- "You are a very bad man!"
- ―Anthony, It's a Good Life
Anthony Fremont was a human from the town of Peaksville, Ohio, who possessed extraordinary mental powers.
History[]
1960s[]
Anthony Fremont was a human Earthling born in the town of Peaksville in the state of Ohio. As he approached the age of six, his parents began to notice that he had a talent for overhearing the thoughts of other people. Before long, he manifested another talent. This one would allow him to teleport someone in a mythical limbo he referred to as the Cornfield and he began to make use of it when anyone or anything would upset him. (TZ1: "It's a Good Life")
His powers grew over time to the point where no one in the town dare to think a bad thought about Anthony or do anything that would upset the child. He isolated the small town from the rest of the world and usurped complete control over it and its inhabitants, managing what food was available and even when the television could be viewed. (TZ1: "It's a Good Life")
According to the short story by Jerome Bixby, Anthony Fremont was born with his powers, from birth which it used to kill the obstetrician, that gave birth to him after the doctor dropped him. Following that Anthony let out a cry, and the town of Peaksville was isolated from the rest of the world as described at the end of Bixby's short story"
"Mom looked out of the front window, across the darkened road, across Henderson's darkened wheatfield to the vast, endless, gray nothingness in which the little village of Peaksville floated like a soul--the huge nothingness that was evident at night, when Anthony's brassy day had gone."
Also, in the short story the cornfield was a place in Peaksville that was the graveyard for all of Anthony Freemont's grotesque creations after he was done with them
2000s[]
Anthony as an adult
Forty years later, Anthony still exercised complete control over the people of Peaksville. He had a child, a daughter named Audrey, and was raising her on his own, with the help of his mother, Agnes. Under her care, one day, Audrey began to exhibit powers similar to those possessed by her father. Agnes realized that her granddaughter's powers rivaled her son's and devised a plan to use Audrey's ability to end her son's reign of tyranny. Ultimately, the girl remained loyal to her father and the two banished everyone in Peaksville before Anthony realized he were lonely. Audrey then summoned the whole world and everyone in Peaksville to return and went off to explore New York City. (The Twilight Zone (2002): "It's Still a Good Life")
Powers and abilities[]
Anthony possessed a range of mental abilities with a strong talent for telekinesis and telepathy and a mastery over teleportation and transformation. His telepathic abilities allowed him to listen in on others' thoughts. This ability was used to monitor what those around him thought about him at all times, with great sensitivity. His telepathic skill has also been used to wipe the minds of people rendering them dumb, as was demonstrated on Anthony's Aunt Amy.
His powers of telekinesis have been witnessed in Anthony's ability to control objects and transform them into other forms, such as when he converted his neighbor, Dan Hollis, into a living jack-in-the-box. This talent also seemed to have allowed Anthony to destroy objects or teleport them into a type of limbo referred to as the Cornfield, as well as control the weather.
Though his parents did not seem to possess such powers, the fact that his daughter, Audrey manifested similar abilities suggests a genetic cause.
Background information[]
Anthony was portrayed by Bill Mumy in both the original episode, and its followup episode.