Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S1 E17: The Fever

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S1 E17: The Fever

This is an ugly episode, in that it doesn’t leave any goodwill at the end of the episode like most of the Twilight Zone does. The fact that a couple turn up in Vegas and then 24 hours later one is dead doesn’t really engender to a happy place.

Of course, the moral to the story is clear. Gambling is an addiction, and it can and does destroy people. And utilising what Franklin Gibbs believes is a possessed poker machine, which is deliberately forcing him to inject all of his money is a reasonable way of bringing this to the fore. The blurring line between what Gibbs sees as reality and what everyone else sees as reality is what makes this so well done.

In the long run though, it doesn’t grab me as one of the better episodes. Cleverly done, yes. Presents a moral dilemma, yes. A good episode? Meh.

Rating: Taking on the one armed bandit. 3/5