Once again, but not very surprising, I'm in a minority for loving an TZ-episode that receives overall low rating and negative reviews. Can't help it, but I have a weakness for episodes in which the lead character is utterly bonkers, megalomaniacal, and hyperactive... And preferably all three at the same time! Roswell G. Flemington, as grotesquely depicted by John McGiver, is definitely a member of the unique "Twilight Zone" loony bin squad, together with other freaks like Oliver Crangle ("Four O'Clock"), Somerset Frisby ("Hocus Pocus and Frisby"), and McNulty ("A Kind of Stopwatch"). I reckon most viewers can't stand them, but I love 'em!
Mr. Flemington has more than one mental issue, to say the least. He's the founder and manager of a company that fabricates model ships, but he also acts and commands as if he's the captain of a large vessel! He exclusively uses shipping and navigation slang, and he yells to his employees and wife as if they were slaves on either a trading vessel or a battleship at war. If that isn't cuckoo enough, Flemington is also unendurably loud. He doesn't talk but shouts, and he only plays records with noises (like artillery or boat engines) at maximum volume. His - strangely comprehensible - reason for this is apparently because his mommy was chronically ill and forced him to whisper his entire childhood.
This man is delightfully insane, I love it. The "plot" of the tale, and Flemington's further descent into madness is rather mundane and predictable, but I'm nevertheless rewarding this episode with a solid 7/10 even if it were only for the anti-hero's twisted monologues and McGiver's straitjacket-performance.
*Note: the subject line of this user-comments doesn't have a real significance, it's just that the episode's title reminds me of Simon & Garfunkel's hit "Sound of Silence".
Mr. Flemington has more than one mental issue, to say the least. He's the founder and manager of a company that fabricates model ships, but he also acts and commands as if he's the captain of a large vessel! He exclusively uses shipping and navigation slang, and he yells to his employees and wife as if they were slaves on either a trading vessel or a battleship at war. If that isn't cuckoo enough, Flemington is also unendurably loud. He doesn't talk but shouts, and he only plays records with noises (like artillery or boat engines) at maximum volume. His - strangely comprehensible - reason for this is apparently because his mommy was chronically ill and forced him to whisper his entire childhood.
This man is delightfully insane, I love it. The "plot" of the tale, and Flemington's further descent into madness is rather mundane and predictable, but I'm nevertheless rewarding this episode with a solid 7/10 even if it were only for the anti-hero's twisted monologues and McGiver's straitjacket-performance.
*Note: the subject line of this user-comments doesn't have a real significance, it's just that the episode's title reminds me of Simon & Garfunkel's hit "Sound of Silence".