The first episode of The "New" Twilight Zone gave us a clear picture of what the show as a whole was going to be like - the first half and segment of the episode, "Shatterday", was great and remains a favorite; the other, "A Little Peace and Quiet" was not. I don't have as much to say about "A Little Peace and Quiet", nor anything else nice, so I'll get that over with. It's a little like "A Kind of Stopwatch" where somebody gets ahold of a watch that just happens to help them stop time. The difference is that instead of an obnoxious bore, the one who finds it is an overworked, stressed housewife who has to deal with the general everyday noise of life (dog included)...along with the shouting of four little kids and an incompetent but still demanding husband. The only thing that made me smile about that was I thought it was about time somebody showed a nagging HUSBAND after all those rotten-egg wives we got to see on the original Twilight Zone! Seriously, though, the concept really annoyed me - not one of the kids had an ounce of self-control, up to the point where one had the habit of tampering with an alarm clock and another ran loose in public, the husband was useless, and the wife...well, I can't say whether it was Melinda Dillon's acting since I only saw her in A Christmas STory which I also had a hard time appreciating, or the writing, but even though her character was meant to be sympathized with, I quickly grew bored with her routine sighing and gasping. Even her voice sounded a bit whiny when thinking out loud. I thought it was a little too strange that we were really expected to believe that all previous attempts at connecting her family had failed so the watch solved everything perfectly, and even what was supposed to be the humorous part of kicking out the peace-speakers with it made me roll my eyes. Only one noteworthy thing was done with it at the end...and while the scene of despair just before was beautiful enough to make me want to join the characters crying, I was stunned the writers couldn't be more creative with what else could've been done with that watch - I'm not completely convinced that their ending given won't change 5 minutes after the camera fades. I can see why they switched the show to hold half-hours later! Anyway, I was grateful this episode wasn't a complete waste of time...after all, there was "Shatterday". I've yet to read Harlan Ellison's short story, though now I'm eager to - the TV adaptation was great! A pre-fame Bruce Willis plays a bit of a Russ Duritz-type character from The Kid - but we only figure that out after he accidentally dials his own number in a bar and is answered by someone claiming to be him, Peter Jay Novins. Whoever answers tells him he can't return home since they both can't occupy the same space, so the ringer Peter Novins cancels his bank account and insults most public companies so the guy at home can't order anything....The only problem is, the one in his home, who we believe is his alter ego, has the money and phone numbers of estranged relatives and dates at home, and is determined that he will change his other self's life for the better. As one continues to press for change, the other sickens. This is an interesting concept as we only gradually saw who was good and who was evil, and it kept me wanting to know who would win. The ending was amusing and the score, with a South American flute, had to be one of the best I've ever heard on TV. I give "Shatterday" a 10 and "A Little Peace and Quiet" a 6, so this episode totals up to a nice happy 8. Not bad for this show at all.