Martin Landau stars as Major Ivan Kuchenko, an Eastern Bloc defector who is trying to reach the U.S., but is intercepted by Commissar Vassiloff(played by John Van Dreelen) who is assigned to kill him. The Major currently occupies a hotel room in a neutral country, but Vassiloff decides to play a dangerous game with him instead. After being knocked out with a drugged drink, the Major comes around to be told via tape recording that somewhere in his room is a bomb, and he must find and deactivate it in three hours, or the bomb will go off, and if he tries to leave too soon, will be shot... Interesting episode is more of a suspense piece than most, but contains fine acting and a most effective ending.
26 Reviews
Good Use of Irony
Hitchcoc19 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
I disagree with those that found fault with the series of events. The conclusion is based on distraction and impulse and not uncharacteristic. It's no different than the guy in The Birds lighting a match at the gas pump in "The Birds." The story is nicely set up. Landau is excellent in using his face to show the tension building up inside him. He knows the rules and needs to find a way out. The antagonists are caught by overconfidence and arrogance, something they cannot afford. We also care about this guy and are involved in his predicament. I would say it's a very good episode. The Twilight Zone doesn't always have to have a supernatural element. As a matter of fact, some are better because of the reality of the situation.
ironic fun
karn12 August 2010
Yes, as another reviewer said this episode reeks of Cold War stereotypes. But if that bothers you, just mentally replace the Soviet nationalities of the characters with a defecting al Qaeda terrorist or Taliban operative or whatever you like because this episode isn't about communism vs capitalism. It's about the ironic (and highly satisfying) comeuppance of an overconfident sadist with a huge ego at the hands of someone he hugely underestimates.
And in that sense it's a classic Twilight Zone plot. Most episodes are morality tales that depict a fundamentally good but unlucky character getting a second chance or an evil character finally getting his due. The only real differences in this one is that there's one of each type of character and they each earn their rewards by their own acts and wits, not through alien intervention or some inexplicable supernatural occurrence.
And in that sense it's a classic Twilight Zone plot. Most episodes are morality tales that depict a fundamentally good but unlucky character getting a second chance or an evil character finally getting his due. The only real differences in this one is that there's one of each type of character and they each earn their rewards by their own acts and wits, not through alien intervention or some inexplicable supernatural occurrence.
Great cat and mouse episode
tforbes-27 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This episode, which aired very late in The Twilight Zone's run, is not a creep fest in the usual sense of the word. However, it is a great thriller and a great morality tale worthy of the best episodes of this series.
Basically, this episode is about an Eastern Bloc defector trapped by his old boss. The episode may seem to some as really low budget, but the episode is played effectively using a simple hotel room. Martin Landau gives one of his best performances as the defector who has to find a way out of his hotel room. I won't give you specifics on this one. You have to watch this one! As for any accusations that some of the episodes reflect Rod Serling's liberalism, watch this episode! "The Jeopardy Room" is proof that the show retained its quality late in its run.
And it doesn't hurt that the lead actor won an Oscar, or that the director went on to direct celebrated movies, such as 1978's "Superman"!
Basically, this episode is about an Eastern Bloc defector trapped by his old boss. The episode may seem to some as really low budget, but the episode is played effectively using a simple hotel room. Martin Landau gives one of his best performances as the defector who has to find a way out of his hotel room. I won't give you specifics on this one. You have to watch this one! As for any accusations that some of the episodes reflect Rod Serling's liberalism, watch this episode! "The Jeopardy Room" is proof that the show retained its quality late in its run.
And it doesn't hurt that the lead actor won an Oscar, or that the director went on to direct celebrated movies, such as 1978's "Superman"!
My Favorite Episode
januszlvii10 May 2020
The Jeopardy Room is my favorite episode of The Twilight Zone. What makes it work is the cat and mouse battle between Martin Landau and his KGB opponent. I love stories like this ( Night Of The Running Man with Andrew McCarthy is another one ). Like that movie, what you have a sadistic person who enjoys torturing people ( far more then simply doing his job or believing in a cause), versus someone ( Landau) who just has his will to live. In these kind of stories, the bad guy makes the fatal mistake of overestimating himself and underestimates his opponent ( when Landau figured out how his enemy was going to kill him and escaped, the bad guy was actually happy because he was going to have another opportunity to after him again). Without giving the ending away, Landau is able to win, taking advantage of his opponent's arrogance, and by using his wits and intelligence, instead of luck, the supernatural, or other usual Twilight Zone themes. 10/10 stars.
