TZ: Where is Everybody

Before you read this review, or any subsequent reviews on the Twilight Zone, I highly recommend that you view the actual episode first. The most fulfilling part about watching the Twilight Zone is anticipating the twist ending that more or less explains everything that was going on in the episode. These reviews will contain spoilers about the endings, so if you care about that stuff, then go watch the episode first.

After the famous Twilight Zone intro and opening music, we see a man walking down a road. He looks slightly confused as he enters a small cafe. He calls for the bartender, only to find that nobody is there. In fact, when he enters Hill Valley(not really, but it's the same set as Back to the Future), he finds the town completely deserted. He also reveals that he has no idea who he actually is.

Does this mean that Marty McFly was in the Twilight Zone?

The main part of the episode involves him wandering around Hill Valley, continually telling himself that he's having a nightmare and that he just needs to wake up. He thinks he sees a woman in a car, but it's just a mannequin. He tries to dial a number in the phone booth, but it doesn't work. It's a really eerie thought. If you suddenly found yourself as the last man on Earth, how would you entertain yourself? How would you keep yourself sane? The man in this story ends up talking to himself through mirrors, messing with things behind desks, and even playing a solo game of tic tac toe.

Life before Solitaire

A few odd occurrences really pushes him towards the edge. He first finds a cigar still smoking in a police station, then a clue that leads him to believe that he's in the air force, and a movie theater that lights up and spontaneously starts playing movies. He becomes more and more paranoid until we reach the climax of the story and it is revealed that he was just hooked up to some virtual simulation.

Apparently the machine was supposed to simulate being enclosed in a shuttle on the way to the moon. The machine would gave him nutrition and other things he needed to survive, while the people in the real world monitored his progress. The town was just a delusion that the man had while his mind started to go crazy without any social interaction.

This episode was an excellent start to the Twilight Zone. It developed the creepy, dreamy feel that was to become the standard for future Twilight Zone episodes, and the acting was pretty good. The only complaint that I have for this episode is the twist. Why do they have to send only one person to the moon? Why not a group of people? Still, it's interesting to think that in only 10 years after this episode aired, man had accomplished the goal of landing on the moon.

Score: 8

Best Quote: "Next time it won't just be a box in a hanger, will it?"

Best Moment: The man runs into a mirror

Cheesy 60s Moment: The man yells "Where is everybody!"