Reading the Twilight Zone: Time Enough at Last
In this series, I’ll be comparing the (non-Serling) short stories that inspired episodes of The Twilight Zone to their teleplays. Sometimes the differences are subtle. Often they are not. I’ll explore each episode in order, starting with season one. The topic of this post is Time Enough At Last, the eighth episode from season one.
Details:
Time Enough At Last
Original air date: November 20, 1959
Starring: Burgess Meredith
Directed by: John Brahm
Based on: “Time Enough at Last” by Marilyn “Lyn” Venable
Teleplay by: Rod Serling
Ask anyone to name their favorite episode of The Twilight Zone, and many will say, “Time Enough At Last.” It’s about as perfect a story as you’ll ever get. In act I we meet our everyman hero. In act II he’s put into an impossible situation and finally, in act III, he is redeemed. Or is he? Just when we feel good for poor Henry Beamis, the indiscriminate cruelty of life smacks him in the face. Well, in the glasses at least. It’s a vicious twist ending that shocked viewers long before shows like CSI and Law and Order trained audiences to expect a final jolt.
After reading Lyn Venable’s short story, I’ve come to a new understanding of Henry, his wife, the episode’s themes and the cruel moment that reduces Mr. Bemis to tears. Here’s my look at Time Enough At Last.