Cavender Is Coming - Twilight-Tober Zone

[@ChannelAwesome]

This episode was...something. Thoughts on Cavender is Coming? Watch the new NC here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/poPLpHudacqqeLc Watch more Twilight-Tober Zone here - bit.ly/TwilightToberZone Follow us on Twitch - www.twitch.tv/channelawesome

[@jessetorres8738]

I once saw a compilation video of clips where people fell through glass windows or fell off rooftops on The Twilight Zone, but I guess I didn't realize 2 of them came from just this episode.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love Your content guys 😊😊😊

[@trinaq]

It's alright, but feels out of place in this show.

[@lowrider993]

Not gonna lie, save for the dummy, this has been a pretty weak twilight-tober zone, I prefer for the scarier episodes of the twilight zones, although I liked the Santa Claus one

[@lowrider993]

That's not ur guy's fault though, you are reviewing every single episode, including the bad ones

[@UndeadGhostGirl]

I always like when a creator comes out and says "This is not what I wanted. This is not the art I was trying to make. If I get the chance, it *will* be corrected."

[@Center-For-I.E.D.Mismanagement]

Too bad Serling refused to actually take full responsibility and blamed the direction by majority, rather than the shiterature he created.

[@WeirdAlShankaBitch]

@@Center-For-I.E.D.Mismanagementidk, I think the idea has potential if directed/understood correctly.

[@Center-For-I.E.D.Mismanagement]

@@WeirdAlShankaBitch As an idea, yes, It has potential. However, a director has to work with the script they are provided. If that script possesses the distinct quality of rancid diarrhea, forced through a scram-jet engine, then, there is very little a prodigous director, let alone a star-studded cast, can do to save it.

[@The_RedVIII]

I have not seen this episode before, and it might be bad, but I gotta admit, I laughed out loud when you showed the guy jumping out of the bus window. XD

[@tinkerer3399]

I'd say it's easily the best joke in the episode.

[@roguebritgravy1]

​​@@tinkerer3399it is one of the goofier episodes but that jump catches you off guard. Got a laugh out of me for how random it was. That bus driver was in a existential crisis before he was in the Twilight Zone.

[@tinkerer3399]

@roguebritgravy1 Best way to watch the episode. Pretend it is secretly about him and stop it as soon as he jumps out the window. "Presented for your approval, a man who is having absolutely nothing to do with whatever the hell is going on here."

[@MaverickChristian]

Me too. 🤣

[@jackiem8638]

Same

[@NostalgiaCatholic]

The exact quote is, "If at first you don't succeed, just keep doing the same thing over and over and over again until you get a different result."

[@AltairEgoX]

I laughed at the guy jumping thru the bus window...it was funny because the door was right there! plus his dead pan delivery of hs resignation..comedy gold there! lol

[@esteemedmortal5917]

I’m done ways, it’s comforting to see great creatives like Rod Serling make missteps like this or get caught up in a pet project; it makes them more human and relatable

[@seanbrewer1232]

Nobody, no matter how talented, bats a thousand.

[@johnlime1469]

Imagine if this happened in the modern filmmaking landscape.

[@amyfisher6380]

I liked the early part of the episode that incorporated aspects of Burnett’s life. The hand signals were real. She once recounted that after the theater manager demonstrated all the hand signals and stated what they all meant, another girl dumped a bucket of popcorn on his head and said, “That means I quit.” I would liked to have seen more of that in the episode, with a different kind of plot instead of the overused guardian angel thing.

[@wstine79]

Who doesn't love Carol Burnett? There could have been more drama with her character, but it was still a fun watch to see

[@antdude]

I was surprised to see her!

[@PepeGomezAnimation]

So... Does this mean that the phrase "submitted for your approval" came about because he was actually submitting the pilot for the network's approval??

[@BlueDog241]

They can't all be masterpieces.

[@jessetorres8738]

I once saw a compilation video of clips where people fell through glass windows or fell off rooftops on The Twilight Zone, but I guess I didn't realize 2 of them came from just this episode.