Ever get that strange feeling that this isn't The Twilight Zone?
darrenpearce11126 December 2013
The excellent Martin Landau returns to the Zone in one of the last entries, having been in the third story, 'Mr Denton On Doomsday'. He plays a pursued defector from Russia in a cat and mouse game with a commissar. All played out intriguingly, but the subject matter has dated. The DVD commentary by Landau is interesting (as is his 'Denton On Doomsday' commentary) but I especially like his line at the end when the theme music begins.
It would not be giving too much away to say that the usual mystical frontiers of TZ don't concern this tale. There's no magical stopwatch, camera, shoes, piano, car, television, love potion, mystic seer, book, doll, phantom ship, airplane, train or aliens, parallel universe, fourth dimension, time travel, gremlins, voodoo, witchcraft, necromancy, little people, giant people, gremlins, the devil, angels, ghosts, youth elixirs, advanced physics, androids, telepathy, kinetic powers, genies of the lamp - I think you get the point.
It would not be giving too much away to say that the usual mystical frontiers of TZ don't concern this tale. There's no magical stopwatch, camera, shoes, piano, car, television, love potion, mystic seer, book, doll, phantom ship, airplane, train or aliens, parallel universe, fourth dimension, time travel, gremlins, voodoo, witchcraft, necromancy, little people, giant people, gremlins, the devil, angels, ghosts, youth elixirs, advanced physics, androids, telepathy, kinetic powers, genies of the lamp - I think you get the point.
Unusual episode of TZ...
Pythe2 February 2008
...in that nothing really supernatural, odd, or mysterious happens. Still, a tense and solidly scripted story from Serling about a man pinned down by a sniper, challenged to find a bomb triggered by a seemingly ordinary object in a hotel room. It was nice to see a young Martin Landau as the tormented protagonist. I think two things could have been done to make the story a bit more satisfying. First, the ending always struck me as a trifle tacked on, as if Serling couldn't think of a really good way to resolve the situation and so had the villain do something uncharacteristically stupid. Second, Martin Landau's character should have employed a few more tactics to try to get away before succeeding; as it stands, there's a bit too much time spent looking for the bomb, the location of which is fairly obvious from the start, and the way he escapes also feels a bit too easy.
"Your well being is our good concern".
classicsoncall4 September 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Martin Landau is faced with his own Mission Impossible as an Eastern bloc defector forced into a cat and mouse game with the KGB boss that put him away some twelve years earlier. Commissar Vassiloff's (John Van Dreelen) specialty is doing away with defectors, describing himself as the 'last of the imaginative executioners'. He treats his victims with subtlety and finesse, teasing Kuchenko (Landau) with a death that will be like a finely crafted ballet.
Rod Serling leaves matters of the supernatural aside for this take on a Cold War theme, resulting in a fairly original story this late in the game for the series. It takes a while for the set up to occur, and when Kuchenko finally makes a break for it, I wondered why he didn't do it sooner since the door to his room remained unlocked the whole time. I also had to wonder too if the triggering mechanism device would have worked with the technology available in the Sixties, although I'm sure something like that could be rigged up today.
The ending is a typical one in The Twilight Zone sense, and astute viewers and fans will see it coming. The message that Serling cleverly inserts into this, another of his statements on the evils of statism, is that leaders of the elite class are not only necessary to tell their followers what to do, but are also necessary to tell them what NOT to do.
Rod Serling leaves matters of the supernatural aside for this take on a Cold War theme, resulting in a fairly original story this late in the game for the series. It takes a while for the set up to occur, and when Kuchenko finally makes a break for it, I wondered why he didn't do it sooner since the door to his room remained unlocked the whole time. I also had to wonder too if the triggering mechanism device would have worked with the technology available in the Sixties, although I'm sure something like that could be rigged up today.
The ending is a typical one in The Twilight Zone sense, and astute viewers and fans will see it coming. The message that Serling cleverly inserts into this, another of his statements on the evils of statism, is that leaders of the elite class are not only necessary to tell their followers what to do, but are also necessary to tell them what NOT to do.
Serling Written Script Gets Good Treatment
DKosty12313 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Serling was a writer during the times when the cold war was at it's height, the 1950's and 1960's. It is no surprise that he wrote this Cold War type of plot to produce in 1964. While 30 minutes does not give us enough time to develop the plot details distinctly, this little story is a cat and mouse game that is just fine for the talent at hand.
Martin Landau is a very good actor by the time he did this. He had a great supporting role in Hitchcock's North By Northwest. Here he is a man marked for murder by a bold guy who decides to play his death like a game. This episode is only a short time before Landau would become a regular on the Impossible Missions team which would make him more famous than any of his other roles. His talent in playing this role is evident.
