Serling was never one to try shy away from religious themes, and this is an example of such. It's not so much a science fiction story as a veiled retelling of the story of Christ: a mild-mannered man comes to Earth to bring a message of peace, but, instead, he is seen as a threat and killed, with a crowd calling for his death. One character is even called Judas for betraying his whereabouts to authorities. It's fascinating to see, as you watch this and other episodes of the Twilight Zone, just how much faith Serling put into religion and belief in God. One has to wonder what he would have been inspired to write today in the face of so many religious fundamentalists -- of a variety of religions -- with messages of hate and intolerance. This is also an interesting episode for featuring Paul Mazursky, who went on to become a well-known director and screenplay writer, wonderful character actor Cliff Osmond, and young Edmund Vargas with the most soulful eyes ever (whatever happened to him?).
Review of The Gift
