Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S3 E37: The Changing of the Guard

Revisiting The Twilight Zone: S3 E37: The Changing of the Guard

Ahhhh... a Twilight Zone Christmas story. Well, perhaps once again this is a stretch to be a Twilight Zone story again, but it's a nice enough tale, and very sensitively and well acted by Donald Pleasance as Professor Ellis Fowler, a man who has been teaching for fifty years, and has just been informed that he has been effectively forced into retirement.
Fowler moves towards a very rushed and inevitable conclusion, but is moved away from this by the sound of the school bell ringing in the distance.

As much as I enjoy this episode, and the way it is written and performed, it is not one I truly consider to be a Twilight Zone. There is no real twist, the story lays itself out as you would expect. But that doesn't make it a bad episode by any stretch. I think Donald Pleasance is just fantastic here, and the mood of the episode is one that holds you in its stead throughout.

Rating:   A Christmas Carol.  4/5.