"It's Still a Good Life" is the thirty-first episode of the 2002 revival

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

''. The episode was first broadcast on February 19, 2003, on

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...

. It is a sequel to the original series episode "

It's a Good Life "It's a ''Good'' Life" is a short story by American writer Jerome Bixby, written in 1953. In 1970, the Science Fiction Writers of America selected it for '' The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One'', as one of the 20 best short stories in ...

Bill Mumy Charles William Mumy Jr. (; born February 1, 1954) is an American actor, writer, and musician and a figure in the science-fiction community/comic book fandom. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a child actor, which included television appeara ...

and

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomin ...

reprise their roles from the original episode. Anthony Fremont's daughter, Audrey, is played by actor Bill Mumy's real life daughter

Liliana Mumy Liliana Berry Davis Mumy (; born April 16, 1994) is an American actress. Between 2002 and 2006, she appeared as Jessica Baker in the two ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' movies and as Lucy Miller in the second and third films of ''The Santa Clause'' tr ...

. It was written by

Ira Steven Behr Ira Steven Behr (born October 23, 1953) is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his work on ''Star Trek'', especially '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', on which he served as showrunner and executive producer. He was th ...

(based on characters created by

Jerome Bixby Drexel Jerome Lewis Bixby (January 11, 1923 – April 28, 1998) was an American short-story writer and scriptwriter. He wrote the 1953 story " It's a Good Life", which was the basis of a 1961 episode of ''The Twilight Zone'' and was included ...

), and directed by

Allan Kroeker Allan Kroeker (born April 10, 1951, in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian film and television director, cinematographer, screenwriter, film editor and film producer. He has the distinction of directing the series finales for '' Star Trek: Deep ...

Opening narration

Plot

Anthony Fremont has been terrorizing the residents of the small town of Peaksville for 40 years, still using his

psychokinetic Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

powers to banish those he deems "bad", including his own wife and father, to a mythical "cornfield". His mother Agnes is shocked to discover that Anthony's beloved young daughter Audrey has inherited those powers. This discovery is soon followed by one even more shocking: Audrey can bring back things that her father has banished to the cornfield. With this realization, Agnes – who has grown to detest her son – tries to influence her granddaughter to use her powers in order to free Peaksville from Anthony's reign of terror. When Anthony learns of his mother's plans he seeks out each co-conspirator one by one, sending them to the cornfield. Agnes finally confronts her son, letting go of all of the dismay, hatred and anger that she has suppressed for forty years, and tries to convince Audrey to use her powers against her own father and wish Anthony away. Audrey is forced to choose between her grandmother and her father, whom she loves very much. Caught between these two sides, Audrey ultimately aligns herself with her father, saving him from a resident who attempted to hit him while his back was turned. But then to the horror of Anthony she sends her grandmother away and empties the town of Peaksville. Anthony and Audrey are left alone, but Anthony soon realizes that he misses having everyone else around. In order to cheer her father up, Audrey brings back the world beyond Peaksville, which Anthony had sent away decades prior. Audrey asks Anthony about visiting

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and her father replies that it is a big city with many people. Audrey implies that they had all better be nice to her and her father, otherwise they'll suffer severe consequences. The episode ends with Anthony realizing that his daughter is far more powerful than he is, and he accepts that she has done a "real good thing" by returning the world outside of Peaksville. As a couple pulls up to ask them if they know how to get to Highway 10, Anthony and Audrey plan to travel to different places. Anthony states that "It's going to be a good day. A real good day," as they head to the two people in the car.

Closing narration

Cast

* Anthony Fremont –

* Agnes Fremont –

* Audrey Fremont –

* Lorna – Chilton Crane * Joe –

Robert Moloney Robert Moloney is a Canadian actor, best known for playing Professor ''Alistair Gryffen'' in the TV series '' K-9''. Life and career Moloney was trained at the Langara College in Vancouver, where he took the theatre Arts program Studio 58. In ...

* Cynthia –

Kerry Sandomirsky Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

* Timmy –

Samuel Patrick Chu Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

* George –

Paul McGillion Paul McGillion is a Scottish actor, who has worked in television, film and theatre. He is best known for his role on the television series ''Stargate Atlantis'' as Dr. Carson Beckett. Early life McGillion was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Sco ...

* Timmy's mother –

Kirsten Kilburn Kirsten is both a given name and a surname. Given name Kirsten is a female given name. It is a Scandinavian form of the names Christina and Christine.

References

External links

* {{The Twilight Zone 2003 American television episodes The Twilight Zone (2002 TV series) episodes Television episodes about telekinesis Television episodes set in Ohio