What did you think of "Still Valley"? Watch Twilight-Tober Zone 2021 Compilation - ua-cam.com/video/JrE9RbprFQo/v-deo.html Follow Walter on Twitter - twitter.com/Awesome_Walter Follow us on Twitch - www.twitch.tv/channelawesome
The commentary of the confederacy being in line with the devil and would have to be win the civil war is a pretty damning depiction and rightfully so. I am so sick of the confederacy being depicted sympathetically when they were literally fighting to keep human beings enslaved. There’s touches of that here but to say that the south winning would be an act of the Devil, that is bold especially given when this aired.
I was thinking about the ending. It was better that they burned the book than just throwing it deep into the woods. Because had they did the latter then maybe a union soldier would've picked it up and used it to his side's advantage.
Amen,, I love the analogy, the enemy/ satan appears as a nice old guy- but his entire purpose is to get you to deny God or to bow to him. As you pointed out a man cannot serve 2 masters, he will love 1 and hate the other. When Jesus was tempted by satan; He used scripture to rebuke the devil ! Something to remember
This is the one that got me. I was 11 years old and had jetlag from flying back to England from Florida. I put the TV on at 4am because I couldn't sleep and this was just starting. It absolutely blew my mind. The original Twilight Zone still gives me a weird feeling I just can't explain to this day.
The commentary on this is short sighted at best. This is one of the best episodes Rod Serling made. Another terrific example of what can be done in less than 30 minutes of TV time.
You're not wrong about the beginning being agonisingly slow. I turned it off at least twice before, but I'm glad that I eventually gave it a chance, if only for the Old Man and the "Witchcraft" shot.
I know I'm gonna get flack for this comnent but I like this episode for one thing alone. The realistic desperation of the soldiers. I'm African American but I know there were some soldiers in the Confederacy who fought on state allegiance rather than wanting to keep slavery. Those men in the episode may have wanted to win but weren't willing to give up their allegiance to God in doing so. There are many stories of soldiers on the enemy side who quite frankly showed they were people too. Some even got the respect of the winning side. There was a German soldier that played for a UK football team that won their hearts thru his skill. Yes this episode ain't up there with the greats but in my opinion it gives a insight most media won't touch. Giving the Confederates a modest look into. They weren't all racists and they weren't all for slavery. Some just were fighting for their state.
I never guessed that Teague's actor was only four years older than Paradine's, but figured that he was a lot YOUNGER than his character. It reminds me of the dodgy old makeup on Mildred in "Midnight Mass", since she was 80, yet played by a 29 year old.
In another episode of The Twilight Zone "The Changing Of The Guard " the actor who played Professor Fowler was really in his 40s! But his character is in his 70s! It's amazing how the make-up department can make a person look older!
Back in 1979 I read a collection of short stories by Manley Wade Wellman, with its Appalachian setting and its protagonist, the "clever man" John. Saw this episode of Twilight Zone a couple years ago, knew who inspired it. Wellman did it better, but found the episode enjoyable.
I watched that episode on SyFy last month and it’s awesome since I like episodes including this one that were released in seasons 3, 4, and 5 better than the first two seasons.
I don't know it well, but there's that clever reference to the expression "Damn Yankees." One of the characters says something like "If we do this, WE'LL be damned!"
People tend to hate this episode, but I actually like it. It makes you think: if you were desperate and had no other options, how far would you sink to turn things around?
While I do agree that the story starts out slow it did get more interesting as it went on. I thought the old man at first was just a crazy old coot. I'm glad that at the end the confederate soldiers chose to burn that book over rejecting God. They may have lost the war but at least they won't be dammed for eternity.
I unironically liked this episode. How many times of has humanity done a bit of evil, rationalizing it that it's done for the greater good? In this Twilight Zone tale, that bit of evil was asking the devil for power, a compromise for the "greater good" of winning their war. But when asked to revoke the name of God, it's as if they realized they were rejecting goodness itself, and the "greater good" rationalization fell to pieces. The message is timeless; humanity has always made moral compromises in service of a cause, the "greater good." When moral compromise gets extreme, sometimes its better for the cause to be buried on hallowed ground.
Good thing that you specified that your enjoyment of the episode was 'unironic.' If you hadn't qualified it, I'd have thought you liked it ironically, whatever the hell that means.
@@jake8855 it would mean he liked the episode for being bad and goofy, like the reviewer recommends. Like him, I enjoy it unironically. There's a simplistic method of storytelling that the confederates, the bad guys, weren't willing to sell themselves to evil. A timeless lesson.
@@judyhopps9380 No, liking something because it's bad and goofy isn't ironic. That's my point; "unironic" is a stupid, unnecessary word that spread via social media. People just seeing it and repeating it like a parrot. If you genuinely liked something, just say you liked it. If you like something because it's tacky, or "so good it's bad," then you can specify. But that still wouldn't be ironic, not on its own. Also, I know slavery was the major issue in the war and I think it was always wrong in any time, but I wouldn't characterize the war as good vs evil.
Once of my favorite episodes and so true to the philosophy of the South which was deeply religious. The fact that the Confederate soldiers, even though they could have won the war with that book of magic, chose not to since it would entail accepting Satan.
This one definitely landed differently with me than you, but I think that was because of so many specifics about me; I was a semi-rural Southern kid from a to2n where the bible and church had a strong presence and from a generation closer to the making of this episode when I saw it. So for all that it actually unnerved me and is one I rarelyhave rewatched out of still recalling how creeped out I was.
I like this episode. Yeah, it's a little hard to take seriously, and the ending is a bit predictable, but if you're willing to look past all that, it has something to say about how the end doesn't always justify the means, which I dare say is more relevant than ever.
