Alright, I confess
I consider myself to be a die-hard fan of horror, Sci-Fi and cult and yet I've never watched the original "Twilight Zone" series. Shame on me, I know, but I plan to correct this as from now since I purchased the entire series. This very first episode quickly made me realize that I will soon discover that many of my personal favorite movie titles were inspired by – or even blatantly copied from – "The Twilight Zone". One movie that truly struck me as original and frightening, for example, was the made- for-TV movie "Where have all the people gone?" released in 1974 and starring Peter Graves, but it's only just now that I'm discovering that this great movie is pretty much identical to the pilot episode "Where is everybody" (including even the title!) It's a very powerful and clever pilot episode with a solid screenplay and a brooding atmosphere of tension. Earl Holliman is also fantastic as Mike Ferris, a man that we meet as he is drifting around a remote little town and looking for his own identity and recollections. The entire town is forsaken but it seems as if all human beings just vaporized and left behind everything they were doing. "Where is everybody?" is unsettling and compelling, and the climax comes as a complete and unpredictable surprise – at least to me it did – that works quite effectively. Very good start to a legendary TV-series, I'm sure I'll enormously enjoy the rest of the big fat DVD-box
59 Reviews
A fine beginning to the series.
Hey_Sweden7 May 2012
Here is the debut episode of Rod Serling's excellent and beloved legendary television series 'The Twilight Zone', and it kicked things off nicely. Earl Holliman stars as an amiable, upbeat young guy wandering along who comes to a small town that appears to be empty. Not a soul in sight. No matter where he goes, he finds nobody to talk to, not in a diner, ice cream shop, or police station. At first he's somewhat amused by the situation, but it doesn't take long for him to feel stress, because, despite the emptiness, he can't shake the feeling that *somebody* is watching him. Scripted by Serling himself, and effectively scored by Bernard Herrmann, this turns out to a believable study of a human being having to deal with the reality of loneliness, and how companionship is a fundamental need in human existence. It goes far on the engaging presence of Holliman, who's the only person on screen for almost 20 minutes of screen time. His banter, aimed at whomever may possibly hear him, is always likable, and it would be too hard not to feel some sympathy for him when he starts breaking down. The atmosphere here is undeniable, and for many of us it's a particular treat to see the Universal back lot used as the primary setting, a location we've seen in such movies as "Gremlins" and "Back to the Future". The moment of revelation proves to be worth waiting for, as it would be for all subsequent 'Twilight Zone' episodes. Well worth watching overall. Eight out of 10.
Take your first trip . . . into 'The Twilight Zone'
Shattered_Wake16 November 2010
Warning: Spoilers
In the pilot of the classic series 'The Twilight Zone,' Rod Serling brings to us the first story of what will become one of the most popular, influential, and well made television shows in history.
This story, "Where Is Everybody?," stars Earl Holliman ("Police Woman") as Mike Ferris, a man who awakens in a deserted town with no knowledge of how he arrived there or who he is. As he searches for answers, Ferris slowly begins to doubt his own sanity and becomes more & more hopeless in his impossible situation.
It is commonly recognized that the pilot episode of a TV series is, often, not of very high quality compared to later work. This is usually simply due to low budgets and unfamiliarity with how the series is going to be. However, this is quite untrue of this premiere episode of 'The Twilight Zone.' Rod Serling, a genius of crafting tension and suspense within his unique and intriguing story lines, delivered a heck of a teleplay here, even if he would later go on to dismiss the pilot as a disappointing start. While the overall story of a man discovering himself alone in the world is nothing new, even for 1959, the approach and spins that are put on it certainly make it something fresh. As the circumstances become consistently more distressing, the viewer is wholly drawn into the anxiety and terror that Ferris is feeling.
Beyond the writing, the other technical aspects of the episode are also fantastic. Robert Stevens, who was a prolific director on 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents,' captures the empty town's landscape absolutely perfectly. This is further enhanced by Joseph LaShelle, whose phenomenal cinematography talents can also be seen in Billy Wilder's masterpiece 'The Apartment.' Starring as the stranded man, Earl Holliman, well known for his many later TV appearances on such shows as "Police Woman" and "The Wide Country," puts forth a solid performance. Holliman's character, though slightly grating at times, was believably portrayed as the desperation, madness, and fear crept in, fully bringing the audience along for the ride.
Overall, 'Where Is Everybody?" is not only just a stellar pilot episode of one of the greatest shows in television history, it is a great episode altogether, with or without the approval of Mr. Serling.
-AP3-
This story, "Where Is Everybody?," stars Earl Holliman ("Police Woman") as Mike Ferris, a man who awakens in a deserted town with no knowledge of how he arrived there or who he is. As he searches for answers, Ferris slowly begins to doubt his own sanity and becomes more & more hopeless in his impossible situation.
It is commonly recognized that the pilot episode of a TV series is, often, not of very high quality compared to later work. This is usually simply due to low budgets and unfamiliarity with how the series is going to be. However, this is quite untrue of this premiere episode of 'The Twilight Zone.' Rod Serling, a genius of crafting tension and suspense within his unique and intriguing story lines, delivered a heck of a teleplay here, even if he would later go on to dismiss the pilot as a disappointing start. While the overall story of a man discovering himself alone in the world is nothing new, even for 1959, the approach and spins that are put on it certainly make it something fresh. As the circumstances become consistently more distressing, the viewer is wholly drawn into the anxiety and terror that Ferris is feeling.
