What You Need

At the beginning this story focuses on Lefty (Read Morgan), a former baseball pitcher drowning his sorrow in a bar, and what he needs. There is also a girl (Arlene Martel- mysterious nurse in season two's Twenty Two) whose need happily makes her path and Lefty's cross. The peddler, who knows which little item can lead a person to help bring their life meaningfully together, then disappears from the bar. This is because Fred Rennard, a charmless, malevolent loser is watching him.

Steve Cochrane who played gangster roles opposite James Cagney and Joan Crawford in the early fifties plays Rennard. This is a very good little morality tale about the importance of using things not people. Also how little it would take to put one's life on a happy path providing you take a droplet of good fortune with a virtuous approach.

Sorry if I'm sounding a bit preachy, but I love to find meaning in the Zone.

I have always enjoyed this episode. People over analyze it. The "bad guy" is just that. There are bad people and given a situation where they can take, will do so. This is not a religious allegory. This is about a situation where we must suspend our disbelief (as we often do in The Twilight Zone) and accept the gifts the man has. Why do people automatically believe that a writer needs to put a religious spin on it. If you want to put a spin on it, it is more fairy tale (The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg and The Fisherman's Wife). These people are dissatisfied with what they have and try to destroy the source of their gifts. It is really about Kismet, not theology.

This episode works well because it has a magical quality and some great characters. We create our destinies, and the supernatural aside, the man went too far.

An old street vendor goes to a bar to sell his stuffs. However, he foresees what each costumer will need in a short period, selling precisely what they need. After selling in the bar, the crook Fred Renard (Steve Cochran) mocks him and the peddler gives a pair of scissors for him. When Fred arrives at the hotel where he is lodged, his scarf is trapped on the elevator door and he only survives due to the pair of scissors. Now Fred believes that the peddler has a gift and he decides to force the old man to tell the horse that will win the race. The greedy Fred earns a large amount and seeks out the peddler threatening him again that the old man gives him a pair of shoes to Fred. But who needs the pair of shoes?

"What You Need" is another great episode of "The Twilight Zone". The old peddler uses his mysterious ability to help people with goof deeds but a smalltime crook wants to take financial advantage and frightens the old man. But in the end he gives what he actually needs to the crook to save his life. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Além da Imaginação: What You Need" ("Beyond Imagination: What you Need")

Fascinating entry. Timid old man Pedott (Truex) sells odds and ends from a tray in grubby urban setting. He's so insignificant looking, it's hard to expect anything from him. But that's a mistake—and possibly the entry's moral. He's got an uncanny ability to know what a person needs in the next few minutes. It's like he can see into the future, but not very far. So why does he give ex-ballplayer Lefty (Morgan) a ticket to Scranton or thuggish Renard (Cochran) a drippy fountain pen, and then a puzzling pair of leather shoes. In Renard's case, it's too bad he can't fix bad character, but I guess that's not something that can be held in a tray.

Actor Truex is perfect as the unlikely seer, while underrated Cochran makes his usual convincing tough guy. Too bad, however, we don't see more of the exotic looking Arline Sax. She's got really distinctive features, perfect for the bride of Star Trek's Dr. Spock. Note too, the atmospheric nighttime set with its suggestive blinking lights, appropriate for a Twilight world that lies in wait.

All in all, the 30-minutes amounts to one of the more memorable entries that helped define the classic series.

Everything about this episode was appealing. The actors played their characters exceptionally well.. The script was very good and flowed naturally. The plot and story line was quite interesting and kept my attention. The character Fred Renard was truly scary while the character of Pedott was truly loveable. What a great contrast and the way these two characters were brought together made the plot more exciting. A great story that made complete sense unlike most of the series episodes.