Richard Donner is getting his directing skills honed here. He would direct top episodes of a lot of television before his big movies later on. In the next years he would do one of the better Dr. Lovelass episodes on The Wild Wild West. He does a good job here with a small stage, a room, which is limited in what could be done. The script helps along with a great cast, but it is quite clear CBS was trying to keep costs down in production of this episode. CBS was on a series of prime time hit shows that would make them the number 1 network for the 1960's, and the kind of talent on this show is why.
Overall, the trap set which backfires is a great plot device. Serling has not lost any steps in writing this episode. What is amazing is with all this talent involved, the shows ratings were getting stale. It is not the fault of this episode, just an audience that was getting restless for more and newer ideas.
Martin Landau is a very good actor by the time he did this. He had a great supporting role in Hitchcock's North By Northwest. Here he is a man marked for murder by a bold guy who decides to play his death like a game. This episode is only a short time before Landau would become a regular on the Impossible Missions team which would make him more famous than any of his other roles. His talent in playing this role is evident.
Richard Donner is getting his directing skills honed here. He would direct top episodes of a lot of television before his big movies later on. In the next years he would do one of the better Dr. Lovelass episodes on The Wild Wild West. He does a good job here with a small stage, a room, which is limited in what could be done. The script helps along with a great cast, but it is quite clear CBS was trying to keep costs down in production of this episode. CBS was on a series of prime time hit shows that would make them the number 1 network for the 1960's, and the kind of talent on this show is why.
Overall, the trap set which backfires is a great plot device. Serling has not lost any steps in writing this episode. What is amazing is with all this talent involved, the shows ratings were getting stale. It is not the fault of this episode, just an audience that was getting restless for more and newer ideas.
If A Man Answers, It's Too Late Already.
rmax30482312 April 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Entertaining and tense story of a Soviet defector penned up in a shabby hotel room and trying to escape. The defector is Martin Landau. He receives a visit from the affable Commissar, John Van Dreelen, who offers him a drink of amontillado, after taking a swig from the freshly opened bottle himself. The defective defector should know better. When Landau regains consciousness, the room is empty except for a tape recorder that informs him that he has one hour to find the bomb that has been hidden in the room. If he attempts to leave the room he'll be shot. See -- the Commissar and his dumb assistant, Boris, who looks a lot like Putin, are keeping an eye on Landau from a window across the alley. The bomb is in the telephone and is activated AFTER the phone rings, not if it's picked up before ringing.
While Landau searches frantically for the booby trap, Van Dreelen is chuckling to himself, comparing HIS methods of assassination to works of art -- "a ballet, not a butcher shop." Van Dreelen is a very good heavy, by the way. He's one of those suave heavies, and he looks and sounds right, not the usual blubbery type with the bald head and sweaty features that we usually see during this period.
I don't think I'll give the ending away except to say that there is nothing supernatural about it, that it's ironic, and that I would not want an assistant as stupid as Boris.
While Landau searches frantically for the booby trap, Van Dreelen is chuckling to himself, comparing HIS methods of assassination to works of art -- "a ballet, not a butcher shop." Van Dreelen is a very good heavy, by the way. He's one of those suave heavies, and he looks and sounds right, not the usual blubbery type with the bald head and sweaty features that we usually see during this period.
I don't think I'll give the ending away except to say that there is nothing supernatural about it, that it's ironic, and that I would not want an assistant as stupid as Boris.
A very exception in the show.
searchanddestroy-111 February 2020
This episode has the particularity to have been good enough to belong to any anthology series: ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, TELEPHONE TIME, ALCOA THEATRE, SUSPENSE.... And not TWILIGHT ZONE in particular, because, as many other comments have already said, there is no fantasy in this very interesting story. But as far as we have noticed that TWILIGHT ZONE series offer many morality messages in its topics, this one has in common to bring one too.
"The Jeopardy Room" examines "Cold War" themes
chuck-reilly21 August 2008
Warning: Spoilers
In 1964's "The Jeopardy Room," Martin Landau plays Major Ivan Kuchenko, an escaped defector from the Soviets who's trapped in a seedy hotel room in a major US city. A lethal "cat and mouse" game ensues when Kuchenko finds out that his whereabouts has been discovered by his former boss, Commissar Vassiloff (John Van Dreelen). Vassiloff phones his room and informs Kuchenko that unless he gives himself up and returns to the Eastern Bloc, death awaits him in the form of a hidden bomb in the room. Thereafter, the two enemies go back in forth with some dialog seemingly lifted right out of a standard Cold War novel for the times. Writer/Creator Rod Serling makes his usual points against the "totalitarism" of the state but fortunately it doesn't interfere with the plot. In the end, Kuchenko is able to make his getaway and eventually turn the tables on his pursuers. You might say that Commissar Vassiloff goes out with a bang.
