"A World of Difference" is another typical TZ-episode that initially seems almost too simplistic and silly – and it is – but upon further analysis it actually turns out to be truly profound, original and even somewhat unsettling. Rod Serling's brilliant series really had a patent on this kind of stories and many of them were also quite progressive and lightyears ahead of their time! The basic premise of this episode, for instance, is extremely similar to "The Truman Show" with which Andrew Niccol and Peter Weir scored one of the most popular and biggest commercial hits of the 1990s! This episode, from the pen of the unmatchable Richard Matheson, is surprising and absorbing from the very first second. Businessman Arthur Curtis arrives at his office one morning, planning to finalize a few deals and then leave for a well-deserved holiday weekend with his wife Marion. He's literally dumbfounded when somebody suddenly yells "cut!" and his whole office appears to be a film set full of crew members. Everybody calls him Gerry Reagan and treats him like he's a veteran actor. He even gets sort of kidnapped by his estranged wife Nora who demands money and mocks him with his deteriorating career. What's so great about the episode is that Arthur/Gerry never at once point doubts his own persona, in spite of all the growing evidence that Arthur Curtis actually doesn't exist, and he's so convincing that you – as the viewer – tend to believe him! And then, just when you think it's abundantly clear that Gerry suffers from a tremendous depression or identity crisis, follow the trademark Twilight Zone twist
The first five minutes are the best, because just like Arthur you are overwhelmed by what's suddenly happening, but the rest of the episode remains almost as intriguing, also thanks to the intense and powerful performance by Howard Duff. This also marks one of the first notable directing assignments of Ted Post; the terrific underrated director of later film classics such as "Hang 'em High", "Magnum Force" and guilty horror pleasures like "The Baby" and "Nightkill".