Long Distance Call
(Season 2, Episode 22)
“As must be obvious, this is a house hovered over by Mr. Death, an omnipresent player to the third and final act of every life. And it’s been said, and probably rightfully so, that what follows this life is one of the unfathomable mysteries, an area of darkness which we, the living, reserve for the dead—or so it is said. For in a moment, a child will try to cross that bridge which separates light and shadow, and, of course, he must take the only known route, that indistinct highway through the region we call The Twilight Zone.”
Season two had the unfortunate history of having several episodes which were taped, rather than filmed, which have left their mark as lesser examples of the show. Even now, there’s a clear visual difference between the pristine filmed episodes, and the random taped episodes which all have a scratchy, grey quality. Several of the episodes are very good despite their appearance. And “Long Distance Call” could be considered a classic in the series; an example of just how dark this show would go. Billy (Twilight Zone veteran Billy Mumy), is a little boy who witnesses his grandmother’s death on his birthday after she gave him a toy phone as a present. After her death, Billy begins talking to his grandmother from “the beyond” and is compelled to kill himself at her insistence. If the premise sounds unnerving, the length the show goes to explore the implications of such an idea are shocking for a program in 1961. In fact, it’s still shocking now. -Lesley Coffin
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