Story: Walking Distance
Written By: Rod Serling
Series: The Twilight Zone (Original Series)
Season: 1
Martin Sloan is aimlessly driving, and ends up gassing up near the town he grew up in. Feeling nostalgic and unhappy in his current life, he takes a walk to his old home, visiting the soda shop and his house...only he has somehow returned to the actual summer of his youth. He comes face to face with shadows of his past - his parents, friends, and even his younger self. He tries to recapture his youth but has to learn that you can never truly go back again, there are consequences.
I really liked this episode. It has a similar theme as the previous episode, but that seemed to have a muddied message in my opinion, and lacked a good ending, or at least a satisfying one (in my opinion). This really captures that yearning for childhood so well, but also carries a message that really works. Apparently Serling was a very nostalgic person, and he was known to return to his own hometown and walk around and try to relive his youth a bit. I think that personal aspect of the tale really comes through and helps make this such a wonderfully sentimental episode. Of the earliest episodes I'd rank this quite high on the list.
NEXT TIME: To Live Forever
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