The Twilight Zone (TV Series) Joy Ride/Shelter Skelter/Private Channel (1987) User Reviews

Bombs Away!

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 21 July 2011]

***SPOILERS*** For years super survivalist Harry Dobbs, Joe Mantegna, has secretly built himself a nuclear fall-out shelter in the basement of his house outside of Kansas City. Feeling that WWIII will come sooner or later Dobbs is going to make sure that if it does he and his family will be one of the few survivors of that world and civilization ending conflict.

It's when a war breaks out in the Middle-East and looks like it's going to involve both the US & USSR Harry attempts to have his wife Sally, Jean Allen,and two children Jason & Deidre,Adam Raber & Danice McKallan, stay in his bomb proof basement with him. But they, in seeing that he going off his nut, take off for her mom's home leaving Harry all alone all by himself . It's only Harry's good friend and fellow survivalist Nick, Jon Gries, who works at Harry's gun shop in town who ends up in the fall-out shelter together with Harry as a nuclear bomb goes off. With all communications to the shelter knocked out all both Harry & Nick can tell in whats happening outside, with outside sensors, is that the radiation outside the fall-out shelter has reached lethal levels.

****SPOILERS**** As time passes by the radiation levels are still as deadly as they were after the bomb or bombs went off and after some six months stuck underground Nick finally cracks and before Harry can do him in, thus having all the food water and air supply in the shelter all for himself, leaves the shelter. It's later when Nick in finding nothing but death and darkness outside tries to get back in Harry leaves him to his fate, death from radiation poisoning, not wanting to suffer the same fate,by not opening the fall-out shelter, that he did. With his food and water supply now exhausted Harry finally decides to leave his "safe house" not caring if he lives or dies knowing that the fate that awaits him outside is far better then inside where he'll slowly die from thirst and starvation.

***MAJOR SPOILERS*** It's a good thing that Harry didn't get out of his shelter since if he did he would have found out just what a fool he really was. Instesd of the world coming to an end in a nuclear holocaust it awoke to a new beginning of world peace in the worlds nations finally realizing just how futile nuclear or even conventional war really is. The trouble is that Harry in his WWIII and survivalist induced paranoia would never lived to see it.

Joy ride from hell/nuclear fears/magic headphones

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 5 June 2015]

Three stories in this episode of THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE and they're all rather decent. The first tale, JOY RIDE, is the slightest, featuring B-movie actor Robert Knepper as one of a quartet of joy riders who find themselves on the receiving end of some supernatural justice when the previous owner of the car they've stolen visits them in spirit form. Lots of action and high speed pursuit in this one.

The second story, SHELTER SKELTER, is by far the best and a really entertaining short. It concerns a crazy guy who's convinced that nuclear war is just around the corner and who keeps a well-stocked nuclear bunker in his basement ready for the occasion. When the inevitable happens, there are twists in store for all involved. This is a fine blackly comic tale which features an performance from Joan Allen (MANHUNTER) and a wonderful final twist that you won't see coming; it's a story that's difficult to top, if I'm honest.

PRIVATE CHANNEL is the final segment and it's a pretty decent effort. The story is saddled with a boring actor as the lead (the unlikeable Scott Coffey), but in its favour it does feature a typically intense Andrew Robinson (DIRTY HARRY) playing a crazed plane passenger.

The tale is a simple one with a single idea exploited to the extreme with maximum suspense. A young man realises that the headphones of his personal stereo have the power to pick up the internal thoughts of those around him. When he becomes involved with a plane bomber he realises the true implications of the newfound ability. It's a pretty decent little story that fits well in this show.

Only One Is Provocative

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 30 June 2017]

In Joy Ride we have a group of teenagers who are out looking for trouble and find a vintage car and take it for a spin. What happens is that the car takes over the psyche of the driver. While he is a bit of a loose cannon, he becomes even more dangerous, actually shooting a policeman in the face. In "Shelter Skelter," Joe Mantegna plays a totally committed survivalist who builds a state of the art bomb shelter. He is estranged from his wife because of his obsession. He ignores his daughter and embraces his son, but fate takes over and he and an employee of his end up in his shelter after an apparent nuclear attack. What transpires is frantic and depressing. It's hard to find anything redeeming about the guy. The final episode involves an another unlikeable person, a red headed young man who seems to be totally self-centered and tiresome. But he does have a kind of sixth sense that comes into play.

