Wordplay (8 out of 10)
Medical supply salesman Bill Lowery (Robert Klein) is trying desperately to learn the terminology of his new supply line, when everyone around him starts using words that make no sense in their context. An annoyance at first, the problem escalates when his son's feverish condition worsens, and he can't find a way to communicate with either his wife or his son's doctors.
"Wordplay" is an intriguing episode about a breakdown in what normally passes for communication, and the challenges presented in adapting to such a breakdown. In this respect, the story echoes the conceit used in Tom Stoppard's "Dogg's Hamlet," a play which uses the disjunction between words and their normal meaning to point up how foreign Shakespeare sounds to modern ears, but gradually leads the audience to adapt itself. Whereas "Dogg's Hamlet" plays more like an existential theatrical experiment, "Wordplay" anchors this concept effectively within everyday life, and sets an effectively suspenseful story around it.
In this, Rockne O'Bannon's script is fairly successful, nicely using the lead's difficulty in learning the names and uses of new medical technology to foreshadow the more profound loss of contextual understanding to come (a small negative note, however: I seriously doubt any medical supply salesman would not know the term sphygmometer -- i.e., a blood pressure cuff -- not exactly unique or cutting edge equipment in the 1980s). Wes Craven's low-key direction is also an asset to the episode, refraining from artificially ramping up the stakes or the pace, letting the natural (and potentially grave) consequences of the story play out at their natural pace.
Anchoring all of this is Robert Klein's lead performance. Leaving aside his normally sarcastic comedic persona, Klein plays wonderfully against type as someone who's not at all that confident in the world he knows, much less one where none of the language makes sense. His chemistry with Annie Potts (also extremely solid as his wife) makes his adaptation believable, and quite poignant -- the final image is a real gem.
This episode is definitely one of the strongest from the second series' first season, and would fit quite nicely within the canon of its predecessor.
Chameleon (6 out of 10)
Following the return of a NASA shuttle flight, a technician (John Ashton) tries to examine the shuttle's camera equipment -- and promptly disappears. When the rest of the mission staff attempt to examine the camera under greater precautions, the technician reappears, albeit in the form of a shapeshifting alien, which the becomes desperate to escape.
"Chameleon" is yet another episode of the second "Twilight Zone" series that plays more like an "Outer Limits" episode than "The Twilight Zone." While interesting to watch, the episode doesn't really contain any profound character or moral lessons -- save, perhaps, the rather generalized notion that humans are not the only species driven by curiosity. James Crocker's script is serviceable, but not particularly memorable, the only exception being a nice bit of suspense he sets up about two-thirds of the way through. Wes Craven's direction gives us a couple of neat effects, but not a whole lot more, and the cast is earnest.
"Chameleon" is a perfectly competent half-hour episode, though you shouldn't expect to draw much from it. This is kind of a pity, as the concept opened itself up to far greater possibilities to examine more deeply the ways curiosity manifests itself and its consequences. By making the alien inscrutable, Crocker and Craven deprive us of the opportunity to learn more about ourselves.
Medical supply salesman Bill Lowery (Robert Klein) is trying desperately to learn the terminology of his new supply line, when everyone around him starts using words that make no sense in their context. An annoyance at first, the problem escalates when his son's feverish condition worsens, and he can't find a way to communicate with either his wife or his son's doctors.
"Wordplay" is an intriguing episode about a breakdown in what normally passes for communication, and the challenges presented in adapting to such a breakdown. In this respect, the story echoes the conceit used in Tom Stoppard's "Dogg's Hamlet," a play which uses the disjunction between words and their normal meaning to point up how foreign Shakespeare sounds to modern ears, but gradually leads the audience to adapt itself. Whereas "Dogg's Hamlet" plays more like an existential theatrical experiment, "Wordplay" anchors this concept effectively within everyday life, and sets an effectively suspenseful story around it.
In this, Rockne O'Bannon's script is fairly successful, nicely using the lead's difficulty in learning the names and uses of new medical technology to foreshadow the more profound loss of contextual understanding to come (a small negative note, however: I seriously doubt any medical supply salesman would not know the term sphygmometer -- i.e., a blood pressure cuff -- not exactly unique or cutting edge equipment in the 1980s). Wes Craven's low-key direction is also an asset to the episode, refraining from artificially ramping up the stakes or the pace, letting the natural (and potentially grave) consequences of the story play out at their natural pace.
Anchoring all of this is Robert Klein's lead performance. Leaving aside his normally sarcastic comedic persona, Klein plays wonderfully against type as someone who's not at all that confident in the world he knows, much less one where none of the language makes sense. His chemistry with Annie Potts (also extremely solid as his wife) makes his adaptation believable, and quite poignant -- the final image is a real gem.
This episode is definitely one of the strongest from the second series' first season, and would fit quite nicely within the canon of its predecessor.
Chameleon (6 out of 10)
Following the return of a NASA shuttle flight, a technician (John Ashton) tries to examine the shuttle's camera equipment -- and promptly disappears. When the rest of the mission staff attempt to examine the camera under greater precautions, the technician reappears, albeit in the form of a shapeshifting alien, which the becomes desperate to escape.
"Chameleon" is yet another episode of the second "Twilight Zone" series that plays more like an "Outer Limits" episode than "The Twilight Zone." While interesting to watch, the episode doesn't really contain any profound character or moral lessons -- save, perhaps, the rather generalized notion that humans are not the only species driven by curiosity. James Crocker's script is serviceable, but not particularly memorable, the only exception being a nice bit of suspense he sets up about two-thirds of the way through. Wes Craven's direction gives us a couple of neat effects, but not a whole lot more, and the cast is earnest.
"Chameleon" is a perfectly competent half-hour episode, though you shouldn't expect to draw much from it. This is kind of a pity, as the concept opened itself up to far greater possibilities to examine more deeply the ways curiosity manifests itself and its consequences. By making the alien inscrutable, Crocker and Craven deprive us of the opportunity to learn more about ourselves.
