Now and then someone claims that television is evil. Television's defenders, however, note the medium has the virtue of being able to delve into evil.
People who defend TV sometimes point to the early '60s CBS series "The Twilight Zone" as an example of good television that occasionally exposed evil. The sci-fi fantasy show is something of a cult. A Seattle shrine for that cult is Theater Schmeater, where "Twilight Zone" scripts are staged as if they were one-act plays.
The four "Zone" scripts that now running at the Schmea all delve into evil. One case is psychological. Another is theological. The other two are political.
None of the playlets is great drama. And the Schmea is a low-budget operation that leaves special effects strictly to the audience's imagination. Slow, human-powered set changes hamper momentum.
"Zone" marathons are, however, entertainment that adults and youngsters can enjoy together. Anyone under 18 gets in free. And the "Zone" actors make up in broad, vigorous technique what they lack in subtle characterizations and high-tech stagecraft. Directors Steven Shults and Shawna Wilson deliver scenes that are sharp vignettes if not mighty revelations.
The psychological episode, "Perchance to Dream," features Matt Fontaine as a man with a lethal case of insomnia. He has a bad heart. And his dreams are heart-stoppers. Mary Jane Gibson plays one of his nightmare characters, The Cat Woman. In a clingy black lace body suit, Gibson doesn't suggest a cat. But she sure does a good job with suggestive and seductive dancing.
As a psychiatrist, Marty Mukhalian provides a reassuring element of cool sanity. One wants to yell at her, "Just give him a sedative or a tranquilizer," but that is not part of playwright Charles Beaumont's scheme. And it may not have been part of standard psychiatry 40 years ago.
The theological story involves none other than Satan. It seems politically incorrect that only women fall for his ruses in this tale -- not much progress since Genesis and the Garden of Eden. Anyway, Scott Nath comes across as a devil who could arouse sympathy. Susan McIntyre, as a hapless tourist, at least demonstrates considerable anguish before falling for The Evil One's deceit.
The two political pieces have to do with atomic weapons and the end of the world. In the first one, Nath is a virtuous survivor of a hellish war. He represents faith. A blustering, bullying Stephen Grenley represents post-Holocaust fascism. Again, one would like to yell advice: "Just say what's in the cave! What's the big deal?" But playwright Rod Serling, the creator of "The Twilight Zone," is determined to highlight stupidity and destructiveness vs. good sense and survival.
The other post-apocalypse piece is a comedy. Fontaine, Gibson and Amy Rider are wandering astronauts who make a forced landing on a far-out asteroid. The asteroid's far-outness combines death and ideals. The acting satirizes the silly seriousness of space adventure super heroes. Again, Mukhalian provides a note of sweet sanity.
Between episodes, Andrew Laird Haines, as series host Serling, offers ironic comments that are very portentous and a little ludicrous.
