Your Bottom Ten Episodes

The flip-side, what are your bottom ten episodes. These will be tabulated around February 2008; around the same time as the top ten tabulation.
For me:

156. The Masks
155.The Odyssey of Flight 33
154. Black Leather Jackets
153.Still Valley
152.The Jungle
151. I Am the Night-Color Me Black
150.The Parallel
149.The Mighty Casey
148. Queen of the Nile
147.The Fear

"Young Man's Fancy"
"The Gift"
"Cavender Is Coming
"Mute"
"From Agnes-With Love"
"I Dream of Genie"
"The Chaser"
"The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine"
"The Whole Truth"
"The Bewitchin' Pool"

Ten worst, in no particular order:

Sounds and Silences

From Agnes-With Love

Cavendar is Coming

The Gift

I Am the Night, Color Me Black

He's Alive

Caesar and Me

The Whole Truth

Once Upon a Time

Four O'Clock

No particular order:

Cavender is Coming
The Incredible World of Horace Ford
I Dream of Genie
The Brain Center at Whipple's
Caesar and Me
Sounds and Silences
Uncle Simon
Showdown With Rance McGrew
The Whole Truth
The Mighty Casey

Yeah I can't do any particular order for best or worst as it changesconstantly.

Anyway, I don't have any problem telling you this most likely won't change.

Come Wander with Me
Brain Center at Whipple's
Once Upon a Time
Cavender is Coming
I Dream of Genie
Sounds and Silences
Showdown with Rance McGrew
The Mighty Casey
From Agnes with Love
Black Leather Jackets

Most of you here know that I do not go for the "comedy type" Zones, so I may be a little biased.
In no real order, here are the 10 that come to mind right now............

-From Agnes with Love
-The Chaser
-A Thing About Machines
-The Mirror
-Once Upon a Time
-Showdown with Rance McGrew
-Cavender is Coming
-The Bard
-The Whole Truth
-The Brain Center at Whipple's

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Truth be known, I can still watch most all of them, but these are perhaps my least favorites.
TB, FAWL,and SWRM are my absolute bottom of the barrel.
Honestly, I haven't seen "The Mirror" in a very long time, and I only saw it 1-2 times. It was fairly boring to me, but maybe I need to give it another chance.

Another note-- the presence of one Joyce Jameson keeps "I Dream of Genie" off of this list.



Thank you and good night.
TZ DZ Fan

Cavender is Coming
The Bard
Showdown with Rancid McGrew
From Agnes with Love
The Brain Center at Whipples
The Fever
Last Night of A Jockey
Sounds and Silence
The Chaser
Come Wander with Me

Maybe one day I'll post a topic worthy of being pinned.

I like your style DrM.
6 of your bottom 10 made my prestigious list also.

FYI- The Fever was dangerously close also.



Major wrote-
Maybe one day I'll post a topic worthy of being pinned.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I seriously hope your aspirations are a bit higher dude.


Thank you and good night.
TZ DZ Fan

Mute
He's Alive
Cavendar is Coming
Mr. Bevis
The Chaser
The Whole Truth
The Gift
Ninety Years Without Slumbering
Once Upon a Time
Execution

I like your style DrM.
6 of your bottom 10 made my prestigious list also.

FYI- The Fever was dangerously close also.

Seriously, I can't see how that's even possible. Not that it's a great episode, but I could list plenty of others that would fall beneath this one -- but that's just me.

I truly find it odd how Caesar and Me is NOT on either of your lists, but again....just me.

When I made my list, I can honestly say, I was contemplating not including Uncle Simon -- it's seriously inching out of that bottom 10.

OK lazy, let me see if I can explain better.
When I made that list, I went thru the seasons and wrote down the ones that I didn't think were as great as some of the others.
The Fever, while its OK, I think it falls short of "my favorites", so at first it was on that list.
But after much thought, I just didn't see how I could really rank it below the others on my list that I originally posted.

