The Prime Mover - Twilight-Tober Zone

"The Prime Mover" might not be top tier, but the pacing, performances, and message make it a worth while episode. Join Walter as he discusses this episode in the Twilight Zone.
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"The Prime Mover" is episode 57 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on March 24, 1961 on CBS.
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Thoughts on The Prime Mover? Watch more Twilight-Tober Zone here - bit.ly/TwilightToberZone Follow Walter on Twitter - twitter.com/Awesome_Walter Follow us on Twitch - www.twitch.tv/channelawesome

[@trinaq]

I liked it, as it was understated and had a Wonderful message, and great performances, especially from Buddy Ebsen!

[@diegolorente8435]

Thoughts

[@kevinlane1219]

I think they should have devoted at least 50% of their profits towards some higher purpose, such as enabling every place of residence on town to recycle water, so as to reduce everyone's utilities.

[@superxjboy04edits]

You guys should do a video on wolves (2014) with Lucas till & Stephen Mchattie the movie is 50/50 but they make up with it by how cool the makeup is in the movie.

[@trinaq]

I liked the twist of Jimbo faking losing his telekinesis to snap Ace out of his greed. Fortunately, it was enough for Ace to realise how selfish he'd been, and gave him a happy ending, and not a bleak one, as we might have expected from this show.

[@Crow_Smith]

And it's good that the Gangster beat him, laughed and left. Because in some stories the Gangster would probably have killed him the minute the other guy won - or gone after him later because he thought he was a wise guy.

[@leastlikedcritic7529]

I first thought that Jimbo didn't fake losing his powers, I thought he lost them for a little bit cause he overused it at casino, then when he rested enough and was feeling better they came back.

[@Morgil27]

I thought that at first, too. Now I'm genuinely not sure if they simply came back or if he never lost them to begin with.

[@BeeDub57]

The title also refers to the leader of the Autobots when he tells them to roll.

[@trinaq]

Haha, excellent comparison! 😂

[@philipportelli7700]

This is a good companion piece to "A Penny For Your Thoughts". Rod was obviously fascinated by psychic powers!

[@trinaq]

Indeed, there's so much storytelling potential you can use with telekinesis, like "Carrie" or "I am not okay with this."

[@Daviticus042]

Uh, yeah, he made two whole episodes about them!

[@wstine79]

Maybe Jimbo used his telekinetic powers to make the oil rise from his twin Hillbilly brother's yard.

[@ggrarl]

In the words of Tom Servo, "JED! JEEEEEEEED!"

[@kathleenking47]

Jed and jimbo were separated at birth 🤣 Check ONE STEP BEYOND, about 2 men who were separated at birth: One had a cave collapse on him, and the other, miles away was feeling it And in a trance

[@ReapersPromise]

I actually got to meet George Clayton Johnson because him and my dad became friends. Dad's a huge Twilight Zone Fan, made beautiful pictures he got signed and through conventions they met, chatted, and hit it off. He was a very sweet man from the one time I met him. It was through this friendship that my dad was also able to meet and enjoy lunch with another famous writer, Ray Bradbury.

[@nonnayerbusiness7704]

The unmoved mover or prime mover is a concept advanced by Aristotle as a primary cause or "mover" of all the motion in the universe. As is implicit in the name, the unmoved mover moves other things, but is not itself moved by any prior action

[@heathhutcheson9917]

This is a personal favorite for me. Everything about it is just so solid. It’s not mind blowing or anything, but it’s a nice episode with a good moral behind it along with some sci fi elements that’s even funny at times.

[@julieporter7805]

Ace and Jimbo have a George and Lennie like friendship.

[@JayBSinging]

The "pretending to lose his telekinesis" ending reminds me of the ending to the Scott Baio comedy "Zapped!" I wonder if this episode inspired that.

[@ramsfan0868]

Ace is one lucky dude since his girl took him back.

[@dereklathan]

I've seen this one several times, and I never realized that was Jed Clampett

[@debrickashaw9387]

I like the wholesome ending

[@kathleenking47]

Well, buddy ebsens name. Is CHRISTIAN😊

[@PhoenixHealing]

Awwwwww that was nice! Sometimes people jsut need a wake up call, sometimes people can change and be better, this story is an example of that

[@Merit2397]

Having the ability of telekinesis has always been a fun concept to play around with and "The Prime Mover" is a great example. It's also a very underrated trip into the 5th dimension. I like how unlike most stories were the self-centered jerk gets his comeuppance, the one in this story, Ace is allowed to get a second chance due to his friend Jimbo "losing" his telekinetic power, so that he could learn some humility. Really makes for a nice tale of friendship.

