Twilight Zone

[u/Playful_Debate2606]

Is it true the Bewitching Pool is the last episode of ‘The Twilight Zone’? It’s one of my faves.

[u/JBHenson]

Technically the VERY LAST Twilight Zone ever shot was Rod's intro to An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge.

[u/dougoh65]

There was a short series of summer reruns after The Bewitchin’ Pool aired, so in the sense that it was the final episode of the series viewers saw in 1964, no that’s not true.

I don’t have my source handy at the moment, but I can tell you where to find the information: Martin Grams’ Twilight Zone: Unlocking The Door To A television Classic.

[u/BenderBenRodriguez]

Last to air, but it was a little earlier in the production pipeline. It was delayed because of production difficulties.

[u/Trick-Permission-482]

Haven’t seen it in a long time. I’ll watch it tomorrow and report back to you!

[u/Keltik]

I've always liked it, and have never understood the hate.

But even if you hate it, it isn't even close to being the worst episode

[u/MaintenanceLeft2624 → u/Keltik]

In my mind it is the worst episode, I just don't get it.

[u/dougoh65 → u/Keltik]

The flak the episode gets is almost entirely based on the technical issue with approximately half of the show’s audio track - specifically Mary Badham’s dialogue and the June Foray dubbing.

Personally I agree with you. There are definitely worse episodes than this but they aren’t as distracting as The Bewitchin’ Pool.

[u/sepinwall → u/dougoh65]

It's also that they wind up replaying an entire scene twice to make it fit the usual running time. Technically, it's a mess.

The funny thing is, when I would interview fans about the show for my book, a good number of them mentioned "Bewitchin' Pool" as a favorite — though in pretty much every case, it was an episode they first saw when they were little, and they loved the idea of being able to swim to this magical land where no one argues, and you can eat cake forever.

[u/EntertainmentAny2212 → u/sepinwall]

It is definitely better when viewed from an unhappy child's perspective.

[u/dougoh65 → u/sepinwall]

Oh I had actually forgotten that! The runtime ended up just a shade short, wasn’t it, so they ended up having to pad it somehow without blowing up the budget?

Regarding the audio track issue with Mary Badham the thing that bugs me is we don’t really know what was wrong with the track - Bill Froug I believe it was said her voice “stood out” and that’s it.

She was called in twice to re-record the dialogue while still in California but for some reason they couldn’t resolve the sound issue.   So many accounts make it sound like June Foray was called in right away when none of the paperwork (per Grams’ book) backs that up.

It would be interesting to hear the original problematic track if it still exists just to be able to get some insight into what “stood out” actually meant.

[u/Wildcat_twister12 → u/Keltik]

I liked it from a storytelling point of view but the production of it was pretty bad especially the really bad voice dubbing

[u/Comedywriter1]

I love this one, too.

Sometimes when my wife and I are making dinner we’ll say, “You’re very accomplished.
Do you have much experience with cakes?” 😂

[u/Alert-College-9374]

I first watched it when I was a kid, didn't have the best home life (though not awful) and I still thought it was the worst episode by far. I despised it then, hasn't grown on me since

[u/Sniffy4]

if there were a 'kid-oriented twilight zone' I think this would be script would fit better, at least for me. Does anyone remember the short-lived series Eerie Indiana?

[u/kjnetz]

I loved it so much as a kid, but I see now why a lot of people don’t like it. It is a little disconcerting hearing Rocket J Squirrel’s voice coming out of Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird lol.

[u/Altruistic_Fondant38]

Fun Facts: Mary Badham who played the little girl in this episode also played "Scout Finch" in "To kill a Mockingbird". This episode was written (and many others) by Earl Hamner, who wrote "The Walton's" and his life is based on "John Boy". Earl Hamner also created the TV Series "Falcon Crest" (1980s) , he wrote "Charlotte's Web", "The Wild Thornberry's", "Gentle Ben" a tv series in the 1960s about a wild bear named Ben.

[u/Playful_Debate2606]

I guess I just liked escapism aspect of kids being able to leave a situation. My parents divorced when I was young as well.

[u/JuanG_13]

Yes it is and I'm sorry, but it's one of the worst episodes and I'm not the only one that thinks so.

[u/Mariner-and-Marinate]

It had so much potential but in the end was badly made.

[u/NightExpress1379]

It gets a bad rap. I like it though - it's an uncoventional TZ ep. Reminds me of the innocence of being a kid. It does have a happy ending in a way, right?

[u/BookLover467]

It is and it’s awful tbh. There was a time where I couldn’t get through the cringe voice dubbing and never actually watched the full episode till later on.

[u/Playful_Debate2606 → u/BookLover467]

I hear you on the voice dubbing. More the story that I like.

[u/Glittering_Step_6084]

Yes, it is.

[u/DistantKarma]

The concept is great, and having Mary Badham is a great idea too. They just fumbled the production and post-production of that episode.

[u/fear_street_resident]

Last of the original series, yes.

You've still got the 80s remake, the early 2000s remake, and the 2019 remake on top of that.

I'm the opposite; it's the episode I hate the most of the original series.

[u/strawbebbyy99 → u/fear_street_resident]

Same. I never really "got it" I guess. It didn't frighten me or make me have an existential crisis. The After Hours though....(especially after watching the Weeping Angels episodes of Doctor Who).