Beyond the writing, the other technical aspects of the episode are also fantastic. Robert Stevens, who was a prolific director on 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents,' captures the empty town's landscape absolutely perfectly. This is further enhanced by Joseph LaShelle, whose phenomenal cinematography talents can also be seen in Billy Wilder's masterpiece 'The Apartment.' Starring as the stranded man, Earl Holliman, well known for his many later TV appearances on such shows as "Police Woman" and "The Wide Country," puts forth a solid performance. Holliman's character, though slightly grating at times, was believably portrayed as the desperation, madness, and fear crept in, fully bringing the audience along for the ride.
Overall, 'Where Is Everybody?" is not only just a stellar pilot episode of one of the greatest shows in television history, it is a great episode altogether, with or without the approval of Mr. Serling.
-AP3-
It Sold the Series
dougdoepke12 June 2006
This is the episode that sold the series to sponsors skeptical of Serling's offbeat ideas. The money men were afraid that audiences would be confused by an untried concept for 1950's TV-- adult science fiction. After seeing this, they decided to take a chance. The result, of course, is classic television that endures to the present day.
Inventive direction by Robert Stevens holds audience interest spellbound, as we try to figure out where all the people in the deserted town have gone. They're there, somewhere, but where-- why else the singing coffee pot, the smoking cigarette, the optometrist's eye, and the other tip-offs. Then too, there are the off-angle camera shots that further heighten audience anxiety. I wouldn't be surprised this was the first use of such camera trickery in a series from that era. The ending too, is very plausible and well done, perfectly consistent with the spirit of the time which I'm sure was a selling point. Something should also be said about Bernard Hermann's incredibly eerie musical score, which moves us even further into this uncharted land. There may be other episodes as good as this, but in my book there are none better.
Inventive direction by Robert Stevens holds audience interest spellbound, as we try to figure out where all the people in the deserted town have gone. They're there, somewhere, but where-- why else the singing coffee pot, the smoking cigarette, the optometrist's eye, and the other tip-offs. Then too, there are the off-angle camera shots that further heighten audience anxiety. I wouldn't be surprised this was the first use of such camera trickery in a series from that era. The ending too, is very plausible and well done, perfectly consistent with the spirit of the time which I'm sure was a selling point. Something should also be said about Bernard Hermann's incredibly eerie musical score, which moves us even further into this uncharted land. There may be other episodes as good as this, but in my book there are none better.
"It's just that I don't seem to remember who I am".
classicsoncall24 February 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I got my set of 'The Twilight Zone Definitive Edition' today and couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than by watching the pilot episode - "Where is Everybody?". As with most of the stories in the series, I've seen this one before, while remembering some better than others. I would never have guessed that this was the premiere episode, but in it's way, it quite appropriately places the viewer at the center of each story right from the start, allowing one to imagine how you might feel if you were the protagonist instead of the actor on screen.
Whether it's movies or TV shows of the era, I always get a kick out of seeing those time capsule reminders of life from the age in which I grew up. "Battle Hymn" at The Savoy and 'The Last Man on Earth' on the book rack. Twenty nine cent toothpaste and forty cent banana splits at the soda shop, those good old days just a distant memory now. The town of Oakwood itself looked absolutely impressive in all it's post War hope and promise of a better life for all America.
I guess that's why it's all the more shocking when the story reveals what might appear to be an almost sinister side to Earl Holliman's isolation experiment. Military bigwigs conspire to learn how twenty days in solitary confinement might prepare future space explorers to survive long periods of loneliness. It startled me somewhat how much of Holliman's experience resembled a virtual reality scenario by the time it was all over. All those wires and probes connected to him to provide feedback and monitor his vital signs. Very creepy.
Judging by this first episode, the remastered Definitive Edition has done a remarkable job in putting out a terrific product. The picture was so clear that you could pick out the individual hairs in Holliman's beard and the pores of his face. The best though was the fly that landed on the mannequin's car door and remained there for Holliman's entire dialog. Had Rod Serling scripted that, I would be truly amazed.
As Holliman's character is carried away on a stretcher at the finale, I found it rather intriguing that he seems to invite the viewer to come back for future episodes by uttering the words 'Don't go away'. Fans of "The Twilight Zone" in fact never go away, they just keep coming back for more.
Whether it's movies or TV shows of the era, I always get a kick out of seeing those time capsule reminders of life from the age in which I grew up. "Battle Hymn" at The Savoy and 'The Last Man on Earth' on the book rack. Twenty nine cent toothpaste and forty cent banana splits at the soda shop, those good old days just a distant memory now. The town of Oakwood itself looked absolutely impressive in all it's post War hope and promise of a better life for all America.
I guess that's why it's all the more shocking when the story reveals what might appear to be an almost sinister side to Earl Holliman's isolation experiment. Military bigwigs conspire to learn how twenty days in solitary confinement might prepare future space explorers to survive long periods of loneliness. It startled me somewhat how much of Holliman's experience resembled a virtual reality scenario by the time it was all over. All those wires and probes connected to him to provide feedback and monitor his vital signs. Very creepy.
Judging by this first episode, the remastered Definitive Edition has done a remarkable job in putting out a terrific product. The picture was so clear that you could pick out the individual hairs in Holliman's beard and the pores of his face. The best though was the fly that landed on the mannequin's car door and remained there for Holliman's entire dialog. Had Rod Serling scripted that, I would be truly amazed.
