Okay, so I'll review four
King Nine Will Not Return: Pretty average Zone in my opinion. Robert Cummings' one man act is maybe a little over the top. He also had a reputation for not being particularly well-liked in his day. The story itself is interesting though and I think it works fairly well as a psychological piece.
Rating: B
The Man in the Bottle: This is one that can be easy to hate. The performances are good and I'm always a sucker for devilish (in this case, a semi-evil genie) characters. Still, I, like others, wonder why Castle gets four wishes as opposed to the usual three. And, yeah, we know the guy is Hitler- and it's the end of the war- Duh! Still have to admit liking the episode though.
Rating: B
Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room: Another one man act for the most part. Also, one of the best. Joe Mantell nails it with both his nervous "is somebody going to hurt me" persona and his more confident mirror image. You can't help but root for the man inside and cheer when he ultimately wins out. William D. Gordon does a good turn as the slimy George as well.
Rating: A-
A Thing About Machines: I always enjoy watching this episode. certainly not the best TZ by any means and not even among my favorites. But you can't help but get a kick out of Finchley being told to get out by the woman on the TV screen and being attacked by an electric razor and the car that ultimately kills him. Again, is this a psychological piece about a snob gone bonkers, or are we really going into the supernatural? A fun piece.
Rating: B+
Okay that's it for now.