[@DanGamingFan2406]

It was so weird to hear a laugh track in _The Twilight Zone_ of all shows. This is definitely the worst episode in series. It's too bad Serling's passion project never got off the ground. It's an interesting idea, but man, was the execution handled poorly here.

[@watershipup7101]

That was weird decision.

[@ramsfan0868]

"I Dream of Genie" and " The Incredible World of Horce Ford" which are both from season four are what I consider to be the two worst episodes of the series.

[@ACD1994]

Not a great episode; but I disagree. Not the worst episode though either.

[@24Jeffster]

I don’t think I’ve ever heard Walter get this upset about something. It’s weird and refreshing at the same time.

[@DaJinx1]

I guess you can say this is not a classic episode. A rarity for the twilight zone.

[@ponygon777]

I guess this episode is either for Twilight Zone completionists or the most devoted Carol Burnett fans.

[@SpongeyTheEditor]

I don' know why Rod was so in love with this idea that he did it twice lol

[@gothicMCRgirl]

Sometimes artists get fixated with certain ideas, it happens. Maybe he was going for a certain sort of hilarious irony of having an angel, a celestial being, be so bad at doing their job. But the thing with comedy is that if it’s not funny, then it’s a slog to get through. For whatever reason, Sterling just wasn’t nailing the comedic angle with this one.

[@bennywark3103]

Wow, so many people I didn't know were on Twilight zone. Carol Burnett is amazing

[@KyleRobots]

One good thing came from the episode, Carol doing the bumps for the Twilight Zone on MeTV in place of Cavender, so young Carol's freaking out about seeing old Carol.

[@heidifedor]

Steven Speilberg did the same thing with his anthology series, “Amazing Stories” with the series finale, a cartoon called, “The Family Dog”. It had a huge fanbase and eventually did get picked as a series, but it was 4 years after the fact when most people had already forgotten about it.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

And The Family Dog TV show wasn't made by the same people. The TV series was created because The Simpsons had just come out to huge success, and all the other networks were rushing out their own prime-time animated sitcoms.

[@Morgil27]

Carol Burnett is the one saving grace in this episode. Also, I can't unsee the bus driver's pit stains 😂

[@miroslavtomic7038]

This episode was actually originally an pilot episode for a proposed spin off series starring Jesse White as Cavender. Nothing ever came out of the idea and this episode was reworked into TZ episode.

[@melissadahl7561]

I love changing of the guard as well (It's one of my favorites and hits all the emotional spots for me.) And it's funny because that one (along with in praise of pip) were ones my father told me not to watch cause they were too sad. Glad I didn't listen.) I think that if this episode weren't under the twilight zone banner it wouldn't be so disappointing because like you say, Carol Burnett and Jesse White are amazing. I would like to see what they would have done with a more serious script too.

[@1000bip]

Thank God! I always thought it was just me! I have never been a fan of this episode. But it’s always on whenever there is a marathon.

[@colinwilliams553]

I'm SOOO glad I'm not the only one who absolutely hated this episode.

[@ImperfectXIII]

Definitely one of the series' weaker entries, but fortunately the next one is SUPERB. Can't wait for that one!

[@keiththompson9435]

I like to think that Michael Landon and whoever did produce Touched by an Angel looked to this episode and promptly said: If you screwed this up so badly we might have a Chance. Sometime later looked at the concept of this episode and thus made: Teen Angel I apologize if this made you feel 30 years older

[@shaider1982]

I watched that show. Odd that we are now as far from it as the twilight zone was when the former aired.

[@CallMeCrazyCallMePoor]

Touched by an Angel! Thank you, I was watching this thinking, "didn't this premise eventually get used as a whole series anyway?"

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

This month is amazing thanks to you guys! 🧡🧡🖤🖤🎃🎃

[@jehaney]

Don't sugarcoat it, Walter. Tell us what you really think.

