User Reviews

In this showcase for Shelley Berman, he is excellently cast as people-loathing, anti-social Archibald Beechcroft (what a great name), always annoyed at the "population boom" of his era, contending with squeezing into subway cars and elevators (on his way to his insurance office where he works) on a daily basis and tired of doing so. Archibald desperately wants to be alone and eliminate all people so he doesn't have to deal with them anymore…but doing so will ultimately not be as long-term satisfying as he might have expected. Still, Archibald tries, seeing that by the power of thought he can get rid of people and actually cause atmospheric changes, stop time, and cause things to move at will!

The premise of the power of the mind to remove what you despise and even create what you so desire is a novel concept, with the fantasy of The Twilight Zone looking at this through a realistic lens regarding how getting what you wish for encourages loneliness and dissatisfaction (because, ultimately, we need companionship if just because being alone has its disadvantages) even if, for a momentary spell, it seems ideal and pleasurable. Berman's ogre is a hoot; his decision to create a populace of himself produces a profound result that has him realizing how he looks to those around him. Serling's script has a knowing and clever reasoning behind its story: that while we might consider others an aggravation and nuisance, sometimes looking at ourselves in examination can certainly be sobering.

I can't remember where I heard that quote, but it's from some famous old author like Hemingway or Faulkner or, given the cynical hilarity of it, Mark Twain. At any rate, it is exactly this conviction that haunts poor Archibald Beechcroft, a man who can only be described, as one other IMDb user has called him, as a nasty old crank. He's bitter about life in general and the world around him, and has convinced himself that if he could only somehow get rid of every other in the world so he's the only one left, he would be ecstatically happy. I am always struck by the short-sightedness of the mindsets that start out a lot of twilight zone episodes and this one is no exception, obviously, but it ends up able to make a clever comment not only about human nature but also about that old saying about being careful what you wish, lest you get it. This seems to be among Serling's most cherished themes.

It is interesting how quickly the real supernatural element of the episode is overlooked in favor of concentrating on the moral. Beechcroft learns about the power of concentration, which apparently is so strong that, just by concentrating, one can control the world around him, even to the point of moving objects and making things disappear (like people). Almost immediately, he masters the power of concentration so completely that he is almost bored as he walks through his world able to bend every little thing to his whim.

It's strange that he arrives to work one day after having made every other person in the world disappear, and yet he can't think of anything better to do than wander around his tiny office, straightening staplers and peering around that single room, glad that finally everyone is gone and he is not being bothered and has, as they say, no deeds to do and no promises to keep. Wouldn't you want to at least go outside if suddenly you were the only person left on earth?

Soon he begins to lament being the only person, as is to be expected, and wishes that other people were around so he had something to do. How about a shopping spree? Why not go get a car and drive as fast as you want through town? On the wrong side of the street, even! Or go poke through other people's houses?

Interesting that one of the immediate responses to a show like this is what kinds of things it makes you think about yourself, about what you would do if you were the last person on earth. The answer to that tells a lot about who you are, I think!

But in that case, it seems that Archibald Beechcroft is not the most creative man. He has no personal interests, he has no creativity or imagination or outside interests. At the very least, he must hate reading in peace and quiet. So soon he wills the world to become full of people exactly like him, revealing the episode's second moral - about thinking about who you are and what kind of outward appearance you have. Apparently, he never realized how unpleasant he was, and needed a world full of himself to realize it.

Being 1961, we get a few shots of Shelley Berman, the actor, wearing different outfits to come off as different people, and a lot of other actors wearing astonishingly bad masks, I imagine which are supposed to look like him, and soon his lack of creativity bears it's head again and he just gives up and wishes the world back to normal.

Interesting episode in its moral implications and its suggestion about accepting the outside world as it is, although overall the episode, like it's main character ( and not the least reason for which must surely be time restrictions) seems to lack the creativity to really make full use of its premise.

Just an aside - - when I was a freshman in high school, a good 15 years ago, there was a kid in one of my classes named Ryan Beecroft. When I first glanced at his name on the roll sheet I thought it said Ryan Beachcraft, so I starting calling him Beachcraft and the name stuck, I don't think anyone at my school ever called him Ryan after that. Ryan if you read this, email me!

If I had to come up with one reason to recommend this episode, it would be to catch Shelley Berman as a Beechcroft woman on the elevator near the end of the show. Otherwise, this is one of those 'be careful what you wish for' stories that Rod Serling had a penchant for. Told along the same lines as Burgess Meredith's 'Time Enough At Last', Berman's character gets to the point where he manages to rid the world of people simply because he despises them. As he soon learns however, if people are bad, boredom is even worse, although I found that reaching that inescapable conclusion was reached way too soon. Gee, you think maybe Beechcroft could have taken a vacation, say a cruise around the world while everything just so happened to be on auto-pilot. There's a lot to be said for no one being in your way, no lines to stand on, no interruption while reading the newspaper or watching a movie. I think I could have parlayed a few weeks or months of down time into a meaningful exercise if given the opportunity. Here's what I have to wonder though - what about the guy who wrote the book - what was he concentrating on?

