Something very strange - I've seen this episode about three or four times over a span of years dating back to it's original series run, and I can never remember how it ends. That won't happen again since I'm writing about it now, but it gives you an idea that not all the Twilight Zone's had to go for a shocking finale or a twist ending.
But how can you forget William Shatner's paranoia over a penny fortune telling machine? Fresh on his honeymoon with the Mrs. (Patricia Breslin), Don Carter (Shatner) is distracted to a fault over his impending promotion to office manager back in New York. Taking refuge at a diner in every-town Ridgeview, Ohio, the couple falls victim to an inanimate object that can seemingly predict the future. Well, Shatner's character falls victim, his wife has the strength of will and reason to break the machine's spell over her husband so they can eventually make their escape.
Whenever I tune into a period piece like this, I make it a point to key in on those reminders of a time gone by. The most striking thing here is that Don Carter's seventy five cent phone call back to his office cost a nickel more than a plate of bacon, eggs and hot cakes at the Busy Bee. Can you imagine that? The fried shrimp with french fries and cole slaw for eighty five cents sounded like a real bargain, making me wonder why anyone wouldn't want to pony up the extra spare change instead of simply getting a sandwich for four bits. Or if you find yourself in the middle, there's the hamburger steak for sixty five cents, topping that off with an ice cream soda for another fifteen cents. Seems like the cook though was pushing the chicken fried steak big time.
The irony of the episode, as it boils down to an examination of superstition and how it can take control of one's life, is that one can never know what negative unintended consequences you leave behind if you refuse to play the game. The elderly couple who replace the Carter's in the diner booth are just such an example, having fallen victim to the mystic seer. That could have been the Carter's, if not for breaking through the haze of inertia caused by an innate desire to see and know the future instead of creating it for themselves.
So, should you see the episode? - It has been decided in your favor.
But how can you forget William Shatner's paranoia over a penny fortune telling machine? Fresh on his honeymoon with the Mrs. (Patricia Breslin), Don Carter (Shatner) is distracted to a fault over his impending promotion to office manager back in New York. Taking refuge at a diner in every-town Ridgeview, Ohio, the couple falls victim to an inanimate object that can seemingly predict the future. Well, Shatner's character falls victim, his wife has the strength of will and reason to break the machine's spell over her husband so they can eventually make their escape.
Whenever I tune into a period piece like this, I make it a point to key in on those reminders of a time gone by. The most striking thing here is that Don Carter's seventy five cent phone call back to his office cost a nickel more than a plate of bacon, eggs and hot cakes at the Busy Bee. Can you imagine that? The fried shrimp with french fries and cole slaw for eighty five cents sounded like a real bargain, making me wonder why anyone wouldn't want to pony up the extra spare change instead of simply getting a sandwich for four bits. Or if you find yourself in the middle, there's the hamburger steak for sixty five cents, topping that off with an ice cream soda for another fifteen cents. Seems like the cook though was pushing the chicken fried steak big time.
The irony of the episode, as it boils down to an examination of superstition and how it can take control of one's life, is that one can never know what negative unintended consequences you leave behind if you refuse to play the game. The elderly couple who replace the Carter's in the diner booth are just such an example, having fallen victim to the mystic seer. That could have been the Carter's, if not for breaking through the haze of inertia caused by an innate desire to see and know the future instead of creating it for themselves.
So, should you see the episode? - It has been decided in your favor.