[@Lwhale.3797]

I remember binge watching all the TZ episodes as a teen and this one definitely stuck in my head as easily the worst one. I remember looking at my watch repeatedly wondering when the episode would end. One of the big problems is that what passes as “funny” for a TV audience ages very poorly. That kind of slapstick-heavy, pause-for-laughter type comedy is already such a hard sell in the 2000’s onward. Thank you so much for validating my hatred for the episode 😂

[@kevinbre7563]

Between how things went with Bradbury and Burnett. I think there's something to say about not working with your friends.

[@Galantski]

Wow, the lead angel is played by Howard Smith, who appeared as Garth Williams' overbearing boss in "A Stop at Willoughby". I can just imagine him uttering this line: "This is a push business, Cavender. A push push push business. Push and drive!...A push push push business, Cavender. It's push push push, all the way, all the time! It's push push push, all the way, all the time, right on down the line!" 😇

[@debbieanne7962]

The push, push, push really sticks in your mind!

[@jrr2480]

I guess watching this episode several times made you feel like you're in a horror based episode of the Twilight Zone 😵‍💫😱

[@miroslavtomic7038]

As of June 2024, Carol Burnett is the sole surviving cast member from this episode, being one of handful of main actors in this series being still alive today.

[@bdwalton27]

This episode did have a good message about being happy.

[@angbandsbane]

Oooh, Changing of the Guard. My favorite. Looking forward to tomorrow, then (Appropriate to have that on Veteran's Day, really)

[@shenloken2]

This is the episode that Mr Pip has playing for you on repeat everyday if you say you’re a fan of the Twilight Zone when you go to “A Nice Place to Visit!” You’re definitely in “The Other Place” instead of Heaven in that scenario!

[@octodaddy877]

Wow! This television only plays the Twilight Zone! Cavender Is Coming? I'll just skip that one. Wait a minute... it's ALL Cavender Is Coming! *cue Rod closing narration*

[@smallmovieworld]

You know it's a bad episode when Walter goes full Salter mode 🧂🧂🧂

[@miroslavtomic7038]

Before becoming actress, Carol Burnett worked as movie theatre usherette for 15 years. She incorporated her own experience from this work in her performance in this episode.

[@humps678]

Her Hollywood star is actually in front of the location of the movie theater she was an usherette for and got fired from.

[@ChrisOnStage2]

The closest thing to a regular TV sitcom that this episode tried to emulate was 1965's "My Brother The Angel", which starred the Smothers Brothers.

[@benjaminkern6450]

It was a shame that this was Carol Burnett's one Twilight Zone episode. I mean, she's Carol frickin' Burnett! The episode featuring her should be one of the most memorable, if not one of the best.

[@TramiNguyen-oi3kp]

I love this The Twilight Zone episode!

[@louisduarte8763]

I still can't hear "Beavis" without mentally adding "and Butt-Head". It looked like Carol and the angel were having 2 different conversations every time they talked, which I gather is the wrong kind of surreal for this show.

[@robertbryant4669]

That kind of humor can work, with the right timing and direction. I've seen examples of it in Scrubs, MASH, and Seinfeld did it at least once every episode. Here, it would have made sense if Burnett's character came off as more of a ditz who wasn't really listening to the conversation; instead, she and the Cavender actor are either always pausing awkwardly or interrupting each other's lines; and I swear there are some shots where they're not even in the same room at the same time, giving the impression that they're just talking to empty air.

[@miroslavtomic7038]

One thing this episode will always have is that it marked first time that "Submitted for your approval" was used in Rod Serling's opening narration. This episode also featured the TV debut of Donna Douglas, as the girl who says Lovely party, Aggie!". She is the fourth and final Beverly Hillbillies star to appear on Twilight Zone, after Raymond Bailey, Nancy Kulp and Buddy Ebsen. Douglas, however, is the only who appeared on TZ while working on Hillbillies, as other three appeared before that show started in 1962.

[@als3022]

I disagreed when it came to Mr. Beavis because the fact he was likeable and bumbling in a charming way. The angel was no nonsense, but you got an idea that he did actually give a crap about Mr. Beavis's family line and therefore him. This one is a rehash in a terrible way. They don't spend enough time to hammer her relationships, the angel gives a crap about himself rather than her. There just wasn't a playfulness to it, and they felt like they were trying to make a comedy show too much. (Which is why the fact it was meant to be isn't a surprise.)

