The basic tale here is not bad. The presentation of it,however,is another matter.
The big problem is that most of the hour-long Alfred Hitchcock shows are about 30 minutes too long,and this is a great example. That is much of the problem.
As to this story... The community members in this episode are ridiculous. Nobody over the age of 12 would be the least bit interested in the object that the main character bought from the carnival sideshow,but the townsfolk are absolutely mesmerized by this object to the point of it being pretty ludicrous. These people attach a cosmic significance to this object that simply does not ring true at all,in fact it is embarrassingly silly to be honest.
The story drags on and on,and eventually comes to a macabre ending that is darkly amusing.
The cast is at least interesting,there are many familiar faces here and they all put in an honest effort and manage to do a good job with what little they have to work with.
Bottom line? If this were 30 minutes instead of 60 minutes,I think it would be much better. Despite a good cast and a good basic story,there is too much filler material that ruins the show. The ending is somewhat satisfying at least. 5/10 weak.
The big problem is that most of the hour-long Alfred Hitchcock shows are about 30 minutes too long,and this is a great example. That is much of the problem.
As to this story... The community members in this episode are ridiculous. Nobody over the age of 12 would be the least bit interested in the object that the main character bought from the carnival sideshow,but the townsfolk are absolutely mesmerized by this object to the point of it being pretty ludicrous. These people attach a cosmic significance to this object that simply does not ring true at all,in fact it is embarrassingly silly to be honest.
The story drags on and on,and eventually comes to a macabre ending that is darkly amusing.
The cast is at least interesting,there are many familiar faces here and they all put in an honest effort and manage to do a good job with what little they have to work with.
Bottom line? If this were 30 minutes instead of 60 minutes,I think it would be much better. Despite a good cast and a good basic story,there is too much filler material that ruins the show. The ending is somewhat satisfying at least. 5/10 weak.