The Trouble with Templeton

I'm bemused that so many reviewers seem to have missed the point of this stellar and poignant excursion into The Twilight Zone.

Brian Aherne plays Booth Templeton, an aging stage icon who dwells in the past, still longing for his late wife, Laura, who died at 25. The first day of rehearsal for a new play brutally catalyzes a trip backwards during which Booth is reunited with not only with Laura but beloved friends as well, all deceased.

While I'm not going to spoil the episode for those who somehow haven't yet seen it, suffice it to say that its point is ultimately NOT "the past isn't all that it's cracked up to be," or some such. The actual resolution, which is far more subtle and ingenious, is what fuels Booth with the resolve to move on with his life and leaves us, the viewers, glowing like a torch. See it for yourself and behold the glory of 1960s television at its finest.

Brian Aherne very ably plays the role of Booth Templeton, an aging actor, whose one true love -- Laura, his first wife -- had died early, leaving him to marry a much younger woman in his grief who flagrantly cavorts with young men at their own pool. He longs for his beautiful wife, and -- this being the Twilight Zone, after all -- things take an interesting turn, but it's not quite as easy to predict as one might think. At the close of the scene that is the central part of this story, you see a young Pippa Scott wordlessly convey more emotion with her eyes, face, and body than anyone could ever do with words, which she speaks not one during this part. It's an incredibly poignant moment, and it lifts an already good story into a great one, and Aherne elegantly carries it. Don't look for anything terrifying in this one, but you will find one of the finest episodes in this one.

PLEASE watch this grossly overlooked and under appreciated entry in the anthology. If you think of the Zone as just tales with a twist, aliens, cowboys, or comedy anti- heroes, THEN THIS WLL CHANGE THAT PERCEPTION.

Templeton (Brian Aherne) is an aging actor unhappy in the present and still missing his deceased first wife Laura (Pippa Scott). He clashes with a director (Sydney Pollack-good casting) and starts to walk out of the first rehearsal of a new play. Templeton finds himself back in his heyday-the 1920's- and meets his wife again.

There is a superb scene in a speakeasy where the action comes to a halt, producing one of the loveliest moments in TZ.

Overlooked, but you can do something to change that.

Plot-- An aging star actor is dissatisfied with current life and pines for former life with a deceased wife, all of which causes problems for those in his new play.

Rule of thumb--- when we step into a theatre, we step into a different world; when we step back into the street, we step back into the real world. Seems like an inarguable law of nature, except of course in the TZ.

Good episode, with Aherne delivering a nicely calibrated performance. And catch that 1920's speakeasy or should I say speakloud that really rocks, what with all the illegal liquor flowing. Scott too, shines as a sexy jazz baby that makes me wish I were born a lot sooner. And catch real life director Pollock playing a make-believe director. His mean guy is tyrannical enough to bully Hitler, let alone his forlorn cast. Gutsy career move on Pollock's part. Anyhow, what starts off as a character study transitions into sci-fi that transitions into thoughtful ending. All in all, it's a typically challenging 30-minutes from our friends at TZ.

"The Trouble with Templeton" certainly isn't the most overwhelming or spectacular TZ-outing, but it's arguably one of the most intelligent and subtle episodes of the entire franchise. The short tale features a very typical and almost routine premise: an ageing stage actor is nostalgic and sentimental about the earliest years of his career, back when he was successful, respected and - most of all - married to the love of his life, Laura. But his Laura died very young and now, decades later, Booth Templeton is married to a much younger girl (of which he doesn't care if she cheats or not) and heavily struggling with the next generation of directors' new styles. And then, quite archetypal for the Twilight Zone, Booth goes through a door and gets catapulted back to his glory year 1927. But when he finds his beloved Laura and his former best friend Barney, they're not as perfect as Booth remembers them. Up until here, "The Trouble with Templeton" feels very derivative and commonplace, but then comes one beautifully mysterious sequence. When Booth leaves the noisy bar, the place literally fades out and the expression on Laura's face is utmost somber. These mere five seconds are some of the most significant and powerful of the entire series thus far, and they give a whole different swing to the story. The second of nine episodes directed by Buzz Kulik ("Villa Rides", "Bad Ronald") and benefiting from solid performances from Brian Aherne and sixties' beauty Pippa Scott. There's also a very well-cast role for Sydney Pollack as over-ambitious young director.