Episode 13 - The Four of Us are Dying

Original Airdate: January 1, 1960

Plot: A conman with the supernatural ability to adopt any face he chooses exploits his powers for personal gain.



The first episode of the turbulent 1960's is light science fiction fare. We're given a protagonist, or rather a despicable main character (nearly the same as last week's What You Need), and asked to buy into one central conceit: he can change his face at will. It's a neat idea that hearkens back to H.G. Wells's The Invisible Man. What do you do when you can get into anywhere, with zero accountability, and how could you possible not be corrupted by the power?



The premise is promising but the plot plays out predictably. My apologies for the alliteration. The main character (in)conveniently finds himself in the path of a bullet meant for another man and the piece comes to an unsatisfying end. The saving grace of this episode, then, is the style rather than the substance. The exterior world that the character wanders through is a mishmash of impossibly shaped buildings and neon signs that seem tacked into the sky itself. It's like watching a musical with great production value, and, if we want to get community-college-English on this, it reinforces the theme of falseness that runs through the story.

The hands-down high point of the episode occurs in the first moments. During the opening monologue, we see the main character shaving. First we see him, then pan over to the mirror - it's someone else! After following his razor in a momentary distraction, we come back to the mirror to find yet another face looking back at us. All the while Serling narrates away with elegant simplicity:

"But Mr. Hammer has a talent, discovered at a very early age. This much he does have. He can make his face change. He can twitch a muscle, move a jaw, concentrate on the cast of his eyes, and he can change his face. He can change it into anything he wants..."



It's not a complicated effect, but the precision with which it's pulled off and Serling's attention-commanding vocal presence make it one of the more memorable set pieces we've yet seen on the show.