Mr. Dingle, the Strong

I always admire Burgess Meredith, a fine veteran actor, but this time as Mr. Dingle after reading the script he should be turn down to do this grotesque character, meanwhile the plot is funny,nevertheless Meredith deserves some respect, a fake dramatization of the strong Mr. Dingle is easy noticed those cardboard walls and pillars at Bar, the aliens are ridiculous as well, on double body sounds weird, also the alien children, quite insane, Meredith as intellectual fits better to him, anyway between comings and goings an amusing episode, but many steps behind of The Twilight Zone's pattern!!!

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First watch: 2019 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

An invisible two-headed Martian enters a bar...

Sounds like the start of a joke, and perhaps it is, Rod Serling having a laugh for a change instead of delivering a thought provoking morality play or bothering to come up with one of the show's trademark ingenious twist endings. It's pure inconsequential whimsy, designed to amuse those looking for twenty-five minutes of light-hearted escapism. I liked it.

Burgess Meredith plays meek vacuum cleaner salesman Luther Dingle, who unknowingly becomes the subject of a scientific experiment by the Martian: he is transformed from cowardly human punchbag into a real-life Hercules when the alien makes him three hundred times stronger. Rather than employ his newfound powers wisely, Dingle uses them to become a media sensation, the experiment ultimately deemed a failure by the Martians, who remove the man's powers as he demonstrates his strength to a TV reporter.

No longer in the limelight, and back to being a wimp, Dingle is once more subject to abuse from brash bar bully Bettor (Don Rickles); however, a pair of passing invisible Venusians choose Luther for their own experiment and increase the man's intelligence five hundred-fold.

Not one of the greatest episodes that the show has to offer, but very entertaining nonetheless. Worth watching just for the hilarious aliens. 7/10.

One of the true stars of TZ Burgess Meredith played four very diverse characters. Quite often the lead actor in the comedy entries would spoil whatever possibility of an enjoyable show there was. Meredith is a rare exception as he makes Dingle incorrigibly stupid, but in an almost Stan Laurel-like engaging way. This character is mixed into a crazy production that has no subtlety whatsoever. This is the Looney Tunes of The Twilight Zone. Even Don Rickles is more frenetic than usual. As to the hilarious aliens...well you just have to see for yourself. They are...well..I give up trying to describe them as you just wouldn't believe me . I like the idea of Martians and Venutians hanging round a bar, unnoticed, enabling Dingle to punch through an obviously paper thin wall.

They don't make them like that anymore!!!

The vacuum cleaner salesman Luther Dingle is a loser and regular client of a bar where two other regular costumers go to discuss baseball, boxing and gambles. One of them likes to punch the harmless and quiet Dingle on the face to relieve his discussions with the other man. One day, an invisible two-headed alien decide to use Dingle as guinea pig in an experiment, giving the strength of 300 men to him. What will Mr. Dingle do with his acquired power?

"Mr. Dingle, the Strong" is so far one of the silliest episodes of "The Twilight Zone". The title could have been "Once a loser, always a loser" since every viewer will certainly take pity on the poor Mr. Dingle. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Sr. Dingle, O Mais Forte" ("Mr. Dingle, the Strongest")

This is a cute episode. I guess, there are times when a writer who is less than imaginative, simply comes up with a premise. Imagine a guy, who is used to getting beaten on, just because he is weak and small. Suppose you give him super powers. What would he do? If he's like this guy, he just wastes the whole thing. He becomes a celebrity for a short time and runs around making a fool of himself. The good thing about the episode is Burgess Meredith, who was a stable for the Serling series. He mugs and groans as only he can. I think he was a national treasure. Anyway, the episode is fun, but with a better script, it could have been better yet.