As Holliman's character is carried away on a stretcher at the finale, I found it rather intriguing that he seems to invite the viewer to come back for future episodes by uttering the words 'Don't go away'. Fans of "The Twilight Zone" in fact never go away, they just keep coming back for more.
A Great Start!
Skeeter7002 February 2006
This first episode of The Twilight Zone exhibits all the traits that would go on to make the show so great. We follow the hero of the episode (a man with amnesia) as he tries to figure out who and where he is. The great twist is that he cannot find anyone else to talk to. He is alone. Slowly, the unnamed man begins to believe he is the last man on earth. Then, events have him change that view, now wondering if he is not alone, but being watched. The final twist to the story is a classic Twilight Zone ending. While this ending may seem somewhat dated, it ties up the story nicely. Overall, another classic episode that mixes curiosity and dread very effectively. I gave it 9.5 out of 10.
The most relevant lesson to our time
TermlnatriX7 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Since beginning the Twilight Zone back in May, I've watched the pilot episode "Where is Everybody?" total of three times. While I could have been +3 episodes more into the series, I just keep coming back to this one. Putting aside the somewhat campy 50's acting - this episode, especially the latter half of it is some of the most invigorating piece of content I have yet seen on the topic it deals with and the psychological breakdown of man. I just can't help but feel an overbearing sense of emotion towards the very end of the episode when the soldier just loses it.
It is absolutely amazing to me the subject of the mind. The theme of the BASIC NEED for human companionship is extremely well represented here. Serling was a master "psychologist" if you will, in that he understood the human condition very well - at least this is the evidence I got out of the majority of the episodes he has written. If you think about this episode on a grand scale, you'll notice just how many of us can GET and DO get depressed because of the lack of human interaction. We are social animals in our nature, and that "basic human need" of companionship is of vital importance.
I think that this was Serling's hour. This is one of the best, hard hitting, and most importantly; most relevant "moral lessons" that came out of the Twilight Zone.
It is absolutely amazing to me the subject of the mind. The theme of the BASIC NEED for human companionship is extremely well represented here. Serling was a master "psychologist" if you will, in that he understood the human condition very well - at least this is the evidence I got out of the majority of the episodes he has written. If you think about this episode on a grand scale, you'll notice just how many of us can GET and DO get depressed because of the lack of human interaction. We are social animals in our nature, and that "basic human need" of companionship is of vital importance.
I think that this was Serling's hour. This is one of the best, hard hitting, and most importantly; most relevant "moral lessons" that came out of the Twilight Zone.
Sturdy debut episode
Woodyanders28 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Mike Ferris (a fine and likable performance by Earl Holliman) finds himself alone in a small town where he can't even remember his own name. Director Robert Stevens keeps the intriguing premise moving along at a steady pace, ably crafts a strong mood of despair and mystery, and makes nice use of the sprawling empty hamlet main location. Essentially a one man show until the doozy of a surprise ending, Holliman's excellent acting really holds the viewer's interest throughout. Joseph LaShelle's sharp black and while cinematography boasts several inventive askew camera angles while Bernard Hermann's brooding score further enhances the overall eerie tone. Best of all, Rod Sterling's thoughtful script makes a poignant and significant statement about loneliness and the basic human need for some kind of companionship.
A very good beginning
planktonrules9 September 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This was the pilot episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE and lovers of the series should be thankful this episode came first, as it helped to sell the series to network bigwigs. While it is not the best episode they made, it is among the better ones, though because of the way this particular show was constructed it's not nearly as enjoyable to watch again and again, since the surprise ending is no longer a surprise.
Earl Holliman stars as a lonely astronaut who comes back to Earth and finds that everyone is gone. Much of the episode is spent with his running about town looking for someone...anyone so that he knows that he's not 100% alone. Holliman's acting and the direction of this episode are superb and it's one you must see at least once.
Earl Holliman stars as a lonely astronaut who comes back to Earth and finds that everyone is gone. Much of the episode is spent with his running about town looking for someone...anyone so that he knows that he's not 100% alone. Holliman's acting and the direction of this episode are superb and it's one you must see at least once.
Solitude
claudio_carvalho9 January 2014
Mike Ferris (Earl Holliman) finds himself alone in the small Oakwood town and without recollection about his name, where he is or who he is. Mike wanders through the town trying to find a living soul. The tension increases and Mike has a break down.
"Where Is Everybody?" is the engaging first episode of "The Twilight Zone" and part of my childhood. The plot is intriguing and the despair of Mike reaches the limit with the solitude. Out of the blue, there is a plausible explanation of what has happened to him considering that this is a 1959 show. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Além da Imaginação - Where Is Everybody?" ("Beyond Imagination - Where Is Everybody?")
Note: On 24 Mar 2018 I saw this episode again.
"Where Is Everybody?" is the engaging first episode of "The Twilight Zone" and part of my childhood. The plot is intriguing and the despair of Mike reaches the limit with the solitude. Out of the blue, there is a plausible explanation of what has happened to him considering that this is a 1959 show. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Além da Imaginação - Where Is Everybody?" ("Beyond Imagination - Where Is Everybody?")
Note: On 24 Mar 2018 I saw this episode again.
A fitting but not flawless beginning
phantom_tollbooth21 February 2007
Warning: Spoilers
With an anthology show like 'The Twilight Zone' in which the tone differed from week to week, choosing a pilot episode should have proved difficult but in 'Where is Everybody?' Serling produced a fitting introduction to his strange dimension. Anyone with the delusion that this was going to be a series about nothing more than monsters, ghosts and strange machines was quickly put right. The nature of this episode is more psychological, focusing squarely on one man and his reaction to isolation.
