the chills! Vera Miles, the lovely and talented actress who appeared under the direction of Alfred Hitchcock played Lila Crane in "Psycho" plays Millicent Barnes, a girl "with her head on her shoulders" and who apparently does not have much of an imagination. She is stuck in a bus station waiting for a bus and it is, of course, raining. As she goes to ask the ticket seller when the bus will come in. His reply will begin a long road of craziness, and horror for Millicent Barnes, and the man that will come to help her, and eventually succumb to the same horrific events, Paul Grinstead, played by Martin Milner. A terrific, perfect, and amazing episode!
'Check Your Baggage Here'
classicsoncall17 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Rod Serling was probably at his best when he took the mundane and transformed it into something truly horrific. He also had a way of putting the viewer in the same shoes as the main character of his stories, thereby challenging you to consider what you would do in the same circumstances. I'd like to think I wouldn't fall apart and be compelled to confess my delusions to the first stranger to come along. Maybe try to reason things out for myself to some logical conclusion. One thing I WOULD be intrigued by is the chance to confront my exact double, instead of running away from the challenge, as Millicent Barnes (Vera Miles) did when she saw 'herself' aboard the bus.
One of the neat things about this episode on a personal level for me is that I also grew up in New York State, and managed to travel Millicent's general route while going to college in Buffalo. I never took a bus though, so hassling with the ticket taker was never a problem. But I sure did have to deal with my share of snowstorms along the way. Other episodes of The Twilight Zone will deal with that.
About the time this series first appeared, I would also watch 'Route 66' with my dad, the co-star of that show being Martin Milner, who appears here as the helpful stranger. Or is he? One is caught off guard by his presence somewhat, wondering what his motivations really are. The actions of the police who arrive on the scene seem unusually heavy handed, and would have made more sense if the conclusion of the story led to a resolution on her behalf. Instead, in a half twist ending, Milner's character undergoes the same disorienting experience that Millicent did, perhaps even more surreal. It's a chapter in the Twilight Zone saga that leads to more questions than answers, but then again, didn't they all.
One of the neat things about this episode on a personal level for me is that I also grew up in New York State, and managed to travel Millicent's general route while going to college in Buffalo. I never took a bus though, so hassling with the ticket taker was never a problem. But I sure did have to deal with my share of snowstorms along the way. Other episodes of The Twilight Zone will deal with that.
About the time this series first appeared, I would also watch 'Route 66' with my dad, the co-star of that show being Martin Milner, who appears here as the helpful stranger. Or is he? One is caught off guard by his presence somewhat, wondering what his motivations really are. The actions of the police who arrive on the scene seem unusually heavy handed, and would have made more sense if the conclusion of the story led to a resolution on her behalf. Instead, in a half twist ending, Milner's character undergoes the same disorienting experience that Millicent did, perhaps even more surreal. It's a chapter in the Twilight Zone saga that leads to more questions than answers, but then again, didn't they all.
Count me out
Qanqor14 June 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I absolutely love the Twilight Zone (enough that I recently bought the complete box set). I was just watching this episode last night. It was never one of my favorites, and so I spent some time analyzing what it was I didn't like about it.
The basic premise is good (as are the performances), but too much of the story just doesn't make sense.
The first problem is one of logistics. Just *where* is the other-universe woman most of the time, and how is she managing to avoid detection so much? When it is suggested to Millicent that perhaps there's somebody in the bus station who looks like her, she quickly spots the flaw in that premise: where is this look-alike? And yet, in the end, that's exactly what's supposed to be going on. How has the double been doing all the things she's supposed to have been doing (moving the bags, pestering the ticket man) with Millicent only seeing her once, briefly? How did the ticket guy not notice that there were two of them? Taken altogether, it seems strained at best.
But there's also the problem of motivation. Just *what* are the doubles up to? Millicent suggests that they have to take their places in order to survive, but the doubles are doing more than just that. What was accomplished by all the brouhaha with the luggage (both hers and his)? What was up with the male double's glee when he's running away at the end? The doubles appear to take delight in tormenting their counterparts, and it's hard to see why. You would *expect* that someone flung into a parallel universe would experience confusion, disorientation, even fear. You would *not* expect their reaction to be "oh, I'm in another universe! Let's go torment my counterpart!"
So I found this episode to be pretty flawed. Decent, but flawed.
The basic premise is good (as are the performances), but too much of the story just doesn't make sense.
