"The Changing of the Guard", Poll and discussion thread

As his career ends, an elderly prep-school English teacher (Donald Pleasence) questions whether his life has been worthwhile.
Originally aired June 1, 1962.

Full video of the episode on CBS.com

This is the preferred thread for any and all of your "The Changing of the Guard" 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.

"Am I to understand, Mr. Headmaster, that my contract is not to be renewed?"

If the series hadn't been renewed in the middle of the 1962-63 season, this would have been the last TZ episode ever. After watching this several times, I find it hard to believe that Serling didn't have at least a hint of that knowledge at the time he wrote this. Judge for yourself.

Anyway, one of my favorites, and an easy "10" for me. Of all of the Twilight Zone episodes, this one and "Walking Distance" have grown on me the most with time.

This is for those of us over 20:



A. E. Housman (1859�1936). A Shropshire Lad. 1896.

XIII. When I was one-and-twenty


WHEN I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say,
�Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;

Give pearls away and rubies 5
But keep your fancy free.�
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me.

When I was one-and-twenty
I heard him say again, 10
�The heart out of the bosom
Was never given in vain;
�Tis paid with sighs a plenty
And sold for endless rue.�
And I am two-and-twenty, 15
And oh, �tis true, �tis true.


By the By, I love this episode!! It never fails to choke me up.

Excellent Zone. Love it. Love the ending.

Snuggle up with your honey or you blankie while it's cold outside and enjoy. Followed by WTRMPSU and Night of the Meek.



How bout a cup of hot chocolate (No, Simon can stay home)



Leen's idea of a Christmas Zone mini marathon.

Wonderful and touchingly sentimental episode. A must for teachers of all kinds to watch.

http://www.leapinbass.com/zone/picture_pag...03/tz102-06.jpg

As a former high school math teacher, I most heartily agree. I never fail to be moved when Fowler learns how much of a difference he made in his students' lives, just as I've learned on a few occasions myself. I don't meet ghostly students, of course, but I have at times encountered them as appreciative adults. It's the perk of a teaching career that can't be calculated in dollars and cents.

A GREAT episode. In my top ten list. The first time I saw it, I almost cried at the end. *blush*

My cousin used to be a teacher, I think she would love it.

One of the real moving episodes for me. Donald Pleasance rules! I gave it a 9.5

Wow, how'd you do that?

after reading all of the above I feel like a jerk for "only" giving it an 8.

It was a little too mushy for me which is why I didn't rate it higher I guess.

probably my favorite episode of season 3.. this one gets me all teary eyed

i would like to think that we all make a difference in someone's life -even if we don't know it

-ag

Warm and fuzzy episode that leaves you with a warm and fuzzy feeling, so I gave it a warm and fuzzy 8

i didn't see this episode

This is another HIGHLY recommended episode, especially if you liked Donald Pleasance

This one is artificially sweet. It's difficult for me to watch.

This episode makes me cry too!

It doesn't make me cry; it raises my blood sugar level.

10
Yes, you can add me to the list of people who get teary-eyed while watching this episode.

This episode is very inspirational. Donald Pleasance is just great here. I've seen this one a number of times and it keeps getting better. A truly underrated Zone!

Goodbye Mr. Chips in the Twilight Zone. What's not to love here.

I saw a post on another board asking for the author of the qoute/poem recited by one of the first students to reappear in the Prof's classroom...contains the words ...pure and strong...I figured one of you guys would know!

Grace, the poem is "My Creed," by Howard Arnold Walter (1883-1918). It's only eight lines long, but powerful:

I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare.
I would be friend of all -- the foe, the friendless;
I would be giving, and forget the gift.
I would be humble, for I know my weakness;
I would look up -- and laugh -- and love -- and lift.

We hear the first four lines in the episode.

Do we know exactly who plays which boy? Zicree lists only "Boy #1" through "Boy #9." There's a convention in such cast credits that characters are numbered in the order of either speaking or appearance. Based only on that, here are my assumptions:

McTavish (Boy #1 -- "What's the matter with Old Weird Beard?"): Jimmy Baird
Halliday (Boy #2 -- "He was crying!"): Kevin Jones
Artie Beachcroft (Boy #3): Tom Lowell
Bartlett (Boy #4): Russell Horton
Dickie Weiss (Boy #5): Buddy Hart
Thompson (Boy #6): Darryl Richard
Rice (Boy #7): James Browning
Hudson (Boy #8): Pat Close
Whiting (Boy #9): Dennis Kerlee

I've taken the character name spellings from Anne Serling-Sutton's short story adaptation. Hence Artie Beachcroft and Archibald Beechcroft ("The Mind and the Matter") spell their names differently.

The photo of a present-day Tom Lowell posted today confirms he was Artie, and the prominence of Lowell, Horton, and Hart in the closing credits makes this list all the more likely to be right. I'll happily accept confirmation or correction.

Meet TOM LOWELL (Artie Beechcroft), costar of THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD, at the 2006 TWILIGHT ZONE CONVENTION. Go to www.tzconvention.com

a wonderful episode, but if professor fowler's hair was supposed to be gray, shouldn't the make-up artist have done the same thing with his facial hair?

