It's a Good Life

Top shelf episode for sure. Billy Mumy was quite the child actor. I've been rewatching Lost in Space as well, and was amazed to see him in an early episode with a minute plus dialog heavy scene all by himself. But that would be at least five years later.

This is remarkably effective horror that remains absolutely effective.

I do wonder if Mumy fully understood the script. The line about having to make someone "go on fire" is subtly horrific.

Update: there's a copy of the script online, and indeed the "go on fire" bit was written longer and speaks of the man on fire running through the fields screaming. I wonder if they shortened because just how young Mumy was, or maybe it was thought too horrific for TV.

Whatever the reason, I think the short version they used was more effective because it seems more ominous.

This episode is based on a short science fiction story by Jerome Bixby. When I started watching the episode, I immediately recalled having read the story in a collection of classic science fiction short stories. It is based on the premise that a baby with powerful mental powers is born in a small farming community. In the original story, the physician attending the birth immediately recognizes the baby's power and tries to kill him. However, the baby also has enormous instincts for self-preservation and kills the doctor and somehow isolates the community from the rest of the world and perhaps universe. It is never resolved whether the baby simply deleted the rest of the world (universe) or somehow transported the community away from the rest of the world. The boy (Anthony Fremont) is now six years old and there are apparently few people left in the community. Everyone, and that includes his parents, is terrified of him. He has the normal inability of a six-year-old in separating his wishes from the reality of others. He can, with a simple thought, end a life, change the weather or make a television work without electricity. The community is completely cut off from everything else, so they must produce their food and make do with the other diminishing resources. Anthony is capable of reading thoughts and detecting disapproval, so everyone must always tell him that what he has done is good, even when someone is killed. Other than his incredible power, Anthony is a normal six-year-old with the emotional immaturity and impulsiveness. It is a powerful episode with the moral ambiguity of perhaps killing a dangerous child. Fans of the original Star Trek series will no doubt recognize the seeds for the episode, "Charlie X." When Charlie is being taken away, Captain Kirk is told, "He would destroy you or force you to destroy him in order to save yourselves." It is clear that the people around Anthony are in the same position, for it is likely he will get worse if they survive until he reaches adolescence.

I certainly cannot agree with the previous poster who found this episode partly humorous-- in fact, this is one of the few almost unbearably frightening Twilight Zone shows. A young boy's power to control his community through his childish whims is an excellent allegory of the power of any dictator. I imagine that office holders in North Korea spend most of their day saying something similar to "it's good that you did that." This episode powerfully portrays unchecked narcissism. I do agree that the "special effects" version in the Twilight Zone movie is inferior, not only because it is overproduced but because the little boy is presented as brilliant and perhaps even redeemable.

It's a Good Life is one of the best known episodes of The Twilight Zone - and for good reason, as it's easily one of the best episodes of the classic TV show. Of course, the great parody that The Simpsons did of it contributes to its well-known status, but there's far more here than merely a base for a 'Treehouse of Horror' segment. We are introduced to a little town; a town with no cars, no machines and it's in a world with no cities or other settlements. We are told that this town is the victim of a monster who controls it with his mind - and just wait until you see who the monster is! The best episodes of The Twilight Zone are the ones that combine mystery with intrigue and ingenuity; thus making this one of the best episodes. It's a Good Life is also very humorous, and when the characters say everything is 'good', it's hard not to at least crack a smile. There isn't a great deal of 'bite' in this episode, as it mainly concentrates on the implications of the storyline, and it's mostly dialogue based; but it doesn't matter because the words uttered are always entertaining and overall; this is a major success.

No need to recap the plot. As I recall, this oddball episode created a stir from the outset. It's a tricky premise, making a kid the demonic villain. I'm guessing that had not The Bad Seed (1956) been a movie success with its wicked little girl, this premise would never have flown. Credit the cast for making it fly despite the questionable material. Little Mumy is perfect with his impish face and searing glare. I expect the role has followed him for a lifetime. Then too, there's the bevy of adults cowering in his presence, where everything evil he does is "good". Seeing the brawny John Larch quaking in his son's presence is especially unnerving. On the other hand, I wish they had held the Jack-in-the-Box frame a little longer so it could soak in. Still, having it flit by has its own brand of nightmarish impact. Anyway, the premise was a daring one for its time, as Serling's extended prolog suggests. Nonetheless, as the half-hour's lasting reputation shows, the effort succeeded, and in spades.