As a small community prepares to execute a remorseless killer, the sky above the town turns pitch black. Even as the Sheriff and the town priest try to figure out what’s happening, the town prepares to administer its own version of justice.
Some reviewers have complained that this Twilight Zone episode is a bit too heavy-handed for its own good but it’s actually one of my favorite episodes, (Then again, I’ve always been against the death penalty and, for the most part, critics only consider a show to be heavy-handed when they disagree with the message.) While the writing may not be subtle, this is a well-acted episode and, while watching it, you truly do get the feeling that a community is slowly giving into the darkness of hatred.
This episode was written by Rod Serling and directed by Abner Biberman. It was originally broadcast on March 27th, 1964.
Through the Shattered Lens 
I’m quite fond of this episode, too. I’m also against the death penalty, but I don’t think that has anything to do with why I like this episode so much. I love the bit at the end when the radio reports come flooding in, describing inexplicable darkness in various “trouble spots” across the world (Vietnam, East-West Berlin, etc).
In his book, “The Twilight Zone Companion”, Marc Scott Zicree describes the episode as “pretentious” and undone by “its own pomposity”. Not really sure what he means there–he doesn’t really go into much detail about the episode. It’s worth noting that Zicree is the same person who said that “The Mirror” presented a “one-sided” view of the Castro regime. If anything, I would say that the Cubn Revolution got off lightly, but I digress.
Also, you may note that Ivan Dixon, who appears as the reverend in “I Am The Night–Color Me Black”, was featured as Bolie Jackson in an earlier episode of “The Twilight Zone”, entitled “The Big Tall Wish”.
LikeLike