There's nothing ground-breaking in this final season entry in the series. The acting, however, is first-rate and both Landau and Van Dreelen give fine performances despite a few holes in the script. The episode was directed by Richard Donner who went on to much bigger and better things in the movie industry. So did Landau, who ended up winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Even with that recognition, he's still best known for all his years of stardom on the "Mission Impossible" TV series. "The Jeopardy Room" is worth a visit if for nothing more than reviewing Cold War sensibilities. With Russia currently invading Georgia (August 2008), it might even have some latter-day relevance.
There's nothing ground-breaking in this final season entry in the series. The acting, however, is first-rate and both Landau and Van Dreelen give fine performances despite a few holes in the script. The episode was directed by Richard Donner who went on to much bigger and better things in the movie industry. So did Landau, who ended up winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Even with that recognition, he's still best known for all his years of stardom on the "Mission Impossible" TV series. "The Jeopardy Room" is worth a visit if for nothing more than reviewing Cold War sensibilities. With Russia currently invading Georgia (August 2008), it might even have some latter-day relevance.
Soviets Are not That Stupid
claudio_carvalho5 November 2023
The defector Major Ivan Kuchenko is under siege and trapped in a hotel room by Commissar Vassiloff and his assistant Boris. Vassiloff is a sadistic and sophisticated assassin that wants to kill Kuchenko in an elaborated way. He offers wine to Kuchenko and drugs him. Then he tells t Kuchenko that there is a boob trap in his room and he needs to find it to save his life.
"The Jeopardy Room" is an awful episode of "The Twilight Zone" that treats the soviet people as stupid one. Boris shoots many times to Kuchenko's room and nobody hears the shooting. Kuchenko drinks wine in the same bottle of his enemy, and loses the chance to eliminate his enemy. But the worst is the imbecile conclusion, with Boris shooting at Kuchenko first and answering a phone call. My vote is five.
Title (Brazil): "Correndo Risco" ("Taking Risk")
"The Jeopardy Room" is an awful episode of "The Twilight Zone" that treats the soviet people as stupid one. Boris shoots many times to Kuchenko's room and nobody hears the shooting. Kuchenko drinks wine in the same bottle of his enemy, and loses the chance to eliminate his enemy. But the worst is the imbecile conclusion, with Boris shooting at Kuchenko first and answering a phone call. My vote is five.
Title (Brazil): "Correndo Risco" ("Taking Risk")
Escaping the Iron Curtain
nickenchuggets30 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
While The Twilight Zone's specialty was telling stories based in strange and inexplicable situations, the series also hosted quite a few episodes that took a more realistic approach to things. Jeopardy Room is one of my favorite episodes of the entire show because (unlike most episodes) it has no supernatural or fictional elements to it at all. The events shown can actually happen, and in some parts of the world, maybe they did. The plot is about a high ranking military officer serving some unknown country in the Eastern Bloc, controlled by the Soviet Union. Major Kuchenko (Martin Landau) is the man in question, and he stands completely alone in a hotel room, waiting for his chance to flee the country. Another officer who outranks him, Commissar Vassiloff, is instructed to kill the defecting communist. He watches him from a dark room in the building next to his. However, he refrains from shooting him right then and there because that would be too easy. He plans to make Kuchenko suffer and kill him very artistically. After going to see him face to face in his room, Vassiloff drugs him with a bottle of wine, and upon waking up, Kuchenko finds a tape recording saying how Vassiloff has put a bomb somewhere in the room. If Kuchenko finds and defuses it within 180 minutes, he's allowed to leave. If he tries to run out of the room, Vassiloff's right hand man Boris will snipe Kuchenko from across the alleyway. With time running out very quickly, Kuchenko looks for the bomb, but has no luck. Eventually, he realizes it's in the telephone, and it will explode if he picks it up. Vassiloff exploits this on purpose and tells the hotel manager to ring Kuchenko's phone, but he's too smart to fall for it. He manages to bolt out of the room, dodging a lethal hail of bullets. Later, Vassiloff and Boris are in Kuchenko's former room, trying to find how in the world he discovered the bomb's location. All of a sudden, the phone rings. Without thinking, Boris goes to answer it, and the whole room is wiped from existence. The caller turns out to be Kuchenko, and even though he can't hear anyone talking to him, he knows what has just happened. While I like this episode a lot because of its lack of supernatural elements, it does have a kind of glaring plot hole that sticks out like a sore thumb. Surely, no military officer (at least a high ranking one like Vassiloff) would be stupid enough to walk into a room that he himself planted an explosive device in. The only reason why they ended it this way is so the episode could have a happy ending and have Landau escape. Despite this pretty big flaw, Jeopardy Room is one interesting Twilight Zone episode that has no fantasy aspects to it, and just consists of 3 men, 2 rooms, and 1 battle to find who has the higher intellect.