I'm surprised that they didn't just discard the book somewhere in the woods where maybe a union soldier could find it and try to use it to their advantage. I was thinking of the idea from BTTF Part 2 where Biff did just that with The Sports Almanac.
@@melissacooper8724that wouldn't of worked, and would of had unfortunate implications, implying the Union used the book to win the war, making it seem like they made a pact with evil to win, and that would raise too many eyebrows.
The "out of focus" shot at the 4:00 mark is actually more common than you might think. Because you cannot review film right away and the "focus puller" uses distance as much as what he (or she) sees through the lens, it's rather easy to get the background in focus, but not the subject. The most famous example is from "The Manchurian Candidate" when Frank Sinatra is out of focus during the famous scene with the cards. The director left the shot in because Sinatra couldn't match his performance in the retakes. Since this was television with a tight schedule, they probably didn't have the time to re-shoot the shot once they discovered the mistake.
“Let it be the end. Let it come when it must come. But if it’s a cause that should die, let it be buried in hallowed ground.” They speak such true words of wisdom
My number 120 episode. I certainly didn't get a "chuckle" from it. Yes, Teague was a bit hokey, but he was supposed to be weird. The "stay still" bit was done to death in the Zone. The part I really liked, though, was the refusal to deny God in order to win a war. Fools still don't understand this 😮
This was one of my favorites when I was a boy just getting into the series. I don't think it's aged very well, but I will always have a soft spot for it. It does have its own quirky charm.
@@goldenfiberwheat238 they made an attempt to make it a surprise with them filming the great evil in shadow and treating him like a otherworldly force of pure evil, it didn't work but an attempt was still made. Here though, they put in zero effort to try and make you second guess where things were going
Its an interesting commentary on how people can become so single minded in the goal of “winning” that they could be willing to lose everything else in the process of justifying their need to win.
No, if he had cast the spell and all of it had gone to hell then it would be. Here he did not have the balls to do what it took to win. Had he cast the spell they would have won. The confederation could not pay for their tickets to hell any more than they already had even if they tried. The devils bargain was free. The entire confederacy was going to hell anyway. Have some actual conviction man! Don’t throw it all away in the name of something that is as much on their side as yours if not more. Push your god damned advantage. You idiot!
@@melissacooper8724 they were slavers. They had lost their souls when they turned their back on destroying that institution. They were burning in hell anyways. States rights my ass.
@@melissacooper8724 That's why they burned the book. I remember one of them saying if they used that book, it wasn't the Yankees that would be damned. It would be them. And what would be demanded of them in exchange? So, I never thought about the stuff he points out in the video because the story is a strong one that many people have to think about. Look around. A lot of people sold their souls to gain some things they believed was important to them, and most don't even realize the curse it's brought upon their lives
I've seen every episode of TZ. You remember the ones you love and re watch them often, you also remember the ones that you felt weren't so good. Still Valley falls in between the two. It's a middle of the road episode that I struggle to recall the plot. I'll have to watch again to see if I can get a laugh
I was about to write "wtf is with the love for the confederacy in these stories", theeeen it reached the part about the original story slicing off the old man's head
The 'Lost Cause' narrative was more prevalent in that era, even among those who would never adhere to slavery or a defense of it. There was a lot more buying into it all being a clash of cultures, states rights, etc., due to the amount of time and effort spent by groups like the Daughters Of The Confederacy revising the image and take on the war. It was actually rare to just flat state the role of slavery - which is to say, it's primary role - in the time this ep was made.
@@pilroberts6185 Yet lots more did not, and the destructive corrosive Lost Cause narrative was pushed even in Union-aligned states. Every accusation a confession.
Last night I was scouting out the tracking for a package on line, and found it was in Philipsburg NJ, and on the Google Maps I traced a nearby village in Jersey known as of all things....Still Valley! The episode on MeTV scheduled for last night WAS Still Valley. Personally this episode is a drag, but it was I felt ironic enough to find out. Yes, Walter: There IS a Still Valley!
I always watch this episode and wonder if the guy had released those poor Union soldiers that he had Frozen from there prison that the old man put him in. They did a great job on the old man makeup.
I'm not sure if Americans find this but I honestly find that super American South accent and manner of speech extremely funny. Made it even harder to take this episode at all seriously
Oh man, I live in the South, and it's just as funny when you encounter it in real life. Still, nothing I find more entertaining then Confederates getting their asses kicked!
@robertbryant4669: I agree entirely. For there is my personal favorite "Nobody talks like that!" Sorry Charlie I do with my own evocative argot that owes itself to origins from every World locale and chronological era. More specifically (and definitely Regionally) I can only say if you disagree with me "Bless. Your. Heart!"😂🤣😂😉📚📒🖊📱❤B.W.
Funny thing: The Old Man is played by Vaughn Taylor -- in a very different role than the officious types he usually played on Twilight Zone. Taylor is such a great actor, but, of course, Gary Merrill is one of Hollywood's great scene stealers - even if he doesn't even try to get that Southern accent right. Still, I always felt that Paradine should have actually killed the Old Man to get the book, but he would redeem himself by rejecting having to sell their souls to the Devil. "If the Confederacy is to die, let it be on hallowed ground." But that really wasn't going to happen in the 60s.
I was lucky enough to meet Manely Wade Wellman in the late 70s. I was a big fan of the pulp, Weird Tales, and not many of the writers from those days were around.
Vaughn Taylor was almost unrecognisable in this episode due to old man makeup and all. For many years, I was so sure it was Vladimir Sokoloff playing the role of Tig.
...so they knew they would be using the devil's power to invoke the spell, but were surprised they'd have to rebuke their faith to do it? Talk about your "are we the baddies?" Moment...
definitely a facepalm moment from a writing perspective- witchcraft for centuries has been associated with lucifer. and as the south is also a historically very conservative christian region, how was forsaking god a twist in this story? a better twist would be csa victory- but the black slaves would be the new masters to the whites in an independent south.
