Showdown with Rance McGrew
(Season 3, Episode 20)
“Some one-hundred-odd years ago, a motley collection of tough mustaches galloped across the West and left behind a raft of legends and legerdemains, and it seems a reasonable conjecture that if there are any television sets up in cowboy heaven and any of these rough-and-woolly nail-eaters could see with what careless abandon their names and exploits are being bandied about, they’re very likely turning over in their graves—or worse, getting out of them. Which gives you a clue as to the proceedings that will begin in just a moment, when one Mr. Rance McGrew, a 3,000-buck-a-week phoney-baloney discovers that this week’s current edition of make-believe is being shot on location—and that location is the Twilight Zone.”
Let’s be honest, Rod Serling was a great writer…but writing comedy was one area he clearly struggled. The surprising thing about “Showdown with Rance McGrew” is…it’s a comedic chapter that earns its laughs. A big part of that is owed to Larry Blyden (who appeared the first season episode “A Nice Place to Visit”) as the episode’s namesake. He plays this Hollywood star on a TV western with the cocky, oblivious confidence of Ron Burgundy. The premise doesn’t make a lot of sense, Rance time travels because Jesse James is mad that an actor playing a gun fighter on TV can’t actually shoot, but it’s funny enough (and short enough) for logic not to be a big hindrance. Blyden’s very funny performance is matched with some winning (and funny) wordplay by Serling. And isn’t hearing Mr. Sophisticated Serling saying “Phony-Baloney” worth a watch? -Lesley Coffin
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