tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post8458008454107124751..comments2024-03-20T15:28:13.030-05:00Comments on The Twilight Zone Vortex: "Mr. Dingle, the Strong"JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-62379343890483069642016-12-12T15:00:06.902-06:002016-12-12T15:00:06.902-06:00"The Obsolete Man" has always been one o..."The Obsolete Man" has always been one of my favorites despite its flaws. This is mostly thanks to Weaver and Meredith. Fritz Weaver's performance is among my favorites from the series. Serling's dialogue is also spectacular. And I hear you about gadgets being too pervasive in society. Despite being still relatively young, I don't think I share my generation's love of technology. E-readers are handy but I usually stick to used paperbacks when out and about.Brian Duranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02724290376009803159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-79162229612306022592016-12-11T03:01:36.571-06:002016-12-11T03:01:36.571-06:00Yes, I agree, Brian. Thanks for responding. I sens...Yes, I agree, Brian. Thanks for responding. I sense that about Serling's down and out guys, too. His Nervous Man In The Four Dollar room is downright uncomfortable to watch. As a one time (unsuccessful) author of plays I feel especially attuned to the old man in the mirror trick, as it does feel like Serling talking to Serling, with the tall gangster guy a sort of stand-in for a network suit (or maybe advertiser). To put it in (ho-hum) in Freudian terms it's the ego and superego at war with one another.<br /><br />I agree that Meredith was much better in The Obsolete Man, which may be his only real "straight" performance on the Zone. He's very good and sympathetic. The late Fritz Weaver shines, too. That aside, it's one of those way too pedantic for my tastes episodes of the show even as it feels strangely prescient in the cyber-age. <br /><br />The thing is, that which was done by edict, fiat, special order from above in Obsolete Man is being done "voluntarily" today, as people are falling all over one another to get the new laps, pads, smart phones and the like. Much of the time I'm the only guy on the bus or subway car who isn't either talking on a phone or texting.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-91912044259778844372016-12-10T08:11:58.056-06:002016-12-10T08:11:58.056-06:00Thanks for commenting, John. I'm okay with Mer...Thanks for commenting, John. I'm okay with Meredith as Luther Dingle and Henry Bemis. He does a great job in both episodes simply because he is a great actor even if he is a bit buffoonish. But his comedic performances are not my favorite offerings from him despite the fact that the Penguin is his signature role--his Devil is a lot like the Penguin now that you mention it. "The Obsolete Man" has always been my favorite of his four appearances on the show so I tend to connect with his dramatic performances a little more I guess.<br /><br />As for Serling, I agree with your assessment of his personality. He was pretty hard on himself as a writer, a trait that only increased as he grew older. I think his down-and-out protagonists were definitely an extension of himself. Brian Duranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02724290376009803159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-83387539694029021632016-12-10T01:40:45.149-06:002016-12-10T01:40:45.149-06:00I don't hate Mr. Dingle, which I just watched ...I don't hate Mr. Dingle, which I just watched (for the umpteenth time) a couple of hours ago, but I don't love it, either. Like Mr. Bevis, it's slight but very well made and nicely acted. It's also fun to spot some familiar but not very well known players, such as James Westerfield, as the bartender, and Douglas ("Scotty" from The Thing From Another World) Spencer, in, sad to say, his final acting role, as an alien, but I digress.<br /><br />The script is mediocre, the story is hokey but easy to take. Like most episodes of the series it benefits from excellent production values. The biggest downside for me,--and I know I'm way in the minority in this--is my loathing for the way Burgess Meredith was cast in his three half-hour Zones. Meredith was a marvelous actor, had a beautiful voice, and as Dingle, like his Bemis in Time Enough At Last, stutters constantly, which makes his character come across as a moron.<br /><br />I can't help but wonder why short guy Serling wrote these episodes for fellow "shorty" Meredith, and they do seem tailor made for this particular actor. At least the Klugman "little man" eps lend his character an air of tragedy, dignity, something other than his just being a down at the heels fellow at the end of his rope. <br /><br />It's almost as if, to play armchair shrink for a spell, Serling hated who he was, felt or feared that at the core he was as pathetic as the characters Meredith played. At least Mr. Meredith was given a reprieve of sorts in Printer's Devil, in which his diabolical character seems like a dry run for his Penguin on The Batman series.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-82737554193106791412014-05-24T16:24:17.995-05:002014-05-24T16:24:17.995-05:00I guess I would grade them as C being an average s...I guess I would grade them as C being an average show rather than an average TZ ep! Graded on a curve, you may be right. But I still love Burgess! He'll always be the Penguin in my head.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-1272227488943463302014-05-22T21:52:18.247-05:002014-05-22T21:52:18.247-05:00I know, I know. I was torn between a D and a C be...I know, I know. I was torn between a D and a C because Burgess is so great in this episode. But if the acting is the only thing saving this episode and the writing and direction aren't even mediocre and if I am trying to be objective then it gets a D for sure. There's just nothing to this episode. I was struggling just to find something to say about it aside from Meredith's performance. I know we are biased against the comedy episodes (so expect more D's and F's when we review them) but they just don't feel right alongside the other episodes. But thanks for the comment, Jack!Brian Duranthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02724290376009803159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-56853076291717890702014-05-22T18:01:51.514-05:002014-05-22T18:01:51.514-05:00D??? Are you kidding? This is at least a C for Bur...D??? Are you kidding? This is at least a C for Burgess Meredith if nothing else! I love the picture of the stuntman, by the way.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.com