Concerning an air force pilot who finds himself all alone in a deserted suburbia with no memory of who he is, 'Where is Everybody?' is immediately intriguing. The major downside of the episode is the pay-off, in which we find that the whole thing has been a hallucination. After twenty minutes of wondering who left that coffee boiling and where that suspicious, smouldering cigar came from, it's hard not to feel cheated when we're fobbed off with an "it was all a dream" type conclusion. However, the ending points us towards the frame of mind which Serling requires us to be in before we can enter the Twilight Zone. The whole episode wasn't about why there was no-one in the town at all. The most important thing was the main character's reaction to this enforced loneliness. Like all Twilight Zone scripts, 'Where is Everybody' is primarily about people, with the supernatural used as a way in to exploring human behaviour.
Serling, always his own harshest critic, dislikes the episode because he feels the continuous monologue that he has the main character recite is unrealistic. However, Serling is being too harsh on himself. Not only is it likely that, placed in a strange town with no population, most people would keep themselves company by talking aloud, but Serling also cleverly eases the character into his self-comforting chatter by having his early dialogue addressed to people who he thinks are there; a chef who he believes to be in the kitchen and a mannequin who he mistakes for a real woman. By the time he has had two abortive conversations he is suitably unnerved to be gibbering away to himself just so he can hear a human voice. Besides which, let us not forget that this is all in the imaginings of a strained psyche. The real problem with the dialogue is the stiff manner in which it is delivered by Earl Holliman, whose performance leaves a lot to be desired. At times, particularly in his long speech in the ice cream parlour, Holliman sounds like he is reading the lines aloud from idiot boards. A script that is virtually a one man show demands a better performance than the one we are given.
Unlike most Twilight Zone episodes, 'Where is Everybody' turns out to be entirely plausible. The explanation at the end wraps up the piece and dispels any question of supernatural involvement. This was merely the hallucination of a man at the centre of an isolation experiment. However, it gives us a glimpse of the Twilight Zone from a safe distance. Serling's final narration places us not in the Twilight Zone but preparing to enter it; " up there is an enemy known as isolation. It sits there in the stars waiting, waiting with the patience of eons, forever waiting in the Twilight Zone". The Twilight Zone is out there waiting for us, but for the last twenty minutes we haven't actually been in it. In this light, 'Where is Everybody' can be considered a "pilot episode" in more ways than one. We are all in the same position as the air force pilot; this has been our own isolation test before Serling plunges us headlong into the Twilight Zone with future episodes.
'Where is Everybody' is a great introduction to the series. It isn't one of the classics but it is suitably intriguing and thought provoking to make it a very memorable episode. It also introduces the viewer to Serling's people-based approach to writing which sets the Twilight Zone apart as something truly special.
Concerning an air force pilot who finds himself all alone in a deserted suburbia with no memory of who he is, 'Where is Everybody?' is immediately intriguing. The major downside of the episode is the pay-off, in which we find that the whole thing has been a hallucination. After twenty minutes of wondering who left that coffee boiling and where that suspicious, smouldering cigar came from, it's hard not to feel cheated when we're fobbed off with an "it was all a dream" type conclusion. However, the ending points us towards the frame of mind which Serling requires us to be in before we can enter the Twilight Zone. The whole episode wasn't about why there was no-one in the town at all. The most important thing was the main character's reaction to this enforced loneliness. Like all Twilight Zone scripts, 'Where is Everybody' is primarily about people, with the supernatural used as a way in to exploring human behaviour.
Serling, always his own harshest critic, dislikes the episode because he feels the continuous monologue that he has the main character recite is unrealistic. However, Serling is being too harsh on himself. Not only is it likely that, placed in a strange town with no population, most people would keep themselves company by talking aloud, but Serling also cleverly eases the character into his self-comforting chatter by having his early dialogue addressed to people who he thinks are there; a chef who he believes to be in the kitchen and a mannequin who he mistakes for a real woman. By the time he has had two abortive conversations he is suitably unnerved to be gibbering away to himself just so he can hear a human voice. Besides which, let us not forget that this is all in the imaginings of a strained psyche. The real problem with the dialogue is the stiff manner in which it is delivered by Earl Holliman, whose performance leaves a lot to be desired. At times, particularly in his long speech in the ice cream parlour, Holliman sounds like he is reading the lines aloud from idiot boards. A script that is virtually a one man show demands a better performance than the one we are given.
Unlike most Twilight Zone episodes, 'Where is Everybody' turns out to be entirely plausible. The explanation at the end wraps up the piece and dispels any question of supernatural involvement. This was merely the hallucination of a man at the centre of an isolation experiment. However, it gives us a glimpse of the Twilight Zone from a safe distance. Serling's final narration places us not in the Twilight Zone but preparing to enter it; " up there is an enemy known as isolation. It sits there in the stars waiting, waiting with the patience of eons, forever waiting in the Twilight Zone". The Twilight Zone is out there waiting for us, but for the last twenty minutes we haven't actually been in it. In this light, 'Where is Everybody' can be considered a "pilot episode" in more ways than one. We are all in the same position as the air force pilot; this has been our own isolation test before Serling plunges us headlong into the Twilight Zone with future episodes.
'Where is Everybody' is a great introduction to the series. It isn't one of the classics but it is suitably intriguing and thought provoking to make it a very memorable episode. It also introduces the viewer to Serling's people-based approach to writing which sets the Twilight Zone apart as something truly special.
