A Hundred Yards Over the Rim

A well told story, the scifi was kept simple and the characters were well developed. The storyline flowed easily and felt authentic.

I am a big fan of the 30 minute Twilight Zones and this one ranks near the top of my list of favs. I would say it more the theme than anything else; I have always been fascinated by time travel...

While all Twilight Zone episodes are somewhat dated; the beginning of this episode has a realistic western appeal to it - much the same as a John Wayne movie. Another interesting aspect is the portrayal of the '60s era diner/quick stop in the middle of nowhere that allows the viewer to suspend any pre-conceived notions of the actual time change (which leaves many theoretical and scientific holes, believe me.)

All in all, a solid episode, with better than average twilight Zone (this series ) acting and an above average theme. A solid 7

I feel bad for not liking this as much as most people. I just felt that it should have had more of a twist. Now, I actually do find this a good episode because it actually ends up being pretty hopeful in the end. Most of these episodes end on a downer of some kind or at least bittersweet but this was actually quite positive. It did seem like it wasn't as good. The story's pretty basic with a guy from the 1800's time traveling a hundred years into the future to get medicine for his ill son.

The main character is pretty likable in this story. It does seem kind of odd for an episode of "The Twilight Zone". It ends by saying that we should acknowledge how much we've advanced with technology and how our forefathers truly worked hard in their day. That is a pretty positive and unique moral. It does seem like they could have just done more with this plot. Well, the pacing isn't bad. I just personally didn't love it as much as most people. ***

It's episodes like this that remind us that Rod Serling was able to produce terrific fantasy and science fiction without fantastically expensive special effects and elaborate sets. Just a poignant yet intriguing script and great acting by some of Hollywood's biggest stars (Cliff Robertson in this case).

That's all it took to produce this terrific time-travel story of the meeting of two eras, when Chris Horn (Cliff Robertson), a wagon master heading west in 1847 with his wife and desperately ill son, accidentally stumbles into the year 1961. Horn's initial shock at the changes wrought in America in over a hundred years, soon turns to a determination to use the medical advances of the 20th century to save his son's life, back in the 19th century.

A family traveling west in hopes of striking it rich in a mysterious paradise that they've heard about called California suffers more and more every day, until they can think of nothing but the heat and thirst and sickness that they deal with on a daily basis. Serling gives us a pretty obvious story where he imagines what would have happened if one of those people traveling west all those years ago were to have been able to experience modern convenience for just one afternoon during that torturous journey.

It's not the wildest stretch of the imagination as far as a story idea, but the entertainment is high and the performances are some of the best I've seen so far in the series. The couple in the diner hit the nail right on the head with their subdued reactions to the strange stranger's story, not sure to react with shock or to hide their surprise from someone who must be a little crazy.

There's a cute twist at the end and an interesting paradox that calls your attention of the episode thus far into question, the time travel is not presented as anything more than simply walking over a sand bank, and the 100-years-in-the-future theme is done again the following week, but this is an excellent example of how good the twilight zone can be.