I can understand it actually. How many times of has humanity done a bit of evil, rationalizing it that it's done for the greater good? In this case, that bit of evil was asking the devil for power, a compromise for the "greater good" of winning their war. But if they revoked the name of God, they might realize they were rejecting goodness itself, and the "greater good" rationalization would collapse. When moral compromise gets extreme, sometimes its better for the cause to be buried on hallowed ground.
At 4:11, Walter (the reviewer) points out how the camera is out-of-focus. I've been staring at the lead character for a whole minute, trying to see what Walter is talking about. I never would've noticed a problem with the focus, but yeah, a little bit.
I just rewatched this episode the other night. It’s not terrible, but not great either. It’s a weird episode for sure, the only thing that makes it interesting is the acting is good.
finally! I'm so tired of movies teasing The Wind just to turn out to be some monster or alien or something lame like that. my heart breaks for the wind ='(
Twighlight toberzone is must see TV. Your affection for the show is refreshing because while it shows through your critical eye is proof you left your rose colored glasses at home.
Does anybody know why Teague says that him, his father, and his grandfather were all the seventh son in their families? I don't get it. Wouldn't being the sixth son have been better because the episode is about The Devil?
2:25 Once again an example of the KHW flaw (Kellys Heroes Wardrobe) - in certain scenes in Heroes the uniforms are spotless, practically pristine - dilutes/ruins what we're viewing. Similarly here,, the Union soldiers don't have any blood, dirt, muck, mud or any ickies on their uniforms. Disappointing.
It was a weekly show made in the 1960s. I don't understand the hyper criticism. I saw the episode in the early 1980s when I was about 10 years old. Easily the best thing on television at 10 pm on a weekday.
You're being a TAD harsh--Like Maple Street, good irony-free performances can rescue even the most "predictable" TZ script: If Taylor had played Jack Elam's crazy comedy-relief coot from "Will the Real Martian...", or Merrill had tried a glass-cutting Southern accent, it would be comic, but Taylor's Teague is so straightforwardly warped from years of corruption, like the backwoods witchery in S4's "Jess-Belle", we can see the mix of greed and believing conscience-conflict on Merrill's expression.
I like this episode well I'm a victim of A-war buff and I think it's creepy and I think that the old man doesn't write I don't see any laughs in it at all maybe I'm wrong but that's what I say
The soldier chooses not to damn the south by making a pact with the devil, but in fighting a war to keep men in chains they had already done just that.
I couldn't take it as a funny episode. Although narration doesn't spell it out, I figured that all of the Confederate soldiers in the story were going to die.
At least in this one, the main characters are depicted as less than moral considering they're willing to use the Devil's handiwork to achieve their ends.
@@christophertheriault3308 They already were after Reconstruction. The 1960s were the start of when the Lost Cause myth became unfavorable everywhere but the South.
The funniest part of this episode is the Confederate soldier thinking their cause deserves to be buried on 'hallowed ground'- like a social, economic, and political hierarchy built on humans enslaved is somehow 'holy'
I don't think the makers of the Twilight Zone were trying to be racist by showing stories about the Confederacy, as they made plenty of stories demonizing racism. The Confederacy was just considered part of America's heritage back then. It's only today that we want to erase every sign of it and pretend it never existed.
If you read the entirety of the Bible, it never states anywhere that slavery as a concept is wrong. Hence why it was around for so long. Now, granted, there were plenty of Christians that were abolitionists and used excerpts from the Bible as justification such as portions of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount but again the concept is never prohibited. Though there is also the fact that the slavery practiced in the United States was different from slavery in the ancient world and even outside of America at the time. There are records of people who had been enslaved in both America and Africa that state that Africa was the far better place to be enslaved because slaves retained at least some rights. So perhaps the people who wrote the various books of the Bible throughout the centuries would have felt differently about American slavery. Who knows? That being said, all this means is that there wouldn't have been anything to directly tell a Confederate soldier that slavery was not able to be reconciled with the will of Jesus Christ.
“What do we call them… Damn Yankees? That’s the phrase, isn’t it? Damn yanks. But if I read aloud from this book, it’ll be the CONFEDERACY that’s damned.”
The Devil... in a Twilight Zone episode?! It's more likely than you think! This is scraping the bottom of the barrel for Old Scratch appearances though but if the Devil was choosing sides, the CSA is the second one I'd mention.
Why would the Devil need to choose sides in the Civil War? I mean if the union soldiers found that black magic book instead of the confederates would that make much difference?
@@tskmaster3837 I'm not sure I understand your concept but it sounds like that God wouldn't have been against the South had they not dabbled in the Devil's book in the first place.
I know the idea is still debated but I think there's enough evidence to show that the south was fighting for state rights and not slavery since in 1861 slavery was already rare. I could be wrong but I think it's worth mentioning.
@@JohnnyPaisan Slavery was already rare? Where, in the North? The South's primary industry derived from slave labor. Corrupt politicians used the states rights excuse as a front for their hatred of Lincoln's vow that slavery lines go no further than Texas during his presidential campaign. Lincoln didn't even threaten to ban slavery altogether. He was happy to let the South keep its institution until the insurrection forced his hand.
@@JohnnyPaisan states’ rights…..to go on owning slaves. Since their entire economy and way of life depended on chattel slavery, what were those other rights that they were supposedly fighting for? 🤷🏽♀️
@@starkman78 They didn't depend on slavery for their economy. Before the war started slavery was rare. And I think it was already illeagal in like half the states. (It wasn't the North half lol) But I'm not sure what, if any, state rights they wanted but it's been a long debated topic in politics. The south believed that the state representatives should have control of civil rights
This episode was like Christmas to Me ! Fear of losing your own immortal Soul ? The devil is a Liar ? ! Ha, Ha , Ha ! The Power to Rule the World ? ! The Paradise of Lucifer ! Revoke the Name of What God & from what human ethnic treatise as in a religious of religion Text Book ? Aha Ha , Ha , Ha , Ha , Ha ! I Am the Power & The Master of My own Universe & need I also say that I add the following, Now I Claim Yours human subjects of the Worldly Earth and make them Mine ? ! and in the Name of Whom ? Ha , Ha , Ha , LOL !
