The Bewitchin' Pool
Encyclopedia
"The Bewitchin' Pool" is the final episode (in original broadcast order) of the American television series The Twilight Zone
.
While sitting beside their pool, a young boy in a Huckleberry Finn straw hat pops up from the deep end of their pool and invites them to follow him. The children follow him by diving underwater only to come back up in a lake bordering a rustic, simple homestead. All around them are children swimming, fishing, and playing. In contrast to their lavish home of neglect and insults, they are welcomed and loved from the moment they arrive at this children's paradise. There is only one adult there named "Aunt T", a sweet and kind elderly woman who loves children; she explains she has many children there who came from parents who didn't deserve them.
When Sport and Jeb decide to go home, for fear that their parents will be worried, they learn that their parents have decided to divorce and hadn't even missed them while they were gone. When the parents tell the children the news, they give them the choice of either living with their mother or their father and berate them for not deciding quickly enough. The children have an epiphany
that their parents do not genuinely love them and never will. Ignoring their parents' shouts, Sport and Jeb race back to the pool, dive in, disappear and escape back to Aunt T.
In the end the children are happily living with Aunt T whose love is unconditional. Sport hears the increasingly distant voices of her parents, but ignores them.
", while, according to Marc Scott Zicree's "The Twilight Zone Companion", the reediting of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (including the addition of new footage of Serling) was the last episode "produced" before cancellation. The last episode broadcast during the original run — as a repeat — was "The Jeopardy Room
".
Mary Badham's voice was deemed unintelligible in the outdoor scenes, so June Foray
dubbed Sport Sharewood's lines. The change in Sport's voice is noticeable when she moves indoors and Mary's own deeper voice and more authentic accent are heard.
There are numerous references to the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird
in this episode. Mary Badham, who plays the character Jean Louise "Sport" Sharewood in this episode, played Jean Louise "Scout" Finch in the movie. Sport's brother's name, Jeb, is also a play on Scout's older brother, Jem. Finally, Kim Hector, who plays Whitt and who teases Sport and Jeb when they first arrive at the children's paradise, also played Scout's schoolyard nemesis, Cecil Jacobs, in the Mockingbird film.
The episode is also believed to be the basis for the B-52s song entitled "Private Idaho". That song uses portions of the Twilight Zone's theme song--and it also tells you to "Beware of the Pool" and "Don't Let the Chlorine in Your Eyes Blind You to the Awful Surprise that's waitin' for you at the bottom of the bottomless blue blue blue pool".
See }
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
.
Synopsis
Sport Sharewood and her brother Jeb live in a large, expensive house, but their mother is cold, insensitive and self-centered; their father is kinder, but still a distant and preoccupied businessman.While sitting beside their pool, a young boy in a Huckleberry Finn straw hat pops up from the deep end of their pool and invites them to follow him. The children follow him by diving underwater only to come back up in a lake bordering a rustic, simple homestead. All around them are children swimming, fishing, and playing. In contrast to their lavish home of neglect and insults, they are welcomed and loved from the moment they arrive at this children's paradise. There is only one adult there named "Aunt T", a sweet and kind elderly woman who loves children; she explains she has many children there who came from parents who didn't deserve them.
When Sport and Jeb decide to go home, for fear that their parents will be worried, they learn that their parents have decided to divorce and hadn't even missed them while they were gone. When the parents tell the children the news, they give them the choice of either living with their mother or their father and berate them for not deciding quickly enough. The children have an epiphany
Epiphany (feeling)
An epiphany is the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something...
that their parents do not genuinely love them and never will. Ignoring their parents' shouts, Sport and Jeb race back to the pool, dive in, disappear and escape back to Aunt T.
In the end the children are happily living with Aunt T whose love is unconditional. Sport hears the increasingly distant voices of her parents, but ignores them.
Episode notes
This was the final episode of the original Twilight Zone series to be broadcast, though not the last to be filmed. The last episode filmed was "Come Wander With MeCome Wander With Me
"Come Wander With Me" is an episode of the American television series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:The "Rock-A-Billy Kid," Floyd Burney, arrives at a small town in search of a new song. He is directed to a dilapidated shop in the woods run by a reclusive old man...
", while, according to Marc Scott Zicree's "The Twilight Zone Companion", the reediting of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (including the addition of new footage of Serling) was the last episode "produced" before cancellation. The last episode broadcast during the original run — as a repeat — was "The Jeopardy Room
The Jeopardy Room
"The Jeopardy Room" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:Trying to defect, former KGB Major Ivan Kuchenko is trapped inside a hotel room. Commissar Vassiloff, a hitman, and Boris, his assistant, are watching him from a room across the street...
".
Mary Badham's voice was deemed unintelligible in the outdoor scenes, so June Foray
June Foray
June Foray is an American voice actress, best known as the voice of many animated characters...
dubbed Sport Sharewood's lines. The change in Sport's voice is noticeable when she moves indoors and Mary's own deeper voice and more authentic accent are heard.
There are numerous references to the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird (film)
To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 American drama film adaptation of Harper Lee's novel of the same name directed by Robert Mulligan. It stars Mary Badham in the role of Scout and Gregory Peck in the role of Atticus Finch....
in this episode. Mary Badham, who plays the character Jean Louise "Sport" Sharewood in this episode, played Jean Louise "Scout" Finch in the movie. Sport's brother's name, Jeb, is also a play on Scout's older brother, Jem. Finally, Kim Hector, who plays Whitt and who teases Sport and Jeb when they first arrive at the children's paradise, also played Scout's schoolyard nemesis, Cecil Jacobs, in the Mockingbird film.
The episode is also believed to be the basis for the B-52s song entitled "Private Idaho". That song uses portions of the Twilight Zone's theme song--and it also tells you to "Beware of the Pool" and "Don't Let the Chlorine in Your Eyes Blind You to the Awful Surprise that's waitin' for you at the bottom of the bottomless blue blue blue pool".
External links
See }