Mr. Bevis

This is the most light hearted episode so far in the show, nearly a comedy oriented story that could not have been used in ONE STEP BEYOND tv show, for instance, not the proper spirit and atmosphere. No déjà vu or paranormal, eerie or fantasy scheme. Just the irrational, unexplained and of course totally unlikely tale that leads you to think about the way to approach life, using the example of a character who looks like many other ones, a simple man, common, "transparent", lame, a character in whom many folks could recognize themselves. Not the best, I would put it in thhe lower batch, not the episode that I will remind the most.

I kind of enjoyed the message of this episode, just live your life, you only get one. But I'm not sure this really fit into the vibe of the twilight zone. Decent acting.

Orson Bean plays James B.W. Bevis, who is considered a lovable eccentric by his friends and neighbors, and adored by the children. He likes to make model ships, play zither music, sing Christmas carols and such, but his employers(of which there have been many) are not so amused, and in one day, Bevis loses his job, apartment, and old car, but a family guardian angel(played by Henry Jones) comes to the rescue, but Bevis is difficult to change... Oddball episode is mostly unpopular with fans, but really isn't that bad; Bean is rather appealing as Bevis, and is likable enough, though message is pretty obvious, and supposed eccentric lifestyle seems harmless enough today.

When oddball James B.W. Bevis (Orson Bean) loses his job, his car and his apartment all in one day, his guardian angel, J. Hardy Hempstead (Henry Jones), offers to help, starting the day over with some changes to ensure success. Beavis must dress like a career man, put aside his more playful pursuits (no playing football with the kids on the street), and be serious about his job (keeping a clean, functional desk at work).

As Hempstead promises, Beavis' new life is certainly different, but it is at the cost of his happiness. Beavis tells his guardian angel to change things back to how they were, and is the better man for it.

Rod Serling's moral in Mr.Bevis is that it is better to be yourself, no matter how eccentric you might appear, than to try and pretend to be something you're not, especially if it means being unhappy. It's not the most profound of messages, but it probably rings true for many avid sci-fi/fantasy fans (myself included) for whom being successful and trendy comes second to being content.

The Twilight Zone is one of most interesting series ever, the first episode that l've remember was in 1984 on TV around midnight, many years ago l watched it on TCM and taped some episodes, all them dubbed, in this episode Mr. Bevis is an eccentric, but happy guy who living an easy life until be fired one more time, then suddenly appears from nowhere your Guardian Angel trying helping Bevis to become a new winner person, however he has to change his silly behavior, good plot an interesting point of view for those that finds important to be a winner in their lives!!!