What a weird beard!

Okay, this was a good, solid episode. I sympathized Professor Fowler and all that mush but my only pet peeve was that he was definitely irrational with his decision before running off from the house. He had a very successful career, nearly spotless but he lets his own emotions taint his personal opinion of himself and how he contributed to society. That is where it is strong with how he actually did contribute to society. Actually, what bothered me a little more was that basically the majority of his students went to war and, as noble as they were, stated that they learned bravery from him. In my personal opinion, bravery cannot be learned but is something that you are born with... a trait. I think that more of his students should have had more contributions relating to their studies but thats just me. Some of the students statements were repeated once maybe even twice when he's going down the line.

Touching though. I'm only 15 and I'm not going to be a teacher so I wouldn't appreciate this one as much but I still respect the episode and the message it conveys so well.


Paul Radin gives this: 9/10

P.S. Notice that this is only in my 3 Quartile in the favorites of season 3 thread but I rated this one according to its quality and not by my opinion.

Sry. I forgot to mention that my favorite line in this one is, "Well, I've learned that a man should really read his mail." or something along those lines. It's just how he delivers it that makes it so great and humorous if you ask me. I guess that kind of says a lot about my personal liking of this episode hehe.

great observations paul, however.. (please don't take personnaly, just keeping the discussion going )

that is the point. when fowler is asked to retire, his opinion of himself changes. teaching was his life and without it he feels useless and then it turns into "i've wasted my life with this career which doesn't want me anymore".

bravery might not have be learned, but in times when bravery was needed the boys remembered fowler and his teachings and it helped them to be brave.

also, fowler was an english teacher, so through his teachings students learned life lessons which shaped the person they were to become, and helped them to make life altering decisions.

For the record Adam, I don't find your post offensive in any way, shape, or form. I think its okay to have a disagreement or unique opinion every once and a while.

You are probably correct there, I think I just missed the implication.

I actually got that point in the episode but I just kind of thought that it was rather... like bs for lack of a better term. I haven't been in those situations those students were in but I just don't know.

I'm glad you said that, Paul. It's an opportunity for me to say that, for these reasons, this scene used to seem very repetitive to me. Then I realized that, for the most part, the quotations and ideals which the students mentioned as having been inspirational to them (and no doubt had been) also fit Fowler's current situation very well. (A situation that required courage; a situation in which he seemed not to remember that there were those who cared about him, that no man is an island, etc.) They even cover Fowler's question about why the bell was ringing, don't they? ("...and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.") So there's a lot going on in that scene. It all doesn't seem very coincidental to me, any more than the Christmas carol chosen for the end of the episode seems coincidental.

Some people, no doubt, are less fearful than others as a natural part of their personality. But to the degree that our thoughts influence our emotions, and both our thoughts and emotions influence our actions, I think courage and other traits can be learned (or unlearned).

i gave it 8 its a good episode interesting to see how someone would want to end their life but choose not to at the end

How is it that I can listen to Pleasence deliver his "I gave them nothing" soliloquy and be mesmerized but I can't listen to James Daly deliver his about 'not being cut out for the competitive world' without feeling the urge to light my TV on fire?

I can't put my finger on it...

Try this: Gart Williams can still make something desirable out of his life, if he can only refocus and stand up to his wife and superiors. Ellis Fowler, on the other hand, has his entire career now behind him. Fifty-one years now appear to be wasted, and there's really not much he can do to rectify the situation without help.* As we hear Fowler's speech, we can empathize with him and not see it as mere self-pity.

Also, don't underestimate the power of musical underscoring. Although TCOTG uses only stock cues, they were very well chosen to plant just the right emotions into the minds and hearts of the viewers. Strip Fowler's speech of its accompaniment, and the viewer's emotions can't be stirred nearly as much.


* If this hadn't been TZ, such help might have come in the way of a grand retirement party attended by dozens of his living former students. For a modern example, think of Mr. Holland's Opus.

Cause you're a Janie lover!

Ahyukhyuk!

BTW, I said no such thing.

Wow Leen. Way to exclude me from the Janie lovers club.

Great episode. One of the best. i cant believe I didn't vote for this one, but I love Donald Pleasence...he was a great actor. I'll give it a 9

I really loved this one! I saw it for the first time during this New Year's marathon. It's really great, really moving. It reminded me a lot of "It's A Wonderful Life", which is another movie I love. I think it'd be great in life if we could all have moments like that, where we actually get to see first hand all the people we've touched, or the differences we've made, because I'm betting that most everyone would have a decent amount of people they helped out. We tend to underplay what we do for others, or the little things we may have done that can make a huge difference.

Oh yeah, and again as I said, since to me this episode seemed a cross between "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Mr. Holland's Opus"...yeah I pretty much cried at it.

Angela wrote:

Hmmm.... So, everyone would have 15 minutes of appreciation along with their 15 minutes of fame, eh?
I like that idea.