B. Lorenzo Buckinchere
Jul 27, 2025
It is the end of the month, and time once again for our monthly review series here on this blog site. Our muse for the month of July is a classic Twilight Zone episode titled, âThe Lateness of the Hour.â
But before we begin, here is a disclaimer: The following review contains spoilers, so I strongly recommend watching the episode before reading this or any reviews on the topic. Now without further ado, letâs begin.
The Twilight Zone was an American television primetime anthology series created by Rod Serling. It originally aired on CBS between 1959 and 1964, and ran for five seasons and 156 episodes.
It was way ahead of its time due to its many themes on existentialism, and for questioning the status quo of the time, particularly as it pertains to power and racial equality, often using extraterrestrial life forms as metaphors.
The episode in question was episode 8 of season 2, and aired originally on December 2, 1960. Written by Rod Serling, and directed by Jack Smight, it was the first of five episodes that were videotaped on a soundstage due to budget cuts.
Though still incredibly haunting, the stiff, videotaped picture quality gave the episode more of a âPlayhouse 90â or âGeneral Hospitalâ feel, rather than the usual existential dread that one can expect from a typical Twilight Zone episode.
The Premise:
The episode features a young woman named Jana (Inger Stevens), the adult daughter of Dr. William Loren (John Hoyt), and his wife (Irene Tedrow). They live alone in a large house, and entirely rely on their servants for domestic comfort. One rainy night in particular, Jana begins to question her parentsâ dependence on their servants.
Frustrated, Jana attacks the maid who tumbles down a flight of stairs before getting back up like nothing happened. It was only then that her father revealed that he created his servants to be quite indestructible.
We then cut to Serlingâs opening narration, âThe residence of Dr. William Loren, which is in reality a menagerie for machines. We’re about to discover that sometimes the product of man’s talent and genius can walk amongst us untouched by the normal ravages of time. These are Dr. Loren’s robots, built to functional as well as artistic perfection. But in a moment Dr. William Loren, wife and daughter will discover that perfection is relative, that even robots have to be paid for, and very shortly will be shown exactly what is the bill.â
The following scene sees Jana with her back turned to her father and his butler, yet is able to accurately lip sync every word of their conversation. The butler forgot to fill Dr. Lorenâs pipe, so Jana breaks the nightly routine by offering to fill the pipe herself.
Jana is jaded with being home with her parents every night, and suggests that they all go out to a restaurant. Her father protests that doing so is a bad idea, because they would get sopping wet in the rain on their way over there. Then they would be served on dirty, unwashed plates dealing with rude, pushy normies. After that, it would be a question of whether they succumb to ptomain, or pneumonia.
Jana doesnât seem to mind. She figures, âat least we get to live a little.â Or at least thatâs what her attitude implies, to which her father gives her quite the sobering speech, âI have kept you from harm, Iâve protected you against disease, and insulation in this 20th century is no crime, itâs a service. Youâve never had to look into the face of war, or the face of poverty or prejudice. Well youâve been isolated, yes. But what you think of as imprisonment just happens to be asylum, and security, yes, and survival.â
Jana still thinks that her parents have become so overly dependent on her fatherâs android servants, that very soon they wonât be able to survive without them. She threatens to run away from home if her father doesnât dismantle the androids he built, to which he refuses.
He canât just dismantle his lifeâs work, but at the same time, he loves his daughter, and doesnât want to lose her. So he pleads with Jana to stay, but she makes another scene by climbing to the top of the stairs and announcing that the androids may be indestructible, but her parents are not.
In that moment, it seemed like the androids were getting ready to turn on the Lorens, but in the following scene, it turns out that they are ok. Dr. Loren further pleads with Jana to stay, who is adamant that she is leaving, and starts packing her suitcase. So he makes the most rational decision that any father would make under the circumstances, and summons the androids.
He tells them to meet him in the laboratory, and they all protest, saying what good servants they are, and why he should spare them. But his instructions are clear, his mind is made up.
In the next scene, Jana is seen happily running around the house, checking all the closets. And when it is obvious that the androids are gone, she hugs her parents and thanks them with love and loyalty.
She is excited that they can all go out and live like normies now that the androids are gone. But the joy that her parents get from watching Jana be happy for once soon turns to concern the moment she mentions the possibility of marrying and giving them grandchildren. She notices their concern, and asks them whatâs wrong, but they excuse it away as shock that she would want to start dating so soon, and sheâs not buying it.
She flips through the family photo album, and realizes that there are no pictures of her as a child, only of the robots, some of the photos were from twenty years ago. Her father asks her if she remembers her childhood, and she surmises that she was implanted with a memory track, similar to what Dr. Loren gave his android servants.
Dr. Loren explains to Jana that both he and Mrs. Loren were a childless couple, and that was when they âgot her.â Realizing that she was made and not born, Jana runs up the stairs and bangs her wrist against the staircase railing, but is unable to feel anything, not even love. Her parents try to console her, but she is devastated to learn that her dream of having a family is ruined due to the fact that she is also an android. Her mother asks her father what to do, and he has an idea.
In the final scene, it is revealed that Dr. Loren reprogrammed Jana to be a maid, and she is seen giving her mother a shoulder rub.
Then we cut to Serlingâs closing narration, âLet this be the postscript. Should you be worn out by the rigors of competing in a very competitive world. If youâre distraught from having to share your existence with the noises and neuroses of the 20th century. If you crave serenity, but want it full time, and with no strings attached. Get yourself a workroom in the basement, and then drop a note to Dr. and Mrs. William Loren. Theyâre a childless couple who made comfort a lifeâs work. And maybe there are a few do it yourself pamphlets still available in The Twilight Zone.â
Takeaway:
This particular postscript pretty much sums up the secret fantasy of every reclusive type who is forced to grind away in a hyper competitive world. This episode was way ahead of its time, and is even more relevant today than it was when it first premiered on television over 60 years ago.
I first saw this episode about 20 years ago, during a time when I was still living in Jamaica, going through high school, and barely younger than Jana was in that episode. I thought that android maids was a cool new concept, and as such it was fun to watch at the time. But it wasnât anywhere near as relatable to me then, as it is now. In the space of twenty years my perspective has shifted from the naivety of a sheltered brat like Jana, to the wisdom and experience of her father.
The scene where he told her that she has never had to look into the face of poverty, prejudice or famine suggests to me that the Lorens could have lived through the great depression, or the holocaust.
Judging by the age of the actor John Hoyt (1905-1991), he was likely among the allied forces who stormed the beaches of Normandy in 1944, which means that he stared directly into the face of war and bloodshed. Then he looked away and never looked back.
Jana doesnât know the ways of the world so she believes that everyone is the same. âWho feels it, knows it,â so how can one appreciate serenity away from all the noise if they have never felt the noise?
Conclusion:
John Hoyt is my new favorite person just for that speech that Dr. Loren gave to Jana during the episode. Rewatching this episode in the present has given me a fresh new perspective, and has only served to reinforce my commitment to an introverted, reclusive life.
Imagine a life where liberty, security, and securities are the order of the day. Well I am of the firm belief that you are more likely to thrive as an introvert than you would in friendship groups. I give this one a solid five out of five android maids, and Iâll see you on the next one.
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