Has flaws but is still great pioneering TV.
darrenpearce1113 January 2014
Flawed but largely brilliant opener to the greatest TV series of all time. Several of the hallmarks of TZ are in evidence here. The themes of loneliness and identity are obvious, but there is also a satisfying conclusion that neatly makes sense of why the diner, cinema and book-stands but only desolation with regards to human company. Its surprising to notice that most TZ endings are nicely prefigured by events and dialogue when you see them a second time. Some titles even give too much away but happily this title does not. Its clever stuff and there is effective criss-crossing of agoraphobic and claustrophobic moments.
It's commendable that the star, Earl Holliman provided a DVD commentary stating that he could have acted scenes better and that some parts, like the mannequin, don't work. Other actors certainly got to grips with Rod Serling's monologues better, but he does well on the whole. I like that Serling has him quoting the good book ('A Christmas Carol').
A high quality opening for the greatest ever TV achievement.
It's commendable that the star, Earl Holliman provided a DVD commentary stating that he could have acted scenes better and that some parts, like the mannequin, don't work. Other actors certainly got to grips with Rod Serling's monologues better, but he does well on the whole. I like that Serling has him quoting the good book ('A Christmas Carol').
A high quality opening for the greatest ever TV achievement.
A strong episode.
mm-3919 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
A strong episode. Well written, directed and acted episode. Where Is Everybody has a strong story. A man in a isolated town wonders. Can not get out of a phone booth, and keeps pressing a button at the end by a side walk. A plot twist Twilight Zone ending. The director keeps a slow burn where the viewer wonders what will happen next? What is happening now? Strong acting performance by the loner. A strong physical acting for not much dialog with one character. Dated for today"s series but likable. 7 out of 10 stars.
Thankfully, the episodes got much better than this.
joegarbled-7948218 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
"Where Is Everybody?" is, for this fan of "The Twilight Zone" pretty unwatchable. It shares the exact same faults as the episode "King Nine Will Not Return", another episode I never watch: one main character who spends much of the episode bellowing at the top of his voice. Both characters are fly-boys, maybe Rod Serling thought they OUGHT to bellow as they'd be used to competing with the noise of some Pratt & Whitney radial engines or something.
Here we get Earl Holliman (an actor I never much liked or rated) who seems to be suffering from "amnesia of some kind" as he finds himself walking along a road towards a town he doesn't know. The town appears to be deserted. A phone booth rings, out of the blue, but all he gets is a recorded message and a few moments of panic when he appears to be trapped in the booth.
All he knows is that he's an American and in the airforce, but for this, he knows nothing except that this dream/nightmare he's stuck in, is the most complete one anyone ever had with still lit, half smoked cigars and a movie reel that runs itself, it's like someone is there, unseen, yet he feels completely alone.
Holliman's character finally goes to pieces and we discover that he's been the guinea pig in testing the human mind in a prolonged period of living alone in a confined space, the kind of conditions that a US space pioneer is going to have to endure for a mission to succeed.
It's an interesting story but Holliman was a poor choice for the lead, especially as he got most of the screen time and the execution could have been better, though if you were watching for the first time, you'd be just as bewildered as Holliman's character was. The series took off thanks to its originality.
5/10.
Here we get Earl Holliman (an actor I never much liked or rated) who seems to be suffering from "amnesia of some kind" as he finds himself walking along a road towards a town he doesn't know. The town appears to be deserted. A phone booth rings, out of the blue, but all he gets is a recorded message and a few moments of panic when he appears to be trapped in the booth.
All he knows is that he's an American and in the airforce, but for this, he knows nothing except that this dream/nightmare he's stuck in, is the most complete one anyone ever had with still lit, half smoked cigars and a movie reel that runs itself, it's like someone is there, unseen, yet he feels completely alone.
Holliman's character finally goes to pieces and we discover that he's been the guinea pig in testing the human mind in a prolonged period of living alone in a confined space, the kind of conditions that a US space pioneer is going to have to endure for a mission to succeed.
It's an interesting story but Holliman was a poor choice for the lead, especially as he got most of the screen time and the execution could have been better, though if you were watching for the first time, you'd be just as bewildered as Holliman's character was. The series took off thanks to its originality.
5/10.
Your next stop: the Twilight Zone!
BA_Harrison29 August 2011
It is testament to the brilliance of Rod Serling that the pilot episode for his classic series The Twilight Zone can consist almost entirely of one man wandering around a deserted town and still be a hugely entertaining experience. 'Where Is Everybody?' begins with a man (Earl Holliman) wandering down a dusty road with no recollection of how he came to be there, or any knowledge of who he is. On arriving at a town (the same Universal back-lot used for Back To The Future and Gremlins), he continues his search for signs of life, but starts to crack up when he realises that he is all alone.
A thoroughly engrossing study of the fragility of the human psyche, convincingly portrayed by Holliman and brilliantly directed by Robert Stevens, this story is extremely eerie throughout, provides a smashing 'shock' midway through, and packs a terribly dated but still very cool twist ending, thus setting the high standard for many more episodes to come.
A thoroughly engrossing study of the fragility of the human psyche, convincingly portrayed by Holliman and brilliantly directed by Robert Stevens, this story is extremely eerie throughout, provides a smashing 'shock' midway through, and packs a terribly dated but still very cool twist ending, thus setting the high standard for many more episodes to come.
