Exploring The Twilight Zone, Episode #121: "In Praise of Pip"

Season 5 of the original series began in late September 1963 with a somber episode about a bookie (Jack Klugman) whose son lays dying ... in Vietnam!

The Twilight Zone, Episode #121: "In Praise of Pip" (original air date September 27, 1963)

The Plot: Max Phillips (Jack Klugman), a middle-aged bookmaker who never made good, constantly worries about his son Pip, who is serving in the armed forces in Vietnam. Then he receives word that Pip has been seriously wounded and may be near death "in the place where there's not even supposed to be a war."

Torn up by the news and plagued with guilt about his many years of poor parenting, Max prays to God that he be allowed to see and talk to his son. And lo and behold, his son Pip appears -- age 10!

The Goods: Written by Rod Serling, "In Praise of Pip" speaks eloquently. According to one account, "By 1962, the U.S. military presence in South Vietnam had reached some 9,000 troops, compared with fewer than 800 during the 1950s." It's safe to say, however, that most Americans were little aware of what was happening in Southeast Asia. Yet Serling kicked off a new season revolving around that escalating conflict. (Oddly, Serling had set the opening hospital scene in Laos; it was CBS who insisted that he change it.)

The series was cancelled the previous year, and Serling accepted a teaching position at Antioch College, his alma mater. When CBS resumed production on the show mid-way through the television year, Serling could not commit full-time, and Season 4 -- forced to double in length to fill a one-hour time slot -- noticeably suffered. With the show's renewal for a fifth season, Serling could turn his complete attention to it, resulting in some outstanding episodes.

While "In Praise of Pip" is not on the top shelf of the show's achivements, it is a very good episode, not least because of the sadly prescient concerns about the devastating effects of yet another war upon the families of young soldiers. And, on a surface level, Max Phillips represents all parents who regret the way they raised their children, but you don't have to dig very deep to see that Max Phillips was also standing in for the military leaders who were sending young men off to war in a foreign land, with the very real possibility that they would die, for reasons they did not fully understand.

Sad to say, it's even more relevant today.

The Trivia: The show brought back two actors with TZ experience. Jack Klugman is the picture of despair and remorse; he'd already appeared in three previous episodes, notably "A Game of Pool."

Bill Mumy, who plays 10-year-old Pip with great joy and empathy, had two other memorable episodes under his belt ("It's a Good Life," "Long Distance Call").

On the Next Episode: The inspiration for the recent Real Steal: "In the near future, boxing has been outlawed and is performed by mechanical robots. To replace his broken client, the manager decides to enter the ring and replace him."

Catching up: Episodes covered by Twitch | Episodes covered by Film School Rejects

We're running through all 156 of the original Twilight Zone episodes, and we're not doing it alone! Our friends at Film School Rejects have entered the Zone as well, only on alternating weeks. So definitely tune in over at FSR and feel free to also follow along on Twitter accounts @ScreenAnarhcy and @rejectnation.