|
Djinn,
No Chaser |
 |
| Season:
1
|
| Episode #: 11 |
| Airdate:
1/13/85 |
Overall Rating:   |
| Director:
Shelley Levinson |
| Written by:
Haskell Barkin |
| Story by:
Harlan Ellison |
|
| |
| |
A newlywed couple is terrorized by a
genie who has gone stir crazy after being imprisoned in a
magic lamp for many years.
Comments:
This wasn't a very good episode,
it was more like a bad comedy.
Notes:
- This story first appeared in Harlan Ellison's book of
short stories "Stalking the Nightmare".
- Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stars in this
episode as the Djinn |
|
All
a Clone by the Telephone |
 |
| Season:
1
|
| Episode #:
12 |
| Airdate:
1/20/85 |
| Overall Rating: |
| Director:
Frank De Palma |
| Written by:
Haskell Barkin
|
| |
|
| |
| |
An answering machine takes on a life of
it's own and helps a TV writer by providing new ideas for
his scripts.
-
Leon is a TV writer with a
bad streak of unemployment. One afternoon Seymour Furman,
his agent, suggested he would probably get more jobs if his
writing was as original as the message left on his home
answering machine. Leon hasn't a clue as to what he's
talking about and insists its just your standard "hello,
leave your message at the beep". Sure enough, later that day
when checking his messages, the "BEEP" was replaced by a
quirky sound effect. Along with that, a terrible message was
left on the machine from his soon to be wife Dolores.
Apparently Leon had used the the answering machine to
announce that her mother was a "bag lady" because of her
shopping habits. Dolores went on to say that she never wants
to see him again and he had no right to do such a thing just
because her mother called him a failure.
Later that night, the answering machine wakes him up and
explains to him how he is living in an "alternate universe",
then proceeds to make it's own personal calls to people.
Leon at this point hates this answering machine and thinks
he's going crazy. The next day Dolores shows up at his door
all happy and affectionate. Apparently Leon had apologized
about insulting her mother and proposed to Dolores on her
answering machine. Leon then explains to her that it wasn't
him who sent the message, it was his answering machine.
Dolores then storms out of the room and Leon turns hostile
toward the machine threatening to unplug it.
It begs him not to do it, but Leon yanks the cord out of the
wall happy to be rid of it.
For the next 7 months he is tortured with non-sense phone
calls everywhere he goes, such as the time and temperature,
opening times for department stores and things of that
nature. Finally, Leon can't stand it anymore. He starts
thinking that maybe one of these phone calls might be his
agent with good news. Luckily, it was in fact Seymour
calling to tell him Quentin Karp, a major movie producer,
was interested in him writing a mini-series. Leon is
overjoyed he finally landed a job and meets with Quentin to
discuss the new project. Things don't go exactly how he had
hoped when Quentin asks to hear more about his idea for the
mini-series. Leon then realizes it was his answering machine
that had called Quentin and pitched him the idea.
Leon returns home and promptly plugs the machine back into
the wall, desperately trying to make amends with it for the
mini-series idea. The machine isn't so quick to answer and
knows it has Leon right where it wants him. In the last
scene, the machine wakes him up early in the morning to
begin writing, and Leon has little choice but to obey his
new master.
Comments:
Good episode, it reminds me alot of the horror film "Lucky".
Notes:
|
|
In
the Cards |
 |
| Season:
1
|
| Episode #:
13 |
| Airdate:
1/27/85 |
| Overall Rating: |
| Director:
Ted Gershuny |
| Written by:
Ted Gershuny |
| Story by:
Carole Lucia Satrina |
|
| |
| |
A fortune teller finds that her
predictions are coming true, but only the terrible ones that
end in disaster. She then discovers another fortune teller
has slipped her a cursed pack of cards, and the only way to
get rid of them is to give the cards to another fake fortune
teller.
Comments:
Great episode! one of the
best from season one.
Notes:
|
|
Anniversary
Dinner |
 |
| Season:
1
|
| Episode #:
14 |
| Airdate:
2/3/85 |
| Overall Rating: |
| Director:
John Strysik |
| Written by:
James Houghton |
| Story by:
D.J. Pass |
|
| |
| |
A young woman hitchhiking comes upon a
small house in the country and meets a retired couple who
invite her to join them for their anniversary dinner.
-
Henry and Elinore Callender,
a simple couple living a quiet life in the country, are are
planning their 25th wedding anniversary. Sadly the
celebration won't be the same without their children
around.. they miss their children dearly. One day while
sitting out on the porch, Elinore is met by a couple (Sybil
and Mark) traveling by foot across the countryside. After
Mark's smart remarks to Elinore, Henry strolls out of the
house with a shotgun warning him to watch his mouth. Mark
scowls away and Elinore welcomes Sybil back anytime for a
visit.
