History Recap / TheTwilightZone1959S1E12WhatYouNeed

!! What You Trope:

In a run-down bar, in a part of town where both people and buildings have seen better days, in walks Mr. Pedott, a nondescript little man carrying a briefcase who introduces himself to the patrons, including a lonely woman, washed-up ex-baseball pitcher "Lefty", and perennial gambling loser Fred Renard. Pedott tells these people that his briefcase holds exactly what they need. For the woman, he pulls out a bottle of powerful stain remover. Lefty scoffs at Pedott's claims, asking the man if he can come up with a new arm to replace the one he overused and wore out. Pedott says he can't do that, but he pulls out two bus tickets to Scranton. Lefty and the bartender laugh it off, saying that the pitcher can go dig coal with his bad arm considering he's got no pitching left in it. Suddenly, the phone rings, and Lefty answers it to hear his former manager. He's been trying to reach the pitcher for three days to offer him a job coaching minor league... in Scranton! The tickets are for a bus arriving in a couple hours, so he tries to leave, only to get coffee spilled on his jacket. The woman remembers her stain remover, and removes the stain for him as the two go off to the bus station together.

* DeathByMaterialism: Pedott had already saved Fred's life AND gave him a valuable racing tip, but Fred still is not satisfied, and Pedott has to kill him in self-defense before he can kill him.

We open in a run-down bar in a part of town where both the people and the buildings have seen better days. One of the patrons is a washed-up baseball pitcher, another is a lonely woman, and a third is a gambler, Mr. Renard. In walks a nondescript little man carrying a briefcase, Mr. Pedott, and introduces himself to each patron, saying he has exactly what they need in his briefcase. For the woman, he pulls out a bottle of stain remover. The pitcher scoffs, asking if the man can come up with a new arm to replace the one he wore out pitching. The man says he can't do that, but he pulls out bus tickets to Scranton. The pitcher and the bartender laugh it off, saying maybe the pitcher can go dig coal with his arm, considering he's got no pitching left in it. But the phone rings, and it's the pitcher's former manager. He's been trying to reach the pitcher for three days to offer him a job coaching minor league - in Scranton! The tickets are for a bus coming in a couple hours, so he tries to leave, only to get coffee spilled on his jacket. The woman has stain remover, so why not try to get the stain removed? He's obliged to her and the two go off to the bus station together.

This gets Renard's attention. How does the little man seem to know ''exactly'' what people need and be able to give it to them? The man with the briefcase hems and haws, but the gambler is threatening and insistent. Pedott reaches into his pack and brings up a pair of scissors, which Renard takes as a desperate attempt to free himself, but relents when the little man insists that they're what he needs. He leaves Pedott unblemished for now, but still thinks it was just a ploy to get rid of him... until his scarf is caught in the elevator doors and he would have been strangled to death if not been for Pedott's scissors.

Now doubly convinced Pedott has an ability to predict the future, he tracks the man down, asking for Pedott to tell him what lies in store. Pedott is more nervous, but when Renard gets aggressive again, Pedott provides a leaking fountain pen. A drop of ink lands next to a certain horse in tomorrow's races, and Renard wins a fortune with his bet. But he's still not satisfied and tracks Pedott down ''again''. Pedott refuses to hand him anything more, but Renard rummages around and steals a pair of new shoes from Pedott's briefcase. In his avarice, he puts them on immediately and notes the leather soles (he hates leather soles; they have no grip). As Pedott attempts to sneak away without telling Renard what the shoes are for, Renard gets more heated, so he tries to give chase with slow, careful steps... but when a car speeds through, he slips on the wet crosswalk and can't get out of the way. Before the inevitable crowd comes to see what happened, Pedott looks back and admits to the dying Renard that he always knew the desperate gambler was going to try to kill him eventually. The shoes were what ''Pedott'' needed.

When the police and the TV news teams have shown up, Pedott turns to a young couple who witnessed the accident and hands them a comb, just in time to tidy themselves up when the local news team senses a photo op.

->'''Creator/RodSerling:''' Street scene, night. Traffic accident. Victim named Fred Renard, gentleman with a sour face to whom contentment came with difficulty. Fred Renard, who took all that was needed — in the Twilight Zone.

* AssholeVictim: Sure, being given a pair of shoes that get you killed by car accident would be a CruelTwistEnding in most cases, but Renard's cruel behavior and attempt to kill Pedott put him here.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Though it turns out the shoes were what ''Pedott'' needed, not Renard.
* BlackComedy: Before departing the scene of Renard's death, Pedott gives two people (woken by the commotion) a comb. Why? Because they're going to have their picture taken for the inevitable newspaper article.

* BullyingADragon: Pedott is a nice, meek man who just wants to go about his business, but he can see the future and use what he carries to cause a certain outcome. When he realizes Renard won't stop harassing him and will eventually kill him, he orchestrates his death.
* CareerEndingInjury: The reason the pitcher had to leave baseball. His pitching arm went out from overuse.
* CarFu: An indirect case; Pedott sets it up so that Renard meets his end by speeding car.

