Episode no. Season 4
Episode 15 Written by Reginald Rose Original air date April 18, 1963 | Directed by Abner Biberman Production code 4854 | |
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"The Incredible World of Horace Ford" is an episode in season four of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.
Contents
Plot
Horace Ford is a 38-year-old toy designer whose life is dominated by blissfully happy memories of his childhood. His colleagues, wife, and mother have all become increasingly frustrated with his obsession.
One day, he decides to revisit his childhood neighborhood. Ford discovers, to his amazement, that it has not changed. He recognizes the boys he played with in his childhood—who have not aged. Frightened, he returns to his apartment, but he visits his old neighborhood again on each of the next several nights. Each night the same scene plays out and he stays slightly longer, before returning to his apartment.
On his last visit, he stays much longer than before, and hears his old friends complaining about him. He tries to talk to them, and suddenly turns into a boy again. His friends bully and assault him, as Horace realizes that his childhood was not as pleasant as he would nostalgically recall. After his wife finds him, he "grows up"—returning to his own time period and age group with a new-found appreciation for life as an adult.
Themes
This episode revisits themes used in the series in the episodes "The Trouble with Templeton" (season 2) and "Walking Distance" (season 1)—namely, a person's propensity to romanticize and try to relive a past that may not have been at all as good as they like to remember it.