What I’m Watching: The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone: Season 1, Episode 9 “The Blue Scorpion” (B-)

I didn’t find this episode to be especially involving, starting from a point nowhere near as fascinating or terrifying as previous installments. I do like Chris O’Dowd, an actor known for comedy work in films like “Bridesmaids” and TV shows like the short-lived but great “Family Tree,” and I also appreciated his more dramatic turn in “Calvary.” I was also excited to recognize Amy Landecker, one of the most underrated players on “Transparent,” as his ex-wife, though she really didn’t have much of a role. The bullet bearing his name and the gun seeming intent on not being sold by going off as soon as he said he wanted it out of his life were early indicators of some strangeness, though the effectiveness of this hour was captured for me in just one moment. He sounded rather crazy and even acknowledged it when he was talking about how he keeps meeting all these Jeffs in his life, and then the response was that one of the two people was also named Jeff. This particular trip through the Twilight Zone didn’t seem especially worthwhile, eerie and mysterious but also seemingly aimless. Watching an anthology series like this is bound to be disappointing to a degree since one really solid hour won’t ever be extended or revisited. I did find the casting of O’Dowd here to be a good choice; I’m just not sure that the plot surrounding this part was as well thought-out. Intrigue doesn’t always equal satisfaction, and this episode was lacking in the latter.