1.09 --- Little Boy Lost

Directed by : Tommy Lee Wallace Written by : Lynn Barker Starring : Season Hubley, Nicolas Surovy, Scott Grimes First aired : 18th of October, 1985. Photographer Carol Shelton (Season Hubley) finally gets her big break and a chance to work on a lengthy abroad assigment. Her longtime boyfriend Greg (Nicolas Surovy) greets this news with mixed feelings, hoping that Carol will reject this opportunity and stay home and raise a family with him. Carol informs him that she has two days (until friday) to make her decision, and that she will think about it. A bit later, Carol is at the zoo, waiting for her scheduled model to appear so she can start her shoot. Soon, a little boy with a skateboard (Scott Grimes) approaches her, saying the agency sent him, prompting Carol to guess his name. Carol gambles on "Kenny", which to her astonishment turns out right. They proceed with their work, having fun while taking photos around the animal cages and dens, but as soon as the shoot is done Kenny runs away and disappears into the crowd. Back home, developing her pictures, Carol is phoned from the agency, which apologises for not sending her a model today. She just assumes that Kenny was some random kid looking for good time, and shrugs the whole thing off. Come friday, Carol visits Greg and informs him of her decision - she is taking the job. Greg is crushed, but he understands, and they hug goodbye. During the embrace, Carol stares through the window...and sees Kenny on the street. Back in her apartment, she is scared to death when she turns on the light and sees Kenny in the mirror. She tries to talk to him, asking him where does he live and how did he find her, but he just tells her she doesn't understand, lamenting her decision to go abroad. He then again runs away, and disappears in a dead end of the building hallway. Next morning, Carol is still under the impression of last night's events, but she is amazed to see Kenny down on the street from her apartment window, crossing the road and running to the park. In a total frenzy, she runs downstairs and catches up with him, only to realize who he really is - the image of her unborn child who she would have if she stayed home with Greg. Crying, Carol explains to Kenny that there will be time for him too, but Kenny says that the child she will later have won't be him. He fades away, his last words being "goodbye, mom", and leaves Carol sobbing alone. *** Little Boy Lost, second colour TZ episode directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, is a gentle, warm story cautiously championing woman's rights and ambition. Lynn Barker's script is keen to show that a new, modern, independent woman is still every bit the old-fashioned mother and housewife, but that the choice - and not an easy one at that - is all hers, and that there are consequences to bear. Somehow, I happen to believe that if this episode was made in the '60s, Carol's character would give up the abroad job and stay at home, a fact which only increases its value. As it was shown in previous episodes, the new Twilight Zone was not afraid of taking liberal, open stances in many aspects. Season Hubley is a good pick for the ambitious, yet emotional photographer, playing her role with just right dose of emotions, without coming off too sappy or whiney. It should be noted that the "little boy lost", Scott Grimes as Kenny, grew up to be a solid actor on his own, recently appearing in HBO's magnificent miniseries Band of Brothers as sgt. Donald Malarkey, and is now a standard member of the long-running TV hospital show ER, playing dr. Archie Morris. And, just in case someone wonders, the movie which Carol and Greg are about to see at the beginning of the episode is Beverly Hills Cop.