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Syndication cuts (courtesy of Henry Bemis):

(05:01) Lavinia mentions the hundreds and thousands that have walked down the road, and she wonders why her Jud hasn't been one of them. (Total elapsed time - 17 seconds)

(08:18) After chopping up some wood, Abbie sits down and talks with Lavinia about his father. He reveals that his father never thought much of him when he was growing up, but his father sure was proud of him the day he went marching off to war. (Total elapsed time - 1 minute and 47 seconds)

(17:49) Abbie, getting ready to leave, calls upstairs to Lavinia to get her attention. (Total elapsed time - 12 seconds)

Total amount of time cut - 2 minutes and 16 seconds.

The most popular vote for "The Passersby" is 7, but 25 out of 37 votes are 7 or higher. Frankly, I'm surprised it has done that well. I don't remember my own vote, but it was probably one of the twelve lower ones. Nowadays I think I'd begrudgingly give it a 7, probably in deference to its supporters in the Cafe. (I hear you, Jayo!)

If you had asked me 30 years ago what I considered the most boring TZ episode to be, I'd have quickly answered "The Passersby." I'd give that more thought today but still probably arrive at the same answer, although I'd admit that the gap had closed. I arrived at my opinion before Zicree called this "an embarrassing episode" with a script that is "Turgid, verbose, posturing." I think that's rather strong on his part. Maybe he was playing with his new thesaurus. I also don't agree that "it takes a long time for the widow and the sergeant to realize what is obvious almost from the beginning." Well, maybe the "long time" part, but since none of us have ever been dead (or at least I hope not), how can anyone be expected to know that he is? Remember to distinguish between us as sci-fi/fantasy fans and the characters. Since we know the nature of the series, we should be prepared to consider every possibility, realistic or not. Characters are expected to confine themselves to the possible world unless the supernatural premise is clearly established.

Nevertheless, I think along Zicree's lines that there's too much talk and too little action. Maybe that's a problem with my own temperament. Lavinia and the sergeant are sittin' on the dock of the bay wastin' time, and perhaps I need to relax a little with them. Well, excuse me! It's only a half-hour show, and I can find my respite in the commercials. It doesn't help that Lavinia's fever makes her so listless that it seems to drag the dialogue down that much more. The second commercial also comes unusually late, making for an abnormally long stretch in which nothing much happens besides Charlie Constable, the blind lieutenant, and strumming, rocking, and talking.

Fortunately the final act is fairly short as a result, and it packs a nice punch. Jud quickly arrives, and soon afterward both Lavinia and we are told the truth. Then the final passerby arrives. ("My name? Call me Abe! Short for Abraham!" -- and you have to admit the facial resemblance is striking.) It's this payoff that makes the dull stretches worthwhile. Austin Green had played Lincoln at least twice before this, and I think he makes Abe appear and sound the way we'd like to believe he did. Considering Lincoln's roots, I'm more inclined to guess that he had a Dabbs Greer-type voice, but his legacy is so inspiring that I find Green's interpretation as comforting as he makes Lincoln come across in "The Passersby." I'm not sure how often Lincoln quoted Shakespeare, though -- he was quotable enough on his own. Maybe there's some subtle and deliberate irony on Rod's part here --- Lincoln's assassin had once played Mark Antony in Julius Caesar.

Lincoln's appearance is my second favorite aspect of "The Passersby," trailing only Fred Steiner's "very pretty score" as Zicree calls it. It's proof of what can be accomplished even when (or maybe as a result) a composer restricts himself to the regular symphonic stringed instruments plus a harp. The cue that impresses me most is "Morning." This is what immediately follows the second commercial, and Steiner apparently intended it to serve no better purpose than to start the final act, underscoring dialogue not much deeper than "Good morning." After "Morning" entered the stock library, it became a love theme that effectively graced some tender moments in the final two seasons. It can be heard three times in "The Long Morrow" alone, and it's inseparable from those scenes with Doug and Sandy, or with Sal and Leah, or with Paul and Abby, or as Bunny says her farewell to Hildy.

I think some of whatever appeal "The Passersby" has is also derived from its setting. The Civil War may be the most impassioned era of United States history, an odd blend of bloody horror and romanticizing. Two more episodes would be set in the same time frame, and I'm not even counting Peter Corrigan's visit "Back There." Rod wrote some very powerful war-related episodes, and "The Passersby" joins them in making statements about the horrors of war and how compassion can overcome them. The sergeant speaks movingly about how the "boys" of both sides helped each other, and the blind lieutenant presumably sacrificed his life to aid the "enemy" sergeant. We'll soon find a rough parallel in "A Quality of Mercy." Unfortunately, this goes along the lines of my criticism of "The Passersby," as we learn of all this sacrifice only through talk and the sight of the lieutenant. In his better episodes, Rod would have shown this taking place on the battlefield, or at least on Eternity Road.

"The Passersby" is not an episode that should be passed by, even if it's only to enjoy the music. Just save it for laid-back times when you don't crave much excitement.