tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post5863181021548847381..comments2024-03-20T15:28:13.030-05:00Comments on The Twilight Zone Vortex: "Death Ship"JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-34178298060055419312020-07-04T17:38:02.263-05:002020-07-04T17:38:02.263-05:00Thanks for the feedback,Jordan. I should have adde...Thanks for the feedback,Jordan. I should have added that "Death Ship" hit the ground running by giving us a chance to spend time with Jack Klugman. Four "Twilight Zone" appearances (the most of any performer, I believe), and a grand slam home run with each one. As a man of the theater, I particularly admire performers who achieve great success based entirely on their ability. Jack had Everyman looks; but whenever he was speaking, you couldn't look anywhere, but at him. I first saw Kathy Bates on Broadway in the powerful play "Night Mother" (which was so good I went back the next month to see it again), and it was obvious that she had what it took to go the distance. The late Pauline Kael expressed this truth perfectly: "Would-be advisors often tell aspiring actors and actresses that 'you don't have to be pretty to succeed.' What they should be telling them is 'Talent IS beauty.' And that isn't some comforting message for plain people; it's what show business is all about."Thomas DiMaggiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15528586971282008329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-32791504508515456062020-05-29T08:38:33.305-05:002020-05-29T08:38:33.305-05:00I find that not all viewers are as affected by thi...I find that not all viewers are as affected by this episode but for those who are it can be a story which lives in the mind forever. Heartbreaking, emotional, and intellectual in a way few other episodes are. I haven't read Our Town but I have read Bid Time Return and I agree that the film, though excellent, cannot fully convey the utter devastation of Richard Collier's experience. One of Matheson's best novels. JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-29514341490834253782020-05-27T12:31:41.467-05:002020-05-27T12:31:41.467-05:00I just saw "Death Ship" again, and my hi...I just saw "Death Ship" again, and my high esteem for it remains unchanged. I did see another dimension to it. The eternal damnation of the three men is made even more tortuous by the fact that Mason and Carter get a glimpse of the Heaven that could have been theirs if they had simply had the strength of will to break free of Ross' overbearing will and allow themselves to pass on into the afterlife. The new dimension that I saw was the parallel to Thornton Wilder's classic play "Our Town". In the play, Emily Webb, who has died young in childbirth, asks for the ability to relive happy moments from her earthly life. It can be done, the other spirits tell her, but they warn her against trying it. When she relives her twelfth birthday, she discovers what they mean. Not only is it agony for her to see the people she loves, knowing all of their ultimate fates, but she realizes just how little she herself really valued and treasured the gift of life when she had it. Only when the dead accept their status can they find peace. This episode is REALLY chilling. I would have given damned near anything to have had an afternoon over beer with Richard Matheson. He not only wrote some of the greatest fantasy short stories, but the exquisite masterpiece "Bid Time Return", the novel on which the movie "Somewhere In Time" was based. Good as the film was, the book is far better. If you haven't read it, do yourself a favor, and do so.Thomas DiMaggiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15528586971282008329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-31169077174352874992019-08-01T11:51:42.836-05:002019-08-01T11:51:42.836-05:00I agree with Abdul and now have a better understan...I agree with Abdul and now have a better understanding of the entire premise of the episode. I don't view Cpt. Ross as evil, just totally dedicated to his job as the ship's captain and has iron will but his one fatal flaw is refusing to acknowledge they may very well be dead as his shipmates continually suggest to him. I also, agree with Adul that Cpt. Ross' shipmates did have family waiting for him on the other side, and Cpt. Ross did not and understandably, was fearful he had no one to welcome him over on the other side. The only difficult theme though is that the E-87 would be repeat the same maneuvers for eternity, almost like Cpt. Ross is insane. Also, you would think God would say, enough is enough! now come home! or you go to the other place. Very interesting comments from the above two gentlemen!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08314582582238025846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-80453905579311664042019-06-25T10:43:15.918-05:002019-06-25T10:43:15.918-05:00My theory is that the reason why Ross doesn't ...My theory is that the reason why Ross doesn't want to accept death is because he doesn't have anyone waiting for him 'on the other side'. <br /><br />Mason and Carter all saw their dead relatives/loved ones even before they accepted that they were dead (which I guess was added to the TV version per this article).