A brief note of explanation:

Thanks to school starting up again, I might have less time on my hands then I know what to do with.  So, I'm putting this up to make up for the time that passed between "Return of the Robot Maker" and "Slavegirls From Beyond Infinity" by putting up this mere capsule review.  Of course, it's not really a capsule review.  Capsule reviews are just broad overviews that really don't have any real impact.  Plus, the episode I'm reviewing is only a half-hour long, a half of that a real plot.  So, don't worry, I'll get back to reviewing within a few short days and I won't...repeat, WON'T, let this site go untended.  Thanks for your support, and I'll get right back to you.

We now return you to your original programming......
 

And as of now,  I have nearly broken my mission statement for this page:  You see, Odd Cinema's mission is to showcase the stuff that isn't recognized.    But, however, I doubt that anyone who is anyone doesn't know what the Twilight Zone is in any form.   It's the kind of phenomenon that meshes into our social consciousness, the first real show I suppose that dealt with irony and real issues under the guise of surrealism, science fiction or mere fantasy.   Despite my mixed feelings about Rod Serling and his eventual downfall that mirrored his own sense of irony,  I'll admit that the Twilight Zone was something.

However, "Once Upon A Time" isn't that recognized, and perhaps for good reason.   It's not a strong lesson in the sense of irony, nor does it have a ending that sticks with one past it's initial viewing.   But it is my favorite one, strictly in the sense that the plot is merely there, and the real action is pure slapstick.

Which is should, since it stars an older Buster Keaton still doing his schtick as Woodrow Mulligan, accidental time-traveller from the year 1890.   Woodrow is a loser in the classical sense:  he falls down, nearly gets killed by a horse and carriage, has the local beat cop belittling him, and a real sense that the world he knows it getting more and more expensive.  And thanks to his boss, the local scientist, inventing a helmet that allows Woodrow to travel through time, it seems like all of Woodrow's problems are over.  That is, until the helmet activates and Woodrow freaks and ends up in 1960 without his pants (boxers, thank God) and wearing a flaming time-travel helmet.

The helmet itself is a piece of work.  This episode being made in the '60s, we don't have the sterile technology of the helmet. No, this helmet is nothing more than some metal shaped as a helmet with a little moving barber's pole in the front, six sparklers in the back that light when activated, and a dial next to the barber's pole.  All and all, it looks pretty damn goofy.   Oh, who am I kidding?  It looks quite goofy and sorta makes me like this episode even more.

So, Mulligan ends up in a intersection where his helmet gets knocked off his head by the careless arm of a delivery man in a truck, stolen by a child on roller skates, and finally by the Scholar (whose name eludes me), who helps Mulligan out of his predicament by taking the helmet to a repair man who fixes it (??).   After another time-filling sequence in which Mulligan and the Scholar escape a 1960s cop, the helmet is finally fixed and the Scholar then shows his true colors.  He puts on the helmet and runs away, hoping to escape Mulligan before he can get back to 1890.  Fortunately, both men end up back in time, and Rollo (that's the Scholar's name!  I knew it!) seems to enjoy his new world.

Epilogue:  Rollo's enjoyment is gone, thanks to the 1890s lacking such things are decent electronic equipment and other various things.  Learning his lesson about being happy where you are, Mulligan slaps the Time Helmet on Rollo and sends him back to his original time.  Lesson Learned, the End.

Probably the most interesting thing about this episode is the fact that all sequences that take place in 1890 are filmed as jerky, fast motion film that is completely silent except for some helpful cards that display words, sounds, and narration just like an old time movie reel would.  I suspect that it wasn't completely unrelated that Buster Keaton would star in this episode;  I think it was written around him if he would take the part or not.  Thankfully, he did, and we are shown a prime example of one of the few times where the Twilight Zone wasn't forcing irony down our throats but rather just giving us a tale.  Keep the diet varied, and the person will keep eating.  Another lesson learned by the Twilight Zone.

RATING:  It's goofy, fun, and it's a half-hour long.  Go give it a ride.  Four Stars out of Four.  And remember:  "Stay in your own backyard."