[@SilverTwistVI]

You can really hear the frustration... understandable.

[@Omar-wq9dz]

Many tv stars were in this episode like Carol Burnett, Jesse White, and Donna Douglas

[@claytonrios1]

Carol Burnett. The original Miss Hannigan from Annie is in this one. I guess Twilight Zone was just the show to be on for classic actors and actresses.

[@rbj8387]

Well the original film Ms. Hannigan at least

[@Center-For-I.E.D.Mismanagement]

I find it rather unconscionable that Serling would not admit that he, specifically, fucked up. *Hard and TWICE.* Instead, Serling threw the majority of the blame upon the direction. Egotistical much?

[@graysonchristian2668]

So in Hollywood at the time (and even today) there is a concept that directors no matter who the writers are get all the praise for a productions quality. So I can 100% see a writer like Serling blaming a director. If they get all the praise why not the ridicule too.

[@Center-For-I.E.D.Mismanagement]

@@graysonchristian2668 A shameful affair.

[@bacaawesomerorie2788]

What if Tony stark was captured by the galtic empire cross over video

[@22espec]

Already done in comics

[@dannytheman1313]

Carol Burnett is an absolute comedy legend theres no question about that the elephant, dentist and interrogation sketches from her show are still funny to this day. But it's almost a special talent to make her this unfunny.

[@Cyclingismywholelife]

I appreciate your non biased opinions, it makes for better content.

[@tonys9102]

The only thing I remember about this episode is that the author of "The Twilight Zone Companion" wrote that the attempt at comedy was so dead it should be called "Cadaver Is Coming."

[@KasumiKenshirou]

Marc Scott Zicree, of the Mr. Sci-Fi KZbin channel.

[@tonys9102]

@@KasumiKenshirou Thanks. I had forgotten the author's name. Believe it or not, I read that book in 1988! It was in the library and I kept on checking it out.

[@strangebrew1231]

It's pretty remarkable that the Twilight Zone has episodes like Nightmare at 20,000 feet, Monsters are Due on Maple Street, Time Enough at Last, and then absolute trash like this

[@humps678]

Fun facts: Carol Burnett is the only performer billed as "Special Guest Star" in the whole Twilight Zone series. In addition, Don Rickles is the only person billed as "And Special Guest."

[@AllenJones-w3p]

The character of Cavender is a comic counterpart to Clarence in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.

[@lowrider993]

The wings looked weird, like double floppy shoulder spikes

[@Next0gen0]

So let me get this straight. This is a story, about a mystical creature failing to grant wishes, but in the end the person learns a lesson after several (atleast attempted) comedic effects. ........this is just the plot of the Fairly Odd Parent's.

[@myprecious66]

I do like the idea of a guardian angel accidentally teaching their charge a lesson.

[@randalalansmith9883]

I watched the laugh-track version in local-station syndication in the 1980s.

[@joseknavarro]

If I had a dollar for every episode of any show that goes from bad to worse by removing canned laughter, I'd have two dollars. Which isn't a lot, but that's because I don't watch TV often. My mom happened to be watching Big Bang Theory one day when I went over so that's the second episode that I've seen that goes from bad to worse without canned laughter.

[@miroslavtomic7038]

The scenes shown in Heaven actually used the same props as the pilot for the never produced TV show Deputy Seraph, whose pilot was partially made by the Marx Brothers before it was cancelled altogether due to Chico's rapidly failing health and ultimate death in 1961. Even the basic premise of this episode - a bumbling angel helping helpless people on Earth - is the same as premise for Chico's and Harpo's characters on Deputy Seraph.

[@thehowlinggamer5784]

A real Shame Burnett didn't get a got spot in this show.

[@Ryu_D]

Thank you for the video.

[@charlirenner193]

No way, I watched this a long time ago and never knew it was a Twilight Zone episode.

