User Reviews

Joanna Cassidy stars in this surprisingly suspenseful tale of a resident boogeyman called "the lonely one" who seems to be considered responsible for murdering single women at night, so it is encouraged for all the females not attached to be in their homes at a certain time. Cassidy stubbornly refuses to abide by the rules but her decision to walk home late one night through a ravine (a path of multi-leveled steps leads off the neighborhood sidewalks into it) could be quite dangerous on her part while her best friends (played by Sheila McCarthy and Maggie Harper) constantly request her to stay home with them instead of brave the great unknown alone to her own house. What this little tale does well is produce the chilling quality of being alone at night while on the way home without others walking along side you. The mystery of who the killer is makes even a seemingly helpful police officer potentially the 'lonely one'. The lovely redheaded Cassidy is a nice choice for the lead as she is more than capable in showing a woman who appears to be unafraid and courageous but harbors a lurking fear that soon surfaces when it could be too late to receive assistance from others willing to offer it earlier. The established fear in the town, particularly the women, is well executed…it is all too obvious that the killer has produced a shockwave that has left the female community on edge. Superb use of lemonade in a glass to ring the bell that the killer is in the midst. Excellent nighttime sequences and a funny cinema scare really hit a home run that "The Lonely One" knows how to develop chills. Solid episode of The Ray Bradbury Theater is simply plotted but directed well thanks to an all too real scenario plausible if you just think of the recent discoveries of bodies in Long Island…even in the smallest, less ominous towns a killer (or killers) dwells.

The discovery of a woman's body at the bottom of the ravine during the day, two old ladies questioning the sanity of Cassidy in her insistence on going to the night show at the movies, rustling in the distance and all around as all three lady friends walk home, and the emergence of a cop willing to walk with Cassidy all really build upon the denouement which amusingly states that even in the comforts of home may not be enough to escape.

Don't you think it somewhat odd that an unknown serial killer gets nicknamed 'The Lonely One'? Kind of makes you want to feel sorry for the guy, doesn't it? Like if he wasn't lonely, he wouldn't go around murdering women in the dark of night, would he?

The story does a fairly good job of building suspense after Francine (Sheila McCarthy) and Helen (Maggie Harper) make it safely home following an evening at the movies with their friend Lavinia (Joanna Cassidy). I thought Lavinia overdid it with her rebuke of the danger involved by walking home after dark, to the point of making fun of her associates. The tension ratchets up when she passes through that ravine with its winding staircases, when earlier in the story it was mentioned there was a safer way to walk even if it was a little longer. Probably better lit too. A little hook is thrown in with Officer Kennedy (Stephen O'Rourke), making it seem like he could be the Lonely One, but that was just a red herring.

What Lavinia should have done was take the soda shop clerk's (Peter Rowley) warning that an unidentified man was asking about her earlier in the day. Was he the Lonely One? The ending allows you to draw your own conclusions as to his identity, though not the identity of his next victim.

The only reason it isn't a perfect 10 is that I didn't like that the main character's needless, almost for show bravery didn't backfire. Really her (alluded to at least) demise is in a manner that could've happened to her no matter what, maybe had she made a point of leaving her window open or been asked by her friend "Shouldn't you lock your window?" & waived it off, it would've been more ironic. Maybe that is the point in that she was intentionally tempting fate in so many other ways that ultimately it was a simple hurried mistake that did her in.

I disagree with the other review's suspicion of Officer Kennedy being the killer, I think he was meant to be a red herring so that Lavinia's trip through her short-cut would have it's maximum suspense. I believe the idea was that we were supposed to feel at ease for Lavinia after she had survived the ravine where a body had been found earlier.

All in all a great episode, very much your classic suspense story, very Hitchcockian. Joanna Cassidy is flawless as Lavinia.

This episode conjures up more tension than most. We have a serial killer called "The Lonely One" preying on women and three women friends with differing reactions to the danger.

Lavinia (played by Joanna Cassidy) is going to watch a movie with a couple of friends. Having picked up one friend, Francine (played by Sheila McCarthy) they go to fetch friend number three. On their way through a short cut, Lavinia and Francine discover the killer's latest victim.

Under normal circumstances, this would put paid to the movie but Lavinia is beyond stupid and as we find out, though her two friends are terrified at the possibility of being the next victim, both are bullied into stupidity at least equalling Lavinia's.

Lavinia's limitless stupidity is further displayed when the trio of friends are told that a stranger in town has been asking about Lavinia. Lavinia's friends demand that they skip the movie and go straight home as she is the most beautiful woman in town and an "obvious" next target. Yet again, she brow beats her friends into watching the movie and also taking the dangerous short cut back home.

Lavinia refuses offers by both pals to spend the night with them, and on her way home alone, tells a cop that she wouldn't let ANY man escort her back home. The remainder of the episode builds up Lavinia's fear, which reduces when she thinks that she is safe, once through her front door. Then she spots the glass of lemonade she'd left has been drunk and we're left believing the serial killer has been waiting for her, inside her house.

Though the main character's idiotic attitude towards danger might seem over the top/unreal, it's not that unrealistic as many victims of serial killers have obviously not sensed the danger they are in, i.e "It'll never happen to me." or "I'd like to see him try!" thus Lavinia tells her friends that if she is the intended next victim, so be it and that it might even be a lot of fun, as if it were a joke, even though she knew the latest victim.

"The Lonely One" is better-directed than most of the episodes of this show. As another reviewer observes, the director, Ian Mune, captures a glimpse of small-American-town everyday life, and there are some atmospheric scenes (particularly the night crossing through the ravine), with good use of off-screen sounds. Joanna Cassidy gives a strong performance - probably one of the strongest in the history of the show. But the ending is - once again - not there. There is no twist regarding "The Lonely One"'s identity, there are no revelations to explain Cassidy's recklessness in the face of danger. The episode just ends before the story is finished, as if it had run out of time. Perhaps it could be continued in a sequel, called "The Lonely One Two". See what I did there? ** out of 4.