There's some relics of past sentiments on the Twilight Zone that sully it's humanistic, empathetic, and generally progressive values. Uncritical acceptance of myths of Americana (like the Lost Cause mythology) are present in episodes dealing with the south but also in "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" where a group of modern day soldiers in a tank join Custer's last stand (despite being told earlier "If you see any Indians don't shoot, they've all got college degrees and they're probably taking soil samples"). We're supposed to see the soldiers as heroic, and not the native Americans who somehow overcame not only Custer's men but also apparently a tank crew with weapons from 100 years in the future. Episodes like this, "The Encounter" (who's themes were much more capably executed in "A Quality of Mercy"), and "The 7th is Made Up of Phantoms" clash with "He's Alive", "Dust", and "The Big Tall Wish" which declare that people of every stripe are people and their dreams and wishes and pain have just as much value as anyone else's. I generally like this episode, but the idea that the south (if not perhaps an individual soldier like this) wouldn't do anything dishonest or inhumane looking not only at the entire reason they went to war, but how they treated their prisoners of war, is laughable. A war to keep an entire people in chains is already damned to begin with. When I recommend the show to others, or think on the strengths of the show or it's influences on me, I have to contend with the occasional problematic, or woefully outdated episode like this.
This is one of my least favorite episodes. Come to think of it, I'm not a fan of a lot of the episodes that deal with historical events. "Death's Head Revisited" is actually an exception, as I liked that one.
The amount of people whining about the positive view of the confederacy twilight zone episodes is crazy. People actually adhered to the great reconciliation and the reunification of the country back the . Now division is aught by all.
I love this episode. I'm glad you liked it too but I think your issues with it are very nitpicky and just personal taste. which is fine, just I don't think many people will agree with you on this one.
I don't know if this episode gave me a chuckle, but I do smirk to think that the rebels who went to war on the side of slavery thought God had their backs.
What did you think of "Still Valley"?
Watch Twilight-Tober Zone 2021 Compilation - ua-cam.com/video/JrE9RbprFQo/v-deo.html
Follow Walter on Twitter - twitter.com/Awesome_Walter
Follow us on Twitch - www.twitch.tv/channelawesome
It was slow at first, but the second half is definitely superior!
The commentary of the confederacy being in line with the devil and would have to be win the civil war is a pretty damning depiction and rightfully so. I am so sick of the confederacy being depicted sympathetically when they were literally fighting to keep human beings enslaved. There’s touches of that here but to say that the south winning would be an act of the Devil, that is bold especially given when this aired.
I was thinking about the ending. It was better that they burned the book than just throwing it deep into the woods. Because had they did the latter then maybe a union soldier would've picked it up and used it to his side's advantage.
Who am I listening to right now?
Channel Awesome so what shows have you produced?
"No man can be the servant of two masters". The rebel soldier ought to have known this from the start.
Amen,, I love the analogy, the enemy/ satan appears as a nice old guy- but his entire purpose is to get you to deny God or to bow to him. As you pointed out a man cannot serve 2 masters, he will love 1 and hate the other. When Jesus was tempted by satan; He used scripture to rebuke the devil ! Something to remember
@@bobdees6428 he’s referring to slavery.. false southern Christian hick
They weren't serving two masters, they had their own government and their own President.
@@bobdees6428I don't think the old guy actually was Satan. I think he did make a pact with Satan which gave him magic powers.
Isreal has dual citizenship for both masters
This is the one that got me. I was 11 years old and had jetlag from flying back to England from Florida. I put the TV on at 4am because I couldn't sleep and this was just starting. It absolutely blew my mind. The original Twilight Zone still gives me a weird feeling I just can't explain to this day.
Possibly because some weird feelings can only be explained.......... somewhere in the Twilight Zone...?
The commentary on this is short sighted at best. This is one of the best episodes Rod Serling made. Another terrific example of what can be done in less than 30 minutes of TV time.
You're not wrong about the beginning being agonisingly slow. I turned it off at least twice before, but I'm glad that I eventually gave it a chance, if only for the Old Man and the "Witchcraft" shot.
I know I'm gonna get flack for this comnent but I like this episode for one thing alone. The realistic desperation of the soldiers.
I'm African American but I know there were some soldiers in the Confederacy who fought on state allegiance rather than wanting to keep slavery. Those men in the episode may have wanted to win but weren't willing to give up their allegiance to God in doing so.
There are many stories of soldiers on the enemy side who quite frankly showed they were people too. Some even got the respect of the winning side. There was a German soldier that played for a UK football team that won their hearts thru his skill.
Yes this episode ain't up there with the greats but in my opinion it gives a insight most media won't touch. Giving the Confederates a modest look into. They weren't all racists and they weren't all for slavery. Some just were fighting for their state.
! year ago Okay. But I figure that if you join the 1861 rebels, you've already gone to the dark side.
Love seeing episodes tied to historical events.
I never guessed that Teague's actor was only four years older than Paradine's, but figured that he was a lot YOUNGER than his character. It reminds me of the dodgy old makeup on Mildred in "Midnight Mass", since she was 80, yet played by a 29 year old.
In another episode of The Twilight Zone "The Changing Of The Guard " the actor who played Professor Fowler was really in his 40s! But his character is in his 70s! It's amazing how the make-up department can make a person look older!
