Critical Response
"Walking Distance" has continued to be one of the most popular and critically acclaimed of all Twilight Zone episodes. Lost creator and Star Trek director J. J. Abrams claimed the episode as his favorite, saying, " is a beautiful demonstration of the burden of adulthood, told in The Twilight Zone, which everyone thinks is a scary show, but it's actually a beautiful show," and "The Twilight Zone at its best is better than anything else I've ever seen on television." The story was even revived in the form of a graphic novel. His 2011 film Super 8 includes a reference to the episode: the military's plan in the movie is called Operation: Walking Distance.
One reviewer noted that the episode "was a little more depressing than most, in that it does not have a happy ending and the man’s problems are never really resolved. But it is a deep meditation on life and lost youth that was compelling and interesting." Paul Mandell, of American Cinematographer magazine, wrote: " was the most personal story Serling ever wrote, and easily the most sensitive dramatic fantasy in the history of television." The episode was listed as the ninth best episode in the history of the series by Time Magazine in celebration of the series' 50th anniversary. Internet celebrity James Rolfe also listed this as his favourite Twilight Zone episode, saying, "it leaves you with a bitter-sweet feeling that you can relate to. I don't know how to explain it, but I just feel touched by it."
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