{"id":3388,"date":"2010-06-25T00:00:30","date_gmt":"2010-06-25T04:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=3388"},"modified":"2010-06-27T23:54:32","modified_gmt":"2010-06-28T03:54:32","slug":"twilight-zone-the-changing-of-the-guard-1962","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=3388","title":{"rendered":"Twilight Zone: The Changing of the Guard (1962)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Reviewed by Melissa McGahee<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThey all come and go, like ghosts.\u201d – Professor Fowler (Donald Pleasance)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Professor Ellis Fowler (Donald Pleasance) is a wonderful man who has been a diligent and caring teacher for 51 years.\u00a0 At the end of class before Christmas vacation, he allows his students to leave early upon reading them one last poem to contemplate. On his way out, the headmaster calls Fowler into his office.\u00a0 The headmaster informs Ellis that after much consideration the school council had decided to hire a younger teacher to replace him.\u00a0 Fowler is heartbroken, and though he handles himself respectfully he is\u00a0 visibly crushed by the idea of being forced into retirement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He retreats into his classroom and takes a gun out of the desk.\u00a0 He stares at it for a bit and then reluctantly returns home.\u00a0 Lost in nostalgia and memories, he glances through old grade books and recalls each student that made an impact on him.\u00a0 Every child he taught stands out in his mind and he is grateful for every last one.\u00a0 He remarks on the ways in which the children had acted.\u00a0 Soon, Mr. Fowler begins to think ill of himself.\u00a0 He states aloud that in all his years he had accomplished nothing.\u00a0 Though he feels as though the students had provided him with some of his greatest memories, he fears that he has left no mark behind.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Drowned in self-pity, he visits a gravestone, gun in hand.\u00a0 He contemplates suicide but just as he is about to end his life, a school bell rings.\u00a0 Compelled by the unusual timing, he walks across and enters his classroom.\u00a0\u00a0 Soon, the students of years past begin visiting him.\u00a0 The ghosts explain to the kind professor that the influence his class had provided them solace in their gravest and darkest moments.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The genius of Donald Pleasance has aided many horror productions.\u00a0 In films that could have easily been contrite, he added depth.\u00a0 No one could deny that his portrayal of Dr. Loomis helped make \u201cHalloween\u201d the honored classic that it is. What more could one ask for than this brilliant actor showcasing his talents on \u201cThe Twilight Zone\u201d?\u00a0 He delivers on every level and whether alone or on camera with fellow actors, all eyes are on him.\u00a0 He steals the scenes seemingly without effort.\u00a0 He brings life into Fowler and makes him a sympathetic hero in the first scene.\u00a0 Donald Pleasance leaves the audience with a shred of hope that today\u2019s actors will watch and learn.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Overall, the episode is a sentimental one.\u00a0 The dialogue is intelligent and Pleasance naturally offers his soliloquies eloquently.\u00a0 One would expect nothing else.\u00a0 Though there is no intrigue or surprise ending, this is definitely one to remember.\u00a0 Like, Jack Klugman\u2019s performance in the episode \u201cIn Praise of Pip,\u201d Pleasance tears at the heartstrings of the viewers.\u00a0 More than that, there is a message that the episode brings.\u00a0 Never underestimate the impact you have on one\u2019s lives.\u00a0 Despite the career one chooses, if the intention to help is what motivates, then the outcome will satisfy the intention.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

RSR Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Reviewed by Melissa McGahee \u201cThey all come and go, like ghosts.\u201d – Professor Fowler (Donald Pleasance) Professor Ellis Fowler (Donald Pleasance) is a wonderful man who has been a diligent and caring teacher for 51 years.\u00a0 At the end of class before Christmas vacation, he allows his students to leave early upon reading them one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[843,1163,621,729],"class_list":["post-3388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-843","tag-donald-pleasance","tag-rod-serling","tag-twilight-zone"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3388\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}