I actually like this one. It does reflect a Southern point of view that I really appreciate. The old man is like a crazy old prospector.
Back in 1979 I read a collection of short stories by Manley Wade Wellman, with its Appalachian setting and its protagonist, the "clever man" John. Saw this episode of Twilight Zone a couple years ago, knew who inspired it. Wellman did it better, but found the episode enjoyable.
Whenever I saw Twilight Zone on SyFy, this episode was always shown, interestingly
Likewise, me too, maybe there's a channel dedicated to just this episode?! 😉
I always got the midnight sun episode
I watched that episode on SyFy last month and it’s awesome since I like episodes including this one that were released in seasons 3, 4, and 5 better than the first two seasons.
I don't know it well, but there's that clever reference to the expression "Damn Yankees."
One of the characters says something like "If we do this, WE'LL be damned!"
this is one of the first episodes I watched , still like it
People tend to hate this episode, but I actually like it. It makes you think: if you were desperate and had no other options, how far would you sink to turn things around?
Gary Merrill may have not had the best southern accent, but to me he, hands down, wins the best naturally grown manly beard. Love it!
Gary Merrill Is the Real Macho Man - Without The Ridiculous Steroid Muscles.
An interesting take to be willing to accept the help of the devil, and balk at the requirement of renouncing God.
While I do agree that the story starts out slow it did get more interesting as it went on. I thought the old man at first was just a crazy old coot. I'm glad that at the end the confederate soldiers chose to burn that book over rejecting God. They may have lost the war but at least they won't be dammed for eternity.
I unironically liked this episode. How many times of has humanity done a bit of evil, rationalizing it that it's done for the greater good? In this Twilight Zone tale, that bit of evil was asking the devil for power, a compromise for the "greater good" of winning their war. But when asked to revoke the name of God, it's as if they realized they were rejecting goodness itself, and the "greater good" rationalization fell to pieces.
The message is timeless; humanity has always made moral compromises in service of a cause, the "greater good." When moral compromise gets extreme, sometimes its better for the cause to be buried on hallowed ground.
Good and evil are always subjective terms and when some insist on placing a black and white mindset on everyone else just leads to failure
Good thing that you specified that your enjoyment of the episode was 'unironic.' If you hadn't qualified it, I'd have thought you liked it ironically, whatever the hell that means.
@@jake8855 it would mean he liked the episode for being bad and goofy, like the reviewer recommends. Like him, I enjoy it unironically. There's a simplistic method of storytelling that the confederates, the bad guys, weren't willing to sell themselves to evil. A timeless lesson.
@@judyhopps9380 No, liking something because it's bad and goofy isn't ironic. That's my point; "unironic" is a stupid, unnecessary word that spread via social media. People just seeing it and repeating it like a parrot. If you genuinely liked something, just say you liked it. If you like something because it's tacky, or "so good it's bad," then you can specify. But that still wouldn't be ironic, not on its own. Also, I know slavery was the major issue in the war and I think it was always wrong in any time, but I wouldn't characterize the war as good vs evil.
@@jake8855 language evolves
glad you pointed out how weird all the things in this episode are you can even see them in the footage you showed
Once of my favorite episodes and so true to the philosophy of the South which was deeply religious. The fact that the Confederate soldiers, even though they could have won the war with that book of magic, chose not to since it would entail accepting Satan.
Exactly. The reviewer here is clearly too stupid to understand he turns everything into a joke because he probably supports Satan.
This one definitely landed differently with me than you, but I think that was because of so many specifics about me; I was a semi-rural Southern kid from a to2n where the bible and church had a strong presence and from a generation closer to the making of this episode when I saw it. So for all that it actually unnerved me and is one I rarelyhave rewatched out of still recalling how creeped out I was.
I like this episode. Yeah, it's a little hard to take seriously, and the ending is a bit predictable, but if you're willing to look past all that, it has something to say about how the end doesn't always justify the means, which I dare say is more relevant than ever.
I'm surprised that they didn't just discard the book somewhere in the woods where maybe a union soldier could find it and try to use it to their advantage. I was thinking of the idea from BTTF Part 2 where Biff did just that with The Sports Almanac.
@@melissacooper8724that wouldn't of worked, and would of had unfortunate implications, implying the Union used the book to win the war, making it seem like they made a pact with evil to win, and that would raise too many eyebrows.
The "out of focus" shot at the 4:00 mark is actually more common than you might think. Because you cannot review film right away and the "focus puller" uses distance as much as what he (or she) sees through the lens, it's rather easy to get the background in focus, but not the subject.
The most famous example is from "The Manchurian Candidate" when Frank Sinatra is out of focus during the famous scene with the cards. The director left the shot in because Sinatra couldn't match his performance in the retakes.
Since this was television with a tight schedule, they probably didn't have the time to re-shoot the shot once they discovered the mistake.
Paradine decided not to cheat the way to victory for Gettysburg.
Instead he chose honorable death over dishonor through unconventional methods...
Paradine Knew Better Than To Risk His Eternal Soul, for a Temporary Victory.
“Let it be the end. Let it come when it must come. But if it’s a cause that should die, let it be buried in hallowed ground.”
They speak such true words of wisdom
Elegy did the frozen people idea better but I will say, freezing a group of soldiers in their tracks sounds like a very useful ability.
Sounds fun, and provocative. What would you be willing to do to win? Where do your principles start and end?
My number 120 episode. I certainly didn't get a "chuckle" from it. Yes, Teague was a bit hokey, but he was supposed to be weird. The "stay still" bit was done to death in the Zone. The part I really liked, though, was the refusal to deny God in order to win a war. Fools still don't understand this 😮
I can feel a okay cosmic horror story hidden in this
This was one of my favorites when I was a boy just getting into the series. I don't think it's aged very well, but I will always have a soft spot for it. It does have its own quirky charm.
this is easily the most "saw it coming" ending I think the show has ever made
What about he is alive?