[@Morgil27]

With the ending, I legitimately wasn't sure if his powers just came back, or if he never lost them to begin with.

[@theeyeoftheyinyangs]

Some say he never lost them. Just faked it to help a friend.

[@GregNumber5]

I'm glad you mentioned the car crash scene, I always thought that was impressive. Especially when compared to What You Need

[@Under_Sky_Third_Gaia]

It's amazing how some things are to be expected in certain careers.

[@user-wx3wc4bo7c]

Walters twilight zone series is a highlight of October.

[@pkmntrainermark8881]

I thought he did lose his powers for a bit, but they came back by the end scene.

[@ThenewTchannel]

I'd forgotten about this episode for the longest time, but when you mentioned the ending, I remembered seeing it. That ending is one of my favorites, as it presents a very strong message in a way that's very easy to understand. I love when stories can do that

[@Unownshipper]

This reminded me a lot of "A Most Unusual Camera." They always go straight to gambling, don't they? I guess it's the most economic form of storytelling for a 25-minute TV show. A big difference is that our trio has a little bit more dimension to them. Jimbo is so sweet and saintly which contrasts nicely to Ace and how quickly he's corrupted by success. Kitty serves as the voice of reason, it's just a pity she walks out so early in the run time. Ace and Jimbo's dynamic is great, Dane Clark and Buddy Ebsen really communicated a relationship of friendship with their performances. I felt the telekinetic special effects were fine for the era, but nothing too phenomenal so it was their acting that makes this one. Another one of the best things of the episode is that Ace turning over a new leaf at the end doesn't feel out of place or rushed. Yes, a character like him isn't typically the type that gets a happy ending in the Twilight Zone, and the way that he rebounds off Kitty at first makes him seem pretty deplorable. Still, there are enough hints throughout that despite his gambling problem, he's a flawed but mostly decent guy. The car crash at the start does a great job establishing this. He was willing to put himself in danger of electrocution to try and help the passengers, that's enough evidence to foreshadow his better qualities. Other thoughts: that was one hell of a way to start an episode. One minute, everyday petty dramas; the next, wild car flips! And the sound effects they used, for a minute I thought I turned on The Flintstones. The return of the slot machine! I feel like this episode does a much better job as a cautionary tale about greed than this prop's originator "The Fever" does. It's simply more entertaining while that one felt too moralistically/melodramatically propagandistic in a "Reefer Madness" sort of way. I like to believe that in the reality of the Twilight Zone there really is only one design for slot machines and so they *all* look like that. It's not the deepest episode (not very thought-provoking and not very high stakes) which some might say puts it more towards the middle, but I'd call this higher than that and definitely worthy of a rewatch.

[@michaelcanty4940]

The final scene in the episode shows that Jimbo retains his power by lifting a fallen broom was repeated in Star Wars, the broom boy picking up a broom as well.

[@Regfife]

When I first watched this episode I thought it would end with Big Phil at least guessing that Ace was cheating, and either do him in or rough him up. So Jimbo probably saved his life. Also, "Ace Larson" happens to be the name of the villain in the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby movie "Road to Utopia". Just thought that was interesting.

[@CrossJeniel]

Episode is my favorite

[@djgeorge1469]

I rewatched Prime Mover last night and the crash scene was instantly familiar, it's the same from They Saved Hitler's Brain (ridiculous old school movie you can find on yt), which I guess overall is from Thunder Road, which I didn't know.

[@ramsfan0868]

Really really like this episode "The Prime mover". Rewatched it last week. Good cast. Also I like the episodes that have to do with addiction, greed, and or gambling.

[@TheBeastDen365]

since I've been watching these I realized how many shows have parody The Twilight Zone.

[@TheCreepypro]

love the execution of this

[@tskmaster3837]

Jimbo Cobb... Jesus Christ, a JC by any other name is still a messianic figure.

[@trinaq]

For an unintentional bonus, Buddy Ebsen's most famous character was Jed Clampett from "The Beverly Hillbillies!"

[@toshirodragon]

Buddy Ebsen is always worth watching!

