Another of the best episodes from the first series, with a story that keeps you guessing until the very end, and also with an ending that doesn’t feel contrived or particularly downbeat.
As always, the episode is well constructed, with Marsha White coming into a department store to do some shopping. She is taken to the top floor, which she discovers is completely desolate. Her confusion continues when she is served by the one woman on the floor, and taken to the one item on the floor for sale, a thimble which is exactly what she is looking for. As the episode unwinds further and she descends to gain a refund for her ‘damaged’ product, she begins to see mannequins that have an uncanny likeness to people she has seen around the store.
The confusion and tension rises throughout the episode, as not only Marsha but the viewers try to ascertain what is happening, and why she appears to be losing her mind (a common theme on the Twilight Zone). When the conclusion is reached, rather than a nasty surprise, we are confronted by the twist of the story, which is accepted placidly by all concerned. Whether you enjoy the closing act is probably up to the individual, but as a story I enjoy it as well as the gradual build to the conclusion.
Rating: Plastic fantastic. 5/5
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