@@goldenfiberwheat238 they made an attempt to make it a surprise with them filming the great evil in shadow and treating him like a otherworldly force of pure evil, it didn't work but an attempt was still made. Here though, they put in zero effort to try and make you second guess where things were going
@@Gojiro7 true
Its an interesting commentary on how people can become so single minded in the goal of “winning” that they could be willing to lose everything else in the process of justifying their need to win.
No, if he had cast the spell and all of it had gone to hell then it would be. Here he did not have the balls to do what it took to win. Had he cast the spell they would have won.
The confederation could not pay for their tickets to hell any more than they already had even if they tried. The devils bargain was free. The entire confederacy was going to hell anyway. Have some actual conviction man! Don’t throw it all away in the name of something that is as much on their side as yours if not more. Push your god damned advantage. You idiot!
Had the confederate soliders went through with that big spell they would've lost their souls.
@@melissacooper8724 they were slavers. They had lost their souls when they turned their back on destroying that institution. They were burning in hell anyways. States rights my ass.
@@melissacooper8724 That's why they burned the book. I remember one of them saying if they used that book, it wasn't the Yankees that would be damned. It would be them. And what would be demanded of them in exchange? So, I never thought about the stuff he points out in the video because the story is a strong one that many people have to think about. Look around. A lot of people sold their souls to gain some things they believed was important to them, and most don't even realize the curse it's brought upon their lives
@@LA_HA or worse they do realize and don’t care.
I've seen every episode of TZ. You remember the ones you love and re watch them often, you also remember the ones that you felt weren't so good. Still Valley falls in between the two. It's a middle of the road episode that I struggle to recall the plot. I'll have to watch again to see if I can get a laugh
An excellent episode.
Oh my God. Never saw the episode but read the short story it was on.
Thank you for the video.
I was about to write "wtf is with the love for the confederacy in these stories", theeeen it reached the part about the original story slicing off the old man's head
The 'Lost Cause' narrative was more prevalent in that era, even among those who would never adhere to slavery or a defense of it. There was a lot more buying into it all being a clash of cultures, states rights, etc., due to the amount of time and effort spent by groups like the Daughters Of The Confederacy revising the image and take on the war. It was actually rare to just flat state the role of slavery - which is to say, it's primary role - in the time this ep was made.
@@shoresean1237 In that era? Try browsing You Tube comments today.
@@shoresean1237 You do realize 4 slave states remained in the Union and fought against the South. Seems your the one interested in revisionism.
@@pilroberts6185 Yet lots more did not, and the destructive corrosive Lost Cause narrative was pushed even in Union-aligned states. Every accusation a confession.
@@pilroberts6185👍B.W.
This episode should have been called "Uncanny Valley" instead XD
You clearly don't understand what the term "uncanny valley" actually means.
This was a weird one even for the twlight zone....
Last night I was scouting out the tracking for a package on line, and found it was in Philipsburg NJ, and on the Google Maps I traced a nearby village in Jersey known as of all things....Still Valley! The episode on MeTV scheduled for last night WAS Still Valley. Personally this episode is a drag, but it was I felt ironic enough to find out. Yes, Walter: There IS a Still Valley!
I always watch this episode and wonder if the guy had released those poor Union soldiers that he had Frozen from there prison that the old man put him in.
They did a great job on the old man makeup.
I'm wondering when the book was being burned did any of the union soldiers that were petrified by the book's spell had come out of their trance?
@@melissacooper8724 it would've made it even more of a twisted Rod it said that those men had never woken up or were unfrozen.
I'm not sure if Americans find this but I honestly find that super American South accent and manner of speech extremely funny. Made it even harder to take this episode at all seriously
Oh man, I live in the South, and it's just as funny when you encounter it in real life. Still, nothing I find more entertaining then Confederates getting their asses kicked!
Everyone says "No one sounds like that in real life" until you meet someone who sounds like that in real life.
@robertbryant4669: I agree entirely. For there is my personal favorite "Nobody talks like that!" Sorry Charlie I do with my own evocative argot that owes itself to origins from every World locale and chronological era. More specifically (and definitely Regionally) I can only say if you disagree with me "Bless. Your. Heart!"😂🤣😂😉📚📒🖊📱❤B.W.
Funny thing: The Old Man is played by Vaughn Taylor -- in a very different role than the officious types he usually played on Twilight Zone. Taylor is such a great actor, but, of course, Gary Merrill is one of Hollywood's great scene stealers - even if he doesn't even try to get that Southern accent right.
Still, I always felt that Paradine should have actually killed the Old Man to get the book, but he would redeem himself by rejecting having to sell their souls to the Devil. "If the Confederacy is to die, let it be on hallowed ground."
But that really wasn't going to happen in the 60s.
True. The way the narrator described what happened in the original story it was definitely too gruesome by 1960s standards.
Never trust those crazy old men. Especially when they are looking for gold.
Or if they're a dead ringer for Walter Brennan, offering to "rustle up some grub". RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!
I thought that was the idea. He possesses this book of powerful black magic, but he's just a wacky old man.
I was lucky enough to meet Manely Wade Wellman in the late 70s. I was a big fan of the pulp, Weird Tales, and not many of the writers from those days were around.
Vaughn Taylor was almost unrecognisable in this episode due to old man makeup and all. For many years, I was so sure it was Vladimir Sokoloff playing the role of Tig.
...so they knew they would be using the devil's power to invoke the spell, but were surprised they'd have to rebuke their faith to do it? Talk about your "are we the baddies?" Moment...
definitely a facepalm moment from a writing perspective- witchcraft for centuries has been associated with lucifer.
and as the south is also a historically very conservative christian region, how was forsaking god a twist in this story? a better twist would be csa victory- but the black slaves would be the new masters to the whites in an independent south.