Joy Ride - a rampage from the past/"Skelter" -- good cast/"Channel" - still timely

[sedenhansen-61849 · 7/10 · 2 May 2016]

Joy Ride is a fast paced, short episode, which works to its advantage - a slower-paced story would have given the viewer too much time to think about the plot's implausibilities. The characters hot-wire a 1950's car in the driveway of its recently-deceased owner, and find themselves cruising streets that look like they did in the car's heyday.

The story elements greatly resemble some of those form the novel Christine (not so much the movie), in which riders in the titular car see scenes from the 1950's out the windows, and the spirit of the old owner (here also a killer) is taking possession of the new "owner".

The final scene, in which a gun has suddenly become old and useless, is reminiscent of the conclusion of a classic twilight zone episode, "A hundred yards over the rim".

"Shelter Skelter" is a real casting coup, which anthology shows in particular can achieve. This episode has both Joan Allen and Joe Mantegna in the leads. It also serves a chilling reminder to the fears of nuclear war which permeated the mid-1980's.

"Private Channel" remains very timely, as it describes the isolating effects of personal technology. That isolation gets completed inverted by the episodes premise, and the episode has a very moving ending.

This is a review of Shelter Skelter. 10 our of 10 is for this story.

[stanleyxbecker · 10/10 · 20 April 2014]

I think Shelter Skelter is a very clever story. To say why would be too much of a spoiler.

Shelter Skelter has been criticized for portraying the wife as a murderer of her husband for not telling rescuers that he may be alive. I think the people who say this forget that the husband refuses to show himself to people searching for survivors because he thinks they are really scavengers trying to break into his shelter. They also ignore that the episode ends with the wife placing flowers next to the list of names of people killed in the disaster, which must have been meant by the authors of the episode to indicate that she thinks he is dead. I see no reason to think that the authors or anyone connected with Twilight Zone intended her to be a murderer.

I think this is one of Twilight Zone's best stories.

Jambo Dude!

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 11 February 2011]

***SPOILER*** Full of himself teenager Kieth Barnes, Scott Coffey, shuts the world out of his life by always wearing the headset to his prized Kawazu-940 Walkman radio that ,from the looks of it, he got for free when his parents deposited $500.00 in a CD at their local bank! Taking a plane to L.A Kieth accidentally drops the Walkman into the washbasin in the planes restroom and gets it electrified when a lighting both strikes the airplane!

Putting his headset on Kieth is surprised to find out that the Walkman now picks up people's thoughts not any radio stations! Finding it all amusing at first Kieth is shocked to find out, by reading his mind, that the person sitting next to him on the plane Mr. Williams, Andrew Robinson,is planning to blow up the airplane with an explosive belt he has strapped on him! Mr.Williams lost everything that he cared for in life when his wife and infant daughter were killed in an airplane crash about a year ago! It was the investigation of the plane being in faulty condition that really set Mr. Williams off to do what he's now planning to did! Kill himself with everyone on board the airplane!

***SPOILERS*** Kieth finally coming to his senses tries to talk a surprised Mr. Williams, who thinks that Kieth is an undercover cop who knows what he's planning to do, out of blowing the plane up! Losing it and feeling that the jig is up with him being caught red handed Mr. Williams now attempts to jump-start his insane plan by exploding himself as well as the plane before it even reaches cruising altitude!

Thinking fast and being fast on his feet Kieth puts his headphones on Mr. Williams head where he's able to hear the fear and terror he's causing everyone on board the doomed airplane! It's in Mr. Williams knowing, by hearing the plane passengers thoughts, that all he'll do is make things even worse for himself,in being responsible for the deaths of some 100 innocent people, with his crazy plan he finally comes to his senses and changes his mind by deactivates the explosive belt strapped to himself!

Kieth now a hero instead of an obnoxious kid is no longer interested in his Kawazu-940 Walkman radio in that despite saving well over 100 peoples lives because of it the radio almost caused him to have a nervous breakdown! And with that he leaves the plane after it finally lands leaving the Walkman on the floor with everyone on broad stepping on it as they leave the airplane!

classic nuclear war episode

[srodriguez4852 · 10/10 · 23 May 2006]

This story centers on the Dobbs family who lives close to an air force base. The father, "Harry" played by Joe Mantegna, is an overbearing survivalist infatuated with his prospect of surviving a nuclear war.

