Twilight Zone episode review — 5.18 — Black Leather Jackets

Episode 5.18 “Black Leather Jackets”
Original air date: January 31, 1964
Writer: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Director: Joseph M. Newman

Rating: 5/10

This episode is weirdly dated, and it probably was even in 1964. This episode screams the 1950s, and I kind of like it for that. It definitely has its charms. But it’s a strange episode to be sure.

The episode starts with three beatnik strangers — Scott, Steve, and Fred — arriving in town on motorcycles. They move into a home in a suburb, and Scott falls in love with his nextdoor neighbor, Ellen Tillman.

It’s eventually revealed that the three strangers are aliens that plan to destroy human life by contaminating the water supply, since humans are violent. Scott starts to believe that humans aren’t in fact violent, and contacts his leader, who deems him a traitor. When he goes to convince Ellen, he gets arrested.

It’s an inherently silly story, and it’s not a very good episode. But it’s nostalgic for me, and I kind of enjoy it.