THE MIND AND THE MATTER is one of my ten favorite T.Z. episodes, along with Printer's Devil, Cavender is Missing, One for the Angels, To Serve Man, Next Stop is Willoughby, Time Enough at Last, Mr.Bevis, Big Tall Wish, A World of Difference, and Kick the Can. Most of the story has only one character, namely, an office worker who appears to be a low-level attorney or accountant. He is bothered by the constant chattering and noise in his work place, and irritated by being jostled every day in his train commute, and bothered by his landlady. One day, a younger co-worker introduces him to a book, purely out of friendship. The book provides techniques for making things happen, merely by concentrating. At first he is a skeptic, but then gives it a try, and is delighted when he can cause his landlady to vanish, cause commuters to vanish, and cause all of his co-workers to disappear. Then, the story discloses how the character, marvelously played by Shelley Berman, becomes progressively bored and even more irritated, when he has NOTHING TO DO at work (because all of his co-workers have vanished). The ending is a happy one, and predictable enough, where Berman wishes that things were just as they had been. People who have had the DISPLEASURE of working in an office with cubicles will especially like this story. Also, people who have had the DISPLEASURE of co-workers who frequently engage in noisy chit-chat, gossiping, or laughing while making shrieking noises, will also love this story.

Shelley Berman plays Archibald Beechcroft, a misanthropic loner who decides to make the world go away in 1961's "The Mind and the Matter." It seems Beechcroft can't tolerate all the different and repugnant (to him) personalities of the real world, at both his work and his home life. He discovers a magical book that shows him how to eliminate all these cultural oddities and turn everyone into who he considers the ideal person: himself. After performing the transformation and populating his world with clones of his miserable self, it doesn't take long for old Archie to realize the world was better off the way it was.

Nothing substantial or thought-provoking in this entry. Berman's performance is merely run-of-the-mill---as is the story. Although there's an underlining theme regarding prejudice and intolerance in our society, the point is too obvious and belabored to really hit home. Prolific TV and film director Buzz Kulik tries to keep the story moving but he has little to work with here. Berman has kept working throughout his career and can still be seen in recently released films ("The Fockers"). Lately, he's even showed up on "Hannah Montana" as Miley Cyrus' very patient dentist. He was certainly an innovative stand-up comic in his heyday, although you'd never know it from watching him in this episode.

It's hard to write a review about this episode *without* using spoilers, simply because there's not much to discuss: Beechcroft (who hates everybody) suddenly acquires the power to make everyone disappear. Then he's bored. So he brings back a population of Beechcroft clones. He realizes what a crank he is, so he brings things back to normal. The End.

Although the hour-long episodes are generally considered inferior, "The Mind and the Matter" might actually have benefited from having more time (and money) to play with--scenes of Beechcroft practicing his new ability, with varying degrees of success; some wild-and-crazy behavior that would eventually lead to boredom; a few more iterations of the "no more people" concept... As it is, the screenplay is more like a procession of bullet-points than a complete story.

Another reviewer took issue with Berman's performance and I must agree. He was certainly no actor, but still possessed strengths that weren't capitalized upon here. In a way, it's like having Curly Howard play Shakespeare. That would be a disaster, but putting Howard in a knockabout slapstick role results in a comedy classic.

Definitely a lesser episode.

Here is a rare episode of The Twilight Zone in that I seemed to like it far more than the average person. Usually, I think that most episodes are grossly overrated and hate that even the most mediocre or sub-par episodes have scores 8 and above. Here, however, we have one of the lowest rated episodes and I actually liked it--partly because of its bizarre sense of humor and partly because it has a bit to say about human nature.

Shelly Berman plays a horrible and miserable old sourpuss. Again and again, this misanthropic man complains to himself at how stupid everyone around him is. I liked watching him be a nasty old crank. But what I really liked was when this crank somehow managed to learn the power to change reality to whatever he wished. At first, he wanted to make everyone exactly like him--but a world filled with nasty old cranks is indeed a horrible nightmare!! However, it wasn't just this twist that I loved but I laughed my head off seeing Berman again and again playing different roles--including one of the most unattractive women in the history of television. This sight alone made the episode worth seeing for me.

See it for yourself and let me know what you think. I could easily be off base, but I really liked this one and can't see why it's been so disliked.

This episode was episode 27 of the 2nd Season. Perhaps that is why this was lacking. Usually later eps of any shows tend to be amiss. Perhaps the stories have to come quickly, with less time to ponder. Twilight Zone has sprinkled in hot comedians every so often. Perhaps to gain more of a draw. This episode came across more to me as a Shelley Berman comedy show. I would not be surprised if he did this for a nominal fee just to get his name recognized. In any event, like other posters pointed out, this was shabbily written. Man wishes to live alone yet a subway still works. I did not buy this episode for one moment. Was there a lesson in this episode? Absolutely and yes it was a good lesson that is timeless, as other more epic Twilight eps point out. This just was one of the low lights of TZ. Ironically as Larry Davids dad on CYE, Shelley Berman the octogenarian shines more than as a 30 something back in the 50s . I guess not every episode can be a winner.