Caesar and Me?? - Here is my thoughts on that one.
I think alot of the bashing is a tad unfair. Certainly its not a great ep. But the majority of haters say pretty much the same thing, "We saw it done much better before-in The Dummy".
Well, I certainly agree on that point. But I don't base my judgements on whether "it has been done before". If all of us here truly think about it, alot of the Zone eps have very similar stories,just in different settings. (or different characters/scenarios, but still similar stories in some aspects)
I think Jackie Cooper did a fairly decent job, and I kinda felt sorry for him, which I think that was intended, and I most certainly thought Suzanne Cupito was irritating. Which that was intended also I believe, so from that point, it was decent.
Was it a classic? Certainly not.
But was it in my bottom 10? Nah, there were others that I thought were worse.

But I guess we all have different likes and dislikes, and thats cool too.
One thing I try not to do, and we discussed this before in another thread (you may remember), is I try NOT to dissect an episode to a point where I can't just sit and enjoy it.
Some of the conversation here,(not really in this thread) is kinda weird.
Its like some people here, tear each episode apart bit by bit, in an effort to
prove their own theory/opinion, to a point where I couldn't just sit and enjoy it.
I watch the Zone for entertainment.......... not to try and tear others opinions down.

Note to lazy- that really isn't directed towards you bro,and your comment. I was just thinking back to that other thread where we were discussing it before.

And just so ya know-- in my opinion, Caesar and Me surely won't ever make my top 20-30 eps either.

Thank you and good night.
TZ DZ Fan

Thanks for your thoughts, bro -- on Caesar and Me as well as analyzing episodes. I whole-heartedly agree with you, I watch them for entertainment value as well. It can be fun to discuss certain points, but I agree that sometimes it gets out of hand. I respect everyone's opinions, and hopefully that comes across in my posts.

What's really funny is that PolarBear's bottom two episodes are in my top 20...but that's neither here nor there, as again, "to each his own".

On the topic of Caesar and Me, I do not know what it is about it, but I never found much interest in the story. In regards to your comment about episodes "being done again", I'm on board with you as well, because I could care less if the subject matter has been seen before, it's whether it still entertains. For me, Caesar has nothing on Willy (even if they are both evil little bastards).

I'll do my best, my memory isn't great enough to remember all 156 episodes in detail:

1. Come Wander With Me
2. The Bewitchin' Pool
3. Cavender Is Coming
4. The Hunt
5. The Whole Truth
6. The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine
7. Perchance To Dream
8. The Chaser
9. Passage On The Lady Anne
10. Black Leather Jackets

NOTE: Only the first three are really unwatchable, everything else is to me at least tolerable.

Haven't given this nearly as much thought as best episodes -- and seeing as there's at least twenty-odd eps I hold in relatively low esteem, several eps could easily slide into or out of this "bottom ten" list depending on when you ask me.

That being said, here's my bottom ten for the moment, in order of air date...

50: The Whole Truth 1/20/1961 2 - 14
94: Four O'Clock 4/6/1962 3 - 29
97: The Gift 4/27/1962 3 - 32
112: No Time Like the Past 3/7/1963 4 - 10
114: I Dream of Genie 3/21/1963 4 - 12
128: Uncle Simon 11/15/1963 5 - 8
140: From Agnes - With Love 2/14/1964 5 - 20
144: What's in the Box 3/13/1964 5 - 24
147: Sounds and Silences 4/3/1964 5 - 27
153: The Brain Center at Whipple's 5/15/1964 5 - 33

Note:
A popular inclusion on these lists seems to be...

138: Black Leather Jackets 1/31/1964 2628 5 - 18

I can't and won't deny that in terms of story quality, speaking objectively, it's a weak episode -- silly stuff, and portions of it don't make any sense. That being said, I've got a soft spot for certain aspects of it -- the campy/absurd concept, the music, the aliens vs. suburbia dynamic -- to the extent that I feel too much affection for it to condemn it too harshly. Handled a bit differently, it could have been a great episode as opposed to the goofy misfire it became.

