This is the first of 4 appearances Burgess Meredith made on The Twilight Zone, and I feel, his best, followed closely by "The Obsolete Man". This is a classic episode that has been spoofed by many shows, including Family Guy and The Simpsons. This episode had a huge cultural impact. It is ranked as one of the most memorable moments in TV history by TV Guide and is universally accepted as one of the best and most notable episodes The Twilight Zone ever produced.

Burgess Meredith plays Henry Bemis: a bespectacled bank teller who is always reading on the job. A bookworm in every sense of the word, Bemis is constantly catching flack for his bookish fantasies and literary intrigue. His boss chews him out, his wife chews him out: no one wants to give Henry any time to himself for him and his books. They see it as a childish fancy, a primitive interest with no place in the modern world. Henry wishes he could just be left alone to read with no one around to bother him or deter him from his one true passion. He regularly sneaks down to the vault on his lunch hour for some quiet time with him and his books.

On one such lunch hour, Henry's read is interrupted when a Nuclear Bomb is dropped and shakes the foundations of Henry's world. Henry is saved from the blast by the vault, but he emerges from the rubble to find all that he once knew, to be lost. Alone in this new world, Henry ambles through, visiting all the remnants of his past life. His work station, his home, everything laid to waste in the explosion.

Henry figures himself lucky to have survived, but begins to become paranoid at the oncoming loneliness and monotony of his existence. "If there was just something to do,” Henry exclaims. He begins to manically wander the desolate wasteland of his hometown, seeking out any signs of life and companionship. All seems lost to Henry and just before he almost ends it for good and takes his own life, he happens to stumble upon the remains of the Public Library.

Books. Books as far as the eye can see. All the books Henry could read and more. Somehow, millions of pages of classic literature have withstood the awesome power of a nuclear explosion and Henry finds himself not only supplied with ample amount of reading material, but ample enough time. All the time in the world. Time enough at last.

Henry begins to map out his first few years worth of reading material. Stacking up the books according to month, he soon finds he'll have enough to occupy him for the rest of his life. He sits down to marvel at and relish his current existence. Henry has all the books and all the time he would ever need. But when he bends down to pick up his first read, his troublesome glasses manage to maneuver themselves from his face and fall with a clatter, to the floor. His sight is gone. Henry, tear stricken, picks up the frames to his lens deprived and once functioning pair of glasses. "That's not fair. That's not fair at all. There was time now. All the the time I needed," laments Henry. His one great wish had come true: to be alone with his books and to have time enough to read them. But, as we all know, one should be careful what they wish for, because you just might end up getting it.

This episode is a classic representation of the difference between being lonely, and being alone. With nothing to occupy his time, Henry finds himself frantic at the thought of years and years of existence with nothing to do. He becomes suicidal and sees no point in continuing on. Upon finding the books however, all that is changed. Henry is no longer lonely, but alone, alone with his one great interest that will keep him company for the rest of his days. It could also be seen as a depiction of the decline of literary interest by society. That one day books will no longer be seen as necessary or relevant, and will be left behind and forgotten for a world of industry and technology. It could also symbolize the reverse. That the Library and the books are really the only surviving relic of the world destroyed by the nuke, shows that no matter what disasters may occur as a result of man's folly, art, knowledge and imagination will always survive, as long as there is someone left to appreciate it. Whatever it may be about, one thing is for sure: this remains one of my favorite episodes of one of the greatest and most loved TV series in history. Add together a great story and one of the greatest actors of all time, Burgess Meredith (my favorite actor), and you have a recipe for visual gold. An episode that has withstood the test of time and will forever be remembered and cherished by fans of The Twilight Zone.