A great episode? Maybe not, but Ed Wynn's character is so much fun that I'm willing to cut it a lot of slack. But I'm not going to rehash the obvious here.
I want to instead focus specifically on the pitch itself, which some reviewers here have criticized.
Is the pitch lackluster? Well how great could it possibly be? I mean, really, how could you have made it better, without straining credulity? After all, it's already established that Bookman is no great salesman, just look at his standard of living. He can't suddenly become *too* good, or it's just unrealistic. And his hodgepodge of products pretty clearly isn't likely to include anything that's going to particularly impress anyone. He seems to be working for the same shabby outfit as Ernest Truex, but without the helpful insight of knowing what people need. Frankly, I doubt even Harvey Hunnicut ("Get a honey from Hunnicut!") could do much with that stuff (and if you *did* have a Harvey Hunnicut-type character play the role, he wouldn't be nearly as lovable).
But I think it's fair to say it *was* a great pitch by Bookman's usual standards. He himself says it's the best he's ever done, and we have no reason to doubt him. Which is all that really matters, as far as the plot is concerned.
But as for Death's response to the pitch, his being overwhelmed, and buying all this junk he has no use for... have you considered a different interpretation? Death was no dummy, my read has always been that he was probably playing along; *he* knew that if the pitch was successful, then he'd get to take Bookman after all-- which is really what he wanted all along. Indeed, the threat to take the girl was probably a ruse all along. It would not have served Death's ends for him to have strong sales resistance in this case, would it? Seriously, don't you think Death *allowed* himself to get caught up in the pitch? Notice that Death never has an "aha!" moment about the implications of the pitch, he never does any kind of "oh yeah, that's right, I guess this means I get to take you after all!" kind of revelation. He knew all along.
In short, I don't think Bookman outwitted Death twice. I think he outwitted him once, and then Death outwitted him back.
I want to instead focus specifically on the pitch itself, which some reviewers here have criticized.
Is the pitch lackluster? Well how great could it possibly be? I mean, really, how could you have made it better, without straining credulity? After all, it's already established that Bookman is no great salesman, just look at his standard of living. He can't suddenly become *too* good, or it's just unrealistic. And his hodgepodge of products pretty clearly isn't likely to include anything that's going to particularly impress anyone. He seems to be working for the same shabby outfit as Ernest Truex, but without the helpful insight of knowing what people need. Frankly, I doubt even Harvey Hunnicut ("Get a honey from Hunnicut!") could do much with that stuff (and if you *did* have a Harvey Hunnicut-type character play the role, he wouldn't be nearly as lovable).
But I think it's fair to say it *was* a great pitch by Bookman's usual standards. He himself says it's the best he's ever done, and we have no reason to doubt him. Which is all that really matters, as far as the plot is concerned.
But as for Death's response to the pitch, his being overwhelmed, and buying all this junk he has no use for... have you considered a different interpretation? Death was no dummy, my read has always been that he was probably playing along; *he* knew that if the pitch was successful, then he'd get to take Bookman after all-- which is really what he wanted all along. Indeed, the threat to take the girl was probably a ruse all along. It would not have served Death's ends for him to have strong sales resistance in this case, would it? Seriously, don't you think Death *allowed* himself to get caught up in the pitch? Notice that Death never has an "aha!" moment about the implications of the pitch, he never does any kind of "oh yeah, that's right, I guess this means I get to take you after all!" kind of revelation. He knew all along.
In short, I don't think Bookman outwitted Death twice. I think he outwitted him once, and then Death outwitted him back.