Harry has built a fallout shelter as he feels that his area would be a primary nuclear target due to its proximity to an Air Force base. Harry's wife gets fed up with his abuse and leaves. While being visited by a friend, an explosion goes off; Harry recognized the precursor blast of an atom bomb and rushes to the shelter along with Nick, his friend. The blast has knocked out communications with the outside world and the pair has to settle down to wait for the radiation levels to go down. A red flashing indicator on the wall will signal when it's safe to come out, which Harry expect to be only a few weeks. Months pass and the constant red flashing light on the wall indicate the radiation has not gone down. Nick cracks and escapes the shelter. Nick attempts to return to the shelter but Harry will not let him in, fearing he has been contaminated. Nick tells Harry that everything is destroyed and oddly enough that the sun never comes out, which Harry interprets as the onset of nuclear winter. Harry is forced to hear Nick in agony as he begs to be let back into the shelter, slowly dying of radiation poisoning at the shelter's door. Several more months pass and Harry is out of supplies and surrounded by accumulated trash, the ominous red flashing light is still there. With his fate sealed, Harry gets his combat gear on and prepares to step outside into the post apocalyptic world. In true Twilight Zone tradition the ending is unexpected yet filled with irony and a bit of poetic justice.

This is my favorite episode of the 1985 series and look forward to owning it on DVD.

The Twilight Zone - Private Channel

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 29 August 2016]

"Private Channel" is clever, inventive eight minute effort from Peter Medak regarding an annoying teen (one person at the Airline called him a twerp) with drum sticks and a radio he's fond of, boarding a plane, immediately getting on the nerves of a stewardess and pilot. During a lighting storm, while in the restroom, Scott Coffey starts to hear (and experience) the thoughts of people on board! Andrew Robinson (also of the JFK TZ episode, Profile in Silver) is grieving father planning to blow up the plane with a bomb under his shirt! Will Coffey be able to convince anyone of what he knows? How the radio and earphones are used on Robinson at the end as frightened passengers worry about their lives is nifty. The kid grew up real quick-like! 7.5/10

"Joyride" has four youths finding a sweet ride from '57 under a tarp in a random yard, deciding to take it for spin, winding up inexplicably in the very year the car was new! A youthful, wild hell-raising Robert Knepper (he has that face you've seen in countless television shows and some movies) urges his brother (Brooke McCarter), brother's gal (Heidi Kozak), and his own girl (Tamara Mark) to go for a stroll around the neighborhoods, soon being chased by police in 1957! When Knepper shoots a police officer in the face and has become overcome by a different personality it seems, the others try to get him to stop. When the group starts to flee, each one winds up out of the car from 1957 back to their own present time! They will need all hands on deck (law enforcement from present day) to drag a determined Knepper out of '57 back where he belongs. So Knepper is possessed by the spirit of a bank robber who used the ride he found in present day, racing around streets as '57 police pursue with McCarter, Kozak, and Mark begging him to halt his crazy speeding and uncontrollable drive to get away. Greg, the McCarter character, just can't say no to Knepper and is nearly arrested / killed because of it! I have to say I thought this was awful. It is a time-warp tale thrown together with below par acting (Knepper would evolve into a much better actor down the road) and a random-as-hell possession angle. The idea is that the bank robber wants to confess for killing a cop and that is why he possessed Knepper, and the cop dragging him out of 1957 with the car servicing as the gateway gets a glimpse into another time. Good-looking car, though. 2/10

"Shelter Skelter" casts Joe Mantegna has a bomb shelter nut just waiting feverishly for nuclear war (!), having stockpiled goods, radioactive and communication tech, weaponry, and door with special device requiring a code. Poor Jon Gries happens to be friends with Mantegna and winds up at his house when a supposed nuclear bomb drops on their town! Mantegna's exhausted wife (played by Joan Allen, of all people) is going to her sister's house in Kansas City while he boozes it up. Danica McKellar (the math genius who also was Ben Savage's paramour of The Wonder Years) is Mantegna's neglected daughter (he teaches his boy how to shoot much to Allen's chagrin). Mantegna's a real louse. He's a drunk with a real attitude problem. When you talk to your buddy about how you hope there's nuclear fallout so "all the scum is burned away", there are a few screws loose. What he does to Gries is reprehensible, but because he took Mantegna to task for how happy go lucky he appears, it was a given he'd dust him off eventually. Allen and the kids looking on at a "dome" set up as a reminder of what *could happen*, with that smirk regarding "where daddy is buried" is quite satisfying. 7/10. The finishing sequence of Mantegna in army fatigues and the rubble above him of what remains of the obliterated city is a knockout.

