Burgess Meredith sure knew how to pick his spots, or at least have Rod Serling pick them for him. This was his fourth Twilight Zone appearance, and at least a couple of them were Top Ten contenders (#1.8 - Time Enough at Last and #2.29 - The Obsolete Man). Sure, he had a clunker as well with #2.19 - Mr. Dingle the Strong, but everyone's entitled to a mistake now and then. You have to get a kick out of his character here. He's one of the all time great devils in disguise, and as a newspaper reporter, when he writes the news, he REALLY writes the news.
I don't know when he first used the gesture, but how many times have you seen Meredith go for the finger to the nose gimmick. I'm pretty sure he pulled it off at least a couple of times in the 'Rocky' pictures. Then there's the neat Jeff Myrtlebank trick with the fingertip cigar lighter. I can overlook the lack of originality on that one because it was just plain cool.
What might have been the best thing about this episode was the way Douglas Winter (Robert Sterling) was given the opportunity to write his own twist ending. Taking the matter into his own hands as it were, he manages to render his contract with the printer's devil null and void. Managing to beat the clock and Mr. Smith's deadline, editor Winter got the scoop when it counted, just in time to make the first edition in the far reaches of the Twilight Zone.
I don't know when he first used the gesture, but how many times have you seen Meredith go for the finger to the nose gimmick. I'm pretty sure he pulled it off at least a couple of times in the 'Rocky' pictures. Then there's the neat Jeff Myrtlebank trick with the fingertip cigar lighter. I can overlook the lack of originality on that one because it was just plain cool.
What might have been the best thing about this episode was the way Douglas Winter (Robert Sterling) was given the opportunity to write his own twist ending. Taking the matter into his own hands as it were, he manages to render his contract with the printer's devil null and void. Managing to beat the clock and Mr. Smith's deadline, editor Winter got the scoop when it counted, just in time to make the first edition in the far reaches of the Twilight Zone.