episode #23 - A World of Difference

Air Date: 3/11/60 written by Richard Matheson Director: Ted Post
PLOT: a man (Howard Duff), completing another routine day of work at his office, suddenly finds himself on a movie set; in reality, he actually seems to be an actor, playing the role of an executive. Or is he?

This is one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes due to the premise and style - playing around with reality and presenting provocative questions on its true nature. I still remember when I watched Twilight Zone the Movie in the theater over 25 years ago. The first of the 4 main segments had the Vic Morrow character drawn into an alternate reality early on; the audience, obviously familiar with the old show, voiced their appreciation, knowing sort of what to expect due to seeing episodes such as this on TV years earlier.
This episode may be one of the most intriguing ones, on TV or film, possibly dealing with the concept of solipsism. Perhaps the only real portion of the entire episode is the Howard Duff character (Arthur or Gerry, whatever). Maybe nothing else is real in this episode. The only reality, as presented in this episode, is the individual; everything else is just a malleable whiff of fantasy, existing only as the individual sees fit - as long the individual is looking at it, only then does it exist. He looks one way, he sees an office; he looks another, then there's a movie set.
That theory enters the realm of quantum physics. One can also look at it from a more traditional, theistic view. Maybe the Duff character is some forgetful little god, creating the different realities (the traditional concept of a god is, after all, that of a creator), but some accident or something like senility has damaged his mind. Some of the better TZ episodes prompt this kind of wild speculation and that's why it's one of my favorite TV series.
In the end, the main character, in the guise of the more sane Arthur, appears to effect a kind of escape. This is one of the more common themes in literature and life - the escape from reality. It doesn't necessarily negate the theory of a godling - if you had the pressures of godhood, wouldn't you want to escape to a more benign existence at some point? - especially to escape the ultimate shrew of a wife (perhaps some demon or alien force)? BoG's Score: 9 out of 10