You know what's really unbelievable about this episode? - the doctor telling the patient he's a hypochondriac! Of course back in 1959, it was a lot rarer for a person to sue their physician for malpractice for not prescribing an entire battery of tests to diagnose their condition. But today, forget about it. Bedeker would have taken the Doc to court and been awarded a hefty sum by a sympathetic jury. Now I have to admit, I'm watching this episode on the eve of the President about to make another pitch for a largely unpopular national health care plan, so I'm just a little bit wired.
Which brings me to another point. Cadwallader (Thomas Gomez) convinces Bedecker (David Wayne) that he'll never know his soul is gone. Doesn't that sound a lot like our current members of Congress?
As I watch my newly acquired set of the 'Twilight Zone' Definitive Edition in series episode order, it strikes me that this was the first one that didn't feature a name celebrity in the cast, at least with the perspective of hindsight. One could argue that a number of the feature players in the first five episodes weren't significant names at the time, but they acquired further notoriety as their careers progressed. David Wayne (Bedecker) had a relatively distinguished career considering his credits, but I don't recall him much beyond his work as a character actor. Which is not meant to disparage, I thought he did a fine job here, especially the way he reacted to poor Ethel (Virginia Christine) going over the balcony.
Well you can see the outcome of this episode from a mile away, but that's the beauty; it never even crossed Bedecker's mind that things might not go according to HIS plan. Life has a way of working like that, but when you come right down to it, so does death.
Which brings me to another point. Cadwallader (Thomas Gomez) convinces Bedecker (David Wayne) that he'll never know his soul is gone. Doesn't that sound a lot like our current members of Congress?
As I watch my newly acquired set of the 'Twilight Zone' Definitive Edition in series episode order, it strikes me that this was the first one that didn't feature a name celebrity in the cast, at least with the perspective of hindsight. One could argue that a number of the feature players in the first five episodes weren't significant names at the time, but they acquired further notoriety as their careers progressed. David Wayne (Bedecker) had a relatively distinguished career considering his credits, but I don't recall him much beyond his work as a character actor. Which is not meant to disparage, I thought he did a fine job here, especially the way he reacted to poor Ethel (Virginia Christine) going over the balcony.
Well you can see the outcome of this episode from a mile away, but that's the beauty; it never even crossed Bedecker's mind that things might not go according to HIS plan. Life has a way of working like that, but when you come right down to it, so does death.