A nice place to visit: Lessons from the Twilight Zone

Recently, I have been enjoying watching reruns of episodes of the landmark television series The Twilight Zone. Created by Rod Serling, the series began airing before I was born so I was unable to catch the episodes in their first run.

Most episodes of the half-hour drama featured unusual scenarios which stimulated viewers to think outside the box and provided important life lessons. In the following sections, I will discuss the lessons provided by one such episode entitled A Nice Place to Visit.

The plot of A Nice Place to Visit

Rocky Valentine is a heartless life-long criminal who has never done anything kind for anyone. One day he is shot by police during the commission of a crime.

He soon realizes that he did not survive the shooting and is greeted by a jovial and bearded round fellow dressed in white named Mr. Pip. Although Mr. Pip does not indicate his title or role, he tells Mr. Valentine that he will give him virtually anything he desires including taking him to his new luxurious home with all the amenities. Mr. Valentine is initially distrustful of Mr. Pip to the point that he shoots him several times. However, when he sees that the bullets have had no effect, he believes that the plump gentleman in white really can give him anything he wants.

He asks for a million dollars and it quickly appears. He wins at the gambling casino with each game he plays. He is surrounded by gorgeous women who fawn all over him. The only wish which Mr. Pip cannot grant him is having his friends be with him. But that doesn’t matter much to Mr. Valentine given that he’s getting everything he wants.

He concludes that he must be in heaven. However, this confuses him because he does not remember engaging in any positive acts during his life which would warrant him being sent to heaven upon his death. He then considers that he may have behaved kindly on some occasions but does not remember them. Unfortunately, this theory is disproven when Mr. Pip takes him to the Hall of Records which reveals that he did not behave in a favourable manner at any time while alive. In fact, the records reveal him having behaved in a cruel and uncaring manner consistently.

Over time, the excitement he once derived from having his every wish granted goes away. He discovers that winning at the casino every time becomes boring. Knowing that he is certain to get away with any crime he decides to commit detracts from the excitement of that activity. His eagerness to play a game of pool diminishes quickly when he knocks every ball into the pockets with his first shot (the break). He even tires of having a bevy of beautiful women around him and orders them to leave.

After reaching his breaking point, Mr. Valentine tells Mr. Pip that he doesn’t belong in heaven and asks to be sent to ‘the other place’. Mr. Pip, who to that point had been as amiable as could be, smiles mischievously and asks Mr. Valentine whatever gave him the idea that he was in heaven. “This is the other place”, he pronounces and proceeds to laugh maniacally while Mr. Valentine futilely tries to leave through a door.

Lesson 1: Goals should be moderately challenging

Mr. Valentine quickly realized that goals which are too easy to achieve were not ones he wanted to pursue. When he saw that he would win at the casino every time he played a game, that he was guaranteed to be successful in committing crimes and that he would win at pool with his initial shot his enjoyment of the activity was no longer present.

His experience reflects research findings on the relationship between goals and happiness. Goals contribute to happiness if they are moderately challenging. If they are too easy, as was demonstrated in Mr. Valentine’s case, the person loses motivation to continue pursuing them because of boredom. On the other hand, Mr. Valentine’s life before his death demonstrated that goals which are overly challenging also detract from happiness. In that regard, the episode depicted his life as a constant futile struggle in which he had to scratch and claw with little success. The result was a frustrated, cynical, and uncaring person who wound up being sent to ‘the other place’.

Applying these lessons to your life can entail taking stock of the goals which you are pursuing. Are you pursuing goals in areas such as career/education, hobbies/interests, and relationships? If so, are some of these goals moderately challenging or are too many of your goals not challenging enough or too challenging? If so, taking steps to add moderately challenging goals to your routine would likely be a good idea.

A final point on pursuing goals as depicted in the episode concerns the relative value of achieving goals versus pursuing goals. Although achieving goals can bring happiness, the positive effect on a person’s mood is temporary. In contrast, the positive mood effects of pursuing goals which are moderately challenging are significantly greater and ongoing. So, enjoy the positive feelings when you achieve your goals, but don’t put all your happiness eggs in the goal achievement basket.

Lesson 2: Material wealth and possessions are not a key to happiness

Research indicates that there is a weak relationship between material wealth and happiness. This point was demonstrated in the episode. Mr. Valentine had all the material wealth and possessions he could ever want but was unhappy to the point of wanting to go to ‘the other place’.

Applying these lessons to your life can entail taking stock of whether you are too focused on the pursuit of material wealth and possessions at the expense of engaging in activities which are more likely to lead to happiness. If so, taking steps toward achieving a healthy balance in this regard would likely be a good idea.

Lesson 3: Relationships are a key to happiness

In contrast with research pointing to a weak relationship between material wealth and happiness, studies consistently demonstrate the importance of close and meaningful relationship to emotional well-being. On that note, recall that the only wish which Mr. Pip could not grant Mr. Valentine was having his friends be with him. Mr. Valentine thought that the absence of friendships would not matter much if he was getting everything he wanted. In fact, he would have been better off having had his friends instead of getting everything else he wanted.

Applying these lessons to your life can involve spending time cultivating and nurturing your relationships with intimate partners, family, friends, co-workers, and others. The positive effect on your mood and happiness will be significant.

Still on the topic of relationships as depicted in the episode, I must confess to being somewhat skeptical that Mr. Valentine would so quickly become bored with the company of the group of stunning women who were provided to hm.

My final take on a nice episode to watch

It is one thing to tell people about the importance of pursuing moderately challenging goals, of not counting on material wealth and possessions as your route to happiness, and of the fundamental role that close relationships play in happiness. It is quite another thing to demonstrate these points as impactfully as A Nice Place to Visit did in a single episode of The Twilight Zone.

A Nice Place to Visit originally aired on April 15, 1960. The episode starred Larry Blyden as Rocky Valentine and Sebastian Cabot as Mr. Pip. It was written by Charles Beaumont and directed by John Brahm. I highly recommend this episode.

May you not wind up in ‘the other place’.

-Dr. Pat