A young drifter (Wade Norton played by Geoffrey Horne) stops his car on a rural road when he spots an ancient looking man (character actor Burt Mustin) in distress. Wade runs to a nearby Gothic mansion to telephone and finds four people seemingly trapped inside the house, one of whom is the man's young daughter.
It turns out that the house is actually an alien creature whose century long project has been the study of humans in order to construct a mathematical equation to reflect the relationship between our good and bad qualities. The alien hopes that Wade can provide the final factor he needs to balance the equation.
As almost always happened with this series, there is a profound philosophical message at work behind the monsters and the overwrought melodrama. In this case they seemed to be working toward a "Groundhog Day" allegory about living a meaningless existence. Unfortunately at the end they pull their punches and the story ends up with an extremely predictable and tame resolution.
All of which is too bad because the performances, the shot selection, and the production design make for a very creepy and off-kilter episode. This tale deserved a more challenging follow through, certainly one with a more cognitive theme.
Still it is very possible that "Groundhog Day" was partially inspired by this episode. And that Grahame's subtle characterization of an actress who no longer belongs was the model for the "Daisy" character in the "Dead Like Me" series.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
