The Twilight Zone Season 1: Episode 4 - The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine

Barbara Jean Trenton, former starlet of the silver screen, living in the present yet still clinging to the glory days of the past.  Clinging to the withering form of physical beauty, lost in the forgotten era of a personal peak and professional fame.  A woman who refuses to conform to the present day style of life, content to stay locked in her home, locked in a dark room, watching the hours of a manufactured past life portrayed before her on a darken screen.  A life she can no longer have in the real world, a life only attainable now in the Twilight Zone.

Story - 5/10 - For a Twilight Zone episode The Sixteen Millimeter Shrine is a poor example of what the series is capable of producing.  It's the typical story of a washed up actress pining for the years of her youth, like so many actresses and actors do today once they've lost their Hollywood appeal.  Aside from the brief supernatural twist at the end nothing is incredibly special or remarkable about this episode. It's simply of a portrayal of a washed up actress getting her wish, unfortunately it's not that easy in the real life, otherwise wouldn't we all like the opportunity.

Characters - 6/10 - The character of Barbara Jean Trenton is convincing as a recluse and a washed up pre-madonna, but my one major issue with the character is she doesn't look old at all, and compared to her "younger self" in the 20+ year old films she continually watches, she looks exactly the same!  I don't know if this is a major goof up, or if the aging done to her is simply that unnoticeable, but it certainly didn't help the episode since it's basing its entire premise on age, and she looks exactly as she did 20 years earlier!

Classic Value - 4.5/10 - Aside from the ending there really isn't much that is memorable about this episode.  It's another episode I never remember seeing, and if I have seen it before I probably don't remember it because there is simply nothing special about it.  It's a simple spin on the lives of old Hollywood stars turned recluse.

Re-watch-ability - 5/10 - One good thing that can be said about every Twilight Zone episode is even if a certain episode isn't completely geared towards science fiction, there's always a rather profound, even common sense message that the writers are trying to get across, always something we all can relate to.  This episode is geared towards growing old, and being able to deal with change in a healthy and mature manner.  Nothings completely wrong with grasping onto fond memories of the past, unless you let those memories control your entire life.

5.1/10