In the case of “Night of the Meek,” Serling wasn’t initially inspired by Capra or any particular high concept, but rather became excited at the marriage of actor and character that he dreamed up. According to producer Buck Houghton, as quoted in Marc Scott Zicree’s “The Twilight Zone Companion”:
“Once in a while, Rod would have an enthusiasm. He’d say to himself or to me or to Carol [Serling] or whomever, that he particularly liked somebody. There was a Christmas show that we did just because he wanted to see Art Carney play Santa Claus.”
Carney, most famous for playing Ed Norton on “The Honeymooners,” plays in “Night of the Meek” a man named Henry Corwin (as Zicree points out, the name references one of Serling’s idols, writer Norman Corwin). A department store Santa who lives in a very low-income area of (presumably) New York City, Corwin is initially as emotionally destitute as Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey in “Wonderful Life,” having resorted to drinking in order to deal with the pain of not being able to help out his friends and others in need during the Christmas season.
The episode allows Carney to demonstrate his considerable dramatic chops (crying on camera, playing a depressed drunk, et al) as well as use his well-known gift for comedy; when Corwin stumbles upon a magic sack in the street after being fired from his job, he finds that it acts like the real Santa’s sack, providing whatever gifts and various objects that people wish for or need. With co-stars like John Fiedler (as Corwin’s stuffy boss) and Burt Mustin (as a cheerful homeless man), Carney makes “Night of the Meek” as magical and delightful as Serling hoped.