Nick of Time - a toupological analysis.

"Nick of Time" is a an episode of the classic TV series The Twilight Zone. It aired in 1960 and was Bill Shatner's first starring role in the series (the second appearance being the far more famous "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" which was produced three years later).


The story revolves around a young couple, Don and Pat, whose car breaks down during a trip across America. Waiting for their vehicle to be repaired, they decide to visit a small-town diner to get some food. At their table is a devilish-looking fortune-telling machine: throw in a cent, ask a yes or no question, pull the lever and the machine will spit out a piece of paper with, if you believe it, the answer to your question.


Only problem is, the machine appears to warn them (through responding to directed questions) not to leave the café until after 3pm. Why?


A strange compulsive addiction results in both of them, but particularly in Bill Shatner's already superstitious character, to find out what the hell is going on - and this is is only accentuated when the couple finds out what could have happened to them at 3pm (we won't ruin it for you). In fact, the strange device seems to have a curious insight about the couple's long-term fate too.


What does the machine know about the trip home? What about the more distant future? What should they do or not do? Questions, questions, questions...


Of course, there is a twist ending, which we also won't spoil by revealing it here.


We thought that this installment, written by Richard Matheson, was outstanding - packing more of a punch than Bill Shatner's later iconic appearance in "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet". They really don't make 'em like this anymore: no CGI, explosions or violence, rather a compelling drama with a powerful and thoughtful message that lingers long after viewing.


And that overriding message is inescapable: don't surrender to futile speculations of what might be before you have even tried to make the future happen - therein lies a prison of inaction; a crippling paralysis from which there is no way out.


Bill Shatner, looking particularly lean here, delivers a fine performance, a far cry from the caricature of dramatic pauses and strange emphases placed on random words that has sometimes come to dominate his professional image. The actor really can do subtle and understated (he always could), and his performance in "Nick of Time" is a perfect example of that often overlooked ability.


Now, let's turn to the toupee. If anything is evident from watching this episode, it's that Bill Shatner really is in toupee heaven.

Freed from the recently-ditched burden of endless spraying and styling designed to hide his potentially leading-man-busting thinning locks, here Bill Shatner is entirely at one with his still relatively new "Jim Kirk lace" (years before Star Trek started, but identical to the style of James T. Kirk in every way).

The toupee is resplendent in its freshness, looking lush, rich and full of life. It's a perfect fit; a symbiosis between actor and toupee. Bill Shatner's love affair with the toupee has outlasted four marriages, and here, like a giddy newlywed, it is clear that an electric spark exists between the actor and this hair in particular - Bill Shatner and his lace: two friends, partners and inseparable allies, always there for each other, literally through thick and thin.

An extremely proud Bill Shatner even does his best to tilt the toup towards the camera for its own close-up:


Throughout "Nick of Time", the toupee never once lets the actor down. Years later, as the stresses of this relationship became greater, the malfunctions would grow, ending in a messy break-up in late 1969. During the 70s, a lost and distraught Bill Shatner would engage in a series of torrid relationships with all manner of sleazy toups, devastated by his bitter separation from his first real toupee. But here, in the midst of "Nick of Time" that is all still many years away. This is Bill Shatner and his "Jim Kirk lace" in their heyday - and it is truly a moving and uplifting sight to behold.

"Nick of Time" is available on DVD as part of this set. We don't hesitate to use superlatives like "brilliant" and "fantastic" - it really is a great little episode and well worth seeing.

"Hey Bill, the director said this was my close-up!"

A toupee nightmare at 20,000 feet!

It's amazing just how many Bill Shatner roles lend themselves to being viewed through the prism of the toupee metaphor. Nowhere is this more evident than in the classic 1963 Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet".


Most of you will be familiar with the archetypal dream involving unexpected nudity: you are fearful of an impending big day at work or an important exam and the night before you have a nightmare that you have turned up but somehow managed to forget your clothes. For a toupee-wearer, such as Bill Shatner, that nightmare might be superseded by another one - turning up somewhere without your toupee.


But the metaphor in "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" is a little more complex than that. The plot (more detail here) involves a released mental patient Robert Wilson (William Shatner) flying home after just having been discharged from a sanatorium. As the flight progresses, he enters a private nightmare - a gremlin outside is dismantling the plane. No-one else appears to see it. Is Shatner's character going mad again?

The gremlin is a fuzzy, hairy creature - a kind on anti-Tribble (see here for potential Tribble/toupee metaphors).

The tearing away at the plane's wings appears to represent a tearing up of the frontal "skin" which anchored the front of the lace toupee Bill Shatner wore. During filming, it required regular attention to conceal its visibility from the cameras.


The crucial contrast lies between the two world's represented in the Twilight Zone episode - the safety of the toupee within the stable confines of the plane, versus outside - in the midst of the strong winds and rain, the toupee doesn't stand a chance.

The gremlin naturally serves as the representation of the toupee, in effect detaching and dismantling the very framework which keeps it safe. How can a toupee do this to itself? Caught in the wind, it is the toupee that both resists the wind, but also serves as the very instrument that provides the wind leverage to tear it from the scalp - how ironic! In reality, the toupee provides comfort, but is also permanently threatening to sabotage itself. It demands constant attention - if you ignore it, it has the power to humiliate you.


The outside nightmare, if the gremlin succeeds in dismantling the wing of the plane, will soon make it's way into the well-groomed wind-less serenity of the cabin. The plane will fall and the private nightmare will suddenly become very real - metaphorically, the toupee on Bill Shatner's head will be torn off and Bill Shatner's horrifying fear of baldness revelation will be thrust upon him. But inside, nobody believes Shatner's character is seeing what he sees. How could they? The toupee is not something which they have to grapple with. How can he explain it to them without really explaining it to them and revealing his toupee secret?

This is truly the worst kind of nightmare - one in which you are trapped and absolutely alone in your fear. The insanity and panic grows...Soon, the "lace" outside will be detached, the plane will fall, the internal comfort will be destroyed...and then the actual baldness will be revealed to everyone!


The episode ends with Shatner's character committed. But, here's the rub: the camera pans to the plane's wing and it really has been damaged.

In the real (the above being a real nightmare) world, at this point, Bill Shatner wakes up. Deeply perturbed, he is sweating and breathing heavily. He places his hand on his head, the toupee isn't there - but that is fine. As he adjusts back to the warm confines of his bed, he knows that he is not on the public stage - here, it is fine to be bald; here, the gremlin has no power.

Bill Shatner then opens a drawer by his bedside. The toupee sits inside, oblivious to the nightmare that it's host has just experienced. Shatner chooses not to wake his beloved toup; instead, he gently strokes it before quietly and carefully closing the drawer again. Phew, it was only a nightmare!

A toy of the gremlin in "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet".

Watch on YouTube, or buy here as part of the Twilight Zone season 5 DVD set.