Jeopardy Game
hellraiser723 March 2018
This is another honorable mention in my book. This episode is an odd entry it feels more like an episode of "Alfred Hichcock Presents" since that show deals with suspense tales; but I honestly didn't mind I like that the show was trying something different, it was kinda a break from the norm.
I really like Martin Landau's character whom is sympathetic, whom wants to have a life of his own away from the troubles of his past. Unfortunately trouble finds him as assasins have finally caught up to him, the villain you plain dislike as he is a psychopath that loves his job too much, let alone an ego maniac as he stated himself "he's one of the last imaginative executioners" when he says that he just takes glee over his diseased mind and talent; those things just all the more makes you want Landau to win, to wipe that sick smile off his face.
But of coruse were here for the suspense which is just nerve racking. It's basically your escape room scenario which has been done many times most notably Steven King's "Gerold's Game" and many more; but this is one of those ones done right in my book anyway. Despite all taking place in one condenced space it's is layered in suspense.
From that first part of the game, Landau is trying to locate the bomb and possably defuse it (though knowing that psychopath I doubt it). We're all in the same boat as Landau, I remember sitting on the edge of my seat observing and thinking up each possible place a bomb could be or disgused as; like a stack of books which might have a claymore trip wire hidden, or one of the books are a fake and is the bomb.
Then when it gets to the second half, we already know where the bomb is and how it opporates. Here we are finally a step ahead of the protagonist, the suspense is hoping he catches to what we know but also hope he finds a way out soon as their not going to sit around forever to wait for the bomb to blow.
Will he find a way out, you have to wait and see, but make sure to leave the door open.
Rating: 3 and a half stars
I really like Martin Landau's character whom is sympathetic, whom wants to have a life of his own away from the troubles of his past. Unfortunately trouble finds him as assasins have finally caught up to him, the villain you plain dislike as he is a psychopath that loves his job too much, let alone an ego maniac as he stated himself "he's one of the last imaginative executioners" when he says that he just takes glee over his diseased mind and talent; those things just all the more makes you want Landau to win, to wipe that sick smile off his face.
But of coruse were here for the suspense which is just nerve racking. It's basically your escape room scenario which has been done many times most notably Steven King's "Gerold's Game" and many more; but this is one of those ones done right in my book anyway. Despite all taking place in one condenced space it's is layered in suspense.
From that first part of the game, Landau is trying to locate the bomb and possably defuse it (though knowing that psychopath I doubt it). We're all in the same boat as Landau, I remember sitting on the edge of my seat observing and thinking up each possible place a bomb could be or disgused as; like a stack of books which might have a claymore trip wire hidden, or one of the books are a fake and is the bomb.
Then when it gets to the second half, we already know where the bomb is and how it opporates. Here we are finally a step ahead of the protagonist, the suspense is hoping he catches to what we know but also hope he finds a way out soon as their not going to sit around forever to wait for the bomb to blow.
Will he find a way out, you have to wait and see, but make sure to leave the door open.
Rating: 3 and a half stars
An episode that plays games with the mind!
blanbrn19 September 2017
This "TZ" episode from 1964 that starred legend Martin Landau called The Jeopardy Room is one that's strange and different as it plays with the mind of you the viewer and makes one wonder about fate, and chance as life is a process of decision making and luck. The story is simple Landau is a major who's escaped away from the Soviet Union only to take up shop in a hotel. And he's being watched by spies also inside the hotel is a bomb! Now what's to happen and what's to do! it's clear this episode is one about chance and decision making a lot of irony and suspense drama go along with it overall one episode that's different making it memorable plus it's an early highlight for Martin Landau.