The First
AaronCapenBanner25 October 2014
First episode of the classic TV series deals with a man(played by Earl Holliman, from "Forbidden Planet") who finds himself alone in a small town, with no memory of who he is, or how he got there, and as the episode wears on, becomes more alarmed and unhinged, as the frustrating loneliness wears him down to the point of complete nervous collapse. Outcome was likely surprising at the time, though today may seem obvious, but Holliman's performance is fine, and true origin of his character a nice parallel to the series itself, as they were both pioneering the way for others to follow. Succeeded in selling the series to the network at least.
Maiden Voyage
redryan6430 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
THIS EVENING, WHILE we sat here in our home, totally captivated by this episode, WHERE IS EVERYBODY?, we were unaware that this was the first episode of the great series. Whereas it bore so many of the traits and psychological twists and turns that became series' trademark, there was much yet to come.
THE ON-SCREEN PRESENCE of writer/creator, Mr.Rod Serling, as Host and narrator had not been yet been established; although he does do the voice-over narration work in such a style as to make the job his own to keep. It is a case of being perfect for giving a voice for the written word; which was largely his own.
THE PRODUCTION TEAM had gone a great distance, employing many a plot twist and seemed to enjoy toying with us, the audience. After all, we had all seen the announcements and promos that hyped this new THE TWILIGHT ZONE project as being something different and we were expected to react in an extreme manner.
THEY HAD US wondering what was going on. Was it related to alien beings from other worlds? Was it the result of a thermo-nuclear war? Was the main character some sort of captive in a bizarre prison setting?*
IN THE FINAL analysis, they really got us with the throwing a sort of psychological curve ball; and we went for it. Instead of a mystery originating in outer space, the strange occurrences were from what we can only call 'inner space'; being the depths of the human mind.
THE MUSIC WAS haunting and appropriately tense; which did an excellent job in underscoring and even amplifying the story. The score was very well tailored to what THE TWILIGHT ZONE represented. It made us think of the fine work done by the Maestro, himself-Bernard Herrmann.
WELL, THAT'S PROBABLY because it was done by Bernard Herrmann! Go figure!
NOTE: * This aspect of this, the initial episode (or Pilot) put us in the mind of Pastrick McGoohan in THE PRISONER Series (1967-68). We wondered if this half hour drama's story could be ancestral, in that respect.
THE ON-SCREEN PRESENCE of writer/creator, Mr.Rod Serling, as Host and narrator had not been yet been established; although he does do the voice-over narration work in such a style as to make the job his own to keep. It is a case of being perfect for giving a voice for the written word; which was largely his own.
THE PRODUCTION TEAM had gone a great distance, employing many a plot twist and seemed to enjoy toying with us, the audience. After all, we had all seen the announcements and promos that hyped this new THE TWILIGHT ZONE project as being something different and we were expected to react in an extreme manner.
THEY HAD US wondering what was going on. Was it related to alien beings from other worlds? Was it the result of a thermo-nuclear war? Was the main character some sort of captive in a bizarre prison setting?*
IN THE FINAL analysis, they really got us with the throwing a sort of psychological curve ball; and we went for it. Instead of a mystery originating in outer space, the strange occurrences were from what we can only call 'inner space'; being the depths of the human mind.
THE MUSIC WAS haunting and appropriately tense; which did an excellent job in underscoring and even amplifying the story. The score was very well tailored to what THE TWILIGHT ZONE represented. It made us think of the fine work done by the Maestro, himself-Bernard Herrmann.
WELL, THAT'S PROBABLY because it was done by Bernard Herrmann! Go figure!
NOTE: * This aspect of this, the initial episode (or Pilot) put us in the mind of Pastrick McGoohan in THE PRISONER Series (1967-68). We wondered if this half hour drama's story could be ancestral, in that respect.
Downright chilling! It's an amazing start
callanvass8 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
A man (Earl Holliman) wakes up in an empty town, where everyone has ostensibly vanished. He also has a case of amnesia, and has no idea of who he is. What follows is a confusing nightmare, where nobody is around to help him.
This has echoes of Last Man on Earth throughout the duration. Hell. It even has a scene where Earl Holliman is in a diner shop of sorts, and there is a whole rack of Last Man on Earth books, which makes me think this episode was heavily influenced by it. For over 20 minutes, this had me on the edge of my seat. I felt very uncomfortable during this one, in a good way. It's highly suspenseful, and knows how to push your emotional buttons. The message I got in this one is that companionship, and being around people is vital to one's sanity. Isolation and loneliness can push a man on the brink of insanity. I give major kudos to Earl Holliman for giving such a brave and fantastic performance as the tortured individual. I wanted to jump through the screen and console the man on many occasions. It couldn't have been easy to portray such a confused character. The ending was adroitly done, and made me think a bit after it was over. It's a perfectly crafted mystery, and an absolute classic. This is what great television should be all about!
10/10
This has echoes of Last Man on Earth throughout the duration. Hell. It even has a scene where Earl Holliman is in a diner shop of sorts, and there is a whole rack of Last Man on Earth books, which makes me think this episode was heavily influenced by it. For over 20 minutes, this had me on the edge of my seat. I felt very uncomfortable during this one, in a good way. It's highly suspenseful, and knows how to push your emotional buttons. The message I got in this one is that companionship, and being around people is vital to one's sanity. Isolation and loneliness can push a man on the brink of insanity. I give major kudos to Earl Holliman for giving such a brave and fantastic performance as the tortured individual. I wanted to jump through the screen and console the man on many occasions. It couldn't have been easy to portray such a confused character. The ending was adroitly done, and made me think a bit after it was over. It's a perfectly crafted mystery, and an absolute classic. This is what great television should be all about!
