The Comedian (The Twilight Zone)

"The Comedian" is the first episode of the 2019 version of the anthology television series The Twilight Zone. It was released on April 1, 2019, on CBS All Access. The episode was also posted on YouTube available in full length without signup or payment.[1]

"The Comedian"
The Twilight Zone episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 1
Directed byOwen Harris
Written byAlex Rubens
Original air dateApril 1, 2019 (2019-04-01)
Running time54 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

Opening narration

Samir Wassan is an artist of great principal. A man who refuses to compromise his beliefs for a cheap joke, but tonight, he felt the rush of the limelight for the first time. Now, he'll have to decide what really matters to him when the laughter stops, and how much he's willing to give... to The Twilight Zone.

Plot

Struggling comedian Samir Wassan (Kumail Nanjiani) meets legendary comic J.C. Wheeler (Tracy Morgan), who advises him to include personal material in his routines. After doing a successful routine centered around his dog, Samir returns home and discovers that not only did his dog vanish, but no one seems to remember that it ever existed.

He then learns that jokes about the people in his life get laughs, but cause them to disappear from existence. After accidentally erasing his nephew, Devin, Samir starts erasing people he thinks the world would be better off without. His girlfriend Rena (Amara Karan) leaves him after the erasing of David Kendall (Ryan Robbins) causes her to go from a successful lawyer to a struggling waitress. After another encounter with Wheeler, Samir continues abusing his power, going so far as erasing rival comic Didi Scott.

After Samir has another encounter with Wheeler, Rena confronts him during a set with a journal containing names of those he's erased. Realizing what he has done, Samir erases himself from existence.

Everyone previously erased exists again. Didi, now a rising star, meets Wheeler following a set and asks for his advice. The final shot shows Samir on the club's audience member mural.

Closing narration

Samir Wassan learned the hard way that sometimes, getting everything you want means losing everything you love. And after finally finding himself on the verge of becoming somebody, he chose instead to once again be a nobody. In the end, Samir's final encore is a show you can only buy a ticket to... in The Twilight Zone.

Cast

Keith Phipps of Vulture describes J.C. as "a fantasy version of Dave Chappelle" who has "a relaxed demeanor".[2]

Background

The inspiration for this episode was "Take My Life...Please!" from the 1985 series. Rosie Knight of The Hollywood Reporter stated, "Samir's story appears to take a large influence from [...] Death Note."[3]

Reception

Jim Vorel of Paste Magazine wrote that the episode took too long, citing issues with the 60-minute timeslot in the original series, and that the material used for the jokes which the characters laugh about in-universe is not funny out of universe.[4]

Mila Gauvin II of The Harvard Crimson criticized the episode for a lack of substance and that Samir "lacks the personality to make us care about what happens to him, and by extension, those who disappear from his life."[5]

Phipps gave the episode two of five stars and also cited the length as being too long, stating that "the pace drags, the premise gets needlessly complicated, and by the time the climax rolls around the ending seems kind of obvious".[2] Phipps however reacted positively to the "topical references" and the episode being "true to the spirit of the original show without feeling confined by it".[2]

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References
  1. Robinson, Tasha (2019-04-01). "The best episode of Jordan Peele's Twilight Zone is free on YouTube". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  2. Phipps, Keith (2019-04-01). "The Twilight Zone Recap: Who's Laughing Now?". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  3. Knight, Rosie (2019-04-01). "'The Twilight Zone' Takes on Classic Episode, Lust for Fame in CBS All Access Debut". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  4. Vorel, Jim (2019-04-01). ""The Comedian" Is Vintage Twilight Zone, But Not in the Way You'd Want". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
  5. Gauvin, Mila II (2019-04-18). "'The Comedian' Fails to Put You in 'The Twilight Zone'". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2020-04-10.


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