The Twilight Zone The Executions of Grady Finch (2002–2003) Online

***SPOILERS*** Just about to meet his maker in being convicted in the cold blooded murder of a convenience store owner-Mr. Park-in South L.A Grady Finch, Jeremy Sisto, who claimed to be innocent of Mr. Park's murder is given the needle in the San Quentin execution chambers only to have it malfunction just when the deadly chemicals were about enter his body! Given a second "chance" to be put to sleep forever the same thing happens again to the total shock of Finch as well as all those including his attorney Liz, Alicia Witt, present to witness him taking his final breath!

Dusting off the never used electric chair to finally put Finch in his grave it also short circuits leaving him alive to the astonishment to all those in the execution chamber and on short circuit and cable-at $49.99 a pop-TV watching! Finch claimed to have heard the words "Not Yet" from what he thinks his guardian angel seconds before the switch was pulled making him feel that his time to depart this world, in a pine box, is far into the future. There's also an attempt on Finch's life as he was leaving the courtroom after being given a new trial, that he was found innocent,by Mr. Park's outraged and vengeful son Nathen,Terry Chen, where his gun jammed as he was about to plug him! That was the icing on the cake for Finch that convinced everyone that he was in fact, with fate landing a hand, innocent in Mr. Park's murder!

With Finch about to be let free he boasts to a shocked Liz that he in fact did shoot Mr. Park to death and did it because he "Got in the way" of him robbing his store and had to be put down for him daring to prevent Finch from doing , robbing him, his thing. Now free as a bird and ready to make it big on the book talk show and TV circuit in being offered to host his own reality show "How I got away with Murder" justice finally stepped in like a ton of bricks and crushed all of Grady Finch's future aspirations.

***SPOILERS***Finch ended up being his own worst enemy not only being a murderer but a big mouth braggart as well. Not that what happened to him in the end of this TZ episode wouldn't have happened to him: In was already all in the cards or the script. But at least he would have died in the public's mind an innocent man. Which by him letting the cat out of the bag in him admitting or boasting about his guilt all of his supporters including Liz felt that Finch got exactly what he deserves!

It's pretty much fun as we root for an innocent man to be spared the gallows (lethal injection/electric chair). Grady Finch is a small time crook who is convicted of killing an elderly man during a convenience store holdup. What happens is on three occasions, the death equipment fails to work and the son of the victim is unable to fire a gun into his chest. Had Finch kept his mouth shut and accepted his fate at the end, he probably would have lived. But he gets carried away with his notoriety and his celebrity. The acting is quite good in this one and it certainly maintains our attention.

The 2002 version of "The Twilight Zone" has a generally poor reputation, and indeed the few episodes I have watched so far (at random) range from OK to mediocre, but "The Executions of Grady Finch" is actually very good! I watched this one right after "The Collection" (starring Jessica Simpson!), and while that one was utterly predictable, this one is riveting because you cannot tell how it will play out. The story is well-thought-out and clever and very Twilight-Zoney. This episode also benefits from two strong central performances, by Jeremy Sisto and Alicia Witt. I think this episode is giving me a message: should I quit watching this TV show? NOT YET. *** out of 4.