The Twilight Zone - Vol. 26
The four episodes included onThe Twilight Zone, Vol. 26focus on characters who inevitably pay a price for their tragic flaws. In "The  Big Tall Wish," an aging boxer (Ivan Dixon, later to costar in TV'sHogan's  Heroes) can't comprehend the influence of a little boy's magical wish that  brought him a surprise victory--a victory that's sacrificed to the fighter's own  cynicism. (The twist is nothing new forTZfans, but the episode's mostly  black cast was a noteworthy breakthrough for 1960 television.) "Showdown with  Rance McGrew" is an amusing send-up of pampered actors, in this case a  milquetoast TV cowboy whose comeuppance arrives in the form of the real Jesse  James--in a real Western town--whose attitude toward phony cowboys is anything  but tolerant.Fine performances by Barry Morse and Joan Hackett highlight "A Piano in the  House," in which a sadistic critic uses a magical player piano to expose the  hidden truths of several party guests, only to be himself revealed as more  pathetic than any of his victims. "Night Call" is a classic episode combining  terror and human weakness in the story of an elderly woman (Gladys Cooper) who  receives phone calls from beyond the grave, realizing too late that the caller  might have brought happiness to her final days. When viewed together, these four  episodes demonstrate howThe Twilight Zoneoften recycled themes and  basic plots with admirable ingenuity, thus defining the series' overall mission  as set forth by Rod Serling. Some episodes work better than others, but they all  illuminate the complex faults, foibles, and grand ambitions that makeTwilight Zonecharacters so timelessly appealing.--Jeff Shannon