Tense episode
kellielulu1 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The first time I watched this one I was on edge would the main character played by Martin Landau would survive much less make his desired destination. We are told in the opening he was a political prisoner from the Soviet Union. He now is planning to defect but there is a catch of course. Commissar Vassiloff is assigned to assassinate Major Ivan Kuchenko ( Landau) . Vassiloff is into mind games it's his subordinate Boris that wants to just take a shot at Ivan and be done with it. What ensues is a game of cat and mouse . Vassiloff does several things that another adversary might not outsmart but ultimately Ivan does . What a relief! I agree with the view that the mistake made by his opponent could happen. Although it was actually Boris that made it. It's not unusual we do things naturally without thinking it's a habit or a non thinking reaction. Vassiloff underestimates Ivan and he's also overconfident that the pleasure he takes in prolonging his assignments will never be his undoing but that's exactly what happens. He also underestimated Ivan in being able to figure what trap had been laid out for him and turning the tables on him. The tension never ends and Ivan is someone you want too root for . Not one of the episodes I would want to watch as often as some others but it's an interesting and well paced episode.
very Illogical
roedyg15 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This episode is unusual in that nothing supernatural happens and the ending is quite predictable. Because the villain is so villainous, everything points to the fact the villain will be foist on his own petard in the final seconds.
All kinds of maddeningly improbable things happen to allow for the "surprise" ending.
The hero has the drop on the villain. The villain chattily announces to is going to kill the hero, but the hero does not take advantage of the situation, even though the villain had previously tortured him for months.
The hero voluntarily drinks obviously poisoned wine offered by the villain, even though there is no benefit to doing so.
There is all manner of gunfire, yet the hotel management never call the police to investigate.
The villain explains that something in the room is booby trapped, yet the hero stomps about ripping the room to pieces taking no care to look for the booby trap.
The hero knows the position of the shooter, but takes no advantage of that to escape.
The hero never calls for help. etc. etc. etc.
I have no trouble with strained credulity with science fiction stories, but with this I did, since there was no acknowledgement that the characters were behaving very strangely for no apparent reason.
All kinds of maddeningly improbable things happen to allow for the "surprise" ending.
The hero has the drop on the villain. The villain chattily announces to is going to kill the hero, but the hero does not take advantage of the situation, even though the villain had previously tortured him for months.
The hero voluntarily drinks obviously poisoned wine offered by the villain, even though there is no benefit to doing so.
There is all manner of gunfire, yet the hotel management never call the police to investigate.
The villain explains that something in the room is booby trapped, yet the hero stomps about ripping the room to pieces taking no care to look for the booby trap.
The hero knows the position of the shooter, but takes no advantage of that to escape.
The hero never calls for help. etc. etc. etc.
I have no trouble with strained credulity with science fiction stories, but with this I did, since there was no acknowledgement that the characters were behaving very strangely for no apparent reason.
If Soviet agents had been this stupid, the USSR would have lost the Cold War in 1951.
fedor85 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Presented to us poor suffering TZ fans is a ridiculously hammy Russian agent who comes off as a British lord entertaining himself by being a sadistic spy on the side, as a hobby.
A very silly and absurd ending that assumes that Soviet agents are cretins.
There are the usual annoying, long Serling-type speeches, plus a dumb central character (Landau) who takes the wine and then fails to shoot the agent despite having ample opportunity - and without even attempting to escape.
It's just a bad spy story that has nothing to do with the show's concept.
A very silly and absurd ending that assumes that Soviet agents are cretins.
There are the usual annoying, long Serling-type speeches, plus a dumb central character (Landau) who takes the wine and then fails to shoot the agent despite having ample opportunity - and without even attempting to escape.
It's just a bad spy story that has nothing to do with the show's concept.
THE GAMES THOSE SECRET AGENTS PLAY...
tcchelsey5 July 2023
Richard Donner did a terrific job directing this classic episode, the man behind such mega hits as SUPERMAN and LETHAL WEAPON. I totally agree with the last reviewer, the script leans more to Alfred Hitchcock's tv show, and may have originally been planned, but rejected. Who knows? There have been many series that picked up stories from others.
Pre-MISSION IMPOSSIBLE agent Martin Landau is spot on as a defector (more likely from Russia) whose bitter ex-comrades finally track him down. They are now assasins who plan to eliminate him, but it's also a psychological game, as played by the top man, John van Dreelen. Van Dreelen makes a nasty boss, sort of in the tradition of a James Bond villain. He wants Landau to sweat it out, minute by minute until his time finally comes. Clue: The bomb is in his locked room!
The drab one room, one set scenario has been used on the TWILIGHT ZONE before, but yes, it's also material Hitch could have easily put to good use. Rod Serling was at his creative best on this one, and it's a nail biter through and through. Landau does his job.
By the way.... the ending may have been reworked for MISSION IMPOSSIBLE! Sound familiar? Proof that can't keep a good story down.
SEASON 5 CBS dvd box set. Recommended.
Pre-MISSION IMPOSSIBLE agent Martin Landau is spot on as a defector (more likely from Russia) whose bitter ex-comrades finally track him down. They are now assasins who plan to eliminate him, but it's also a psychological game, as played by the top man, John van Dreelen. Van Dreelen makes a nasty boss, sort of in the tradition of a James Bond villain. He wants Landau to sweat it out, minute by minute until his time finally comes. Clue: The bomb is in his locked room!
