BWW Reviews: THE TWYLIGHT ZONE: BACK TO THE 6TH DIMENSION is a Parody Best Appreciated by Fans of the Original TV Show

As a huge fan of The Twilight Zone TV show, I enjoyed seeing the different mash-ups of episodes as well as catching references to many other episodes (ie: Willoughby, Hitchhiker). It was also fun to see clips from many original episodes played on a large TV monitor on the set. Very clever editing on all of these.

This is a bare bones production but the small cast featuring Chase Anderson-Shaw, David Dickerson, David Gallic (also the writer and director), Brittney Hancock, Britt Harris, Elmer Smith, and Adyn Wood. All of them make it work especially during "Will the Real Visitor Please Stand Up" when most played several characters. The ending was somewhat different from the original TV episode with quite a few more surprises. Great sound effects throughout.

"Nightmare at 6,096 Meters" spoofs the original episode featuring a young William Shatner as a recently released mental patient who thinks he seems a monster on the wing of the jet taking him and his wife back home. Worked in to this episode was a reference to the other famous episode starring Shatner in which he cannot leave a diner until a fortune telling machine lets him know it is okay to do so. Great Gremlin shenanigans by Elmer Smith.

"Living Doll" A frustrated father does battle with his stepdaughter's talking doll, whose vocabulary includes such phrases as "I hate you" and "I'm going to kill you. Features Jebbery June portrayed by both a doll and real (uncredited) actor. Very inventive!

"The Four of us Are Dying" A man who can change his face to look like other people uses his ability to improve his life regardless of his affect on others

Commercials from the time, which seem so wrong now, were played on the screen in between the episodes. And Chase Anderson-Shaw has a lot of fun spoofing Serling's rigid narration style, and had the audience in stitches as he carried the airplane across the set, representing more time has been spent flying during which our poor mental patient has been freaking out even more.

If you are a fan of the original show, you will love all the references. But even more enjoyable was watching those not familiar with the airplane scenes jump out of their seats when the Gremlin appears at the window!

THE TWYLIGHT ZONE: BACK TO THE 6TH DIMENSION continues during the 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival, presented by Four Letter Theatre at Studio/Stage, located at 520 N. Western, Los Angeles, CA 90004. Performances continue on Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28 at 8:00 PM, and Sunday June 29 at 5:00 PM

Running time 100 minutes with one 10-minute intermission. Tickets are $15 and can be ordered in advance at http://hff14.org/1801

To post a comment, you must register and login.