The original run ofThe Twilight Zoneis packed with iconic and scary episodes, but only one got a sequel, and it’s still one of the franchise’s scariest episodes. Created and presented by Rod Serling,The Twilight Zonepremiered on CBS in 1959.The Twilight Zonestuck around for five seasons, with each episode presenting a standalone story where the characters deal with disturbing and often supernatural events, with most episodes having a twist ending and a moral. The success and legacy ofThe Twilight Zoneled to its revival in 1985, 2002, and 2019.
The Twilight Zonesucceeded for its combination of horror, sci-fi, and drama, its stories, creativity, and the performances of its cast, launching the careers of many now big actors. The original run of the show had many iconic and classic episodes, of which many have become part of pop culture, influencing other sci-fi and horror works and have also been endlessly parodied. However, only one episode inTwilight Zonehistory has gotten a sequel, and with good reason, as it’s one of the scariest episodes of the franchise.
“It’s A Good Life” Is The Only Twilight Zone Episode With A Sequel
“It’s A Good Life”’s Sequel Was Appropriately Titled “It’s Still A Good Life”
“It’s A Good Life” is the eighth episode ofThe Twilight Zoneseason 3, and it’s based on the 1953 short story of the same name by Jerome Bixby. Directed by James Sheldon, “It’s A Good Life” takes viewers to the town of Peaksville, Ohio, where the residents live in constant fear due to a monster: six-year-old Anthony Fremont (Billy Mumy).Anthony has inexplicable godlike powers, through which he isolated the town, caused cars to stop working, blocked TV signals, and messed with electricity, forcing the town’s residents to grow their own food and make their common household items, like soap.
Anthony can create and destroy anything and anyone he wants, and he can also read minds. This also forces everyone to smile and have happy thoughts all the time, as Anthony doesn’t like unhappy thoughts and will get rid of those who have them. In the third act of “It’s A Good Life”, Anthony shows how cruel he can be, and the episode has a grim ending. “It’s A Good Life” is regarded as one ofThe Twilight Zone’s best episodes, and it got a sequel in the show’s 2002 revival.
Titled “It’s Still A Good Life”, the show reunites the audience with Anthony and his mother, Agnes (once more played by Cloris Leachman), in Peaksville, where Anthony continues to reign.Anthony now has a daughter, Audrey (Liliana Mumy), who, to Agnes’ surprise, inherited her father’s powers, which Agnes tries to use against her son. To this day, “It’s A Good Life” is the only episode ofThe Twilight Zonethat has gotten a sequel.
“It’s A Good Life” Is One Of The Twilight Zone’s Best & Scariest Episodes
“It’s A Good Life” Continues To Be Scary & Disturbing
“It’s A Good Life” often ranks high amongThe Twilight Zone’s best and scariest episodes, and with good reason. The performances of the adult cast truly portray the fear that Anthony has brought to their daily lives, and their desperation at critical moments of the episode can be felt. Bill Mumy, although young, captured the outside innocence of Anthony while also bringing that shift in the character whenever he wanted to punish anyone for doing something he didn’t like.
The fate of the town at the end is also dark, though the sequel confirmed that they didn’t die of starvation.
The overall story of “It’s A Good Life” is also quite scary, as it takes all agency from all the residents of Peaksville and puts their lives in the hands of an immature, selfish, and misbehaving child with too much power.What’s also scary about “It’s A Good Life” is the unknown, such as the origin of Anthony’s powers, whether the cornfield he sends those who bother him to is real or not, and where exactly the town is now. The fate of the town at the end is also dark, though the sequel confirmed that they didn’t die of starvation.
“It’s A Good Life” Was Remade In One Segment Of The Twilight Zone’s Controversial 1983 Movie
“It’s A Good Life” Went Through A Couple Of Changes In The 1983 Movie
In addition to getting a sequel episode (and a couple of years before that), “It’s A Good Life” was remade in the 1983 movie adaptation ofThe Twilight Zone. The movie was divided into four segments, each one telling a different story, with three of them being remakes of popular episodes and one being an original story (though based on an episode of the show).The third segment, directed by Joe Dante, was a remake of “It’s A Good Life.”
In it, a young school teacher named Helen (Kathleen Quinlan) meets Anthony (Jeremy Licht) after accidentally hitting him with her car in the parking lot of a bar. Helen offers Anthony a ride home, and there she meets his parents, his uncle, and his two sisters, one of whom uses a wheelchair and is said to have been in an accident. In reality, Anthony has godlike powers, his sister didn’t have an accident and, instead, he removed her mouth, and all of them were strangers Anthony had kidnapped to be his family.
AlthoughTwilight Zone: The Moviegot mixed reviews,Dante’s segment was praised, and it was one of the best segments of the movie.“It’s A Good Life” made history inThe Twilight Zoneand TV, in general, and it will continue to be one of the scariest and most influential episodes of the franchise.