Shelter Skelter slanted tripe

[toolkien · 1/10 · 26 November 2011]

The Shelter Skelter episode is so painfully slanted it is basically propaganda. Anyone who might have a fear of government/state or has an iota of preference that people have gun rights is marginalized into a survivalist nut case who deserves to be entombed in a sealed, irradiated hell. And the most evil person in the whole production, the wife, is set up as some sort of heroine of the piece. SHE knows full well her husband is likely alive and well, yet apparently made no attempt to retrieve him. That little slanted smile of hers at the end is chillingly evil, but I'm sure the production staff thought it charming. The main message is "can't all you individualist nutcases see that if you just turn yourself over to the benevolent state, everything will be just ever so wonderful?" And people like this wife, who is tacitly portrayed as being correctly on board, has no problem whatsoever leaving another human being in a living hell. Nice, twisted, malformed massage from pure evil that just doesn't grasp that it is. No, don't save the guy and divorce him for shooting guns and being thoughtless and getting a blop of beer on you, no, leave him in a living hell because he deserves it. And YOU are the saint in this twisted logical world. No wonder some people would prefer to have a gun against such "benevolence" portrayed in this episode.

Classic Twilight Zone did not stoop to have justice meted out by man. I guess those horrible Reagan 80's still held enough room for the media left to change those rules.

wife commits manslaughter, portrayed as an angel. WTF?

[grittysoap · 1/10 · 23 September 2013]

SPOILERS and outrage follow. You know, I really enjoyed the first three quarters of the Shelter Skelter episode, that is, right up until it starts diverging from all reasoned and moral norms.

First things first. It seems quite far fetched that we don't see the character of Harry emerging from the dome. Yes, even if Harry was inside an enormous concrete dome* Harry appears to have enough military ordnance in his refuge to likely make a conspicuously loud dent, if not blow right threw the wall of that thing. Harry seems like the kind of person who would pack a few breaching charges in his refuge for a rainy day, if not be able to fashion an expedient demolition charge from his vast stores of smokeless powder and blasting caps. So I had to suspend my disbelief that you don't see Harry emerging from the dome at the last minute in this episode. There are also a few other physically suspect elements in this show that I could rattle on about in detail, like how according to this show, you can do nothing about radioactive contamination like that which befell the character of "Nick Gatlin", when in reality you can, it's called "Gross-whole body decontamination".

Secondly, and more importantly from the point of view of what this show's message to viewers really is; the very fact that Harry's wife and children don't tell anyone about their fathers extensive preparations for nuclear war, like "if anyone could still be alive after such a nuclear explosion, it would be my dad/husband Harry"; is so morally repugnant I had to kick myself for letting my kids watch this episode. As it took me ages to explain how it was the seemingly innocently smiling mother that was really the bad guy of this story.

Harry's children can be slightly excused due to their age, but Harry's wife is literally shown to be gleefully happy that her husband is buried alive, and when you think about it, you realize she obviously didn't even bother to tell any of the dome's construction crew to go to her house, as there is a chance that there may be living human beings down in the basement refuge.

Now I do understand that Harry is displayed to be an uncaring and overbearing survivalist of a husband, but what level of evil do you have to be to knowingly allow someone to be buried alive?

In sum, I think this episode has the potential to really split a room, and it would be quite illuminating to gauge a groups reactions to it from a psychology stand point. As there are other reviews here that are diametrically opposed to my own, it certainly appears there are some folks who feel that depicting the burying alive of innocent, albeit grumpy people, is something to smile about and as one reviewer puts it, they regard it as a form of "ironic" "poetic justice".

*In case anyone's interested, the production crew likely got the inspiration for the dome in this episode from seeing the very real concrete dome built on Enewetak Atoll to decontaminate that island chain, it is called the "cactus dome".