The first of William Shatner's visits to The Twilight Zone (the other being the brilliant Nightmare at 20,000 Feet in Season Three), Nick of Time shows how superstition can rule and ruin your life if you let it. Shatner plays superstitious newlywed Don Carter who becomes obsessed with a fortune telling napkin dispenser in a diner which he believes is predicting his future. Don's wife Pat is the voice of reason, and attempts to explain away any seemingly accurate predictions as mere coincidence, explaining to her husband that they if they are to be happy they must be masters of their own destiny. Don and Pat escape becoming enslaved by the machine (which is fittingly topped with a devil bobblehead), but another couple aren't as lucky.
Nick of Time is one of those rare episodes that isn't rooted in the fantastical (unless you believe that the devil is really at work): it's more a keen observation of human nature, showing how some people take the easy way out by basing important life decisions and blaming any negatives outcomes on groundless predictions from the likes of fortune tellers and horoscopes. Serling's story espouses seizing control of your own future--put away your rabbit's foot and four leaf clover and make your own luck! The lack of any supernatural goings-on might be a tad disappointing for some, myself included (I like monsters and aliens!), but I did enjoy the sentiment of this episode, and Shatner is always entertaining.
Nick of Time is one of those rare episodes that isn't rooted in the fantastical (unless you believe that the devil is really at work): it's more a keen observation of human nature, showing how some people take the easy way out by basing important life decisions and blaming any negatives outcomes on groundless predictions from the likes of fortune tellers and horoscopes. Serling's story espouses seizing control of your own future--put away your rabbit's foot and four leaf clover and make your own luck! The lack of any supernatural goings-on might be a tad disappointing for some, myself included (I like monsters and aliens!), but I did enjoy the sentiment of this episode, and Shatner is always entertaining.