The Twilight Zone’s “The Night of the Meek”
Host and creator Rod Serling, a Jewish man born on Christmas Day, presented viewers with a profound twist on the many fables of Christmas as only The Twilight Zone could in its December 23, 1960 episode “The Night of the Meek.” Art Carney plays Corwin, a drunken department store Santa who discovers a magic bag of presents. The supernatural is very much at play here, helping to tell the most human of stories. Through “The Night of the Meek” we learn the valuable lesson that the greatest gift any of us could hope to give the world is to presenting the world with an abundance of blessings, as Corwin says, “to be the biggest gift-giver of all-time.” Serling packs more happiness, more hope into 24 minutes than many of the most classic Christmas movies do in two hours.
Side note: the episode also features a stellar cameo from none other than the meek-voiced character actor John Fiedler, Juror #2 in 12 Angry Men and the original voice of Piglet in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh productions.