The drab one room, one set scenario has been used on the TWILIGHT ZONE before, but yes, it's also material Hitch could have easily put to good use. Rod Serling was at his creative best on this one, and it's a nail biter through and through. Landau does his job.
By the way.... the ending may have been reworked for MISSION IMPOSSIBLE! Sound familiar? Proof that can't keep a good story down.
SEASON 5 CBS dvd box set. Recommended.
I am the last of the imaginative executioners
sol-kay11 August 2010
Warning: Spoilers
**SPOILERS** On the lamb in some fleabag hotel room in an unnamed and neutral country Russian escapee from the Soviet Union Major Ivan Kuchenko, Martin Landau, knows he's being watch by the KBG who have orders to ice him before he makes his way to the free and non-Communist world.
It's Kuchenko's soon to be executioner Commissar Vassiloff, John Van Dreelen, and his brutish hit-man Boris, Bob Kelljon, who've got all the cards in deciding just when Major Kuchenko is to be hit! With Boris wanting to knock off Kuchenko as soon as possible it's the Commissar who feels that killing him would be far too good for Kuchenko if in fact the major doesn't see it coming.
Being an expert in KGB torture methods that he inflicted on Kuchenko back in the Siberian gulags Commissar Vassiloff what's to make the major's last hours on earth as unpleasant as possible in having him not know just when the end will come for him. This sadistic swine goes so far to even risk his life by entering Kuchenko's hotel room, with Kuchenko pointing a gun on him, in order to play with him by offering the thirsty Kuchenko a swig, after gulping down one himself to show that it wasn't poisoned, of expensive Amontillado wine to clam his nerves down. What Kuchenko didn't know is that Vassiloff had been drinking so much of the spiked wine over the years that it wouldn't have any effect on him like it did Kuchenko who conked out moments after he drank it!
***SPOILERS*** Secretly planting a bomb in his hotel room when Kuchenko was out cold Vassiloff now waits for him to find it in the three hours her gave him or else he'll let Boris, who just can't wait, blow him away when the deadline is up. Vassiloff should have at first listened to Boris and let him do his job and not play this stupid and mindless game with Kuchenko. In fact it was Vassiloff ridicules and elaborate plan to whack Major Kuchenko that had a totally confused, in trying to follow it, Boris mess it all up by forgetting what in the hotel room was to set the hidden explosive off!
It's Kuchenko's soon to be executioner Commissar Vassiloff, John Van Dreelen, and his brutish hit-man Boris, Bob Kelljon, who've got all the cards in deciding just when Major Kuchenko is to be hit! With Boris wanting to knock off Kuchenko as soon as possible it's the Commissar who feels that killing him would be far too good for Kuchenko if in fact the major doesn't see it coming.
Being an expert in KGB torture methods that he inflicted on Kuchenko back in the Siberian gulags Commissar Vassiloff what's to make the major's last hours on earth as unpleasant as possible in having him not know just when the end will come for him. This sadistic swine goes so far to even risk his life by entering Kuchenko's hotel room, with Kuchenko pointing a gun on him, in order to play with him by offering the thirsty Kuchenko a swig, after gulping down one himself to show that it wasn't poisoned, of expensive Amontillado wine to clam his nerves down. What Kuchenko didn't know is that Vassiloff had been drinking so much of the spiked wine over the years that it wouldn't have any effect on him like it did Kuchenko who conked out moments after he drank it!
***SPOILERS*** Secretly planting a bomb in his hotel room when Kuchenko was out cold Vassiloff now waits for him to find it in the three hours her gave him or else he'll let Boris, who just can't wait, blow him away when the deadline is up. Vassiloff should have at first listened to Boris and let him do his job and not play this stupid and mindless game with Kuchenko. In fact it was Vassiloff ridicules and elaborate plan to whack Major Kuchenko that had a totally confused, in trying to follow it, Boris mess it all up by forgetting what in the hotel room was to set the hidden explosive off!
The Last Imaginative Executioner ... Or not
Coventry13 January 2023
Major Ivan Kuchenko is a political prisoner from a non-specified country (cough**Russia**cough) who wants to escape to the free Western world, but he's being hunt down by a megalomaniacal commissioner named Vasiloff and his simple-minded assistant Boris. The two have traced Kuchenco to his hideout in a small hotel, and they easily shoot him, but Vasiloff insists to toy around with his target and kill him in an original way. Well, he shouldn't have done that.
