The ending of this episode had me in tears. It's a little odd to admit that since I rolled my eyes at everything that happened during the first two-thirds of the episode. The makeup and performances used to convey the aging parents were borderline hilarious and sadly unconvincing. But, at the end of the episode, a certain character returns and her performance pretty much sold everything else. It was like a gut punch of emotion for me. Let's just say that if you hold certain religious beliefs you're going to get a lot out of this episode.
8 Reviews
Sentimental return from magical little girl!
blanbrn26 December 2020
This "Amazing Stories" episode from season 2 "Without Diana" is one that's sentimental a good bye like one. Set in the 1940's a war time dad("Five Easy Pieces" Billy Green Bush) once again sees his wife and daughter Diana on an Easter egg hunt only magic in the woods and a valuable egg take the little girl away. Thru the years the thoughts and pain never goes away. Only oddly thru magic and fate a reunion happens really this is an emotional and touching episode one that touches us proving that time goes yet memories of our loved ones last forever!
Yes, i am a 44 year old man that tears up, watching certain movies that touch me.
sondisbpt8 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I'm surprised at the negative reviews this episode has gotten as its seems to have been taken very seriously. Yeah, the facial make up, didn't match the husband's hands but i just went with it.
Make no mistake about it, this is a sentimental tear jerker. I don't remember tearing up as a boy, being that age i didn't understand much i was looking at and as a result, had a stone look on my face. But watching it as an adult, years ago, had me tearing up like a baby.
Sara Genevieve James, know as Gennie James played her role with perfection and was the most adorable thing...
I actually didn't think the entity was that of the parents little girl that died, 40 year earlier, that manifested itself to the husband. I believe it was an angel in the form of their daughter, sent by god to give closure to the father's torment all those years.
He never did get a chance to see when his daughter would forgive him, in addition to her death.
I think because of this, he suffered more of a burden than his wife did, being she experienced the full 8 years of her daughter's love, before she died, while he couldn't as he was fighting in the war.
I kinda felt his statement, " I'm nothing without you" was sorta selfish as it came off as if he was concerned more about being a , "somebody" than losing her. I know, i'm just nit picking and probably reading too much into the statement.
overall, the episode was sappy, sentimental and just plain sad to watch but as a male, that happens to be a teddy bear in terms of having a soft spot, i do tear up ( when nobody's looking of coarse )
There are only a handful of episodes from the twilight zone ( 1985 ) Amazing stories ( 1987,1988 ) and Tales from the dark side ( 1980's ) that can actually make me tear up and cry. This episode is one of them and its just one of the reasons why its one of my favorite episodes of all times,far as these types of tv shows go.
I recommend it to anyone that's a little religious and likes stories of the heart.
Make no mistake about it, this is a sentimental tear jerker. I don't remember tearing up as a boy, being that age i didn't understand much i was looking at and as a result, had a stone look on my face. But watching it as an adult, years ago, had me tearing up like a baby.
Sara Genevieve James, know as Gennie James played her role with perfection and was the most adorable thing...
I actually didn't think the entity was that of the parents little girl that died, 40 year earlier, that manifested itself to the husband. I believe it was an angel in the form of their daughter, sent by god to give closure to the father's torment all those years.
He never did get a chance to see when his daughter would forgive him, in addition to her death.
I think because of this, he suffered more of a burden than his wife did, being she experienced the full 8 years of her daughter's love, before she died, while he couldn't as he was fighting in the war.
I kinda felt his statement, " I'm nothing without you" was sorta selfish as it came off as if he was concerned more about being a , "somebody" than losing her. I know, i'm just nit picking and probably reading too much into the statement.
overall, the episode was sappy, sentimental and just plain sad to watch but as a male, that happens to be a teddy bear in terms of having a soft spot, i do tear up ( when nobody's looking of coarse )
There are only a handful of episodes from the twilight zone ( 1985 ) Amazing stories ( 1987,1988 ) and Tales from the dark side ( 1980's ) that can actually make me tear up and cry. This episode is one of them and its just one of the reasons why its one of my favorite episodes of all times,far as these types of tv shows go.
I recommend it to anyone that's a little religious and likes stories of the heart.
Saccharine Beyond Belief
Hitchcoc31 May 2014
Snotty little girl goes missing. She probably went down in the quicksand. Her family lives their lives in the shadow of her death, never quite being what they could be. This is a perfectly legitimate plot setup. We go way into the future. The father is now a doddering old guy and his wife is dying. They have run a school but no longer have the energy to keep things going. This is understandable. He is having trouble letting her go (as if he had any choice in the matter). Now we bring in a bunch of sentimental schlupp with the daughter showing up in her Girl Scout uniform, at the door. It gets really maudlin and predictable. It's a plot that has been done about a thousand times already.