-Bookman

No arguments with "The Parallel", "The Mighty Casey" or "Queen of the Nile" as very low-ranking stuff.

"Still Valley" and "The Long Morrow" both fall somewhere in the middle ground for me -- not especially good episodes, but not so bad that I'd rank them among the very worst of the series.

"The Grave" and "The Mirror", rather like "Black Leather Jackets", are somewhat poorly executed episodes that had the potential to be a lot better. "The Grave" in particular could have been great with a few tweaks, though the female lead's performance is grating and the talky, laboured ending squanders much of the story's promise.

Including "The Masks", "The Odyssey of Flight 33" and "The Jungle" in a list like this puzzles me. The first two are justifiably well-regarded for many reasons covered elsewhere, and while "The Jungle" is only a so-so script and concept, the acting and direction make it one of my favourites.

-Bookman

In no order

Young Man's Fancy
Queen of the Nile
The parallel
The Long Morrow
The Brain Center at Whipples
Passage On The Lady Anne
The Bard
The Bewitchin' Pool
Dead Man's Shoes


#156.....MUTE!!!! I HATE MUTE

I'm sure there is one or two others I dislike more then some I put up here, but I'm to lazy to go through my companion right now

Please tell me that's a typo.

Get the eff outta here! Are you serious?

Probably not.

Please tell me that's a typo.

Like I said, I don't really remember a lot of episodes in full, I just remember the guy jumping through a window because he didn't wanna go to sleep. Maybe this gave birth to Nightmare On Elm Street, and if so, props times 1000 for that, but it just didn't grab me. I'll watch it again later.

Get the eff outta here! Are you serious?

It went downhill for me with the music, I can only take it so much. if it makes you feel any better, I USE to like it. So back at ya

Probably not.

Major, allow me......

Get the eff outta here! Are you serious?

It went downhill for me with the music, I can only take it so much. if it makes you feel any better, I USE to like it. So back at ya

The music is like the BEST part! Shame on you!

Probably not.

Major, allow me......

So instead of a 40+ year old making a mean face at me, I get a 15 year old's instead?

I had no reason to make a mean face at you. My actual reason for saying what I did was that I thought this topic had already been done before.

Probably not.

Major, allow me......

So instead of a 40+ year old making a mean face at me, I get a 15 year old's instead?

So that would make me about 10 when I first started coming to the old board....nice..works for me

Including "The Masks", "The Odyssey of Flight 33" and "The Jungle" in a list like this puzzles me. The first two are justifiably well-regarded for many reasons covered elsewhere, and while "The Jungle" is only a so-so script and concept, the acting and direction make it one of my favourites.

-Bookman

Find my opinions in the episode threads. Quick summery:

The Masks: The script consisted of five people verbalizing their traits, combined with bad acting and an obvious and poorly conceived ending.

The Odyssey of Flight 33: A few people spewing technical jargon and look totally unsuprised at the sight of a dinosaur.

The Jungle: The plot was thinner than a supermodel.

Where do you get that idea? One crew member seemed surprised when he said "Captain, Verify something for me will you and quick". Another seemed to be in disbelief when he said "What in the name of everything holy is going on?"

Captain Farver did in fact take a glance and while he may not have looked or acted surprised, You have to remember that he was the pilot and while the sight of the dinosaur may have been a shock to him, He had to remain calm and rational for the safety of the passengers and crew which is something he did throughout the entire episode.

I'll try to be as meritocratic as possible:

156th) "Come Wander With Me" - So badly scripted as to be all but incoherent. Floyd Burney as played by Gary Crosby is an irritating windbag who can do little more than repulse.

155th) "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville" - Uncreative vision, far short of being delivered. Salmi as the old Feathersmith is vexing and is even more so as the young Feathersmith. Julie Newmar makes a sexy devil, but her performance is chockfull of affectations and her inflection is all over the place. Script is padded and full of contrivance, too.

