Based on a story by James Crocker and adapted for the Twilight Zone by Patrice Messina, "The Convict's Piano" is a time-travel episode that uses a piano as the time machine. It's cleverly done, but not nearly as good as the first episode of the second season, which was also a time travel episode, "The Last and Future King." In fact, now that I'm writing this, time travel seemed to figure in the majority of the NTZ episodes.

Joe Penny stars as a man who makes his living playing the piano, but is put in prison for a murder he says he didn't commit. The problem with this episode might be Penny and the rest of the cast. Penny is good looking and pleasant, but not just not an outstanding actor. He walks through this episode, and makes no impression on the viewer. Neither do any of the other actors; even Norman Fell is subdued. There is just no real spark of life in the story, and it's one of the slightest efforts from the second season.