[@GoddessOfWhim2003]

if Rod Serling didn't like it, you know it's bad

[@jamesdrynan]

Couldn't agree more. I remember watching the original airing of this episode and thinking " Was the Twilight Zone pre-empted? " Jesse White was funny in " Harvey. " Thankfully, Carol's career wasn't sidelined by this disaster.

[@owenscott6159]

What if danny phantom was in ghost buster movies

[@charleshays5407]

Jesse White was the first lonely repairman in the Maytag commercials.

[@Dorelaxen]

Carol Burnett AND The Maytag Man. Amazing.

[@George-kz5hb]

You know what, the Burnett lines still give me a chuckle. SHE is the real miracle worker! 😂

[@brianarbenz1329]

I remember being confused by the Cavender episode. When I first saw it, it was with the laugh track, which immediately seemed out of place for a Twilight Zone. Then I couldn't figure out the point of it, with the plot and dialogue rambling as they did during the bus scene.

[@miroslavtomic7038]

Jessee White is more known as father of actress Carol White, who is best known for her role of Big Rosie on TV show Laverne and Shirley, than for his own acting accomplishments, even though he had a long and fairly successful TV career.

[@colorin81colorado]

Yes you need to praise the good and call out the bad... That's the fairest way to judge all things in life!

[@Lowkeylie]

Oddly enough, I feel like the premise of this episode’s production-not the episode itself but how it came to be-would make an interesting Twilight Zone Episode. Think about it. A creator that keeps trying to push his own failed idea, who can’t let go of the obsession or failure. A small failure, but one that eats at him until it actually works to actively sabotage him. I’m not sure what the twist would be, but I feel like if you could find a way to make it thematic to the rest of the plot it would make for a really solid episode.

[@twofacetoo75]

Could be that he finally gets what he wants only to realise he built it up for himself more than he should've done, and it's just as bad as everyone told him it would be, and now he realises he's wasted years of his life on a complete failure of a project that's left him financially ruined and utterly heartbroken. In brief: he gets what he wants, and with it, realises he doesn't want it anymore.

[@Jordan3DS]

The twist could be that when it finally succeeds, the executives take credit for the idea and the work and turn it into a giant, soulless franchise while booting the creator out.

[@JoseMorales-lw5nt]

The twist? It's creator dies before seeing the idea flourish brilliantly. On NBC, not CBS. And under a new series name.... HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN.😂❤

[@miroslavtomic7038]

Along with I Sing the Body Electric, this episode was simply misplaced in Twilight Zone. Just didn't fit the format at all.

[@anastasiabeaverhausen8220]

I still hear Carol tell the story of the sitcom that CBS wanted her to do..."Here's Agnes," or something like that. It must be this, right? Another 'back-door spin-off?'

[@Y2K1224]

Haven't seen this episode but it was the hardest time for me to sit through your review, felt like an hour((

[@robertbruce7907]

AH yes. Cadaver is coming. Funny part is that Cavender's boss was on Hazel as the bane of George Baxter's life.

[@SamtheBravesFan]

Man, when even Carol Burnett can't salvage this thing, you know you have a clunker.

[@whitleypedia]

Now I want to see a TZ of someone trapped in a sitcom

[@aidanhever3369]

This is like The Twilight Zone version of the Batman: TAS episode: I've Got Batman in My Basement.

[@liarbility568]

It's hard to let an idea go, and Rod Sterling sadly was no exception to the rule. Maybe if he tried to make his good comedic episodes like Hocus Pocus and Frisby (showing what it would have been like if the tall tales were true) or a funny parody of Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up (I mean, My Favorite Martian aired about two years later) into a sitcom, it would have worked

[@mlp_firewind8129]

I think it’s almost a good thing that even amazing shows have bad episodes. It helps give perspective on what goes into making these things good. TNG famously stumbled for its first season. We have talked about sub par episodes of TZ and TAS over time. Doug did an video on the worst Avatar the last air bender episode even, the great divide is so unpopular that the show itself acknowledged that later in the series.

[@louisduarte8763]

And The Simpsons has some infamous stinkers of episodes among its, what, 700 or 800.

