The Last Flight

Granted, this episode was only the 18th in the first year of the Twilight Zone; but it is a classic in more ways than one, and one of the best Twilight Zone episodes I have ever seen, in terms of imagination and messages about human failings, human fears, and confronting those failings and fears, even when death is the obvious end result awaiting one.

Time travel has always made for a compelling, no-possibilities-barred sci- fi subject; the way it was handled in this episode was masterful and exceptionally thought provoking. My only regret about the episode is that it had to end at the point that it did.

It's almost worth the entire episode to watch the WWI biplane land at a 1959 SAC base in France. The hulking cargo planes make the 1917 relic look like a Tonka toy as it taxis under an immense wing. It's also a good graphic illustration of how the destructive power of air weaponry had grown over time-- and that was 50 years ago.

The drama itself is an engrossing exercise in time travel, as a WWI British pilot must travel forward in time and then back so that the future can remain the way it should be. If this sounds confusing, it is, because there's a paradox at it's heart and probably a logical contradiction. But then, that's why TZ remains a cultural landmark -- it was among the first, if not the very first, to use TV to challenge us about our most common-sense beliefs. And it did so in an engrossing way that keeps people as entertained now as it did then. This episode stands as a good example.

I've always enjoyed "Twilight Zone". I've seen only a couple of episodes that I didn't think were winners, most were excellent, and probably all are watchable to this day. I would venture to guess that I've seen 40 different episodes in my lifetime, and at least 20 in the last 4 months. But, I wanted to write this, my first IMDb comment ever, to let as many people know that this is the most enjoyable "Twilight Zone" episode I've ever seen. I am kind of a military history buff, but in a very minor way, so I believe the episode would rank high on anyone's list. It may not have as much "horror" to it as some episodes, but I was farther out on the edge of my seat than I've been on any other. I simply wanted to recommend it, so here you go. I'm giving it a "9" only because I haven't seen every episode. I do doubt that any "Twilight Zone" episode will top this one for me, but I'm saving the "10" rating, just in case. Enjoy!

--P.S., the episode sequence number for this episode (1.18) has somewhat of a "Twilight Zone" twist: I searched for this episode by episode name on IMDb. Only one other television series had an episode with the exact same title "The Last Flight". "Twilight Zone's" episode numbered 1.18 had this name, and guess which season & episode of "Armchair Theatre" had the identical name three years prior? That show's episode number 1.18 was also called "The Last Flight". (que the TZ drama track...)

This is wonderful television. Sometimes Serling got a little maudlin. In this, he cooks up a situation, puts his characters into play, and treats them with respect. We have the RAF with its codes of honor, its fighting spirit, suddenly thrust into the future. One can't help but say, "This is the way a British officer would act under these circumstances." Once he comes to realize that there is little hope for him in this world, he fights to return. There are elements of time travel that are tricky, but this episode deals with the real humanity of the characters. The modern brain trust is pretty much as we would imagine. They don't know what to do with this guy and they feel for him. It's a really good story.

"The Last Flight" is Rod Serling at his very best, with an episode of "The Twilight Zone" that all millions of fans are guaranteed to list among their favorites or at least generously reward with a high score! It's a fantastic half hour of mysterious entertainment, with a compelling plot (from the pen of genius writer Richard Matheson), honest and identifiable characters and a denouement that – for once – isn't bleak and depressing, but comforting and hopeful. The story opens with the British World War I pilot William T. Decker searching for his base camp through a dense and cloudy sky after having narrowly escaped an air-attack of the German enemy. He lands at an American military airport in France but immediately notices that all the air crafts here look very futuristic. To everyone's amazement, Decker's but also the military staff at the camp; he discovers that the year is now 1959 and that he landed 42 years in the future. Whilst being held in custody, because obviously nobody believes his story, Lt. Decker reveals that he was a cowardly pilot and abandoned his partner right before the Germans ambushed them back in 1917. When he learns that his former partner is now an inspector on his way to the French camp, Decker realizes that he's been granted a unique opportunity to return back and correct his past mistakes. Matheson's terrific script deals with complex themes, like time loops and paradoxes, but serves them in the most straightforward way, so that the focus lies on the main character and his inner struggles. The episode is very talkative but never boring and brought to an even higher level thanks to Kenneth Haigh intense and sincere performance. William Claxton's direction is solid as well. He mainly did TV-work throughout his career, but also directed the offbeat creature-feature guilty pleasure "Night of the Lepus".