What @#$% happened?
I'm finding it increasingly difficult to write reviews about good things when so many horrible things appear, one after another... and another... and another.

The most recent example of this is UPN's new Twilight Zone. Virtually a blemish on the name that is Twilight Zone, this new series is chock-full of unoriginal ideas and poorly executed concepts.

What's the problem?
Looking back at the original series, the endings almost always had something that was either unexpected or something that simply made you think for a moment. For example, one episode, a woman is terrorized by a tiny alien spacecraft that, in the end, is actually from Earth. Or the episode where plastic surgeons are frantically working to "fix" a hideously deformed patient who, in the end, is actually gorgeous by our standards, but hideous by whatever species the previously masked Doctors are. Or, how about that kid who could do anything with his mind and at one point turns a guy into a Jack-in-the-Box. Some clever stuff, some twisted stuff, but all pretty cool.

The new show consisted of two uninspired 30-minute stories. One about a housing community with strict rules, (where the "surprise" ending is that they turn bad children into mulch). The second story starred Jason Alexander as Death in a tired tale along the lines of "What if Death retired and no one could die." The surprise here was that the doctor who befriends and supports death in his decision to retire, ends up asking death to come out of retirement for the good of mankind only to find that he is the next to person on Death's list.

YAWN! Boooooooring. The whole mulch-from-kids concept was unsuspenseful as the viewer knows the entire time that something is "not right" with the exclusive community (kinda like that episode of X-Files, but not as well done). And the whole what-if-no-one-could-die story was completely predictable within the first 30 seconds.

One more try...
Despite a horribly unsatisfying first episode (and despite Forest Whitaker's desperate attempts to sound EXACTLY like the original host), I'm going to give this show one more shot. The last Twilight Zone revival actually had some passable episodes. Here's hoping the second episode isn't quite so crappy.