[@Zeeboklown]

What's TZ???

[@mlp_firewind8129]

@@Zeeboklown Twilight Zone

[@Zeeboklown]

@@mlp_firewind8129 oh duh. Lol. Thx

[@SatanicBarbeque]

10:10 as someone who grew up watching both The Twilight Zone and Are you Afraid of the Dark, I'm kinda mad at myself for never realizing that "submitted for your approval" was a reference...at least I assume it was. It'd be a funny coincidence if it wasn't lol

[@alexstockwell4349]

I think for a lot of these, "The Twist" could be followed with a question mark.

[@sorenfirestar2657]

You know I will say this about laugh tracks. If a show or movie has a laugh track it will always suck more with out it. This is because they have to leave the space for it so it's always awkward without but at least sometimes funny with.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

At least MeTV gets good mileage using clips from this episode for their Carol Burnett commercials. They have her today interacting with her younger self from this episode.

[@intrototj7464]

I’m going to be honest, the bus driver going out the window was funny. Sorry about sitting through the rest of though.

[@Zeeboklown]

I love young Carol Burnett, before her self titled show. After that, I felt she was trying to hard to be in a competition with Lucille ball. I wasn't alive tho, it's just a vibe I get.

[@julieporter7805]

I must admit that I ship Mr. Bevis and Agnes Gripp so damn fast! Carol Burnett is incredibly charming and hilarious but yeah this show was not in her forte. 0:19-It's worth watching this video just to hear usually dry deadpan Walter shout. 😅😂 Fun Fact: The theater sequence was based on a real incident in Carol Burnett's life almost word for word, hand gestures included. Apparently, another woman poured popcorn over the manager and yelled, "This gesture means 'I quit!'"

[@katherinepfister4177]

It’s a shame. Carol Burnett is such a funny person. But this script just couldn’t unlock it

[@patrickholzer6415]

I mean, yeah. That's pretty much how the saying goes. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again." Nothing here suggests changing tactics in the slightest

[@miroslavtomic7038]

As of December 2023, Carol Burnett and Donna Douglas are the only surviving cast members from this episode.

[@drewo.127]

While I’m glad Rod tried again with his guardian Angel series idea through the Twilight Zone, it really does feel like it was just so overly mismanaged by nearly everyone! I may have to watch it myself to get my own opinion, but as of right now, after watching this, (and with the bus driver jumping out the window of his bus as the only funny gag imo), it overall really sounds like Rod and the Zone team were kinda…trying to pull the concept in billions of different directions while adding everything they could that Serling said he wanted, and everything sounds like it all fell apart, and working on it was like that meme of the dog saying “this is fine!”

[@ericjanssen394]

Producers HAD to use spinoff episodes, if networks wouldn’t fund or show a pilot-Ever meet a Star Trek TOS fan who liked Gary Seven and “Assignment: Earth”? But we already know from “The Bard” that Rod just can’t do Funny, although he’s right about the direction. At least Mr. Bevies gave us the “Penny For Your Thoughts” story, which would have been Bevus’ second episode wish.

[@antonmassopust568]

Come on man tell us how you really feel😮

[@kilroywashere513]

Yeah, I’ve seen the end of that episode, and if I watched the whole thing; I don’t know how I would reacted to it either🤔🤷🏻‍♂.

[@ExplorerDS6789]

Just imagine if Cavender got to George Bailey instead of Clarence!

[@davidharrington4828]

3:23 Burgess Meredith? But he doesn’t look anything like the penguin.

[@erickanew]

This is one of the only twilightzone, i couldn't get into

[@Stroheim333]

People rave about Carol Burnett, but I can't remember one single good movie with her. The musical Annie, perhaps, but her role in that is minor.

[@jlev1028]

Did you watch her comedy series?

[@Stroheim333]

@@jlev1028 Yes, I grew up with them. Carol Burnett was never made for movies, her talent was in comedy sketches. Goldie Hawn and Bette Middler are much more of a movie comediennes, and better than Burnett.