Had they'd realized sooner than they would never have obtained that book in the first place!
I can understand it actually. How many times of has humanity done a bit of evil, rationalizing it that it's done for the greater good? In this case, that bit of evil was asking the devil for power, a compromise for the "greater good" of winning their war. But if they revoked the name of God, they might realize they were rejecting goodness itself, and the "greater good" rationalization would collapse.
When moral compromise gets extreme, sometimes its better for the cause to be buried on hallowed ground.
Btw I couldn’t stream this one on paramount + last time I checked. May have changed by now but last time I checked it was broken.
At 4:11, Walter (the reviewer) points out how the camera is out-of-focus. I've been staring at the lead character for a whole minute, trying to see what Walter is talking about. I never would've noticed a problem with the focus, but yeah, a little bit.
I just rewatched this episode the other night. It’s not terrible, but not great either. It’s a weird episode for sure, the only thing that makes it interesting is the acting is good.
For all the faults this episode has, the ending is really good.
“The Red Book. NSA Trusted Networks. Otherwise known as the Ugly Red Book that won't fit on a shelf.”
2:47 "Hey, you pushed my book into a puddle. Now it's all wet. It's completely useless now! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
Guys The Wind from Nostalgia critic Alien 3 made a brief cameo!
finally! I'm so tired of movies teasing The Wind just to turn out to be some monster or alien or something lame like that. my heart breaks for the wind ='(
@@JohnnyPaisan same
I never understood how people didn't like this episode. It was always one of my favorites based on Teague alone.
The acting was poor. The casting was poor. It took way too long for the story to develop and the climax was silly
This guy is being wayyyy too harsh, this is a great ep.
The guy reviewing has the mind of a jellyfish. Not surprised.
Twighlight toberzone is must see TV. Your affection for the show is refreshing because while it shows through your critical eye is proof you left your rose colored glasses at home.
the humor saved this one from being forgotten.
Does anybody know why Teague says that him, his father, and his grandfather were all the seventh son in their families? I don't get it. Wouldn't being the sixth son have been better because the episode is about The Devil?
Seven is a powerful number in old tales, and a seventh son of a seventh son is supposed to have great power.
@@AnamFatima Thanks for clearing that up for me.
Johnny Rivers certainly thought so! And Willie Dixon before him.😂🤣😂😉🎤🎼🎵🎶🎸🎹🥁B.W.
1:51 Going all Daemon Targaryen in here XD
2:25 Once again an example of the KHW flaw (Kellys Heroes Wardrobe) - in certain scenes in Heroes the uniforms are spotless, practically pristine - dilutes/ruins what we're viewing. Similarly here,, the Union soldiers don't have any blood, dirt, muck, mud or any ickies on their uniforms. Disappointing.
It was a weekly show made in the 1960s. I don't understand the hyper criticism. I saw the episode in the early 1980s when I was about 10 years old. Easily the best thing on television at 10 pm on a weekday.
You're being a TAD harsh--Like Maple Street, good irony-free performances can rescue even the most "predictable" TZ script:
If Taylor had played Jack Elam's crazy comedy-relief coot from "Will the Real Martian...", or Merrill had tried a glass-cutting Southern accent, it would be comic, but Taylor's Teague is so straightforwardly warped from years of corruption, like the backwoods witchery in S4's "Jess-Belle", we can see the mix of greed and believing conscience-conflict on Merrill's expression.
So why did the union army prevail?
could we go as far as saying that this episode is a bit of a "the room"?
I like this episode well I'm a victim of A-war buff and I think it's creepy and I think that the old man doesn't write I don't see any laughs in it at all maybe I'm wrong but that's what I say
Thank you. That's exactly why I unironically LOVE this episode. It's so bad it's legitimately good. It takes itself so seriously, it's funny.
I can see a little message about becoming the enemy, but you’re right, it doesn’t seem to be done very well.
What was the twist? I dont get it
FRIENDLY CROSSINGS (CC)2006
Fear
Whoever gives this episode a harsh critique is under a conjuring spell by the Devil himself. 😈
The soldier chooses not to damn the south by making a pact with the devil, but in fighting a war to keep men in chains they had already done just that.
I couldn't take it as a funny episode. Although narration doesn't spell it out, I figured that all of the Confederate soldiers in the story were going to die.
Cool
Witchcraft isn't called "dark magic" it's called black magic
It reminds me of Death Note.
Yet another one that I had to pause for a moment to remember. It was okay, just not all that engaging.
Am I nuts or are all the episodes set during the Civil War always from the pov of the confederate??
Now that I think about it I don't remember any Twilight Zone episode that told of the Civil War from the unions pov.
At least in this one, the main characters are depicted as less than moral considering they're willing to use the Devil's handiwork to achieve their ends.
Always!
Not too surprising, in the 1960s the Confederacy was getting a revival as tragic heroes in a reaction to the Civil Rights movement.
@@christophertheriault3308 They already were after Reconstruction. The 1960s were the start of when the Lost Cause myth became unfavorable everywhere but the South.
The funniest part of this episode is the Confederate soldier thinking their cause deserves to be buried on 'hallowed ground'- like a social, economic, and political hierarchy built on humans enslaved is somehow 'holy'
I don't think the makers of the Twilight Zone were trying to be racist by showing stories about the Confederacy, as they made plenty of stories demonizing racism. The Confederacy was just considered part of America's heritage back then. It's only today that we want to erase every sign of it and pretend it never existed.
