Dream Girl
No-nonsense theatrical director Andrea Caldwell (Carolyn Seymour), after observing that most of her cast and crew haven't shown up for work, finds herself trapped in the dreams of Otto Schrog (Lou Cutell), the pathetic-but-weaselly janitor of the studio. Able to control his dream world with absolute power, Otto forces his prisoners to perform in a play where he's the handsome, confident, and overall amazing leading man, having them cater to his every whim and fulfill all of his greatest fantasies. Andrea meets her missing co-workers in the dreamscape, as Otto willed them inside his dreams when they similarly insulted him, and she determines to help them find Otto and wake him up for good.
Tropes:
- Almighty Janitor: Otto, the put-down janitor, is able to suck people inside his unconscious mind and force them to cater to his every whim.
- Ambiguously Gay: Andrea has a stereotypical "butch lesbian" appearance and hates it when Syd flirtatiously comments on her waitress costume. Given the time period the series aired, this may have been intentional.
- Aside Glance: The last shot of the episode has Andrea, now a prisoner in Joe's dreams, turning and staring dead-eyed into the camera as the credits start, no doubt bemoaning that she's going to have to go through the whole dream ordeal again.
- Bald of Evil: Otto may be bald in the waking world, but he's got a head full of hair in his dreams.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Joe is one of Otto's prisoners, but once he and the others escape, he falls asleep before Andrea does and traps them all in his dreams.
- Bittersweet Ending: Otto gets his karma for forcing Andrea and the crew into his mind, but Andrea and the others end up going through the whole thing again at the end of the episode.
- Brick Joke: Joe claims to work on a cruise ship, and he insulted Otto because he thought he wasn't man enough to handle such a line of work. The end of the episode has Andrea and the cast (including Otto) trapped in Joe's dreams, where he's the captain of such a ship.
- Bullet Time: Andrea and the rest of Otto's prisoners move in slow-motion when they try to escape. She even brings it up to the others when they're debating about what's happened to them, noting that "walking through molasses" is a typical trait of dreaming.
- Butt-Monkey: Otto. In the waking world, anyway, to the point where Andrea doesn't know who he is nor why she should know who he is. His prisoners are similarly taken down a few pegs in his dream world, with Andrea being a buxom klutz, Syd being a failed doctor-turned-maitre 'd-turned-shoelace salesman, and Joe being an oafish farmer who harasses Didi, who's made to be Otto's girlfriend/Yes-Man.
- Cat Fight: Andrea and Didi engage in one when Otto's play has them fight for his love. Andrea calls out to Didi about how ridiculously gratuitous the whole thing is, but Didi's pretty much made peace with it, calling the scene Otto's favorite part.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Andrea has it spelled out to her that the mastermind of her and everyone else's imprisonment is the janitor she yelled at earlier.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: It's safe to say that the whole episode could've been avoided if Otto's prisoners treated him with a little kindness and hospitality in the waking world.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Otto is a pathetic wretch of a janitor on the outside, but he's able to suck people who offend him inside his dreams.
- Death Glare: Otto gives one to Andrea whenever she and the others question his dreams or try to revolt.
- Disproportionate Retribution: You insult Otto even once, you become a performer in his dreams.
- The Dog Bites Back: Otto's entire motive against everyone who's insulted him.
- Dream Weaver: Otto can control reality itself while he's dreaming, and can also bring people inside his dreams when they offend him.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Andrea comes to the conclusion that Otto is dreaming when Syd comments on four prisoners being too much for Otto's mind to handle.
- Evil Is Petty: Otto forces the people who've crossed him even slightly inside his dreams, where he turns them into performers who are forced to praise him nonstop and give him whatever he wants.
- Foreshadowing: The first scene has Andrea discussing the disappearances of Syd and Joe, then rebuking Otto when he's found reading a magazine with Didi on the cover, who also went missing.
- His Codename Was Marty Stu: Normally a pathetic, balding wretch who's looked down on by everyone, Otto's dream self is a talented, athletic, and brilliant dreamboat with a head full of hair who every woman desires and every man wishes to be.
- Here We Go Again!: The episode ends with Andrea and the cast now trapped in Joe's dreams of being a cruise ship captain, complete with her giving an incredulous glare to the camera.
- MST: Otto's prisoners, Andrea especially, bemoan how lackluster and blatantly self-serving Otto's fantasies are as they occur.
- Mysterious Mist: Thick fog and mist keep blowing through the dreamscape as Otto torments his prisoners.
- Revenge Before Reason: After waking Otto and escaping his dreams, Andrea immediately downs some sleeping pills so she can inflict the same torture upon him instead of calling security. She also enthusiastically brings the idea up to her fellow prisoners, looking forward to beating Otto at his own game.
- Self-Insert Fic: Otto's dreams are portrayed in such a matter.
- Shared Dream: Andrea and the others are left trapped in Otto's dreams when he sucks them inside his mind.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Andrea's normal appearance has her wearing baggy clothes and having short hair. Otto transforms her into a buxom, long-haired, scantily dressed waitress who he demeans when she spills tea on him and Didi, and she loathes every second of her new look.
- Stylistic Suck: To reinforce how pathetic and unoriginal he is, Otto's dreams have him placed on the exact set the performers were rehearsing on, and are filled with predictable and self-serving scenarios that everyone finds lousy and overdone, including a gratuitous Cat Fight that Andrea calls stupid.
- The Unreveal: How Otto is able to suck people into his dreams in the first place.