Saccharine....
planktonrules24 June 2015
WWII ended only months ago and a father worries that his daughter doesn't understand why we was gone for many of her formative years. Considering he was fighting in the war, you can only assume his 8 year-old is a moron--else wise she would have known where he was, why he was gone and the sorts of things he was doing! During a picnic with her girl scout friends and her parents, the kid disappears. The police arrive and tell the parents that there's quicksand near the park (?????????????????????) and perhaps she wandered into it and died. Quicksand...right next to a park...right!!
A whole bunch of years suddenly pass and the parents are now oldsters. As she lies in bed waiting to die, the mother is saying that their past decades were a waste--due to false hope that their daughter would somehow return. They apparently wrote a book about all this and how craptastic their life was due to the disappearance of the kid. The husband, in response, whines about how he cannot live without her. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door...their little wayward brat has returned home--and she looks just like she did in 1946.
From my description, you can tell I didn't like it. The show was manipulative, saccharine and just didn't make any sense. Well made, technically, but as was too often the case with the series, it was apparently written by chimps...
A whole bunch of years suddenly pass and the parents are now oldsters. As she lies in bed waiting to die, the mother is saying that their past decades were a waste--due to false hope that their daughter would somehow return. They apparently wrote a book about all this and how craptastic their life was due to the disappearance of the kid. The husband, in response, whines about how he cannot live without her. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door...their little wayward brat has returned home--and she looks just like she did in 1946.
From my description, you can tell I didn't like it. The show was manipulative, saccharine and just didn't make any sense. Well made, technically, but as was too often the case with the series, it was apparently written by chimps...
Will they see her again?
sonnyschlaegel16 June 2007
Warning: Spoilers
George Willoughby has returned from WW II. There's an estrangement between him and his seven year old daughter, Diana. He apologizes to her for having been away so long. He had no choice. Shortly afterwards, Diana walks away and gets lost - probably in the nearby swamps. She can't be found. Decades later: Kathryn, George's wife, is very ill. She is going to die soon. She says she has lost all hope of ever seeing their daughter again. She thinks it was wrong to hope for such a long time since it made her think about Diana's and her misfortune too much, so life wasn't as good as it could have been; she should have faced reality sooner. Is there really no chance left to see Diana again?
This is a quite sentimental story. If you don't like 'tear jerkers' I think you'd better not watch it. I think it's comparable with 'Dorothy and Ben' (#1.18), also a quite sentimental story. The stories also have the same main theme: the afterlife. I liked 'Dorothy and Ben' better; I think it is more mysterious (Ben's telepathic communication with Dorothy) and has a little more suspense (will Dorothy wake up from her coma?). But I liked this one, too. I think the theme of the story (the afterlife) is very interesting. (But I don't say that the story is very profound; after all, it is only about 20 minutes long). I also liked the music. It's more conspicuous than most other scores in this series. It is by Georges Delerue. I liked his music for 'The Doll' (#1.22) better, but the music for this episode is still so good as to deserve mention.
All in all, a good episode in my opinion. I think if you liked 'Dorothy and Ben' you will probably like this one too and should consider watching it when you have the chance.
This is a quite sentimental story. If you don't like 'tear jerkers' I think you'd better not watch it. I think it's comparable with 'Dorothy and Ben' (#1.18), also a quite sentimental story. The stories also have the same main theme: the afterlife. I liked 'Dorothy and Ben' better; I think it is more mysterious (Ben's telepathic communication with Dorothy) and has a little more suspense (will Dorothy wake up from her coma?). But I liked this one, too. I think the theme of the story (the afterlife) is very interesting. (But I don't say that the story is very profound; after all, it is only about 20 minutes long). I also liked the music. It's more conspicuous than most other scores in this series. It is by Georges Delerue. I liked his music for 'The Doll' (#1.22) better, but the music for this episode is still so good as to deserve mention.
All in all, a good episode in my opinion. I think if you liked 'Dorothy and Ben' you will probably like this one too and should consider watching it when you have the chance.
I think the last reviewer cried.
eldoramage17 August 2020
If you're like me and you take every opportunity in life to feel things. This episode will definitely do the trick. You may just find yourself hugging your children. The previous review, though cold and unfeeling, was correct. Though the episode is not about whining about loss. It is about accepting it and continuing to live. Better have tissues handy for this one. You are going to need them. It is, by far, the most emotional episode followed by the episode, Dorothy and Ben.
A Bittersweet Ghost Story
foster1493 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I'm giving this episode all 10 stars for its deft handling of the premise and the hammer-the-heartstrings conclusion. Like sondisbpt and sundialpictures-01657, I also tear up at schmaltzy stories like this one.
And while I do think that what appears at the end is indeed Diana's spirit, as per the rules of the ghost game (looking exactly the same as when having passed - ref. Dean Koontz, "Odd Thomas"), I have no question that the visitation was written to be Divinely orchestrated for the same compassionate purpose.
And while I do think that what appears at the end is indeed Diana's spirit, as per the rules of the ghost game (looking exactly the same as when having passed - ref. Dean Koontz, "Odd Thomas"), I have no question that the visitation was written to be Divinely orchestrated for the same compassionate purpose.
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