God is pretty fickle
If you read the entirety of the Bible, it never states anywhere that slavery as a concept is wrong. Hence why it was around for so long. Now, granted, there were plenty of Christians that were abolitionists and used excerpts from the Bible as justification such as portions of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount but again the concept is never prohibited. Though there is also the fact that the slavery practiced in the United States was different from slavery in the ancient world and even outside of America at the time. There are records of people who had been enslaved in both America and Africa that state that Africa was the far better place to be enslaved because slaves retained at least some rights. So perhaps the people who wrote the various books of the Bible throughout the centuries would have felt differently about American slavery. Who knows? That being said, all this means is that there wouldn't have been anything to directly tell a Confederate soldier that slavery was not able to be reconciled with the will of Jesus Christ.
Paul's "Epistle to Philemon" is about taking a runaway slave back. LOL!
@@WildMen4444 all men are created equal. thou shall not steal. and Moses freeing the slaves. so I'd count that as something.
“What do we call them… Damn Yankees? That’s the phrase, isn’t it? Damn yanks. But if I read aloud from this book, it’ll be the CONFEDERACY that’s damned.”
The Devil... in a Twilight Zone episode?! It's more likely than you think!
This is scraping the bottom of the barrel for Old Scratch appearances though but if the Devil was choosing sides, the CSA is the second one I'd mention.
Why would the Devil need to choose sides in the Civil War? I mean if the union soldiers found that black magic book instead of the confederates would that make much difference?
@@melissacooper8724In a war of Christians versus Christians, you can't have God on both sides.
It's just inconvenient.
@@tskmaster3837 I'm not sure I understand your concept but it sounds like that God wouldn't have been against the South had they not dabbled in the Devil's book in the first place.
Even funnier, the font looks like My Little Pony.
Not a bad episode. The Civil War episodes are fine.
Only 100 years ago
Like 1922 was 100 years ago🤔
Doing those spells is choosing the devil over God. I said out loud “ya think?!”.
Shouldve used the book. Confederacy fighting for slavery is evil enough
I know the idea is still debated but I think there's enough evidence to show that the south was fighting for state rights and not slavery since in 1861 slavery was already rare. I could be wrong but I think it's worth mentioning.
@@JohnnyPaisan Slavery was already rare? Where, in the North? The South's primary industry derived from slave labor. Corrupt politicians used the states rights excuse as a front for their hatred of Lincoln's vow that slavery lines go no further than Texas during his presidential campaign. Lincoln didn't even threaten to ban slavery altogether. He was happy to let the South keep its institution until the insurrection forced his hand.
@@JohnnyPaisan states’ rights…..to go on owning slaves. Since their entire economy and way of life depended on chattel slavery, what were those other rights that they were supposedly fighting for? 🤷🏽♀️
@@starkman78 They didn't depend on slavery for their economy. Before the war started slavery was rare. And I think it was already illeagal in like half the states. (It wasn't the North half lol) But I'm not sure what, if any, state rights they wanted but it's been a long debated topic in politics. The south believed that the state representatives should have control of civil rights
This episode was like Christmas
to Me !
Fear of losing your own immortal Soul ? The devil is a Liar ? !
Ha, Ha , Ha ! The Power to Rule the World ? ! The Paradise of Lucifer ! Revoke the Name of What God & from what human ethnic treatise as in a religious of religion Text Book ? Aha Ha , Ha , Ha , Ha , Ha ! I Am the Power &
The Master of My own Universe & need I also say that I add the following, Now I Claim Yours human subjects of the Worldly Earth and make them Mine ? ! and in the Name of Whom ? Ha , Ha , Ha , LOL !
🌀
There's some relics of past sentiments on the Twilight Zone that sully it's humanistic, empathetic, and generally progressive values. Uncritical acceptance of myths of Americana (like the Lost Cause mythology) are present in episodes dealing with the south but also in "The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms" where a group of modern day soldiers in a tank join Custer's last stand (despite being told earlier "If you see any Indians don't shoot, they've all got college degrees and they're probably taking soil samples"). We're supposed to see the soldiers as heroic, and not the native Americans who somehow overcame not only Custer's men but also apparently a tank crew with weapons from 100 years in the future. Episodes like this, "The Encounter" (who's themes were much more capably executed in "A Quality of Mercy"), and "The 7th is Made Up of Phantoms" clash with "He's Alive", "Dust", and "The Big Tall Wish" which declare that people of every stripe are people and their dreams and wishes and pain have just as much value as anyone else's. I generally like this episode, but the idea that the south (if not perhaps an individual soldier like this) wouldn't do anything dishonest or inhumane looking not only at the entire reason they went to war, but how they treated their prisoners of war, is laughable. A war to keep an entire people in chains is already damned to begin with.
When I recommend the show to others, or think on the strengths of the show or it's influences on me, I have to contend with the occasional problematic, or woefully outdated episode like this.
This is one of my least favorite episodes. Come to think of it, I'm not a fan of a lot of the episodes that deal with historical events. "Death's Head Revisited" is actually an exception, as I liked that one.
Dude was really like, "Screw god, I want slaves!"
The amount of people whining about the positive view of the confederacy twilight zone episodes is crazy. People actually adhered to the great reconciliation and the reunification of the country back the . Now division is aught by all.
I see what you are
The idea of the damnable southern cause resting in hallowed ground is ridiculous.
I have a hard time sympathizing with the Confederates, giving what they were fighting for.
I gave this a like when I heard, "Willy Wonka font".
I love this episode. I'm glad you liked it too but I think your issues with it are very nitpicky and just personal taste. which is fine, just I don't think many people will agree with you on this one.
Not exactly my favorite episode but it's okay
THIS CRITIC IS A FOOL, LACKING PERSONAL TALENT HIMSELF. "SILENT VALLEY" IS ON TWILIGHT ZONE POINT...IJS
I don't know if this episode gave me a chuckle, but I do smirk to think that the rebels who went to war on the side of slavery thought God had their backs.
Do you really think that God was taking sides in this conflict?