10/10
Pilot episode of Twilight Zone series
chuck-reilly31 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
"Where Is Everybody?" was the pilot episode for this famous series and it remains one of the best. Series creator and chief writer/narrator Rod Serling wrote it. Serling's main objective for the "Zone" was to portray the human condition at its best and at its worst, and without ruffling the feathers of his network superiors. Most of the "Sci-fi" was merely disguised social commentary and Serling was a master at this unique and ground-breaking technique of story-telling. Similar to much of what followed, "Where Is Everybody?" begins as an elaborate puzzle and gradually unfolds to a present-day (in 1959, that is) scientific space flight experiment. Earl Holliman (of later "Police Woman" fame) gives an outstanding performance as a man trapped alone in a strange deserted town with no memory of who he is or how he got there. Adding to the mysterious atmosphere of the piece is Bernard Herrmann's eerie musical score.
Serling's main point here is that man cannot survive without human contact, whether in space or anywhere else. Holliman's slow disintegration into utter hopelessness illustrates this theme with an exclamation point. Watching this pilot now, it is easy to see why the network executives of that time were quickly sold on the series and brought it into mainstream American households.
Serling's main point here is that man cannot survive without human contact, whether in space or anywhere else. Holliman's slow disintegration into utter hopelessness illustrates this theme with an exclamation point. Watching this pilot now, it is easy to see why the network executives of that time were quickly sold on the series and brought it into mainstream American households.
It Set the Pace!
Hitchcoc25 September 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Rod Serling played around a lot with the man who finds himself in a place he can't fathom. In this episode, the first ever, Earl Holliman is in a town he simply can't figure out. There is no life and he is in incredible need of human contact. He is wearing an air force jumpsuit for some reason which should give us a clue. Everything is so real, but as he goes about his business, he begins to crack. We come to realize that this is a test. That he is part of a sensory deprivation/isolation experiment to see if he can stand the loneliness of time and space. Holliman does a good job because he is believable as a pretty macho character who seems to have control of the situation and then begins to unravel. This is prototypical Twilight Zone and a good episode to start the series.
Tight and Engaging
GunnersMate23 April 2018
Grew up on Twiight Zone reruns, and am taking advantage of the joy of the Netflix binge to revisit the series...
Where is Everybody is tight story-telling, the viewer is dropped in along side our protagonist walking down the road and not finding any other people anywhere and we struggle, step by practical and very relatable step, with him to learn the what, where and why of the situation. It doesn't take long for the initial feeling of "what is going on" to morph into heartfelt sympathy and genuine concern for our solitary character. Wonderful bare-bones story-telling with a large emotional impact.
The Big Reveal provides our lesson in humanity, which is all the more fascinating in retrospect (i.e., knowing what we know now about the circumstances for the reveal than was known back in the late 1950s) and plays delightfully (and meaningfully) well almost 60 years later - not many shows can say that. Wonderful first episode.
Where is Everybody is tight story-telling, the viewer is dropped in along side our protagonist walking down the road and not finding any other people anywhere and we struggle, step by practical and very relatable step, with him to learn the what, where and why of the situation. It doesn't take long for the initial feeling of "what is going on" to morph into heartfelt sympathy and genuine concern for our solitary character. Wonderful bare-bones story-telling with a large emotional impact.
The Big Reveal provides our lesson in humanity, which is all the more fascinating in retrospect (i.e., knowing what we know now about the circumstances for the reveal than was known back in the late 1950s) and plays delightfully (and meaningfully) well almost 60 years later - not many shows can say that. Wonderful first episode.
Everyone abruptly left.
bkoganbing23 March 2019
The Twilight Zone anthology series got off to a great beginning in an episode where for most of it Earl Holliman is alone and talking to himself.
There isn't anyone else to give him any conversation. It's like everyone has just up and walked away rather abruptly. Holliman walks into a small town and into a coffee shop where stuff is cooking on the grille but nobody home, no customers, no cooks, no waitstaff.
It's that way throughout the whole of this average American town. Just where did they all go?
More I cannot say lest I give it away. But Earl Holliman gives the Twilight Zone one grand debut performance in this story.
There isn't anyone else to give him any conversation. It's like everyone has just up and walked away rather abruptly. Holliman walks into a small town and into a coffee shop where stuff is cooking on the grille but nobody home, no customers, no cooks, no waitstaff.
It's that way throughout the whole of this average American town. Just where did they all go?
More I cannot say lest I give it away. But Earl Holliman gives the Twilight Zone one grand debut performance in this story.
The Twilight Zone - Where Is Everybody?
