The Twilight Zone/Recap/S5/E144 What's in the Box?: Difference between revisions

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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{{quote| '''Rod Serling''': Portrait of a TV fan. Name: Joe Britt. Occupation: cab driver. Tonight, Mr. Britt is going to watch 'a really big show,' something special for the cabbie who's seen everything. Joe Britt doesn't know it, but his flag is down and his meter's running and he's in high gear--on his way to the Twilight Zone.}}
{{quote|'''Rod Serling''': Portrait of a TV fan. Name: Joe Britt. Occupation: cab driver. Tonight, Mr. Britt is going to watch 'a really big show,' something special for the cabbie who's seen everything. Joe Britt doesn't know it, but his flag is down and his meter's running and he's in high gear--on his way to the Twilight Zone.}}


Joe and Phyllis Britt are an old married couple who do not get along. Joe gets home from his job as a cab driver late one night and Phyllis accuses him of seeing another woman. In the meantime, a television repairman is in the next room fixing their broken set. Irritated, Joe harasses the repairman about the inconvenience and cost. The repairman abruptly closes the open TV panel and announces the TV is fixed. He leaves and the TV starts getting channel 10, a station showing the past, present, and future of Joe and Phyllis' lives, which, however, only Joe can see. The TV shows Joe killing Phyllis in a fight, his trial and conviction for murder, and his execution in the electric chair. Phyllis is convinced that Joe has lost his mind and taunts him. Joe, angered, attacks her and kills her by accident, just as he had seen on the television screen. As Joe is taken away by the police, he comes face-to-face with the TV repairman, who asks if he will recommend him to others. He smirks to the audience as Joe is taken away.
Joe and Phyllis Britt are an old married couple who do not get along. Joe gets home from his job as a cab driver late one night and Phyllis accuses him of seeing another woman. In the meantime, a television repairman is in the next room fixing their broken set. Irritated, Joe harasses the repairman about the inconvenience and cost. The repairman abruptly closes the open TV panel and announces the TV is fixed. He leaves and the TV starts getting channel 10, a station showing the past, present, and future of Joe and Phyllis' lives, which, however, only Joe can see. The TV shows Joe killing Phyllis in a fight, his trial and conviction for murder, and his execution in the electric chair. Phyllis is convinced that Joe has lost his mind and taunts him. Joe, angered, attacks her and kills her by accident, just as he had seen on the television screen. As Joe is taken away by the police, he comes face-to-face with the TV repairman, who asks if he will recommend him to others. He smirks to the audience as Joe is taken away.


{{quote| '''Rod Serling''': The next time your TV set is on the blink, when you're in the need of a first-rate repairman, may we suggest our own specialist? Factory-trained, prompt, honest, twenty-four-hour service. You won't find him in the phone book, but his office is conveniently located--in the Twilight Zone. }}
{{quote|'''Rod Serling''': The next time your TV set is on the blink, when you're in the need of a first-rate repairman, may we suggest our own specialist? Factory-trained, prompt, honest, twenty-four-hour service. You won't find him in the phone book, but his office is conveniently located--in the Twilight Zone. }}


=== Tropes ===
=== Tropes ===
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* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Joe Briggs and the TV repairman.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Joe Briggs and the TV repairman.
* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: Maybe. The TV repairman acts at the end as if he orchestrated everything that went on in the episode. And all because Joe complained about the cost of the TV repair...
* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: Maybe. The TV repairman acts at the end as if he orchestrated everything that went on in the episode. And all because Joe complained about the cost of the TV repair...
* [[Hey It's That Guy]]: The TV repairman has the soft-spoken voice of a certain [[Winnie the Pooh|silly ol' bear]], the mysterious nature of a certain [[Alice in Wonderland (Disney)|grinning cat]], and the [[Smug Snake|smug]] [[Soft Spoken Sadist|sadism]] of a certain [[The Jungle Book (Disney)|hypnotic python]].
* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: The TV repairman has the soft-spoken voice of a certain [[Winnie the Pooh|silly ol' bear]], the mysterious nature of a certain [[Alice in Wonderland (Disney film)|grinning cat]], and the [[Smug Snake|smug]] [[Soft-Spoken Sadist|sadism]] of a certain [[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|hypnotic python]].
* [[Jerkass Victim]]: See [[Laser-Guided Karma]] below.
* [[Jerkass Victim]]: See [[Laser-Guided Karma]] below.
* [[Jerkass Woobie]]: You gotta feel a ''little'' sorry for Joe.
* [[Jerkass Woobie]]: You gotta feel a ''little'' sorry for Joe.
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* [[Laser-Guided Karma]]: Both husband and wife get their just desserts for their attitudes toward each other.
* [[Laser-Guided Karma]]: Both husband and wife get their just desserts for their attitudes toward each other.
* [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy]]: Pretty much the premise of this episode.
* [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy]]: Pretty much the premise of this episode.
* [[Soft Spoken Sadist]]: The TV repairman.
* [[Soft-Spoken Sadist]]: The TV repairman.
* [[Smug Snake]]: Again, the TV reapairman.
* [[Smug Snake]]: Again, the TV reapairman.


{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:The Twilight Zone (TV)/Recap]]
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[[Category:The Twilight Zone S 5 E 144 Whats In The Box]]
[[Category:Recap]]
[[Category:Recap]]
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[[Category:The Twilight Zone]]
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[[Category:The Twilight Zone/Recap]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twilight Zone, The}}

Latest revision as of 12:14, 11 May 2020

Rod Serling: Portrait of a TV fan. Name: Joe Britt. Occupation: cab driver. Tonight, Mr. Britt is going to watch 'a really big show,' something special for the cabbie who's seen everything. Joe Britt doesn't know it, but his flag is down and his meter's running and he's in high gear--on his way to the Twilight Zone.

Joe and Phyllis Britt are an old married couple who do not get along. Joe gets home from his job as a cab driver late one night and Phyllis accuses him of seeing another woman. In the meantime, a television repairman is in the next room fixing their broken set. Irritated, Joe harasses the repairman about the inconvenience and cost. The repairman abruptly closes the open TV panel and announces the TV is fixed. He leaves and the TV starts getting channel 10, a station showing the past, present, and future of Joe and Phyllis' lives, which, however, only Joe can see. The TV shows Joe killing Phyllis in a fight, his trial and conviction for murder, and his execution in the electric chair. Phyllis is convinced that Joe has lost his mind and taunts him. Joe, angered, attacks her and kills her by accident, just as he had seen on the television screen. As Joe is taken away by the police, he comes face-to-face with the TV repairman, who asks if he will recommend him to others. He smirks to the audience as Joe is taken away.

Rod Serling: The next time your TV set is on the blink, when you're in the need of a first-rate repairman, may we suggest our own specialist? Factory-trained, prompt, honest, twenty-four-hour service. You won't find him in the phone book, but his office is conveniently located--in the Twilight Zone.

Tropes

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