John Hancock's brilliant "Profile in Silver" takes on time travel and possibility of stopping the Kennedy assassination, particularly the time fabric repercussions that result from JFK's ancestor from 2072 (Lane Smith, great as usual) interfering with Oswalt's gunfire in Dallas, 1963. 2072 has time travel, and Lane Smith is allowed to return back to 1963 to see his ancestor, JFK, in Dallas on the day of his assassination. He's compelled to save JFK and, in doing so, causes a time fabric catastrophe he'll need to fix. Such damage control isn't all that this episode has going for it, as Andrew Robinson has one of the best roles of his career, getting a chance to portray JFK, relaying the shock and awe of not only meeting his ancestor but learning of time travel and his own execution. Louis Giambalvo is JFK's Secret Service, figuring out that Smith is not just some Harvard professor who happened to be in the right place to rescue the POTUS, discovering the "profile in silver" coin dropped on the floor accidentally of their plane. Look for Jerry Hardin (Deep Throat of The X Files) as Lyndon B Johnson (!), telling JFK about tornadoes rustling up in Austin. Barbara Baxley makes an appearance as an associate of Smith's from his time, discussing with him at the beginning about the limits on them when it comes to time travel. Although Smith's heroism at the end is admirable (a unique take on "trading places"), the recognition that it is a logical flaw that wouldn't help the fabric of time might skew some viewers' opinion of the story, but I just found satisfaction in the thought behind it. I accepted it for the heart behind what Smith does and how JFK was allowed a "reprieve" to be inspirational elsewhere. Perhaps this might not hold up to close scrutiny, but again the heart was in the right place. Maybe JFK wasn't as romantic a figure as Andrew Robinson paints him as, but at least the story recognizes that even if rescued from death he could have still been involved in worldwide calamity. His decision to return to Dallas to face his own death so that the time fabric would be salvaged certainly recognizes him as a man of integrity and peeks into a moment where crisis intervened upon what should have been cause for celebration. Cool gadgets such as a watch that communicates time fabric complications and theories and a camera that plays back recordings in time. 8/10
Mare Winningham is wholly unpleasant housewife who wears a constant scowl and never has a nice thing to say to her nervy, stuttering night shift hubby (Brad Davis). A box arrives one morning and it contains a device with a red button that is later explained by visiting Basil Hoffman to offer $200,000 is she pushes it. By pushing it, though, someone she doesn't know will die! The entire tale is about whether or not Winningham pushes the button, all the while, fussing with her husband or just snarling at him. Mare has never been as purely unlikable as she is in this episode of the Twilight Zone. Brad is a harmless pushover who tries to get along with Mare, but she is a miserable soul with no redeeming qualities. When Basil looks at her and tells her (once taking the device back) that someone she doesn't know would be getting it, the close-ups are amusing. Mare realizing someone else might decide on her fate for big bucks leaves us wondering if she would get her just desserts. If you really thing about it, there's just not much to this story! I don't think a soul watching wouldn't believe she wouldn't be willing to push the button and feel little pity for the poor victim that would be sacrificed because of her greed. 4/10
Mare Winningham is wholly unpleasant housewife who wears a constant scowl and never has a nice thing to say to her nervy, stuttering night shift hubby (Brad Davis). A box arrives one morning and it contains a device with a red button that is later explained by visiting Basil Hoffman to offer $200,000 is she pushes it. By pushing it, though, someone she doesn't know will die! The entire tale is about whether or not Winningham pushes the button, all the while, fussing with her husband or just snarling at him. Mare has never been as purely unlikable as she is in this episode of the Twilight Zone. Brad is a harmless pushover who tries to get along with Mare, but she is a miserable soul with no redeeming qualities. When Basil looks at her and tells her (once taking the device back) that someone she doesn't know would be getting it, the close-ups are amusing. Mare realizing someone else might decide on her fate for big bucks leaves us wondering if she would get her just desserts. If you really thing about it, there's just not much to this story! I don't think a soul watching wouldn't believe she wouldn't be willing to push the button and feel little pity for the poor victim that would be sacrificed because of her greed. 4/10