I think one of its great strengths is that, at the time and in the way Serling did it, a bad/grim ending was actually innovative and unexpected. Ever since, lesser lights have decided that they are cutting-edge by out-grimming each other, failing to recognize that its a mix that produces unpredictability, not an internal declaration of coolness.
Take one of my faves, Night Of The Meek. Its 86 remake aside, current writers would have each gift given take a month off his life, or have the bag consume him or the kids, or just have him put away for stealing and only later does someone realize the bag was for real--and that is what most people now expect. You watch a possession storyline--it will turn out the ghost was never banished and is now in total control. You watch an escape storyline--false safety right before ending. Aliens taking over? Well, they do want to thank you for finding the one councilman they hadn't yet co-opted--and for making yourself known. In 2002's TZ premier, the whole fate of the goth-rebel girl was something the EMH would have rejected for a holo-novel plot. For most current anthology SF, asking about the direction of the ending is like asking whether DeeDee will get in Dexter's Lab.
Serling's characters and plots, even in sucky eps like 'Spur Of The Moment', often did what our simple expectations said they would not. That is why actors and plots and titles are remembered, as opposed to ' the one where she opened the door and she's still her abusive parents' prisoner for eternity'. You don't have to go Disney. But sometimes there's hope in the dark, too, and Serling understood that.
Take one of my faves, Night Of The Meek. Its 86 remake aside, current writers would have each gift given take a month off his life, or have the bag consume him or the kids, or just have him put away for stealing and only later does someone realize the bag was for real--and that is what most people now expect. You watch a possession storyline--it will turn out the ghost was never banished and is now in total control. You watch an escape storyline--false safety right before ending. Aliens taking over? Well, they do want to thank you for finding the one councilman they hadn't yet co-opted--and for making yourself known. In 2002's TZ premier, the whole fate of the goth-rebel girl was something the EMH would have rejected for a holo-novel plot. For most current anthology SF, asking about the direction of the ending is like asking whether DeeDee will get in Dexter's Lab.
Serling's characters and plots, even in sucky eps like 'Spur Of The Moment', often did what our simple expectations said they would not. That is why actors and plots and titles are remembered, as opposed to ' the one where she opened the door and she's still her abusive parents' prisoner for eternity'. You don't have to go Disney. But sometimes there's hope in the dark, too, and Serling understood that.
