For the second time in a row, Rod Serling takes his protagonist back in time by twenty five years. However in the prior Twilight Zone episode, "The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine", Ida Lupino's character escapes into a world of her own imagining, trapped by the obsession of a youth and glamor she can no longer have but desperately desires. In "Walking Distance", business executive Martin Sloan (Gig Young) avoids that fatal leap, taking the advice of his father to stop looking behind and start looking ahead. It's a poignant and sentimental episode, one that certainly resonates with anyone who might have been around when the story first aired. But there's the rub as well; no matter what your present age is, it seems like that period of time corresponding to one's pre-teen years is what constitutes one's personal golden age.
I don't know if there ever was a town as tranquil and idyllic as Homewood, but I'd like to think so. A place where friends and neighbors come together to supervise their kids on the playground and enjoy evening concerts at the town square. Kids playing outside, just think about that one for a minute. It just doesn't happen anymore, or maybe I'm living on a different planet.
For all the sci-fi stories I've seen in which a character's past and future selves were never supposed to meet or it would precipitate a disaster, I'm glad Rod Serling decided to go the other way. Yet interestingly, it was only the elder Martin who was ever shown with his parents. The conversation between Martin and his father is one of the most impactful and memorable exchanges the series had to offer, and one of the most heart rending as well. Armed with a second chance, Martin Sloan finds himself within walking distance of a new life if only he chooses to accept it.
I don't know if there ever was a town as tranquil and idyllic as Homewood, but I'd like to think so. A place where friends and neighbors come together to supervise their kids on the playground and enjoy evening concerts at the town square. Kids playing outside, just think about that one for a minute. It just doesn't happen anymore, or maybe I'm living on a different planet.
For all the sci-fi stories I've seen in which a character's past and future selves were never supposed to meet or it would precipitate a disaster, I'm glad Rod Serling decided to go the other way. Yet interestingly, it was only the elder Martin who was ever shown with his parents. The conversation between Martin and his father is one of the most impactful and memorable exchanges the series had to offer, and one of the most heart rending as well. Armed with a second chance, Martin Sloan finds himself within walking distance of a new life if only he chooses to accept it.