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The star of this superb episode is Seeleg Lester, the writer of the teleplay.

In this unforgettable episode, Seeleg exhibits perfect plotting, pacing, and particularly characterization.

Unforgettable characters are introduced throughout, from Jack Weston's unforgettable materialist, Fred Calvert, to the omnivorous reader, the inadvertently hilarious elevator operator, Mavis, to the gruff roughneck, Johnny Mack Brown.

In addition, the core cast remains young and vigorous.

Finally, superb background music is provided by Russ Garcia.

Two seldom-mentioned attributes of Perry Mason episodes, that contribute to their excellence, are the masterful use of music and the spacious length of episodes. The music, which is contributed by Russ Garcia and many other masters of the genre, is an almost operatic background. In fact, the music sometimes makes the episode. Too, as originally aired, the episodes were as long as 53 minutes, which allowed much more plot unfolding that today's TV episodes of about 40 min. Then there are the excellent screenwriters like Seelig Lester, whose characterizations are unforgettable. Wish I could have met some of the contributors to the show.

Roddenberry: Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Abrams: Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore familiar new worlds, to seek out old life and older civilizations, to boldly go where every man has gone before.

Tiresome oater stuffed with cowboy fistfights and tiresome head-'em-off-at-the-pass chases.

The confluence of three factors make this a timeless masterpiece for me: Bernard Herrmann's haunting score that reaches secret corners deep within; the universal desire to escape one's ineluctable destiny, back to one's safe, sheltered past; and Serling's World War II experiences, which warped him into the master story-teller he became. Each of us dreams of a return to the paradise of childhood, however fanciful. In most of us, something gives, something snaps, and we reluctantly turn away, back to face our fate. Serling understood and accepted this natural process. Thanks partly to Walking Distance, I now understand it, too.

By any standard, the greatest movie every made.

It's a WWII submarine movie, complete with sonar pinging.

Plus Sea Hunt, with underwater grappling with a monster.

The background music is in both major and minor keys.

The sets are comparable with those of Star Trek.

The dialog is minimal and nary a word is mispronounced.

The computers beep and boop obligingly.

There's a countdown scene, all the way from 10 to 1. The tension builds relentlessly.

The technology is comparable to that in any garage.

The Mystery Science Theater guys are not in any scene.

The captain is considerate enough to spell out the new planet, "Andros I," for the preliterate.

Best of all, the movie end reliably, each time it's shown.

All things considered, the synergy is stunning. Stunning, I say.

Many of you think Breaking Bad a dark comedy.

I, however, find nothing comedic about the nihilism of drug addiction beyond De Quincy. I saw enough of that in the Sixties, and it wasn't not hilarious then.

Neither do I consider the breakup of the family to be humorous. The absolute amorality of a man destroying other people to profit his own family is incomprehensible to me.

The wanton, pornographically lingering brutality, too, fails to elicit chuckles from me, what with the sundry decapitations, sliced carotid arteries, exploding heads, dissolution in various industrial chemicals, etc., ad nauseam.

As much as I enjoy the writing, acting, cinematography, plotting, and especially characterization of this series, I do so despite the brutalizing effect it has on viewers.

Perhaps I'm an anachronism, for I consider it a cautionary tale rather than a comedy of any shade.

* More campire than vampire. * According to IMDb, Mary Carlisle was born in 1912 and no date of death is given. * Perhaps those vampire bites have affected her longevity. * How differently we would perceive the 1930s and 1940s if the movies had been filmed in color. The era seems impossibly distant. * This is possibly the most hypophotonic movie ever made. I can almost count the photons in some scenes. * If you're wondering why the catalog of disjointed thoughts, it's because IMDb doesn't allow reviews shorter than ten lines, for some logorrheic reason, so I'll keep on rambling, line after line, until IMDb's software lets me know that the "review" is long enough for submission on this site. * I've seen many reviews shorter than ten lines. Does anyone know how to avoid having to write reviews with a minimum of ten lines?

SCTV has a hilarious Perry Como concert. See YouTube.com at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1yvS_m_7eE If the link doesn't work, look for "SCTV Perry Como" at YouTube. Includes Eugene Levy, John Candy, Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, the Juul Halmeyer Dancers et al. SCTV has a hilarious Perry Como concert. See YouTube.com at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1yvS_m_7eE If the link doesn't work, look for "SCTV Perry Como" at YouTube. Includes Eugene Levy, John Candy, Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, the Juul Halmeyer Dancers et al. SCTV has a hilarious Perry Como concert. See YouTube.com at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1yvS_m_7eE If the link doesn't work, look for "SCTV Perry Como" at YouTube. Includes Eugene Levy, John Candy, Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, the Juul Halmeyer Dancers et al.

How is it possible that this show has a four-star rating when most of the user reviews are 10 stars? Somebody needs to study their division. For what it is--a repetitive I like the show, even though I'm not a truck driver. However, one thing bothers me. I recall reading somewhere the the initial encounter, where the Chrome Shop Mafia meets the trucker, is a fake encounter. The trucker drivers are notified in advance that they have been selected. In fact, there is no surprise parking lot encounter, as we are led to believe on TV. The CSM are amazingly talented at what they do. Now if they just had a few hundred such teams fixing trucks around America, it might become safer to drive.