[@trinaq]

Precisely, he was Doc in "Breakfast at Tiffany's", and the original Tin Man in "The Wizard of Oz!"

[@erinmiller1433]

@@trinaq Don’t forget “The Beverly Hillbillies”

[@teresasevy1563]

He starred in a detective show too, Barnaby... something.

[@toshirodragon]

@@teresasevy1563 Barnaby Jones, with co star Lee Meriwether. My mother adored Ms Meriwether, so my parents watched it every week. 💖

[@teresasevy1563]

@@toshirodragon Thank you!

[@skarloey1214]

Great Video Walter.

[@melissadahl7561]

I like that this one has a good ending and of course, buddy ebsen always turns in a good performance. It's not one I watch frequently but it's one I'll give another watch after seeing this.

[@Superderpynerd]

I remember this one… it always made me feel uncomfortable.

[@LucidDreamer54321]

The original Rain Man.

[@chrisazylum6624]

Think I remember seeing this episode! Next time the final videotape episode!

[@zenketski]

Considering some cases in the music industry recently, it's a good thing the Twilight Zone came out when it did, otherwise it would have definitely lost that case.

[@kuitaranheatmorus9932]

Great video,I love it alot.

[@milestrombley1466]

Interesting episode.

[@claytonrios1]

If someone had telekinesis and used it to cheat at gambling do you think they'd try that in the Marvel, DC or My Hero Academia universe's?

[@anubusx]

I would!!!!

[@fabiovarra3698]

would it be cheating? at the end of day you're still just tossing the dice

[@claytonrios1]

@@fabiovarra3698 It would be if you were caught using your power.

[@fabiovarra3698]

@@claytonrios1 but no one could caught you

[@claytonrios1]

@@fabiovarra3698 In My Hero Academia or Marvel I'm sure they'd find a way to catch someone doing that.

[@majinsole8554]

Real friends give you what you need, not what you want. Not all the time anyway. ~_~

[@MrHEC381991]

I wonder how many takes they had to shoot before the dice landed on the number they wanted.

[@Unownshipper]

I'm sure they accomplished the effect using magnetic dice.

[@MrJuvefrank]

Sometimes gambling with street people leads to murder.

[@Eris_Strife]

I would love to see you either Film Critic or review The Houses October Built. 🤘

[@kirk1701]

I know Buddy Ebsen from _Barnaby Jones._

[@marathongman9281]

How about the Beverly Hillbillies?

[@joelkirk6930]

@@marathongman9281 I became aware he was in that show later in life...lol My mother used to always watch _Barnaby Jones_ on TV, so that was where I was first introduced to him.

[@lowrider993]

Yeah when I saw that slots machine I thought it was an easter egg

[@marathongman9281]

Greed is expensive.

[@maverickhunterstupidiocy7779]

Anyone else noticed that one armed bandit guy was stealing the slot machine from “The Fever”?

[@filipeferreira5956]

I did, when Walter mentioned it in the video at 3:43. Also, the "one armed bandit" was refering to the slot machine, not a literal person, and it wasn't being stolen, the owner got rid of it after he lost everything, like Walter said. Are you ok, man?

[@dionruffin3996]

This was a good ending Ace wasn’t a bad guy

[@DonaldnationDoris]

Can you review Stephen king cujo

[@ivolucano2455]

Yee

[@maxpayne2574]

So Serling went out of his way to accept and read submitted scripts then got lawsuits, no good deed hu.

[@jill5045]

🤣🤣🙏🛑🤣🤣I can’t 🤣🤣💋

[@petergray7576]

Next Episode S2E22 Long Distance Call (Billy Mumy's first apprentice)

[@gregorytyson995]

The next episode is really messed up.

[@Gamersal77]

E

[@quinetastic]

"E"? What do you mean?🤔^

[@PhoutianPhill]

Super March Static September June League July League Unlimited

[@lowrider993]

Maybe he could've faked losing his power before calling the Chicago gangster and they could've kept the money they had up to that point. Just saying they didn't have to lose everything.

[@maxpayne2574]

I think Serling liked to go beyond the simple white hat black hat 50s style. He well knew most people are a mix of good and bad driven by circumstance.

[@BlackBoy1620]

Early gang

[@daniellavaladez7820]

First

[@cartervandenberg4771]

Second

[@TheOwlCreek]

This episode was another stinker. Never realized how many bad TZ episodes there were.