The first problem is one of logistics. Just *where* is the other-universe woman most of the time, and how is she managing to avoid detection so much? When it is suggested to Millicent that perhaps there's somebody in the bus station who looks like her, she quickly spots the flaw in that premise: where is this look-alike? And yet, in the end, that's exactly what's supposed to be going on. How has the double been doing all the things she's supposed to have been doing (moving the bags, pestering the ticket man) with Millicent only seeing her once, briefly? How did the ticket guy not notice that there were two of them? Taken altogether, it seems strained at best.
But there's also the problem of motivation. Just *what* are the doubles up to? Millicent suggests that they have to take their places in order to survive, but the doubles are doing more than just that. What was accomplished by all the brouhaha with the luggage (both hers and his)? What was up with the male double's glee when he's running away at the end? The doubles appear to take delight in tormenting their counterparts, and it's hard to see why. You would *expect* that someone flung into a parallel universe would experience confusion, disorientation, even fear. You would *not* expect their reaction to be "oh, I'm in another universe! Let's go torment my counterpart!"
So I found this episode to be pretty flawed. Decent, but flawed.
Rod Serling's home town
upstage601 January 2007
The setting for this episode is a town somewhere near Binghamton, New York which is Rod Serling's home town. Binghamton is mentioned several times as well as other nearby upstate towns such as Cortland, Syracuse, and Buffalo. I found this to be particularly intriguing having lived in Binghamton myself and still, from time to time, go from New York City to Buffalo (Vera Miles' destination) by way of this route and have experienced extended delays in old stations like this one. It is obvious that the setting and dialog are influenced by memories of one who has been there and remembers it well. This episode definitely brings you close to Rod Serling's roots.
Superb and Imaginative
Hitchcoc1 October 2008
This Twilight Zone episode is one of the very best. It involves a beautiful young woman (Vera Miles) sitting in a bus station. As she waits for the bus, which is a half hour late, strange things begin to happen. She talks to the crotchety ticket agent who tell her to quit asking him questions over and over. She has never talked to him before. Then a lady in the women's bathroom asks her if she is OK. She claims she talked to her before. She has never been in the bathroom before. Her luggage keeps moving around. She also sees herself sitting on a bench from the the bathroom mirror. Enter Martin Milner who tries to help her sort things out. He can't help. She tries to board her bus, but there, in one of the window seats, is she. This has so much going for it: suspense, terror, a cool science fiction theme of the parallel universe. Watch this one if you have not seen it before.
Vera Miles is beside herself
gregorycanfield24 June 2021
Vera Miles was a babe when she was young! I say this, considering that she never even removes her coat for the duration of the episode. I guess it was her hat that got to me! Vera also gives a brilliant performance here. Millicent Barnes sees her double, after people in the bus station claim they've seen her in "other" places. I love the scene in the ladies room, where the attendant claims that Millicent had been in there earlier. Millicent replies: "Me? I've never been in here before!" Vera was so sexy when she got angry! Must have been her hat, again. Seriously, though, this is a brilliant, thought-provoking episode. Only a handful of TZ episodes featured female leads. This was one of the first, and best.
'The last time I asked was right now!'.
darrenpearce1113 January 2014
So many very good actresses appeared in TZ and Vera Miles must be one of the best. From the same year as her second classic Hitchcock film 'Psycho' she plays Millicent Barnes, a soundly sensible pretty young secretary at a bus depot about to have a fearful experience. She's losing control of her 'own' actions as another 'self' appears in a mirror. Excellent atmospheric stuff as Millicent's logical mind is pitted against weird events in a plain ordinary setting on a stormy night. Good support comes from Martin Milner as a kind fellow traveller and the plot develops rapidly with the two characters.
The story is not the strongest, but hats off to the lady in the hat, the splendid Vera Miles. You might want to see Hitchcock's 'The Wrong Man' where she gave a truly great performance.
The story is not the strongest, but hats off to the lady in the hat, the splendid Vera Miles. You might want to see Hitchcock's 'The Wrong Man' where she gave a truly great performance.
This is why I never take Greyhound
whatch-1793129 December 2020
Almost got it, but too many questions left unanswered.
mark.waltz20 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Perhaps I was in the Twilight Zone while watching this well-acted and fairly well written episode about mysterious look-alikes in a bus stop where Vera Miles is stuck. She comes across the typical "Twilight Zone" curmudgeon (Joe Hamilton) who thinks she's balmy, and after disappearing and reappearing luggage, Miles begins to see what she thinks is a reflection of herself. Along comes Martin Milner who manages to get her to calm down, but other images occur which makes her think that perhaps, she has gone through the looking glass. This is one of those episodes that might be mind boggling after first viewing but make more sense when rewatching. After all, The Twilight Zone is a cult series, after all, and not all episodes will make sense or capture the imagination on the first viewing. It did make me realize however that if I ever do see my look like, I am walking immediately the other way.
