The Obsolete Man

Probably the most important message to come from the Zone is this one. Romney Wordsworth (Burgess Meredith) is proud to be a librarian in a totalitarian state where such an occupation is banned. He is condemned to death for this as he is deemed obsolete by the Chancellor (Fritz Weaver). The state is an austere place that bans all freedom of thought. However, Wordsworth is a man with a plan, being inspired to make a stand for the literature and freedom of religious thought that he loves.

'The Obsolete Man' has the quality of a nightmare while being natural and true at the same time. The message about the individual is timeless. We all need education, literacy, personal aspirations, and choice to be really human. Serling mentions the tyrants of history leaving their impression on this state. Do not let the dumbing-down, ban-everything, political correctness of today facilitate their evil, lingering influence.

This episode was written by Rod Serling, and in my opinion it ranks as one of the best of the series. The theme of a totalitarian possible future is not merely well produced entertainment, but is a recurring theme in Serling's work that serves as a warning we should not easily dismiss. This nightmare future seems even more relevant today then perhaps when it was written over 50 years ago. Burgess Meredith's performance is outstanding as he carries the single ray of hope in a very dark world.

The Smoking man Rod Serling mastermind of "The Twilight Zone" using his logical mindset poke the totalitarian systems as Communism and Nazism as well, where the men are pure pawns at hands of the empowered class of blind politicians who ruled by unchanging dogmatic system and over the shadow of the fear, in this weird environment the humble librarian Romney Wordsworth (Burgess Meredith) is taken to Courthouse to be judge as obsolete man, useless to new society, where the books, philosophy and the religion is no longer make sense, all this were banned of this community , baffled Mr. Wordsworth tries by any means explain that his job is upmost importance, due all the books are the prestine knowledge that human race gathered through countless centuries by poets, philosophers, scientists, holly and wise men and all sort of writers giving to the mankind the background knowledge to the upcoming future at sight, however the cold and septic Chancellor (Fritz Weaver) disowns all statements gave by the wise Wordsworth, in 48 hours he must be executed on own choice, the old man claims that his execution must be aired by television broadcasting nationally, how it were routinely offered for the citizens, it is accepts on plenty, nonetheless Mr. Wordsworth planned something more, by far ones the greater episode of the whole series, at final Serling points out that without democracy there's no future to mankind, where every single person has the own right of choice whatsoever!!!

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First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.5

The 'Osolete Man' is one of my favorite Twilight episodes! Mr. Woodsworth's story is more relevant today as her was back then! Society is on a strange trajectory. I feel like Mr. Woodworth's character is a welcoming representation of how one should behave with honor and dignity. All the words that comes out of his mouth are true and pertinent to this day in age. It's a pretty chilling story considering how fragile society is. The government encroachment of individual rights is nothing new.

Save the best for last, Rod Serling must have thought! The second season of his magnificent TV-creation "The Twilight Zone" has seen a handful of truly terrific episodes (notably "The Howling Man", "Eye of the Beholder", "Twenty-Two" and "Shadow Play") but in the humble opinion of yours truly this "The Obsolete Man" is the most astounding of them all. And, although I've yet to review three entire seasons after this, I'm already fairly certain this episode will turn up again quite high in my ultimate series' top 10.

I'm a tremendous fanatic of dystopian Sci-Fi tales, especially if they are intelligent and realistic enough to downright petrify you. In the good old tradition of "1984", "Fahrenheit 451" and "Brave New World", "The Obsolete Man" creates a downright nightmarish vision of society in an undefined future. In the totalitarian regime, referred to only as The State, people who don't serve a supposedly useful purpose or contribute anything are quickly declared "obsolete" and sentenced to death. With books being forbidden and burned some years ago already, former librarian Romney Wordsworth also gets condemned by a merciless and avidly fanatic chancellor. But, from the moment you lay eyes upon him, you'll see that Mr. Wordsworth is a literate and very sophisticated person, and so the place and circumstances of the execution that he chooses for himself will hold some surprises in store.

"The Obsolete Man" has a brilliant plot, courtesy of Rod Serling himself, but many others contribute a great deal as well. Director Elliot Silverstein, in his first of four episodes for "The Twilight Zone", terrifically captures the stoic and nihilistic atmosphere of a dystopian sci-fi tale (especially during the courtroom sequences). The show's regular cinematographer George T. Clemens delivers some of his best work with the menacing positioning of the camera. Last but not least, the performances of both Burgess Meredith and Fritz Weaver are nothing short of staggering. Their characters are complete opposites, obviously, but their chemistry is practically burning holes in the screen.