So last week, I finally figured out the key to appreciating Tales of the Unexpected was to lower my expectations. It also works for Ray Bradbury Theatre and, my parents cryptically tell me, other things. Maybe the key to appreciating One Step Beyond is to look forward to whatever spectacle they have planned for the week. From the Titanic to bombed out Europe to the Big Top, OSB has made the most of great locations and stock footage.
Unless the two guys on the truck are Moe and Larry, I have no idea what is going on here. This guy jumped off the truck, looped the hose around the hydrant, and the truck is continuing on. Sadly the shot was cut before hilarity ensued.
Host John Newland tells us “Last year American Fire Insurance Companies paid out a good many thousands of dollars for damages from fires they found difficult to explain.” However, he then opts to tell us about such a fire from 1921. It must have been one of those underground coal fires that burn forever because the video shows vehicles clearly from decades later. Hey, here’s this week’s swell stock footage! And I’m not being sarcastic — we get some great footage of firemen rolling up and fighting a blaze.
Extras in laughably anachronistic clothes flee from Purdy’s Pharmacy like they just found out the Coke no longer contains cocaine. Purdy tells Fire Chief Keating that the fire started from nowhere. He calls over local high school doofus Tim Plunkett to confirm his story. Tim says he was nowhere near the barrel that caught fire, but he rats out Patty and Alice. Purdy vouches for Patty, but Alice is new in town. Like all pretty young blondes with a snappy bod, she is ostracized by the kids at school. If she wore glasses, they’d stone her.
Back at home, Alice learns that Patty’s father is her father’s boss at his new job “putting shingles on his barn. If he likes me, he might keep me on.” This is a little jarring since that is pretty manly, blue-collar work for a guy at home reading the newspaper in suspenders and a necktie.” [1] Also jarring because it is The Chief from Get Smart.
Alice clearly loves her father, but he does tell her not to “ruin things” again this time. Worse is her nasty Aunt Mildred who lives with him. She is a bitter old crone who resents Alice’s youth and beauty. Before dinner, Will gets a visit from the Fire Chief. He is speaking to everyone who was at Purdy’s. Will angrily accuses Alice of starting the fire. They have had to move 3 times because of her shenanigans.
The next night, Alice culturally appropriates as a gypsy for a Halloween party. Aunt Mildred catches her on the way out and berates her for dressing like a gypsy, a tramp, a thief. Mildred really goes nuts on her like Margaret White on Carrie’s prom night. Mildred gives her a nasty slap and Alice runs from the house like she just stole a chicken. [2]
Sadly, she takes a shortcut through the woods that goes past the ol’ Plunkett shack. Tim grabs her and drags her inside. Within seconds, we hear her screams and fire shoots out of the window. Alice runs out in tears. Tim stumbles out with burnt arms and — presumably — massively swollen bruised balls.
Will arrives home after work, again dressed in a three piece suit. This guy is the Oliver Wendell Douglas of roofers except he doesn’t have a wife who takes showers outdoors behind the house. The Fire Chief is already there questioning Mildred. A farmer found Alice hiding in his barn and took her home.
Alice is thrashing around deliriously in bed. She is yelling at Mildred for talking bad about her deceased mother. As she gets angrier, smoke starts to rise from the bed. Finally, in an impressive effect, the bed bursts into flames while Alice screams at Mildred, “You made this happen!”
Will says in disbelief, “It started all by itself! I saw it!” Mildred says, “Not by itself. There’s a devil in her! She’s a witch!” Sadly it ends there without us seeing Will boot Mildred out of the house.
It is nice to see OSB expand its niche a little. There were several nice touches here that could have been even better in a one hour format. Or 98 minutes. Or directed by Brian De Palma. Still, the fresh idea and great effects make this a fine episode.
Other Stuff:
- [1] Maybe that is just another sign of the frequent theme here — the degradation of society. In the 1960’s, white-collar worker Ward Cleaver lounged around in a suit and tie. In the 1920’s, blue-collar workers lounged around in a suit and tie. In the 19th century, well, the guy in the white suit and ribbon tie lounged around while . . . er . . . other people did the work.
- [2] Sadly, unlike in Carrie, we got no discussion of her Dirty Pillows. Or more appropriately, given the crazy accusations by Mildred, her Dirty My Pillows.
- Olive Deering (Mildred) went on to play Moses’ sister in The Ten Commandments.
Including this seemed like a good idea, but WOW is this not as good as I remembered:
This is the day of Natalia Turton’s big party. Her husband Basil has brought home a big hunk of wood which I guess is some sort of Modern Art. Although the “Modern Art” movement has been around so long now, maybe it should be called by its simpler, non-temporal name, “Shit.”
A naval task force, led by the USS Morgan, is in the Pacific. Hmmm, there really was a 
The Hydrogen-Ion Propulsion System will keep the rocket traveling through space forever, but it is only programmed to go to the moon. It successfully reaches the moon and circles around it. On the way back to Earth, 6 flying saucers join it! Holy smoke, the rocket crashes back on earth! Only SFT could turn this into a boring gabfest.
He is getting angry that Enid does not want to stay in. He says, “Come on Enid, for the 2 months we’ve known each other, we’ve rushed around like every show was going to close and every restaurant was going to run out of food.” So I guess they met in January 2020. Elliot also confronts her on why he can’t see her on Saturday nights. Enid confesses that there is another man. His name is Cyril Hardeen and she describes him as very kind and gentle as if Elliot might want to be pals with the guy himself. She also reveals that he is 54, which sounds entirely appropriate to me since Enid is 24.
Elliot can read the writing on the wall, or could if there was a big sign on the wall that said, “You’re going to get your ass kicked.” As he excuses himself to leave, Joseph socks him in the jaw. Elliot gets in a couple of shots, but Joseph gives him a good beat down. After Elliot leaves, Cyril and Joseph put on boxing gloves.
Host John Newland tells us, “we are about to go beyond the gay grinning face of the circus into the very private world of the Flying Patruzzios.” Had they really wanted to get dramatic, the episode would have been about the clown car which now has only 2 passengers due to COVID social distancing.
But they set that aside when it is showtime. As always, the One Step Beyond production looks great. The Flying Patruzzios are preceded by an elaborate act featuring many horses. They are enthusiastically received by the ladies, gentlemen, children and flies of all ages.
The Carnies Local 763 (named for the number of fingers the 100 members have) take down the nets and the Patruzzios step out onto the platform. Mario swings out to grasp Gino’s arms. They seem to have made a solid connection, but Gino’s arms slide out of Mario’s grip. Gino falls 80 feet, although I think about 40 of them are shills. Whether the fumes of the horse shit finally rose to that level, or it was the olive oil sandwich Mario just had is not made clear.