<br /><br />But if I remember right Ross never saw anyone himself. I think deep down he knows that he's dead but doesn't want to go into the afterlife because he knows that there won't be anyone there to keep him company. I never saw Ross as 'evil' or even disturbed but more just someone who devoted his whole life to the space race and didn't have anything else going on -- no family, friends, etc. Repeating the loop, though unpleasant, is at least camaraderie of some kind which he won't get when it ends.<br />AJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13936523249816908065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-81307704963263869192019-04-23T08:49:50.479-05:002019-04-23T08:49:50.479-05:00I definitely think there is a quality of damnation...I definitely think there is a quality of damnation in the episode and one which Matheson exploits to chilling effect. I still feel great sympathy for Mason and Carter which makes the episode all the more powerful. I also greatly enjoy Klugman's performance here. In later interviews he showed displeasure with it likely due to the fact that it was against type in a villanous role but I think he nails it. This episode has always held me in thrall no matter how many times I view it, a sterling example of a well-wrought hour-long episode. JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-67875272794041151132019-04-22T15:57:51.045-05:002019-04-22T15:57:51.045-05:00Writers as diverse as C.S.Lewis and George Bernard...Writers as diverse as C.S.Lewis and George Bernard Shaw opined that Hell is a place uniquely suited to each damned soul. ("The damned feel very comfortable in Hell", said Shaw. "After all, it was made for them.") While I very much doubt that Richard Matheson wrote "Death Ship" as a theological tract, the fact remains that it is a chillingly convincing portrait of damnation. Despite the generally sympathetic character of the two men under Ross' command, they are both guilty of a serious sin: that of surrendering their will and judgment -- the very attributes that make them human -- to the monomania of Ross. (Herman Melville dramatized this particular form of evil at far greater length in "Moby Dick"). Among the episode's several pleasures: the wonderful Jack Klugman gets to play a character unlike any other that he attempted in his long career. Definitely one of "The Twilight Zone"'s gems.Thomas DiMaggiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15528586971282008329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-78628465580638315842018-11-22T22:38:33.303-06:002018-11-22T22:38:33.303-06:00You should definitely give this one another look. ...You should definitely give this one another look. I think it, along with perhaps "Miniature," is the finest of the hour-long episodes. Thanks for always reading and commenting, Jack! Really appreciate that. Happy Thanksgiving! JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-52612932758286073852018-11-22T22:36:56.922-06:002018-11-22T22:36:56.922-06:00This one has always affected me in the same way si...This one has always affected me in the same way since I first viewed it many years ago. It is a fantastic piece of science fiction storytelling. It is very melancholy but intellectually stimulating and, as you say, the performances are really excellent. <br /><br />I believe Captain Ross was saying that Mason was there the entire time but he and Carter could not see him. It was an attempt by Ross to explain away the obvious fact that they died in the crash. Mason had slipped into his afterlife and was pulled back into their hellish limbo by Captain Ross. <br /><br />Thanks for reading and offering your insight into this episode! JPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14808904189056290207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-90515909482197139292018-11-21T14:31:56.643-06:002018-11-21T14:31:56.643-06:00A rare "A" grade! I'll have to watch...A rare "A" grade! I'll have to watch this one again. Any show with Jack Klugman and Ross Martin can't be bad! Happy Thanksgiving, guys, and thanks for this blog!Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1318310043864039191.post-59284241839494260172018-11-21T12:24:18.092-06:002018-11-21T12:24:18.092-06:00Death Ship is in my humble opinion the piece de re...Death Ship is in my humble opinion the piece de reistance of the entire anthology series! Classic sci-fi story involving outer space (circa Forbidden Planet as mentioned in this review since props were used from the movie on the MGM lot) and also combining suspense with existential themes. The 3 principal actors: Jack Klugman, Ross Martin, and Frederick Beir, deliver masterful performances displaying raw emotions which is believable to anyone whom has lost loved ones and sense their own death. The hour long episode needs the running time to lay out the exposition of the basic story and character development. I can sympathize with Mason and Carter in the dream sequences, but also, feeling sometimes I need to be in control and the need for a logical explanation as our Captain Ross. There is one theme I didn't understand in the episode. If Lt. Mason never left the ship and was there the whole time then why did the scene show Ross being dragged out of the clearing with Mason's wife saying Ross is not welcome here? Very sad ending though with the E-89 cast as the modern day Flying Dutchman doomed to eternity since all three men did really nothing to deserve their fate unlike Judgement Night's, Karl Lanzer. GeneChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02114299644106252570noreply@blogger.com