A Clean Escape 

In John Kessel's short story about a post-apocalyptic near future, a psychiatrist (Davis) is trying to help a patient (Waterston) recover from a memory lapse.

Director:

Mark Rydell

Writers:

Sam Egan (teleplay by), John Kessel (based on the short story by)

Stars:

Stephen Hawking, Judy Davis, Peter Bryant

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Stephen Hawking	...	Self - Host (voice) (as Professor Stephen Hawking)
Judy Davis	...	Deanna
Peter Bryant	...	Dr. Gavin
Sam Waterston	...	Havelman
Tom Butler	...	Warren Geslow
Allison Hossack	...	Kelly Prosky
McKye Kelly	...	Claire
Peter Hall	...	Nick
Burkely Duffield	...	Will
Robert Moloney	...	Pierce
Terence Kelly	...	Goldstone
Garry Chalk	...	General
Camyar Chai	...	Mansur
Malaya Cooks	...	Technician

Storyline

Dr. Deanna Evans is a psychiatrist treating Robert Havelmann who suffers from memory loss. She has been treating him for a number of months but every encounter is new to the patient since he can only remember what has happened in the previous forty minutes of so. Havelmann is in his mid-sixties but in his mind he is 41 years old and the head of a electronics firm doing secret work for the Pentagon. He is convinced that he left his wife and children that morning to go to work and simply doesn't believe Evans when she tells him that those memories were from 24 years ago. Feeling that she is making little progress, Evans decides to use more aggressive tactics to loosen him memory and make him realize the tragedy for which he is responsible.

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Plot Keywords:

looking at oneself in a mirror | korsakoff syndrome | season premiere | series premiere | metastatic breast cancer | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Quotes

Stephen Hawking - Host: Are there events so impossible to forget that they become too painful to remember?

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Connections

References The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986)

User Reviews

Good stuff

Don't listen to those who decry this; it's by no means bad. The initial episode is a worthy adaptation of a good Cold War type short story, with many good points and thought-provoking elements. The acting by veterans Judy Davis and Sam Waterston is intense and convincing, and the production values are beautiful.

Now, the story can't really be summarized without spoiling it, as the real substance of the plot is really only revealed towards the end, but I enjoyed it a great deal and was very positively surprised. The moral was that we are all responsible for doing what's right, so things won't escalate out of hand. When we know that there is something wrong, we should not just stand by and do nothing. We should act. Some people may see this as a "moralistic" message, but I have news for such people: that's what art does. If you just want empty entertainment, watch Friends.

More of this, please.

My rating of episode 1: 8 out of 10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 August 2007 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

IDT Entertainment, MOSF Productions, Reunion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

43 min

Color:

Color