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.

Written by Rod Serling, directed by Buzz Kulik, starring Cliff Robertson, John Crawford, Evans Evans and Ed Platt.

Set in 1847 in New Mexico territory, story finds a party travelling West from Ohio to hopefully prosper. The leader is Christian Horn (Robertson), whose son is very sick. It seems hopeless and the party are close to the end of their tethers. Christian decides to trek over the rim in the distance to see if he can find supplies, once over there he of course enters The Twilight Zone.

It's one of Serling's tales that pitches a protagonist into a completely different period of time, a fish out of water scenario, but this one is not played for laughs and it's a very strong episode. Robertson is excellent as the stovepipe wearing leader and fretting father who has to try and comprehend the situation he finds himself in. Nicely filmed out at Lone Pine in California, and with supporting performances and direction backing Robertson up, this is one of the better episodes from Season 2. 7.5/10

Wagon train master stumbles across time warp and into truck stop 100 years in the future. Finds out that his trip was no accident

One of the more interesting time travel episodes, though nothing special. Direction and story telling are pretty straightforward, without ornament. However, encounter between time traveler Robertson and married couple at truck stop is nicely handled, especially by John Crawford as Joe. There's a persuasive naturalness about his performance that again demonstrates the reservoir of talent behind those anonymous credit-crawl names . Robertson is also effective, while his top hat is not only distinctive, but oddly appropriate head-gear for a bygone era. Episode's main interest, of course, lies in seeing how the characters will react to contrasting time periods. There's none of the grim humor of Albert Salmi's dislocated cowboy in 1960's "Execution", for example. But there is an interesting conceptual wrinkle posed near the end. Slightly better than average.

This is a beautiful story, both rugged and gentle at one and the same time. Mr. Christian Horn suddenly emerges from his minimalist wagon train tended by a handful of hardy but weary and increasingly doubting companions. With women and children in tow, the troupe trudged toward the pre-Gold Rush California of 1847, en route from Ohio for the better part of a year, but still stifled by the vastness of the plains and deserts of the United States' western territories as they stood at the time. Also, burdened by hunger, his boy's critical pneumonia-like illness, and with water resources in remission, Mr. Horn, brilliantly portrayed by the highly studious Cliff Robertson who thoroughly researched his character's essence before the shoot, advises that he'll check out the sandy rim nearby for whatever glimpse of hope it may yield on the other side.

An early spot by the great John Astin (soon to become famous as Gomez Addams from "The Addams Family"), playing Charlie, one of Mr. Horn's compatriots, briefly reveals Astin's abilities as a serious character actor as he expresses reserved support for Mr. Horn's dogged persistence. As suggested by this episode's title, upon reaching the other side of the rim, Mr. Horn immediately, but unknowingly enters The Twilight Zone. With wits and courage backed by a quiet, wary intelligence, he begins to understand that which cannot often be grasped through one's ordinary perceptive mechanisms.

In another twist of characterizations, Ed Platt, best remembered for his rare (but long-running) comedic role as Maxwell Smart's (Don Adams) beleaguered, beloved Chief in "Get Smart" beginning four years later, plays his more typical character role here. He portrays the local doc who tries to assist a friendly café owner and his nurturing wife with the unexpected handful of a tattered man who arrives unceremoniously, and bewildered, on their doorstep. How that happened and what follows is unexpected, heartening, and ultimately fascinating in ways that typify "The Twilight Zone" at its best.

And it would be an error of omission not mention the power of the musical score, sometimes subtle, but pounding dramatically toward the climax, just before shifting musical gears once again, precisely on cue. The compositional phrasing provides an effective musical conduit through which the story-line best evokes its emotive content before transitioning back to a perfectly executed return to the introductory setting--except for it having now been duly altered by the Zone of zones.

This classic episode is among those that reveal Rod Serling's singular capacity to employ visionary dimension to his stories from either side of time's turbulent tunnel.

In 1847, three pioneer's wagons are heading to New Mexico without water. The son of their leader Christian Horn is ill and he decides to look for water to help the boy. When he crosses a hill, he mysteriously finds himself in a diner the future (1961). He is welcomed by the owner and his wife that offer penicillin to treat his son. Will he find his family in the past?

"A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" is an intriguing episode of "The Twilight Zone", with the story of a man that advances one hundred years in the future to save his son. There is no need of explanation of this intriguing and attractive story. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Cem Anos Além" ("One Hundred Years Beyond")