Seeing double
Woodyanders16 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Millicent Barnes (a fine performance by Vera Miles) suspects that a doppelganger is trying to take over her life while waiting at a rundown station for a bus.
Director John Brahm keeps the compelling story moving along at a steady pace, adroitly crafts an intriguing enigmatic atmosphere, and milks the dark and stormy night gloom doom mood at the desolate bus station setting for maximum creepy impact. Rod Serling's absorbing script brings up an interesting and provocative central point about the possibility of having an exact double in a parallel world. Moreover, the intense and excellent acting by Miles really holds everything together; she receives sturdy support from Martin Milner as the amiable Paul Grinstead, Joseph Hamilton as a cranky ticket agent, and Naomi Stevens as a kindly washroom attendant. The metaphysical surprise ending is a startling doozy. An on the money show.
Director John Brahm keeps the compelling story moving along at a steady pace, adroitly crafts an intriguing enigmatic atmosphere, and milks the dark and stormy night gloom doom mood at the desolate bus station setting for maximum creepy impact. Rod Serling's absorbing script brings up an interesting and provocative central point about the possibility of having an exact double in a parallel world. Moreover, the intense and excellent acting by Miles really holds everything together; she receives sturdy support from Martin Milner as the amiable Paul Grinstead, Joseph Hamilton as a cranky ticket agent, and Naomi Stevens as a kindly washroom attendant. The metaphysical surprise ending is a startling doozy. An on the money show.
More Than Just A Mere Reflection
StrictlyConfidential22 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
"Mirror Image" (episode 21) was first aired on television February 26, 1960.
Anyway - As the story goes - When Millicent Barnes spies her exact double at a bus station, she becomes convinced that the double is trying to take her place in the world. Fellow passenger Paul Grimstead thinks she 's crazy.... at first.
Anyway - As the story goes - When Millicent Barnes spies her exact double at a bus station, she becomes convinced that the double is trying to take her place in the world. Fellow passenger Paul Grimstead thinks she 's crazy.... at first.
Who Is Who?
AaronCapenBanner25 October 2014
Vera Miles plays Millicent Barnes, an attractive young woman patiently waiting at a bus station for her bus which is running late. A less-then helpful ticket agent scolds her for repeatedly asking about the bus, but she insists that she only asked him once. Martin Milner plays a sympathetic fellow passenger whom she confides her suspicions in, as she comes to believe that her double has somehow slipped into their world, and is trying to take her place by pushing her out. Of course she isn't believed until it becomes too late... Memorable episode creates an authentic and spooky atmosphere as its perplexing air of paranoia spreads throughout. Will resonate in particular with anyone who has ever had to take a public bus!
Like most episodes it's scary, replete with plot twists, but not credible....
dave42481852 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Millicent is convinced she's has a double stalking her as she waits in a bus terminal. This includes theories about dopplegangers from parallel universe. A stranger seems compassionate until he turns her into the authorities. That's where this one kinda lost me. It's lack of believability has nothing to do with the premise. Science fiction and horror often go outside conventional bounds. No, I'm talking about the police arresting her on the word of ONE person, even when her behavior, if crazy, is not destructive to herself or others. By all accounts this story takes place in the USA, not communist Russia. I think the cops need more than just his word to take her into custody.
Not enough story for 25 minutes...\
planktonrules23 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Verz Miles stars as a young lady who is being haunted, of sorts, by herself! This is because while she waits at a bus station, she keeps hearing about a doppleganger (exact double) who is also at the station. People keep saying that they've met her or talked with her there but she states emphatically that she just arrived. A few times she evens sees herself--briefly. And, when she tells people about this, they naturally assume she is insane.
There really isn't a whole lot more to the plot than this and the show seemed awfully drug-out--like there just wasn't enough to the story to justify the 25 minutes of the episode. Had the show been perhaps 15 minutes, I really think it would have worked better. As is, it just seemed padded and there wasn't enough payoff to justify seeing this as anything but an average to below average episode. A decent idea...but not enough to sustain my interest.
There really isn't a whole lot more to the plot than this and the show seemed awfully drug-out--like there just wasn't enough to the story to justify the 25 minutes of the episode. Had the show been perhaps 15 minutes, I really think it would have worked better. As is, it just seemed padded and there wasn't enough payoff to justify seeing this as anything but an average to below average episode. A decent idea...but not enough to sustain my interest.
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