154th) "From Agnes - With Love" - Nothing wrong with being dork, but Wally Cox's James Elwood takes dorkiness beyond reasonable boundaries. The low-techness of Agnes is a source of unintentional hilarity.

153rd) "Cavender Is Coming" - Totally not funny. Didn't Serling learn the first time around from "Mr. Bevis"? The scene with the bus driver jumping out the window is legendary for all the wrong reasons.

152nd) "The Gift" - Preachy claptrap. The little boy and the alien are laughably wooden.

151st) "A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain" - Boooooooring. Plus, the ending is probably the most miserable I've ever seen. My hunch is that was removed from syndication because of how it portrayed physicians in a negative light.

150th) "Uncle Simon" - The funny dialogue is completely wasted here. I'd have thought Sir Cedric Hardwicke would be too dignified to waste his time with such fluff.

149th) "Caesar and Me" - When you plagiarize something that is already derivative, you're armpit-deep in the you-know-what.

148th) "Sounds and Silences" - As childish and asinine as anything shown on TV today. That Zicree only comments on its being removed from syndication ought to tell you something.

147th) "The Mirror" - Falk is less than impressive here; moreover, if you can't see the ending five minutes in, you deserve to be laughed right out of the Cafe.

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS (weaklings that barely got a reprieve): "Black Leather Jackets", "The Encounter", "I Dream of Genie", "Ninety Years Without Slumbering", "Once Upon a Time", "Showdown With Rance McGrew", "The Whole Truth"

I had no reason to make a mean face at you. My actual reason for saying what I did was that I thought this topic had already been done before.

I thought it was done before too...

I thought it was done before too...

This rings a bell, but I can't find it in the Classic TZ Forum. Maybe I'm just missing it.

No particular order.

It's A Good Life
The Howling Man
Queen Of The Nile
Spur Of The Moment
The Last Night Of A Jockey
The Dummy
Caesar And Me
Living Doll
Ninety Years Without Slumbering
Jess-Belle

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to make a hasty exit if I want to avoid the hail of flaming arrows and rotten tomatos that will inevitably come my way because of some of my choices!

I notice this one pops up on a lot of people's lists. I didn't think it was altogether terrible, and I know 1 character doesn't necesarilly save an episode, but Ed Wynn manages to provide some semblance here. I can think of worse episodes.

Why is it that you don't like it?

It was AWFUL, that's why! The first time I saw it, when it was over, I said, "Well, THAT sucked."

Oh. Well, ok.

Best reasoning ever.

The Gift
Cavender is Coming
From Agnes- With Love
Come Wander With Me
Mute
Sounds and Silence
The Bewitchin' Pool
The Whole Truth
I Dream of Genie
The Encounter

Best reasoning ever.

agreed

***SPOILER***

Characters analyzing themselves for our benefit can be grating -- see Serling's "The Fear" for an especially annoying example -- but the device didn't strike me as a bad thing here for the most part since a) there was a compelling in-story reason to exlore the topic; and one of the characters was specifically coaxing this stuff out of them as opposed to the characters spontaneously offering up this stuff.

Broad acting in this one for the most part, I'll give you that, but not enough to spoil my overall enjoyment (especially with such intentionally caricaturish characters).

As for the ending, while I expected something like it (i.e. perhaps the masks wouldn't come off), I didn't anticipate their exact fate; and both the masks themselves and the makeup beneath them were nice pieces of craftsmanship. The twist worked for me.

Different strokes -- a little technical jargon isn't enough to scare me off (perhaps my devotion to the first three Star Trek series cultivated that sensibility); and the dinosaur reaction wasn't so bad, though the dinosaur itself is for me both the best and the weakest moment in the show -- it's a great twist, but the stop-motion execution of the shot doesn't fully convince a modern viewer.

[shrug] Story itself unremarkable, as I said -- but however slim the concept might be, the lead actor and the director sell it like crazy.

-Bookman