Later that night Henry and Elinore are once again greeted by
Sybil ( Mark had apparently split after a failed rendezvous
with friends ). She is welcomed as their house guest and
treat her to a home cooked meal and a shower. The next day
Henry complains to Sybil that his butcher is giving him bad
meat and that he doesn't kill the live stock correctly. What
do you mean? she asks. "Fear" replies Henry. "Fear poisons
the meat".
That evening Henry invites Sybil into his secret "Playroom"
located behind a false wall in the kitchen. The room is
decorated with hunting trophies, guns, knives, and strangely
enough.. a hot tub Jacuzzi. Henry encourages Sybil to have a
soak in the hot tub and she is all to happy to oblige. A few
days later, while Sybil is having a bite to eat in the
kitchen, she notices a very large wooden spoon hung from the wall
above her. Before she could think twice, Henry appears in a
cheerful mood offering her wine, as the anniversary dinner
is being prepared.
Sybil excepts the wine and is invited to relax in the hot
tub for awhile. After a few more glasses of wine, Sybil
becomes dazed in a happy drunken state while soaking in the
Jacuzzi. Henry and Elinore appear with bags of vegetables
and start dumping them into the hot tub with her. Sybil soon
passes out and sinks below the water as Henry dumps the rest
of the wine into the tub and Elinore stirs with the giant
spoon.
"I do miss the children" remarks Elinore as she opens a
closet filled with skulls.
Comments:
Their are alot of classic
episodes from the first season, this one definitely ranks
among the top.
Notes:
|
|
Snip,
Snip |
 |
| Season:
1
|
| Episode #:
15 |
| Airdate:
2/10/85 |
| Overall Rating: |
| Director:
Terence Cahalan |
| Written by:
Howard Smith & Tom
Allen |
| Story by:
Howard Smith |
|
| |
| |
A modern day warlock is angered when he
looses a 10 million dollar lottery to a hair dresser.
Comments:
An average episode.
Notes:
-
Pictures
|
|
Answer
Me |
 |
| Season:
1
|
| Episode #:
16 |
| Airdate:
2/17/85 |
| Overall Rating: |
| Director:
Richard Friedman |
| Written by:
Michael McDowell |
| Story by:
Michael McDowell &
D.W. Schuetz |
|
| |
| |
A woman is tormented by a phone
constantly ringing in the unoccupied apartment next to hers.
Comments:
Another great episode!
Notes:
|
|
The
Tear Collector |
 |
| Season:
1
|
| Episode #:
17 |
| Airdate:
2/24/85 |
| Overall Rating: |
| Director:
John Drimmer |
| Written by:
John Drimmer &
Geoffrey Loftus |
| Story by:
Donald Olson |
|
| |
| |
A woman who can't stop crying is
befriended by a "Tear Collector".
Comments:
A very strange episode, the
story is interesting but not one of the better picks from
season one.
Notes:
|
|
Madness
Room |
 |
| Season:
1
|
| Episode #:
18 |
| Airdate:
5/5/85 |
| Overall Rating: |
| Director:
John Hayes |
| Written by:
Thomas Epperson |
| |
|
| |
| |
A secret room is discovered in a family's
house known as "The Madness Room". Legend has it no one has
ever stayed the night in there and lived to tell about it.
Comments:
Notes:
|
|
If
the Shoes Fit... |
 |
| Season:
1
|
| Episode #:
19 |
| Airdate:
5/12/85 |
| Overall Rating: |
| Director:
Armand Mastroianni |
| Written by:
David Gerrold
|
| Story by:
Louis Haber |
|
| |
| |
A politician who always tells voters what
they want to hear, has to change his style when he arrives
in a small town.
Comments:
This was just a bad episode, probably one of the worst in
the series. I've always thought it seemed misplaced in the
first season, it was more like a 4th season episode.
Ironically, the episode "Hush" from the 4th season was more
like a first season episode.
Notes:
|
|
Levitation |
 |
| Season:
1
|
| Episode #:
20 |
| Airdate:
5/19/85 |
| Overall Rating: |
| Director:
John Harrison
|
| Written by:
David Gerrold |
| Story by:
Joseph Payne
Brennan |
|
| |
| |
A magician is taunted by a teenage
heckler who is dealt with in a most unusual way.
Comments:
Their are just so many good
episodes from the first season and this is no exception.
Great story, very suspenseful.
Notes:
|
|
