The Twilight Zone, Season Four: 3 Classics and 3 Wasted Trips

It has taken me a while to get back to season reviews of The Twilight Zone, mostly because I was reluctant to start season four knowing that this is when the series switched from 30-minute to 60-minute shows. It is not a coincidence that this is its least heralded season, so even with just 18 episodes I anticipated a difficult slog.Thankfully, the journey was not as arduous as I expected. Yes, the story padding is sometimes evident, and some of the show’s themes are becoming repetitive (longing for the past, deals with the devil, etc.). But overall, this was a season that, like its predecessors, delivered more good than bad stories, and even some of the lesser entries were redeemed by one or more memorable performances.Just as a refresher: the reason I’m doing these reviews is that, familiar as I’ve been with The Twilight Zone, I’ve never owned the series or experienced all the episodes in order in their entirety. Since the hour-long shows have been rarely syndicated, all these…