The Twilight Zone S2 E17: Twenty Two

Enjoying a look back at some of the lesser known episodes of The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) featuring beloved actors of the era. This writer missed this one featuring Jonathan Harris opposite actress Barbara Nichols.





The Twilight Zone, Season Two, Episode 17, Twenty Two falls short of the more impressive story featuring Harris we covered here at Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic called The Silence (S2, E25).

Twenty Two is interesting if just to see Harris offer a laugh to his special thespian brand, but the story based on a ghost story anthology from 1944 (The Hearse Driver) and before that a short story called The Bus-Conductor by E.F. Benson (1906) is a mostly underwhelming entry.



The overall 65,000 dollar budget per episode was cut well in half  for six episodes of The Twilight Zone's Season Two. One of those episodes was Twenty Two along with Bill Mumy's appearance in Long Distance Call, ironically S2, E22 (episode twenty two).

The visual limitations are notable, but the story isn't quite as effective as some of the best despite a solid concept of a haunted actress unable to distinguish reality from nightmare.

The entry was directed by Jack Smight, the man behind The Illustrated Man (1969) and Damnation Alley (1977).

Writer: Rod Serling. Director: Jack Smight.