"The Thirty-Fathom Grave" is an atmospherically rich tale in which mysterious pounding noises from a sunken submarine are detected by a passing US naval vessel. As it turns out, onboard the naval ship is the lone surviving member of the crew of that sub. Plagued by creepy visions of his dead comrades sopping wet and beckoning him to join them, one cannot help but feel for the tormented character in this very well shot episode that ends with an effectively eerie revelation.
So why does it ultimately fail?
Quite frankly, because there just isn't enough story here to sustain the episode's momentum over the course of an hour. After starting off with a promising first act, the pace quickly begins to bog down to the point where the character of a young naval diver has to fill air time by making descent after monotonous descent to check out the wrecked sub. One other problem is the question of why the ghostly crew are so determined that their comrade should re-join them at the bottom of the ocean? Afterall, he didn't cause their deaths, and since the ending pretty clearly indicates that the phantoms are not just hallucinations, it becomes even harder to understand why they would be so determined to drive this guy to take his own life.
Had it been told at the usual "Twilight Zone" episode length of 30 minutes, this could well have been one the best such tales of the entire series, perhaps attaining the same standout status as did other classic episodes like "The Invaders" and "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet." Unfortunately, "Thirty-Fathom Grave" just drifts along before ultimately sinking due to it's own bloated length.
So why does it ultimately fail?
Quite frankly, because there just isn't enough story here to sustain the episode's momentum over the course of an hour. After starting off with a promising first act, the pace quickly begins to bog down to the point where the character of a young naval diver has to fill air time by making descent after monotonous descent to check out the wrecked sub. One other problem is the question of why the ghostly crew are so determined that their comrade should re-join them at the bottom of the ocean? Afterall, he didn't cause their deaths, and since the ending pretty clearly indicates that the phantoms are not just hallucinations, it becomes even harder to understand why they would be so determined to drive this guy to take his own life.
Had it been told at the usual "Twilight Zone" episode length of 30 minutes, this could well have been one the best such tales of the entire series, perhaps attaining the same standout status as did other classic episodes like "The Invaders" and "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet." Unfortunately, "Thirty-Fathom Grave" just drifts along before ultimately sinking due to it's own bloated length.