Nightmare as a Child

Janice Rule plays school teacher Helen Foley, who, after returning home from work, is confronted by a talkative little girl named Markie(played by Terry Burnham) who looks strangely familiar, but Helen just can't place her, despite Markie's constant prompting. Then a man from Helen's past returns into her life when he knocks on her door, reminding Helen that he knew her deceased mother and her many years ago, and that now he has come back for a most sinister reason... Interesting episode has a quite sophisticated idea at its heart, even if it is now rather obvious. Certainly a unique tale in the series canon, if not that well remembered.

Janice Rule stars in this Twilight Zone story about a woman who has blocked out a memory of a terrible tragedy from her childhood. She went away after the murder of her mother, but now is back and is actually teaching grade school.

Outside her apartment she meets a most strange little girl played by Terry Burnham who keeps bringing up some repressed memories of what happened. Just in time as Sheppard Strudwick who knew her back as a child and exudes more and more menace as the episode goes on.

It's rather obvious what's going on here, still Rule, Burnham, and Strudwick deliver some fine performances.

This is a little more human episode. Are we dealing with the memories, repressed at childhood, or are we seeing the supernatural at work. Whether the young woman is actually experiencing this or thinking it doesn't matter. It is in her psyche and she must try to come to grips with it. The little girl's presence is certainly eerie, but this is about loneliness and fear and reclamation. The acting performances are quite good and the little girl is better than most. Serling loved to work the the ghosts of people's pasts, but usually it was some thing that they had done and they are now being punished for. This has a little of the lady caught in the bus station. Those observing would say she was on the brink of insanity. The difference comes in; the understanding. A good episode.

This is one I like, it's not quite a favorite of mine but good all the same. It's another really different entry in the series (but then again that's part of what the show is about) it kinda feels more like an anthology tale for "Alfred Hichcock Presents" as it's more of a psychological suspense thriller, but I like tales like that for the show it's kinda a breather from the usual fare.

I really like the dynamic between both Helen and Markie. Markie is an interesting character as she seems to know about every exact single detail of Helen and her past, it made me wonder if the kid was psychic because no one could ever know those intimate details unless Helen disclosed them to the girl which she never did as she's never seen her in her life.

You can say in a way it's kinda the reverse in the dynamic between Councelor and Student because this time it's the kid that is Helen's Councelor. Like any councelor Markie is really trying to get Helen to open up, help her remember her lost childhood. It's a little tense as the kid is constantly challenging Helen and Helen is still blocking or in a state of denial which makes the interplay a bit realistic because most victims of a certain trama in their lives have trouble opening up but most of all dealing with their internal issue.

It's really suspenseful because I honestly felt Helen had to remember not just to save her sanity but her life. Though it got even more suspenseful when the guy came into her loft. I honestly felt uncomfortable and concerned for Helen's life when he came in, I honestly didn't trust the guy because of three things: 1. It's a little too coincidental that he would suddenly see her on the street one day, those kinds of coincidences don't exist. 2. If he knew a lot about Helen's past why wouldn't he disclose all the details? 3. His smile didn't like the look of it, it's a crocodile smile.

Time for Helen is not on her side and her only way out is though the past.

Rating: 3 stars

Not the best of the show, not as exciting as other stories but cool to watch, agreeable enough to justify the twenty six minutes watch. It is question of nightmare, childhood trauma, the eerie and fantasy elements that could have made this story included in ONE STEP BEYOND tv anthology show, also dedicated to unexplained events, some kind of cousin anthology series to TWILIGHT ZONE. So, yes, this is a cute story, that you can easily show to your family. This plot could have been made for a long length movie. I love the woman lead character, her face, her eyes, she is vvery convincing in this role.