The electric is off all over the street and cars with a full tank wont start. The residents of Maple Street live in 1960 so surely such rational people could not revert to the paranoia of an ancient witch hunting mentality? The supernatural may be replaced with a fear of alien invasion, but sadly people haven't changed. Steve Brand (Claude Akins) is the lone voice of sanity as Rod Serling eloquently shows us the thinness of the veil of civilization that covers madness in human societies. The 1960 trappings of the story only serve to make this a timeless piece of television allegorical for any society in any age. A crowning achievement from Serling. An unforgettable episode.