WORDPLAY, an early story from THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE, deals with a classic sci-fi idea of altered reality. In it, a brash salesman finds the world turning to chaos when the everyday language used by people begins to change; what was once "lunch" is now "dinosaur", for example.
It's different, that's for sure, although the choice of horror director Wes Craven to helm the episode is an odd one. Still, this is a tale of intellectual horror and one that works well mainly because it feels original. Forget demons and monsters, this is about mental disintegration in a familiar world turned strange, and it's all the more effective for it. A shame the running time wasn't longer (this is a 15 minute one) to develop the idea further.
The second story in this episode is DREAMS FOR SALE, featuring the memorable Meg Foster (her of the icy blue eyes) playing an ordinary woman who's enjoying a romantic picnic with her partner. Unfortunately for her, reality begins to glitch and break down, so much so that the truth about her real situatin is revealed. This tale's very short but has neat shades of THE MATRIX and VIRTUAL NIGHTMARE, and I liked the execution.
The last segment of the episode is CHAMELEON and it's a lot more interesting, feeling like an episode of THE OUTER LIMITS instead of an episode of this disappointing show. The underrated Terry O'Quinn stars as a NASA scientist who uncovers an odd situation when an astronaut returns to Earth: the astronaut isn't human at all, instead some kind of alien shapeshifter who demands his release. The premise of this one is solid and the execution quite acceptable, with the emphasis on the atmosphere. A shame the ending is weak but hey, it could be (and often is) worse.
It's different, that's for sure, although the choice of horror director Wes Craven to helm the episode is an odd one. Still, this is a tale of intellectual horror and one that works well mainly because it feels original. Forget demons and monsters, this is about mental disintegration in a familiar world turned strange, and it's all the more effective for it. A shame the running time wasn't longer (this is a 15 minute one) to develop the idea further.
The second story in this episode is DREAMS FOR SALE, featuring the memorable Meg Foster (her of the icy blue eyes) playing an ordinary woman who's enjoying a romantic picnic with her partner. Unfortunately for her, reality begins to glitch and break down, so much so that the truth about her real situatin is revealed. This tale's very short but has neat shades of THE MATRIX and VIRTUAL NIGHTMARE, and I liked the execution.
The last segment of the episode is CHAMELEON and it's a lot more interesting, feeling like an episode of THE OUTER LIMITS instead of an episode of this disappointing show. The underrated Terry O'Quinn stars as a NASA scientist who uncovers an odd situation when an astronaut returns to Earth: the astronaut isn't human at all, instead some kind of alien shapeshifter who demands his release. The premise of this one is solid and the execution quite acceptable, with the emphasis on the atmosphere. A shame the ending is weak but hey, it could be (and often is) worse.