Scarecrow-8818 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The very first episode ever broadcast for one of the most iconic sci-fi television series of all-time, "Where is Everybody?" really is essential Twilight Zone viewing with certain aspects that return time and again throughout the five seasons. The subject of loneliness and how humans try to deal with that is the first episode's engine, driven effectively through the performance of Earl Holliman, unaware of who he is, seemingly suffering amnesia, finding himself in a town where no one is around. What appears to be a ghost town, as Holliman peruses a soda shop, diner, mannequin warehouse, movie house, among other locations, leaves him an eventual basket case as the absence of any folks whatsoever becomes too much to bear. Looking in the mirror as he eats ice cream at the soda shop, talking of this experience as if he were Scrooge unable to accept that Jacob Marley's Ghost is in the room with him, seeing "Last Man on Earth" on a book rack spinning, feeling as if someone is watching him (the eye on an optometrist sign, tools for shaving and toothbrushing left in a jail cell, pies cooking on a stove, a jukebox playing, a Rock Hudson movie about the Air Force, which reminds him a bit about who he is, etc.), locating a female mannequin in a car he thought was a local (chatting her up afterward in jest), and begging a recorded operator in a phone booth to get him information to no avail; these experiences continue to weigh on him until he's a hysterical mess, dying for a voice to return his conversation. And the end results of this: Air Force superiors removing him from "the box"-an experimental pod where he was left for nearly 500 hours on his own, with food provided, entertainment of a sort, the necessities to survive but without a crucial part of existence that seems almost irreplaceable, that being human companionship. Holliman having to carry an entire episode nearly on his own (the final five or so minutes has James Gregory (The Manchurian Candidate), the general and authority of this program to train Holliman for a trip to the moon, with his fellow officers and press asking him questions about the human experiment's success and/or failure), proves how much of a personable, likable guy he could be. Not to mention, he has to hold our attention and not bore us considering it is his experience of loneliness we must connect and relate to while those in charge of the warped (when Holliman starts to come apart) camera angles and creative imagined machinations that often convince Holliman someone is around somewhere (like the subtle eeriness of a jail cell door closing slightly or the phone ringing) lend a hand in offering up reasons why he would come unglued. As a foundation for the series moving forward I couldn't think of a better starting point than this episode. It mentions what does eventually happen not long ahead-man's trip to the moon-giving the viewer a bit of the nearest future while also offering an imaginary respite that turns into a nightmare for a man in desperate need of a recreation of home, without the desired company to make it a bit more worthwhile.
Practically a one-man show!
mark.waltz18 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The young Earl Holliman proves that he was more than just a handsome young actor in this premiere episode of "The Twilight Zone" that features only him for the first three quarters of the episode. Lost and seemingly having amnesia, Holliman wanders into a small town where everything seems to be normal outside of the bizarre quietness of the community. He is trying to find anybody he can oh, and of course that does not happen. Through his isolation, he basically begins to lose his mind and when we finally get to see somebody else, it is the army led by James Gregory (of "The Manchurian Candidate", ironically) viewing him through special military devices and revealing the secrets in Holliman's visit to the Twilight Zone.
This is an acting tour de force for Holliman, several years after the film version of "Bus Stop" and years before "Police Woman". Everything he does in his energetic and ranting performance has a major purpose and when everything comes together, it gets to be the first official moment in the series that can be considered a jaw-dropper. The themes of isolation and human beings having control are disturbing and certainly open up all sorts of discussion as to the genius behind the series and how as frustrating as humanity can be, how much we need others. The extended pilot features a lengthy discussion by Sterling over the purpose of the series and is basically meant for the sponsors as a way of selling the series which of course worked. So the next time you complain about too many commercials, you can remember this entry to the very first Twilight Zone episode and be grateful that sponsors were willing to buy in to advertise their products.
This is an acting tour de force for Holliman, several years after the film version of "Bus Stop" and years before "Police Woman". Everything he does in his energetic and ranting performance has a major purpose and when everything comes together, it gets to be the first official moment in the series that can be considered a jaw-dropper. The themes of isolation and human beings having control are disturbing and certainly open up all sorts of discussion as to the genius behind the series and how as frustrating as humanity can be, how much we need others. The extended pilot features a lengthy discussion by Sterling over the purpose of the series and is basically meant for the sponsors as a way of selling the series which of course worked. So the next time you complain about too many commercials, you can remember this entry to the very first Twilight Zone episode and be grateful that sponsors were willing to buy in to advertise their products.
Got the Series Going, But Little Else
chrstphrtully27 May 2015
Ferris (Earl Holliman) appears in what otherwise appears to be a typical urban setting, wearing an Air Force jumpsuit -- so why can't he find anyone else in the town?
"Where Is Everybody?" was the premiere episode for the classic series but, ironically, it lacks much of what made the series so great -- sharp writing, moral lesson (or at least ingenious plotting) and, of course, a wickedly clever twist. To be sure, Serling's original teleplay sets up what figures to be a clever (albeit straightforward) mystery, but the story runs out of gas pretty quickly; after all, the Ferris character appears to speak every thought in his head, and neither the script nor Holliman's flat performance does anything to make those thoughts interesting enough to sustain a 30 minute script. Further, while the twist isn't bad, it would have an even bigger impact if the token in question had more meaning.
In the end, this episode's biggest asset is that it got the show on the air; good as a nice piece of history, but not much else to recommend it.
"Where Is Everybody?" was the premiere episode for the classic series but, ironically, it lacks much of what made the series so great -- sharp writing, moral lesson (or at least ingenious plotting) and, of course, a wickedly clever twist. To be sure, Serling's original teleplay sets up what figures to be a clever (albeit straightforward) mystery, but the story runs out of gas pretty quickly; after all, the Ferris character appears to speak every thought in his head, and neither the script nor Holliman's flat performance does anything to make those thoughts interesting enough to sustain a 30 minute script. Further, while the twist isn't bad, it would have an even bigger impact if the token in question had more meaning.
In the end, this episode's biggest asset is that it got the show on the air; good as a nice piece of history, but not much else to recommend it.
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