One particularly creepy episode ofThe Twilight Zonefrightened even acclaimed horror director Jordan Peele. Created and narrated by Rod Serling, the originalTwilight Zoneseries ran for five seasons from 1959 to 1964, delivering some truly terrifying episodes of television. While manyepisodes ofThe Twilight Zonewere true horror, others leaned more into science fiction or fantasy. Many of the series' most memorable episodes also ended in a shocking twist, and they often delivered some kind of moral message.
While Jordan Peele had previously been known for his sketch comedy series, he burst onto the horror movie scene in 2017 with the brilliantGet Out.Get Outearned Peele an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and his follow-up horror films,UsandNope,were also met with mostly positive reviews.In 2019, Jordan Peele became the newest narrator forThe Twilight Zone,in a reboot that premiered on CBS All Access (now Paramount+). While Peele would seem like a perfect fit for the series, theTwilight Zonereboot earned mixed reviewsand was canceled after two seasons.
“Living Doll” Is One Of Jordan Peele’s Favorite Twilight Zone Episodes
“Living Doll” Was Written By Jerry Sohl (Credited To Charles Beaumont) & Directed By Richard C. Sarafian
In March 2019, as part of the press for the then-upcomingTwilight Zonereboot,Jordan Peele recommended three of his favorite episodes of the originalTwilight ZoneseriestoEntertainment Weekly. Peele mentions the iconic episode, “To Serve Man,” as well as a less famous episode called “Mirror Image,” but the most frightening one, he says, was “Living Doll.” Peele recalls watching the episode as a child, saying:
“It’s one of my favorites. Just scared the sh— out of me as a kid. And you could make the argument that underneath that is a story about consumerism, the one-upsmanship of toys. But in its essence, it’s a great horror story.”
“Living Doll” truly is a great horror story, in more ways than one. The story follows a young girl named Christie (Tracy Stratford), her mother, Annabelle (Mary LaRoche), and her truly terrible stepfather, Erich (Telly Savalas). Erich gets angry when Annabelle buys her daughter a new doll named Talky Tina, which upsets Christie. Although Tina only says one loving phrase for Christie and Annabelle,she begins saying increasingly hateful phrases to Erich, eventually threatening to kill him.In the end, she makes good on her promise, as Erich takes a tumble down the stairs after tripping over the doll.
What Makes The Twilight Zone’s “Living Doll” Such A Scary Episode
There’s Often Something Uncanny About Human-Looking Dolls
FromChild’s PlaytoAnnabelle, stories featuring haunted dolls have become their own horror sub-genre, and Talky Tina is one of the earliest onscreen examples. “Living Doll” plays out like a miniature horror movie, and unlikemanyTwilight Zoneepisodes,there’s no real twist at the end, just lingering horror.Over sixty years later, there’s still something deeply unsettling about hearing a cheery doll’s voice say:“My name is Talky Tina, and I’m going to kill you.“And the whole thing is made even more ominous because we never actually see Tina physically do anything; it all just happens.
As an adult, “Living Doll” becomes frightening in an entirely different way. From the beginning of the episode, Erich is hostile and even abusive toward Christie and Annabelle. He openly admits that he doesn’t love his own stepdaughter and yells at her when she refers to him as"Daddy.“As Rod Serling’s closing narration confirms,Tina acts as a"defender"for the defenseless Christie,“a child caught in the middle of turmoil and conflict.“Erich is a horrifyingly real villain, making it hard not to root for the murderous doll at least a little.
Jordan Peele Did His Own Twilight Zone, But Didn’t Include “Living Doll”
Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone Contains Numerous References To The Classic Show
While Jordan Peele’s 2019Twilight Zonereboot did not feature an episode quite like “Living Doll,“many of the episodes draw from classicTwilight Zonestories.The second episode of the first season, “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet,” is a modern remake of the classic 1963 episode,“Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” starring William Shatner. While no other episodes are direct remakes, many of them have similarities with classicTwilight Zoneepisodes. Peele’s “Replay,” for example, features a camcorder that can see the future, while the 1960 episode “A Most Unusual Camera” is about a camera that can photograph future events.
Jordan Peele’sTwilight Zoneepisode, “You Might Also Like,” serves as a pseudo-sequel to the iconic original series episode, “To Serve Man,” featuring the same aliens known as the Kanamits.
Jordan Peele’s remake ofThe Twilight Zonealso incorporates small shout-outs and references to episodes of the classic show. A doll that looks suspiciously like Talky Tina pops up in “A Traveler,” and a stuffed monster toy that looks like the creature from the original washes up on the beach at the end of “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet.” Throughout Peele’s series, various names, numbers, and images also reference iconic moments fromThe Twilight Zone, proving that Jordan Peele and the reboot’s other creators have a genuine love for the classic anthology series.
