It's a Good Life

No need to recap the plot. As I recall, this oddball episode created a stir from the outset. It's a tricky premise, making a kid the demonic villain. I'm guessing that had not The Bad Seed (1956) been a movie success with its wicked little girl, this premise would never have flown. Credit the cast for making it fly despite the questionable material. Little Mumy is perfect with his impish face and searing glare. I expect the role has followed him for a lifetime. Then too, there's the bevy of adults cowering in his presence, where everything evil he does is "good". Seeing the brawny John Larch quaking in his son's presence is especially unnerving. On the other hand, I wish they had held the Jack-in-the-Box frame a little longer so it could soak in. Still, having it flit by has its own brand of nightmarish impact. Anyway, the premise was a daring one for its time, as Serling's extended prolog suggests. Nonetheless, as the half-hour's lasting reputation shows, the effort succeeded, and in spades.

This brilliant, outlandish plot shows a small, goofy faced boy terrorizing a town with supernatural psychic abilities. He can cook, maime ," jack n a box" a man ,simply with his thoughts. How outrageous.... What in the world ?...Everyone afraid of damage by a small child.... That's insane, ,,or is it ...??....... Thats the genius aspect of this piece, it's not just a regular story, but an allegory, and shows a parallel to the power a kid can get if we let him, if we "empower " him , if we believe him in a "kids never lie" no matter what social milieu. The brat is played well by a larval Billy Mummy, who went on to puzzle and annoy audiences alike with such cheezenoids as "Lost in Space" later in the 60s. . In this piece he lives in a little hick town, and his parents and everyone else is afraid he is going to put them in his sites, and cook them into a briquette, or worse.....He doesn't like noise or singing or a lot of things, so they walk on eggshells trying to keep him happy. I give this episode a ten, and I don't even give tens. It's not so much that the boy is a pariah, but in a way, he is also a profit...... I think Rod Serling had a little look into the future in this one. The way people tiptoe around the kid was filmed in 1962, but is SO 2019. In an era when an adult male coach is likely to hear from a six year old : "I can get you in trouble by just saying you touched me, NA NANA NA NA..." It looks exactly like parents, teachers and adults today who coddle and cater to kids, for fear oof getting sued, accused of abuse or worse. The way they tell Mummy "oh you are wonderful, everything you do is great " will ring familiar to anyone who has observed parent/child interaction in this day and age. In the age of paranoia an fear, in the "For the Children" era...Isn't it a good life ?

It's a Good Life is one of the best known episodes of The Twilight Zone - and for good reason, as it's easily one of the best episodes of the classic TV show. Of course, the great parody that The Simpsons did of it contributes to its well-known status, but there's far more here than merely a base for a 'Treehouse of Horror' segment. We are introduced to a little town; a town with no cars, no machines and it's in a world with no cities or other settlements. We are told that this town is the victim of a monster who controls it with his mind - and just wait until you see who the monster is! The best episodes of The Twilight Zone are the ones that combine mystery with intrigue and ingenuity; thus making this one of the best episodes. It's a Good Life is also very humorous, and when the characters say everything is 'good', it's hard not to at least crack a smile. There isn't a great deal of 'bite' in this episode, as it mainly concentrates on the implications of the storyline, and it's mostly dialogue based; but it doesn't matter because the words uttered are always entertaining and overall; this is a major success.

This episode is a bona fide claustrophobic nightmare. 'It's A Good Life' will never lose it's impact. Future viewers will be as unable to look away from this crazy, compelling piece of horror as I was. Without doubt one of the great episodes. If you have not seen this one I suggest you do something about it at the first opportunity. The cast are excellent at maintaining the vice-like gripping atmosphere. Chloris Leachman plays the little monster's mother well, but I particularly liked Don Keefer as Dan Hollis. One of the many strengths of The Twilight Zone was the fact that such a weird scenario as this one can convey such a sense of truth. The message here is enigmatic, but I take it to be about dictators and an evaluation of life under a tyrant's regime. See what you think?

This series is the best show to ever air on television. I have seen every episode many times over the years and I never tire of them. I was born 3 years after the series ended so I was never able to have the thrill of anticipating the new episode that would air every week. Cable reruns and marathons over the years were cherished and now I have the luxury of having it any time on Paramount+.

This episode frightens me to this day. The more I see it (well, any episode), the more it ingrains itself into my psyche. It creates more and more existential thinking which makes it all the more unsettling.

Imagine your life depending on having ONLY "good" thoughts about someone. Our brains do not work that way. We couldn't function if we had to think this way. Our entire life would have to revolve around us obsessively chanting the good thoughts. Whether you did it in your mind or verbally, it's impossible!!! Even if we are concentrating on a task, our mind still wanders and is constantly processing, thinking, planning, daydreaming, etc. We are not computers. No human, especially those in Anthony's universe, could do this. While you are telling yourself to think a certain way, you are alternately screaming all the bad things you are NOT suppose to think about, plus what you need to pick up for dinner and trying to remember if you paid the electric bill. In Anthony's world, you would be burned alive or in the cornfield before you went insane.

I imagine what happens in the cornfield, (even worse than what Stephen King came up with and I'm sure the Chicago Black Sox won't be meeting up to have a pick up baseball game!), eventually running out of food and supplies and having to prepare to live off the land, the stress of helping others to be mindful of the rules, etc.

The actors did an amazingly convincing portrayal of their characters. The agonizing fear and dispair was palpable. Dan Hollis's tyrade should have caused them all to be punished because you know they instinctively agreed with him in their mind. The parents likely were emotionally and psychologically tortured by the thought that their child was evil and wished they could send him to the cornfield. Horrifying things to think about!!!!

I did see someone mention the TZ Movie version. The only part about that vignette I liked was the irony that Nancy Cartwright is banished into the TV to be tortured by a cartoon monster!!!!!