The more I see of the foul-mouthed hacks who pass as the comedians of today, the better John Candy seems in retrospect. I miss John Candy and the relatively genteel 1980s. I miss John Candy as Del Griffith. I miss John Candy in The Neat Guys. I miss John Candy as Dr. Tongue. I miss John Candy as Johnny LaRue. I miss John Candy as Mayor Tommy Shanks. I miss John Candy as Harry Crumb. I miss John Candy as the Shmenge Brothers. I miss John Candy as William B. Williams. I miss John Candy as Jack Chester. I miss John Candy. Some day, they will create a strong AI-based avatar of John and we will be able to enjoy a simulacrum of John, which will have to do.

As silly as it may seem, this movie is about love. Love between a man and a woman. Love for a friend in need. It's a fantasy world in which bullets hit only villains and wounds heal within hours. Nevertheless, it's a welcome relief from the dog-eat-dog world in which we survive. It's an extended-family world. It's a return to childhood, where love conquers all. But that's just my opinion. This line added to fulfill the arbitrary 10-line requirement. This line added to fulfill the arbitrary 10-line requirement. This line added to fulfill the arbitrary 10-line requirement. This line added to fulfill the arbitrary 10-line requirement.

The tutti orchestra blares Elgar. The leather-clad actors declaim with hand outstretched. The cameras pan across the Roman Empire. I yawn. Why, you ask? The beginning is all exposition. Actors usually are hired to show, not tell. Possibly it gets better later on, but as a member of the Baby Boomers, I haven't the nanoseconds to waste on British-accented, slowly developing pseudo-history. Varus, give me back my legions. Then give me back the time I spent watching this. The tutti orchestra blares Elgar. The leather-clad actors declaim with hand outstretched. The cameras pan across the Roman Empire. I yawn. Why, you ask? The beginning is all exposition. Actors usually are hired to show, not tell. Possibly it gets better later on, but as a member of the Baby Boomers, I haven't the nanoseconds to waste on British-accented, slowly developing pseudo-history. Varus, give me back my legions. Then give me back the time I spent watching this.

Sweet Johnny!

The contrast between Johnny's sunny personality and the darkness of his situation makes this episode particularly bittersweet.

That Earl can accept that there are things he never will be able to make up for is a sign of maturation, if only slight maturation.

Imaginative story-telling and meaningful comedy-writing.

Too bad the series was canceled.

Sweet Johnny!

The 10-line minimum for a review seems arbitrary, as if bloated reviews are preferred.

Sweet Johnny!

Got news for you.

In 50 years, you and your hip popular culture will look even more dated that this movie does now.

Your grandkids will laugh and cringe as they see the dialog and fashions that seem trendy today.

Time out-modes all.

On second thought, it's unlikely movies will be watched in 50 years.

They will seem impossibly slow--and possibly retarded--to the hyper-accelerated brains of our descendants.

Ultimately, there will be so much culture that whole swathes of it will be discarded permanently.

But then I digress.

Enjoyable, well-written puppet adventures on beautiful sets. Produced by people who obviously respect children, unlike much of the hateful and/or politically correct children's fare now available. Would recommend it to any parent who wishes their children to understand how humans can work together for the common good, rather than for meretricious effect. Would recommend it to any parent who wishes their children to understand how humans can work together for the common good, rather than for meretricious effect. Would recommend it to any parent who wishes their children to understand how humans can work together for the common good, rather than for meretricious effect. Would recommend it to any parent who wishes their children to understand how humans can work together for the common good, rather than for meretricious effect. Eight stars.

I used to love the show, before it became all about coddled celebrities. As for the reviewers, I see two types: Those I would like to have as neighbors, and those I'm glad live far away from me. One more quibble: It's people, not houses, that are made over (although the show started out making over houses). Little actual construction is evident now. Sorry for repeating the obvious, but unless you are a child, there is more satisfaction in giving than in receiving. This show affirms the fact. To those of you who have not become bitter cynics, I remind you: Your time is limited, so give it freely to others, especially your children.

Although excellent, this is NOT the best western ever made. No western is. It's simply a matter of taste. (De gustibus....) I must say, however, that this movie would have been more interesting if Ford and Crawford had switched roles. (Or if the kid had shot Crawford in the back, just before he drew.) That being said, to my taste The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence was the best western because of John Wayne's restrained portrayal of his tragic character. But I don't expect anyone else to agree. I must say that I absolutely detest spaghetti westerns. Spain never quite convinces, and the Spaniards/Italians certainly don't.

My disbelief resisted suspension. For one thing, no wife, anywhere, would be dumb (or masochistic) enough to return to such an irredeemable reprobate. Also, since Everyman's misery was self-inflicted, he never seemed worthy of redemption. The scenes of the Civil War seemed gratuitous plot-padding. I could go on, but to my taste, Japanese movies of the 1950s were much more subtle than this episodic, overambitious oeurve manqué. De gustibus non est disputandum. Line added to meet silly 10-line requirement. Line added to meet silly 10-line requirement. Line added to meet silly 10-line requirement. Line added to meet silly 10-line requirement.

This movie might seem appealing to someone who didn't live through the era. Having lived through it in California, I can assure you that little was appealing about screaming students being wheeled away on ambulance gurneys and helpless, drugged girls wandering naked around my university campus after having been raped by various guys. This cynical movie is typical of Hollywood's exploitation of the self-destructive behavior of children and young adults. There was nothing beautiful about the period, and this movie revulses and dispirits. (More lines added to meet 10-line requirement: There was nothing beautiful about the period, and this movie revulses and dispirits. There was nothing beautiful about the period, and this movie revulses and dispirits. There was nothing beautiful about the period, and this movie revulses and dispirits. There was nothing beautiful about the period, and this movie revulses and dispirits.)