Steve Cochran is a loser. He's vicious and self-centered and a taker. As "What You Need" begins, he's sitting in a bar. Soon, a small old man (Ernest Truex) enters and begins peddling trinkets to the customers. Instead, however, of letting the customer tell him what they need, he looks at them and instantly knows what they need--and the results are glimpses into the near future. For example, in one case, he hands a guy a bus ticket and only moments later this same guy receives a phone call about a job--for the same city that the bus ticket is printed! Cochran sees this and insists that the Truex give him what he needs. Truex is noticeably worried and quickly gives Cochran a pair of scissors and then vanishes. A bit later, Cochran is on an old elevator and his scarf gets caught and begins choking him. In a last act of desperation, he uses the scissors to cut the scarf.
Now he knows he must go back to the old man, as the old guy can give him everything he needs. And the man gives Cochran a leaky pen--which soon turns out to be a boon as well.
Unfortunately, this isn't enough for Cochran and he insists that the old guy give him something else he needs, but Truex refuses. This leads to a wonderful finale--and you'll just have to see it for its wonderful ironic twist.
Overall, there's a lot to like about this show. First, I just loved Truex. This character actor plays a cute old guy and his meek and sweet manner helps the show immensely. Second, the writing was just terrific from start to finish.
It's funny, but some of the episodes of the show were meant as possible pilots for future TV series--such as the really dumb "Twilight Zone" with Jesse White and Carol Burnett. Well, though not intended as a series, "What You Need" could have easily been made into one--it was a terrific concept and would have been worth revisiting. Nice stuff all around.
UPDATE: It turns out this short story by Harry Kutner was used previously in the series "Tales of Tomorrow" and is also called "What You Need"--and it's a bit different. While the one from "The Twilight Zone" is better, both are worth seeing.
Now he knows he must go back to the old man, as the old guy can give him everything he needs. And the man gives Cochran a leaky pen--which soon turns out to be a boon as well.
Unfortunately, this isn't enough for Cochran and he insists that the old guy give him something else he needs, but Truex refuses. This leads to a wonderful finale--and you'll just have to see it for its wonderful ironic twist.
Overall, there's a lot to like about this show. First, I just loved Truex. This character actor plays a cute old guy and his meek and sweet manner helps the show immensely. Second, the writing was just terrific from start to finish.
It's funny, but some of the episodes of the show were meant as possible pilots for future TV series--such as the really dumb "Twilight Zone" with Jesse White and Carol Burnett. Well, though not intended as a series, "What You Need" could have easily been made into one--it was a terrific concept and would have been worth revisiting. Nice stuff all around.
UPDATE: It turns out this short story by Harry Kutner was used previously in the series "Tales of Tomorrow" and is also called "What You Need"--and it's a bit different. While the one from "The Twilight Zone" is better, both are worth seeing.