Midnight Never Ends/Brenda

Rod Serling was fascinated by those plots where a character or group of characters seemed unable to explain their existences and motivations. They seemed to be trapped in some loop, repeating only slightly what they do. Two questions seemed to surface: how did they get here and why? A hitchhiking soldier gets a ride from a woman. They are uncomfortable with each other because when questions are asked, they see unable to supply the answers: "Where are you going? Do you live in L.A.? and so on. They find themselves in a closed diner, forcing the proprietor to give them coffee, but soon are able to predict the next event. At some point, a policeman appears. The conclusion is pretty campy and a little unsatisfying. As were most of those Twilight Zone episodes following similar courses.

In "Brenda" we have a rather unbalanced little girl. She is a pain in the side to everyone on the island where she and her family vacation. She deliberately annoys both adults and other children on the island. She seems to have little conscience and ignores the pleas of her parents as much as possible. Her facial expressions display a kind of conniving humor. Let's face it. She's seems diabolical. Her parents know that when odd things happen on the island she is probably a part of it. One day she finds a strange creature that looks like a pile of leaves and debris. It walks slowly but seems to always be a few feet behind her. She tricks him into falling into a pit where he is unable to escape. She toys with him and talks to him. He does not respond verbally, but does react to her commentary. One day she lets him out. I'm not sure where the writers wanted this to go. Decide for yourself what the the thing's place is in the psyche of this bad seed.

'Midnight Never Ends' - A hitchhiking marine on his way back to camp is picked up by a young woman, who then stops at a roadside diner, where the marine is convinced that he knows what is going to happen, but doesn't know why. Then there is that mysterious clicking being heard... Predictable tale isn't as surprising as it thinks it is, but still provides some fun.

'Brenda' - Laurie Prange plays a mysterious young girl named Brenda staying on an island with her parents who gets along badly with the residents, but finds solace in a hulking swamp creature who washes ashore, and causes trouble until it is trapped for later use... Odd tale does have an eerie quality about it, though isn't entirely satisfying.

S02-E07 gives us a creepy pair of stories, but with a distinct problem: the first tale is too brief to really catch fire and the second is hurt by overlength. The opener, "Midnight Never Ends", written by series host Rod Serling, has Susan Strasberg picking up hitchhiking Marine Robert E. Lyons on a lonesome highway--a scenario both know well. Is this a case of déjà vu or is something else going on? "Midnight" is an intriguing piece that begs to be expanded upon; Serling cuts too quickly to the reveal, which director Jeannot Szwarc delivers matter-of-factly. "Brenda", written by Douglas Heyes from Margaret St. Clair's short story, has a dynamic set-up which is unfortunately tempered by too much detail. Laurie Prang is a trouble-causing youngster on an island vacation spot who befriends a boggy monster in the woods. Director Allen Reisner isn't very talented with his actors (everyone is hyped up for no particular purpose), although he delivers a boldly serious finale which, while not scary, is certainly admirable.

Midnight Never Ends 7.5 stars

Brenda 9.3 stars

My opinion of these two episodes.

Now that these are up on Hulu I'm getting to see episodes I'd missed. This one, Brenda, if from a short story I happened to read a few years ago. The story doesn't explain much more than the Night Gallery version... except that the girl just finds the creature trapped in the quarry. She's an odd girl... has no friends... and the creature probably would do her in if it got a chance. In a way Brenda is more frightening because of her strange, dreamy malevolence... whereas the creature is just a wild thing, an animal. The 80's horror film 'The Pit' seems like it might have been based on the same story... though 'The Pit' is much more gruesome... and silly.