A Better Way

I must start out by saying I respect Rod Serling. He was a sapient man. His writing was phenomenal.  I enjoy listening to the dialogue of each episode of The Twilight Zone because there was true thought behind the words. It makes me think about my life and upcoming years as well as how people of the 1950's and 1960's viewed the not so distant future and the technologies that people thought would come with the 21st century. From what was written, I learn about my past. Things that were current - such as the Cold War and Space Race - were incorporated into many of the episodes. Serling was giving a commentary about those things as well. 

He touched on not only topics of the day, but the fears for the future. He showed the viewer how the world could be Utopian but at the same time it was also a Dystopian place just by taking a different viewpoint of  a certain situation. In each episode there was someone who noted the graveness of the lifestyle humanity was living and often the rest of the characters were blind to what was going on around them until it was too late to change the outcome. 

However, what I have mentioned is not the main reason for this blog entry. I'm writing this because I was studying the episode A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain this afternoon - it was part of a 2-day marathon of The Twilight Zone on SyFy. I was quite happy to find the show because I'm not a tennis fan and that's more or less what's been on all week.

For those unfamiliar with the plot of this particular episode, here's a quick summary: it's about a kindly, elderly man who has married an egotistical, materialistic woman who is decades younger than he. So that he can keep up with his wife and please her, he seeks the infamous Fountain of Youth. When he finds it, he drinks some of the water.  Instead of becoming a 20-something man, he becomes a baby, whom his wife must take care of. My guess is she won't be too happy about that because she seems to be a lady who likes to party and go out on the town, but she gets what she deserves. The woman wanted a younger husband, after all. 

 The writing was, as usual, outstanding. The characters in this episode appeared to be a little flat and one-dimensional. There were no traits that made the wife redeeming and the husband seemed like a doormat. He just wanted to please his wife, but at least he had a reason and drive to get some water from the Fountain of Youth. His spouse didn't seem to have any drive behind her negative demeanor. For all its worth, I think this story was more about the plot than the characters, thus using simplistically crafted characters is all right. The dialogue was quite engaging and entertaining.  A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain did make me think about what we, as human beings, should need and want. It isn't all about being youthful and always doing something. Life is far more important than spending it frivolously, which was how the wife was spending her time.

Often, my favorite parts of each episode is Rod Serling's monologue at the beginning and ending of each episode. His monologue in A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain is no exception. I enjoyed it, however, I think that Serling could have written it better. Included below is the first half of the episode I'm discussing. Under the video of part 1, I've included the link to the second half  of the episode if you're interested in watching it in full. At 05:04 into the clip, you can find Serling's monologue. At the end of his little speech, I think he could've tightened his wording. The line I find that could've been stated better was, "In short, Mr. Harmon Gordon seeks a fountain of youth. And who's to say he won't find it? This happens to be... the Twilight Zone." For me, the words would've been more poignant and powerful if Serling had said, "In short, Mr. Harmon Gordon seeks a fountain of youth. And who's to say he won't find it... in the Twilight Zone."

 To watch part 2 of this episode, here's the link: The Twilight Zone, A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain - 2/2

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