"Nick of Time", Poll and discussion topic

See next post for episode description. Originally aired November 18, 1960.

List of musical cues

This is the preferred thread for any and all of your "Nick Of Time" posts--facts, opinions, questions, speculations, and whatever else you can think of.* You can also give your opinion of the episode on a 1 to 10 scale, in the poll shown above.

Let the discussion begin!

*More specific instructions and suggestions about posting questions/comments related to this episode are located here.

This was the only TZ episode that I ever reviewed for the main Fifth Dimension site. That review is not yet accessible to me, but when it becomes so, I'll probably copy and paste it into my blog at myspace.com, then post a link to it here.

By the way, this is the one where Don and Pat Carter (William Shatner and Pat Breslin) get stuck in Ridgeview, Ohio while traveling on their honeymoon, and encounter a fortune-telling napkin machine that may or may not have genuine supernatural powers. One of my favorites. Uniquely suspenseful without being a horror episode per se. The acting and dialogue are wonderful in my opinion. And pay attention to that counterman!

don't care for the story, but shatner is great in it.

I absolutely love this episode!
Shatner is the king!!

Always been one of my top favorites. Very believable dialogue and acting, given the situation. Classic.

an easy 10 for me.

One of the good ones; an 8 for me! I especially like the line, "Bread and butter," Shatner says before walkting through the streetlight. What the hell does that mean, anyway?

It's a superstitious response when an object comes between you and your sweetheart. If she were playing along she would have responded, "come to supper". I'm not exactly sure why he said it since he avoided being separated from her by the streetlight.

Hmmm. Thank you for explaining that to me.

The "bread and butter" routine also occurs in "The Incredible World of Horace Ford" each title Horace goes back to Randolph Street. I think it's in another episode as well, but if so, I can't remember it right now.

"Kick The Can." Ben used to say "bread and butter" when he was a kid.

It would seem that this superstition is nowhere near as common as it once was. Without "The Twilight Zone," I would never have heard of it.

I love this ep. "10" Mystic Seers are all over the TZTOT ride at MGM

It is possible.

Leen

I'm gonna try to snatch one when I go there next time...

A good episode, I like it.

Solid, above average episode. Gave it a 7.

Glad to know what that "bread and butter" deal was all about....

Great episode. The chemistry between Shatner and Breslin is utterly believable, as is Shatner's utter faith in the Mystic Seer. Wonderful ending.

10/10

Good episode. I really like the young Shatner in this one. He doesn't suffer from his trademark quirkiness here. Instead he portrays a seriously superstitious newlywed.

The way he kisses his lucky rabbit's foot before taking a chance on leaving the restaurant early is a nice touch. It reinforces his obsession with the penny mystic seer that occurs later on in the episode.

The ending is rewarding.

Here it is: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...=20050502182851.

And here's the real life Don Carter of St. Louis (although, as you can see, he had moved to Florida by 1990, when this card was issued):

http://www.leggnet.com/images/pba/pba69a.jpg
http://www.leggnet.com/images/pba/pba69b.jpg

If some of Carter's statistics look a little skimpy, that's because the PBA tour didn't start until 1959, and as you can see, Carter had many of his best years before that. Most, if not all, of those years were spent with the Budweisers of St. Louis in the golden age of team bowling. Dick Weber was his teammate with the Budweisers and lasted longer (Carter retired early), but even Weber wasn't considered as dominant as Carter. Carter had six Bowler Of The Year seasons to Weber's three. In 1970, Carter was voted the greatest bowler ever.

Had the Twilight Zone people heard of Don Carter? It seems unlikely to me that they wouldn't have; my understanding is that bowling was pretty big in those years. But then, why would they have risked making it more difficult for some viewers to suspend their disbelief? I...don't...know!

In Matheson's original script, by the way, Don and Pat Carter were from Los Angeles, not St. Louis, and the diner where they stopped was in Ridgeville (not Ridgeview), Arizona. Instead of asking "Will we reach Columbus by tomorrow?", Pat asks the machine, "Will we reach El Paso by tomorrow?" Proof positive that more than one road passes through...the Twilight Zone.

Not only that, but Carter was arguably the best known bowler of the TZ era. I observed the identical name of the character as soon as it was used in the episode's premiere, but I always chalked it up to the coincidence of a common name. It wasn't until just now that I realized that both the bowler and the character come from St. Louis. That's a great catch, JBWB, and although I still think Matheson's use of the name in the original script is a coincidence, someone (Matheson himself?) may have made the script changes with the bowler in mind.

i love this episode too its great too watch

i never tire of this episode. the acting is great and i love this story.
**possible spoilers***






don is one lucky guy to have found a strong woman like pat. i like what she says about making a wonderful life by the choices they make and not what the mystic seer 'tells' them.

that poor couple who are chained to the seer.. where are they living? where are they working? i love that they ask the seer if it is okay to ask more questions now. it seems like the seer tires of answering questions.
"crazy!!!"

Okay let's speculate.

I say this couple was just passing thru. Perhaps it was time to stop for food and then drive, stop for food and then drive, stop for food..., but I digress. You get the idea. Buy gasoline, go for a pit stop.

They just got hooked like Don did but haven't yet found the strength to be free of it. My guess is they are staying at the local hotel, but the money has got to be running out soon!

yea the acting is the best

10
Of the two Shatner episodes, this is hands down the preferred one for me.

There was a triivia quiz in this week's TVGuide. So I thought maybe Zone would be featured and sure enough:

"18. In a classic Twilight Zone episode, William Shatner played a man who discovered a box could do somthing magical. What was the feat?

A. Make him invisible
B. Predict the future
C. Provide great wealth
D. Improve his acting"

Now although true fans would have no problem with this I found "D" pretty funny.

That's pretty funny Leen! Bill's acting just got better and better once Star Trek came along lol. I loved every minute of it!
I'm surprised I hadn't voted on this one...it is my favorite season 2 episode, so a '10' from me.

i also saw this in tv guide, but i must of skipped over choice "d".. that is pretty funny!!!

im going to watch this episode again

Gave it a 10, acting great, story great, direction great, suspense eats you up til the very end, and you realize..that could happen to any one of us given the right time and place. Don and (Nancy???) got out just in time!

It's Don and Pat.

Thanks Don..uh I mean Dan!

Anyone notice that the title is multi-layered? First because Don and Pat got away in the nick of time, but also that an alias for Satan is Nick, and the fortune-telling machine is adorned with a devil's head.

Iron Maiden are you thinking of Satan or Santa Claus?

According to wikipedia, 'Old Nick' is a nickname for Satan whereas Santa Claus would be 'St. Nick'.

Also, "Satan" is an anagram of "Santa."

"Kick The Can." Ben used to say "bread and butter" when he was a kid.

It would seem that this superstition is nowhere near as common as it once was. Without "The Twilight Zone," I would never have heard of it.

Bread and butter is said several times in "The Incredible World Of Horace Ford"

Good episode! Gave it a 8 Felt sorry for the other couple in the end, I wonder if they ever got away?

"Kick The Can." Ben used to say "bread and butter" when he was a kid.

It would seem that this superstition is nowhere near as common as it once was. Without "The Twilight Zone," I would never have heard of it.

Bread and butter is said several times in "The Incredible World Of Horace Ford"

I'm getting a feeling of deja vu here...

Throughout the "Reality-Bound TZ Episodes" thread (click here to go there), there is discussion of whether "Nick Of Time" should be considered a fantasy or reality-bound episode. It has become particularly lively lately.