The main character Archibald Beechcroft learns to use the power of mind over matter and all he can think of is how he can remove people, then populates the world with clones of himself after he gets bored and lonely. He could do so much more with his power but he is mostly obsessed about is his hatred for just about any living thing. No wonder he can't get along with himself. He's grumpy and dissatisfied with everything. I think his grumpiness must somehow inhibit his imagination and what he could possibly do with his mind..

The presence of Shelly Berman in this late season two episode of "The Twilight Zone" indicates that this is going to be another one of their comical ones, serious in theme, but humorous in mood. The crowded morning and evening subway rides, packed elevators un-coreographed office spaces and energy draining bosses has insurance clerk Berman ready to get rid of everybody around him, and thanks to a book he is given, all of a sudden has that ability. "Today the landlady, tomorrow the world!", he declares with confidence. But as he gets on an empty subway car the next day, you begin to wonder who is conducting the train. And if there is going to be nobody in the office, why does he bother going in? Of course, it's his mind over matter, so doors open for him, the train start and stop simply just for him, and as he sits on his desk, you begin wondering just why is Insurance needed if there was nobody there to buy it?

Yes of course, this could be a dream, and how many dreams have I had where I've gotten on the train and not had to deal with the same situations, nearly 60 years later. Berman is of course very good as the "Everyman", the average Joe who has struggled for years and now desires a bit of peace and quiet. But peace and quiet brings on boredom, and his power only works if he has the capability of doing this when necessary and bringing people back when he's had enough of it.

But this is the Twilight Zone, and you can't have it both ways. The only person he has to talk to is himself, seeing his reflection in every single possible substance. so be careful for what you wish for, because if you're given that gift, you may decide you really don't want it, and by that time, it's too late. That makes this episode a cute diversion but nothing substantial, and certainly nothing that anybody with any feeling towards society doesn't already know.

"The Mind and the Matter" is a very odd episode from a final perspective. The score has this happy almost comedic twinge to it which really goes against the dark undertones of this man willing all his co-workers and friends out of existence. My man Archibald takes the descriptor curmudgeon to a whole new level. He hated everyone and everything on the planet, including himself.

If you really hate people so much Archie why don't you just move to the country? Living in downtown Manhattan doesn't seem like a good fit for you.

This episode is rated surprisingly low. I didn't think it was great but I feel like TZ fans overrate everything. A 6.6 is pretty accurate here.

I've always liked this episode a lot. OK, it's not up there with the truly great episodes, like "The Invaders" or "Time Enough At Last". But it's fun and funny, with a somewhat thought-provoking premise (what would *you* do in Beechcroft's place?), and a nice performance by Berman.

I guess that a lot of why it resonated with me is that I'm often something of a misanthrope myself. It is a fact that when I'm stuck in traffic, or waiting in an endless line, or just dealing with a noisy, crowded situation, that I'll mutter to myself, consciously quoting Archibald Beechcroft: "People, people, people! Is there no respite? Is there no relief?" Granted, he's not very imaginative in his solution, but I certainly understand his complaint!

To me the biggest flaw, sadly, is the terrible low-budget masks they used to try to create a world of Archibald Beechcrofts. Usually the Zone was able to get by with its low budget in such a way as to not really mar the storytelling, but this one is just glaringly poor. They just don't look enough like him. You don't even find yourself thinking "Well, that was a poor, low budget effect." You find yourself thinking "Wait, are all those people supposed to look like Beechcroft? Yeah, I *guess* they are..."

And as for all the folks who rated this episode too low, all I can say is... people, people, people!

P.S. One review cited the famous quote "Hell is other people" but didn't know the source. The source is, of course, Jean-Paul Sartre, from his play "No Exit". The original French is: L'enfer c'est les autres.

An extremely sub-par episode in many ways from the writing to the acting and even the casting. The theme of this one is one that is too common in the series. What makes it worse is there's not much within this one to make it matter...not that I mind since there are so many excellent episodes of TZ. This happens now and again through the five seasons - - we get an episode that barely has enough power to keep us interested, yet I suppose many of us keep watching in hope the episode will take a turn in the positive direction. Not the case with this one, sadly. However, one takes the bad with the good in life. Perhaps THAT is our lesson from this one. Oh well!

Not one of my favorites. The main character seems to just waste his superpower of being able to wish anything to happen. He wishes all humans to cease to exist except him. He continues to go to work though. Who would do that? Also, it seems he can wish any configuration of people so why not just make himself the only man in the world surrounded by just attractive women for instance? Instead he finally gets lonely and wishes for men and women that just look like him. Once again this makes no sense. Like I said one of my least favorite episodes because he just does dumb things that no one with that power would ever do.

This episode features a guy who gets a book about concentrating really hard. Turns out he wishes he was the only person on Earth. He somehow gets reality warping powers and his dream comes true. As you might have guessed, he eventually gets bored. He's shown arguing with his reflection many times. Is that another one of his powers?

I like how they build up his different realities. He then decides to reshape the world with people with in, only they all look and act like him! I guess he realizes he doesn't like himself very much. He then decides that other people is the best option of the three. I really liked this idea. They did a lot of last man on Earth things. ***1/2