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| The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street |
Recently, I've been doing a re-watch of some of my favorite episodes of the original Twilight Zone series. Rod Serling's groundbreaking television show thrilled and fascinated us with memorable tales of science-fiction, fantasy and horror. But the show also taught us some important lessons about the human condition, and commented on the state of the world we live in through its fictional lens. "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” is one of the most powerful and enduring episodes of the series, and its central message remains relevant, especially in these troubling and uncertain times.
The story takes place on Maple Street, a
quiet suburban neighborhood, where strange events, such as power outages
and malfunctioning electronics, occur after the residents witness a
flash of light and hear a loud noise in the sky. The people of the town
believe an alien invasion is imminent, and suspect that there are aliens
in disguise living among them. Suspicion, fear and paranoia begin to
grip the neighborhood, leading to the residents accusing one another of
working with the aliens, turning against their friends, and ultimately
ending in violence and death.
"The
Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” illustrates how fear can turn
ordinary people into their own worst enemies, and how negative emotions
bring out the worst in people. By the end of the story, the audience
learns that the real “monsters” aren't the aliens, but the residents of
Maple Street themselves. Spoiler Alert: The twist in the tale is that
there really are aliens hiding outside of the town, manipulating events
to show just how simple it is to turn human beings against one another,
thus making our planet an easy target for conquest.
Written
by Rod Serling and directed by Ronald Winston, the episode features a
strong cast of familiar faces, including Jack Weston, Barry Atwater, Claude Akins and Mary
Gregory. A re-imagined version of the story, entitled "The Monsters Are
On Maple Street" was produced for the 2002 revival of The Twilight
Zone, and featured Andrew McCarthy. "The Monsters Are Due On Maple
Street” is widely acclaimed as one of the best episodes of the original
series, and is certainly one of Serling's best efforts.
One of the episode’s greatest strengths is its powerful commentary on fear and mob mentality. Serling's fine script shows just how quickly kindness and empathy disappear when people feel threatened and paranoia reigns. The townspeople abandon logic and reason in favor of pointing the finger at their friends and neighbors, choosing fear over understanding. "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” which originally aired in 1960, is a bold and bracing commentary on the social and political situations of the Cold War era, but the themes present in this thought-provoking tale still feel pertinent in today's world.