There's nothing supernatural or fantasy-like about "The Jeopardy Room", so it's one of the few outcast episodes in the entire series. That is totally fine, though. One of my personal favorite installments is "The Shelter" and that one also doesn't feature any surreal aspects whatsoever. "The Jeopardy Room" is an enjoyably straightforward thriller, with director Richard Donner displaying his skills of generating suspense, but the story is little simplistic and badly suffering from its silly ending.
It features two very interesting actors, though. Always positive to see Martin Landau reappear in "The Twilight Zone". He starred in one of the very first episodes of Rod Serling's TV-series, and it's nice to see him return in one of the last. Bob Kelljan plays Vasiloff's not-so-intelligent and refined assistant Boris. That name might not sound very familiar, but he would later direct a handful of excellent horror/cult movies in the 70s, like "Count Yorga - Vampire", "Rape Squad" and "Black Oak Conspiracy".
There's nothing supernatural or fantasy-like about "The Jeopardy Room", so it's one of the few outcast episodes in the entire series. That is totally fine, though. One of my personal favorite installments is "The Shelter" and that one also doesn't feature any surreal aspects whatsoever. "The Jeopardy Room" is an enjoyably straightforward thriller, with director Richard Donner displaying his skills of generating suspense, but the story is little simplistic and badly suffering from its silly ending.
It features two very interesting actors, though. Always positive to see Martin Landau reappear in "The Twilight Zone". He starred in one of the very first episodes of Rod Serling's TV-series, and it's nice to see him return in one of the last. Bob Kelljan plays Vasiloff's not-so-intelligent and refined assistant Boris. That name might not sound very familiar, but he would later direct a handful of excellent horror/cult movies in the 70s, like "Count Yorga - Vampire", "Rape Squad" and "Black Oak Conspiracy".
Communism is bad....m'kay?!
planktonrules8 June 2010
This episode begins with Martin Landau being awoken by a phone call. Some commissar is on the other end--announcing that Landau is going to die! Then, a short time later, the man on the phone comes to Landau's room to toy with him--much like a cat playing with a mouse before ultimately killing it. This seems to last an interminable period of time. Eventually, he drugs Landau and sets up a complicated game--a game where Landau's goal is to escape alive.
While I think Communism, at least in practice, is pretty stupid. HOWEVER, because the episode comes off as so incredibly preachy, by the time the show was over, I was about ready to go down to Party headquarters and sign up as a card-carrying member of the Communist Party USA! This sort of anti-Communist message just came off, to me, as heavy-handed and lacked the subtlety that made "The Twilight Zone" such a good show. As a result, it's a rather weak episode--even if there is quite a bit of tension in the second half of the show.
While I think Communism, at least in practice, is pretty stupid. HOWEVER, because the episode comes off as so incredibly preachy, by the time the show was over, I was about ready to go down to Party headquarters and sign up as a card-carrying member of the Communist Party USA! This sort of anti-Communist message just came off, to me, as heavy-handed and lacked the subtlety that made "The Twilight Zone" such a good show. As a result, it's a rather weak episode--even if there is quite a bit of tension in the second half of the show.
Great ending, lacks TZ quality
Calicodreamin24 June 2021
Coulda been a contender
Stonyc7510 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
No need for me to retread the plot, but in my view, had the method of the trap not been revealed to the assistant beforehand, this would have made for one of the very best episodes. As it is it's just a good one, marred by the sheer stupidity of the man igniting the bomb having been told what would happen if the phone were to be answered.
The method could, and should, have been absent from the script, or at least only hinted at, so not to make the man look so unfeasibly idiotic and the outcome that little bit far-fetched. Another minor quibble is that Kuchenko had a chance to shoot Vassiloff on realising he'd been drugged, but instead uttered a few words before passing out. The direction should have called for him to drop the gun before the verbal exchange, but again it's a minor quibble that can be overlooked.
Asides that, a good, suspenseful episode long pre-dating the likes of the 'Saw' series. In hindsight, maybe it's a shame that Serling and co never expanded on the idea.
7/10.
The method could, and should, have been absent from the script, or at least only hinted at, so not to make the man look so unfeasibly idiotic and the outcome that little bit far-fetched. Another minor quibble is that Kuchenko had a chance to shoot Vassiloff on realising he'd been drugged, but instead uttered a few words before passing out. The direction should have called for him to drop the gun before the verbal exchange, but again it's a minor quibble that can be overlooked.
Asides that, a good, suspenseful episode long pre-dating the likes of the 'Saw' series. In hindsight, maybe it's a shame that Serling and co never expanded on the idea.
7/10.
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