I just finished watching this (yet again) on MeTV This is a videotaped episode I’ve always liked because I listen to big band music most of the time (primarily Benny Goodman more so than Tommy Dorsey). The part that upsets me is when Ed Lindsay’s neighbors steal his radio and give it to the junk man. What makes them think they have the right to do this? I’m on Ed’s side. If I were him and I had that radio, I’d hardly ever leave my room.
shareWhat gave Ed Lindsey the right to treat everyone at the boardinghouse like crap? I agree what they did wasn't right but Ed is so indifferent to other people's feelings himself that I rather enjoyed when he got a taste of his own medicine.
What I especially like about this episode is the ending. Did Ed lose his marbles? Or did he really return to the past? I tend to think he did get a second chance and was able to set the clock back -- but only in his mind (it would serve him right since he never actually redeems himself in any way to warrant literally returning to the past).
I think he returned to the past. If he just went nuts it wouldn't be very Twilight Zone-y.
shareI don't think it's necessarily un-"Twilight Zone" - y for an episode to end with the main character going nuts. After all, "The Arrival," "One More Pallbearer," and "The Dummy," just to name a few, conclude with the main character off his rocker (with the inclusion of a supernatural element either eschewed or highly debatable). You could be right: he might very well have gotten a second chance. But I think there's enough ambiguity in "Static"'s end to allow more than one interpretation.
shareOh certainly. That's part of the beauty of this show: everyone can interpret it differently.
share"I think he returned to the past."
This suggests another question. If he returned to the past, is he interacting with the Vinnie of the past, or did the elderly Vinnie go back with him? And will he run into his previous self (a la Back to the Future)? Or is he inhabiting his own past body, but retaining his future memories?
You pose some awesome questions. What this episode needs is a sequel so that maybe some of these questions might be answered.
shareI think the Twilight Zone allowed him to return. He's in his current misanthropic state due to life's disappointments
shareBut as we learned in "Walking Distance": you can never go home again.
Besides Ed was a grouch and didn't deserve a second chance.
True, but I think TZ does occasionally reward characters that chance.
shareYes, Ed was a grouch but even Vinny admitted she wasn't a lot better than Ed in that regard. This was a typical short story theme where time just got away from him, but more importantly, it resonates directly with anybody watching this. While most of us (fortunately) haven't gone Ed Lindsay's way, how many among us haven't wished we did something different and would if another chance were somehow presented to us?
I think that's why this episode is so popular. Most folks would love a second chance to do something that we thought we might have had time not gotten away from us.
I think that through the power of radio -- "which has to be seen to be believed" as Ed so astutely observes -- anyone can revisit the past. Radio, books, theatre and other forms of art that fire the imagination instead of promoting passivity like the idiot box-- pretty bold of Charles Beaumont to bite the hand that feeds him -- are true sources of magic for anyone willing to see.
shareI'm not even sure the point of the episode is that he actually went back in time.
If I were him and I had that radio, I’d hardly ever leave my room.
That's pretty cool. How well does it still work?
shareThe radio plays OK, but I haven't established a baseline for how well the radio is supposed to work. That is, because it's an early superhet design, it's not as advanced as those even 5 years later. The radio can squawk a bit and howl, but I suspect that's not all that abnormal for this admittedly crude early design.
I've had this particular radio about 20 years, and when I brought it home, I removed the three separate chassis that make up the radio guts looking for frayed or brittle wiring or previous repairs badly or unsafely done before using it. To my surprise, I found the radio in perfect condition under each chassis and 4 out of the original 9 vacuum tubes still original, and NO other work of any kind ever done.
Warning, real boring technical stuff ahead:
In tube radios, alignment is done using a signal generator and insulated tools to adjust the IF transformers. These transformers are generally contained in cans mounted on top of the chassis. Small holes allow the adjustment tool to be inserted for alignment purposes. I can align a radio by ear in a few minutes, but RCA decided to place the adjustable IF transformers *beneath* the tuner where they could not be adjusted unless the tuner was first removed. With the tuner removed to access the adjustments, the radio won't play and can't be adjusted by ear. Back in the twenties, a radio repairman would not have owned what would be a very expensive generator and scope so RCA did not want a repairman to tweak this model by ear. If the radio ever needed alignment, the repairman was to ship the tuner/IF section back to an RCA regional distributor where their service department would have the necessary equipment and trained technicians to perform a proper alignment.
The reason I mentioned all of this is because I believe my radio does need an alignment. I do have the equipment but it's a time consuming job. Maybe this winter I'll pull it apart and give it a proper alignment.