'The Twilight Zone (2002)' Retro Recap: 'To Protect and Serve'

Written by Scotty

Sometimes it is difficult to find something that you are good at. Most people spend their lives trying to find that one thing that they enjoy and turn it into a career. Sadly, most of us are not able to do that, we may have things that we enjoy, but it is not something that we can get paid to do. For instance, I have a love for drawing, but discovered at a young age that I do not have the talent to put what I see in my head on a canvas. It would be a dream come true once this is able to work for me, but until then, I will stick with what I am good at, I think I know what that is right now.

Officer Eric Boggs and Angela Perry are out on patrol when they get a call about a women screaming in an alley way. Making it to the scene, Boggs sees young Carla being held at knifepoint  and fearing for her life. Her pimp, Rigo Valentine is upset with her current production and needs more out of her and when the police arrive, all bets are off. Preaching about what a great man he is, Rigo knows that his life is more than just the mortal flesh, since he is the judge, jury and executioner, he is ready for the next step. Before Rigo is able to cut Carla’s throat, Boggs pulls the trigger saving the young woman, but he has no idea what he is in for next.

As homicide takes over the scene, Boggs gets a call on his cell phone from Rigo, calling for his revenge. Boggs has to get ahold of himself as his partner is starting to fear that he is losing himself. Driving Carla back to her home, Boggs finds out that she is the younger sister of one of his childhood friends. Wanting to make sure she will be ok, Boggs reaches out to have her contact him if she has any problems, but working the streets is her game and there is little that she will want from him. At home, Boggs receives another phone call from Rigo, this one promising that he will kill Carla on this night. Walking the streets around where Carla is working, Boggs and Angela have no idea what they are looking for and have to call it a night. Shortly after, Carla is found dead on the sidewalk and Boggs has nobody other than himself to blame for her death.

Knowing that the calls he is getting are legit, Boggs has to use his station resources to find out where they are coming from since Rigo has been dead all of this time. The phone calls don’t stop for him in the meantime, but now Carla is speaking on the other side. Needing help to get away from Rigo, Carla is begging for her life and Boggs is the only one that protect her. Finding out that the phone calls are coming from the pay phone in the ally way where Rigo was killed, Boggs loads up and makes his way back to the scene of the crime. Arriving at the phone and calling for Rigo to make an appearance, Boggs is surprised to see the dead pimp and his hostage once again, but this time Rigo has one thing on his mind and that is to take Boggs out of the picture.

I really liked how this episode played out in the end. It was difficult to tell if Boggs was losing his mind or if Rigo was really making the calls. The question was asked frequently while the story played out and in true Twilight Zone fashion, the truth is revealed. I wish there was a little more story between Boggs and Carla before she died, might have made her death a little bit more traumatic, but hey, it is only a half hour show. Boggs loved his job, his neighborhood beat and everyone around him. To protect them is what he signed up for and if he cannot do it in the land of the living, he might have to find a way to do it from the beyond.  There is fear in the unknown, but if you have your road map with you, it is not as hard to navigate.  

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