The Twilight Zone premiere review: A new spin on some old tales

The Twilight Zone has a new cast and crew and a new streaming platform; however, we’re glad the creepy commentary has remained the same.

We essentially live in a socially dystopian place. Thanks to the elevated threat of climate change, we’re embarking on a physical dystopia, too.

The revamped Twilight Zone recognizes our social struggles and it’s using that for script-writing fuel. While the revived series has a new host platform, new storytellers, new producers, and a new cast, it’s using the same ominous theme from the original show. And that method very much still works.

“The Comedian” – Strong in concept, a bit lengthy in its execution

Inaugurating the revival of The Twilight Zone, “The Comedian” has a stronghold of the series’ longstanding grasp of socio-political satire. Like the main character, a comedian (Kumail Nanjiani) who takes a stand with the help of some risky social climbing, the premiere episode takes a chance with the length of the episode. Although the episode takes a long-winded approach to emphasize its concept, the entire hour of “The Comedian” makes the episode seem a bit tedious at times.

Granted, the aforementioned social climbing is in the form of social sacrifices. Nonetheless, the episode plays on the common trend in profession success: That you often need to know people, and the right people at that, to become successful in virtually any industry. And, to strive for widespread recognition, you need to sacrifice your morals and your personal life. In the episode, sacrificing your personal life is quite literal. Nonetheless, any monotonous reassertions of the vanishing people are rectified by the end.

However, there are a couple of twists in the plot that make the protracted viewing experience interesting. The comedian is corrupted with fame and ultimately hurts his girlfriend (i.e. the person closest to him) by putting his selfish concerns before her. We then witness a bittersweet ending when he uses himself as the subject of his routine — vanishing into the titular twilight zone during his last shift.

Though some might seem this as repetitive, the recurring vanishing people helps “The Comedian” bolster its plot and the social norms that it’s meant to criticize. The desolate ending for the standup comedian in the episode exacerbates the stakes in the sinister way that only The Twilight Zone knows how to replicate.

While the next episode in the two-episode-long premiere of the reboot retells an eerie story, the commentary in “The Comedian” is more literal for the first episode. It inspects the pressing issues of today in the uncomfortable landscape of an alternate dimension. The issues are just more obvious because our current timeline and dimension have more closely mirrored The Twilight Zone that once fed our distress and nightmares.

“The Comedian” seems almost reminiscent of Steven Spielberg’s “Make Me Laugh” sketch at parts; however, some introductory imagery cues us into some of the more consistent inspiration throughout the first episode. In the leading moments of the episode, the mural of the crowd at the back of the comedy house shows a line down the left side of the painting. The line is missing all but one of the faces in the artificial portrait. The crease in one of the women’s face draws a vague similarity to the permanent masks in “The Masks,” a Twilight Zone episode from 1964.

“The Masks” explores the discrepancy between people’s apparent personalities and their real, often rude or worse, personalities. Coupled with the ending scene that shows everyone striving for success will choose the same path if given the same opportunity, the parallel to this classic Twilight Zone episode shows that “The Comedian” wears the same mask.

The image of the fake crowd itself points at how fake some fame and public approval is today. Still, the episode has a myriad of inspiration from Twilight Zone episodes of the past and modern day angles.

“Nightmare at 30,000 Feet” – A new height to a classic prose

This tale is almost as old as the fear of flying. “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet” explores the tone from its predecessor nightmare in Rod Serling’s renditions, as well as the short prose the original narrative is based on (Nightmare at 20,000 feet by Richard Matheson). However, the extra 10,000 feet divulges into the growing number of well-meaning people who hurt themselves and others.

“Nightmare at 30,000 Feet” touches on modern monsters. While the monster in this episode is within us, even in some of our best intentions, it contrasts from the old depiction of the monster on the wing in the previous renditions of the narrative.

Transforming the monster into a humanized personality works with the tone of the new series, and it also refines the demons in our own motives. After all, even our benevolent intentions can have monstrous impacts that reverberate well beyond us.

Like the monster is personified both in the main character’s decision aboard the plane and his seemingly well-meaning pilot friend, The Twilight Zone alters the passengers into the products of the main character’s intentions. They’re the monstrosities of the impact, literally (in the case of the plane crash) and figuratively. In a humorous form of retribution, the episode uses the passengers as a way to show our personified monsters aren’t exempt from repercussions, especially when everyone’s watching in the era of technology.

While we have to wait until April 11 to watch the next episode of The Twilight Zone on CBS All Access, the premiere episodes delve into the human psyche right away in a remastered version of some classic tales. Exploring the deepest pit of the parallel dimension, the series adds a new depth and understanding, as well as modern criticisms (even if some are evergreen grievances), fit for a modern audience.