episode #24, segment 1: A Day in Beaumont

#24a: A DAY IN BEAUMONT written by David Gerrold; Directed by Jeannot Szwarc
I'll admit to a certain personal preference for an episode such as this because I'm very fond of the era it quite slavishly attempts to emulate: the golden age of science fiction in the fifties. Yes, this segment is an all-out homage to those sci-fi films of the fifties decade - blatant, unsubtle and rather wonderful. All those goofy plots involving alien invaders - many of which took place in the desert regions - are reconstructed in about 15 minutes of retro cinematic fantastik.
The plot should come as no surprise: it's Wednesday, 1955; a young couple in their  automobile, on the road out in the desert, witness what looks like a flaming saucer go in for a rough landing behind a hill. The man (Victor Garber) wants to investigate; the woman (Stacey Nelkin) is frightened. The aliens look like humanoid females from the neck down (dressed in space suits, of course); but, from the neck up, they're strictly insectoid. The couple is spotted and high-tail it to town, the town of Beaumont. Thereafter, this resembles films such as Invaders From Mars, as the town's inhabitants are probably not as normal as they appear to be.
Now, keep in mind, this is a Zone episode, so there is a final twist in the end. The episode was written by David Gerrold, who also wrote The Trouble With Tribbles on TOS, so there is an amusing tone throughout. There are numerous in-jokes, beginning with the title itself (Charles Beaumont, famed writer of several old TZ episodes). The cast includes a few iconic faces from the fifties: Ken Tobey, John Agar, Jeff Morrow and Warren Stevens (Forbidden Planet and the TOS episode By Any Other Name). A couple of these actors also appeared in episodes of the old TZ show, written by... Charles Beaumont. BoG's Score: 7.5 out of 10
try watching it here:
http://ganjavideo.com/watch/the-twilight-zone-1e24-a-day-in-beaumontthe-last-defender-of-camelot_18847.html