* DeathByMaterialism: Pedott already saved Renard's life AND gave him a valuable racing tip, but Renard's not satisfied, and Pedott has to kill him in self-defense.
* DramaticDrop: Pedott drops his case, trinkets spilling everywhere, when he enters his room only to find Renard waiting for him.
* EdgyBackwardsChairSitting: Renard does this when intimidating Pedott into being his "partner".

** Renard gets his in the prologue when the bartender tells him off for ordering drinks without paying. Renard merely snarls "How would you like a flying jump to the moon?"
** And Pedott gets his moment when he uses his gift to bestow two people what they need, no charge.
* EyesNeverLie: Pedott explains that he knew Renard would be trouble because he could see his own death in the man's eyes.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the prologue, when Pedott enters the diner, he takes one look at Renard and gets a slightly mortified expression. In the end, it's revealed that from the moment he laid eyes on Renard, Pedott's psychic abilities foretold that Renard was going to try to kill him.
* GivingThemTheStrip: Renard finds out why Pedott gave him scissors the hard way, when his scarf gets caught between the closing doors of an elevator. He nearly strangles before he can free himself, cutting the scarf with the scissors.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Pedott explains for the audience why he gave Renard those shoes, though he appears regretful that it came to this.
* IgnoredEpiphany: Pedott tries to reason with Renard that what the latter really needs is not material possessions or money, but values like serenity, peace of mind, and good humor. Renard seems reflective for a split-second only to purposefully ignore this and continue to bully Pedott for more stuff.
* ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest: The nature of the items Pedott keeps in his case. None of them seem useful on first glance, but they end up being ''exactly'' what the people need at the moment.
* JackassGenie: A reluctant example. Pedott didn't ''want'' to hurt any of the people he was giving items to, but Renard backed him into a proverbial corner.
* {{Jerkass}}: Renard, of course. The bartender also unrelentingly mocks the pitcher's troubles.
* KarmicTwistEnding: You abused the nice fellow who gave you what you needed and saved your life? At least you die quickly.
* KillerOutfit: Narrowly averted due to the scissors with a scarf in the elevator doors, but played straight with the leather-soled shoes.
* LastSecondChance: Pedott tries to tell Renard that what he needs are the kind of qualities that can't be provided with the goods in the briefcase. Renard almost immediately rejects this talk and helps himself to the shoes that ultimately bring about his death. Afterwards, it's made clear that Pedott was sincerely trying to appeal to him to change his ways before it was too late.
* LightswitchSurprise: When Mr. Pedott arrives home at his apartment, he enters and turns on the light. When he does, he discovers that Mr. Renard has [[TrespassingToTalk broken into his room and is waiting in a chair to talk to him]].
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Most of the people that Pedott helps are quite grateful. Renard is most assuredly not.
* ObsessiveCompulsiveBarkeeping: Some of the episode takes place in a bar. When the bartender first appears, he is cleaning out a glass with a cloth.
* OhCrap: Pedott has a very worried look when Renard first stares at him at the bar. He knew then what was likely to happen.
* PreMortemOneLiner: Pedott saying that the slippery shoes are what he needs. Renard is struck dead by a car immediately afterwards.
* RomanceInducingSmudge: The ex-pitcher has coffee on his jacket, which he wants to get cleaned off before arriving for a new job opportunity. The lonely woman to whom Pedott gave the spot cleaner offers to help him clean it and it's implied the two will end up together as a result.
* RuleOfThree: Three times Renard aggressively threatens Pedott into giving him what he needs. The third time proves to be his last.
* ShipperOnDeck: Pedott knew what he was doing when he gave that woman the cleaner instead of the matches she asked for.
* SkepticismFailure: Everyone has a look of surprise when they find that Pedott gave them what they needed.
* TakingAdvantageOfGenerosity: And planning to kill the "genie" for not providing more.
* ThrowTheDogABone: The pitcher gets a job offer in Scranton and can get there because Pedott gave him a bus ticket. A lonely woman also hits it off with said pitcher when he notices a spot on his jacket and she can clean it with the bottle that Pedott gave her.
* TrespassingToTalk: When Mr. Pedott arrives home at his apartment, he enters and [[LightswitchSurprise turns on the light. When he does, he discovers]] that Mr. Renard has broken into his room and is waiting in a chair to talk to him.
* {{Tuckerization}}: The jockeys riding in the race on which Fred Renard bets include Serling, Houghton, Clemens, Denault and Butler. They are named after Rod Serling, the producer Buck Houghton, the director of photography George T. Clemens, the assistant director Edward Denault and the set decorator Rudy Butler.
* UngratefulBastard: Renard. After Pedott gave him what he needed (which saved his LIFE), Renard demands even more.
* VillainProtagonist: The very cruel, selfish and bullying Fred Renard. He crosses the line when he tries to kill Pedott.
* WastefulWishing: Renard keeps hunting Pedott for wishes and threatening him for more.
* WhamLine: "...They are what ''I'' need." This comes from Pedott, who's letting him know the shoes he took out weren't for Renard's well-being, but rather were meant to [[BatmanGambit anticipate]] his dangerous and greedy tendencies. What's more, this line affirms that, even though he's normally too humble to do so, Pedott can indeed use his powers for himself, especially because [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness the situation calls for it]].
* WeHelpTheHelpless: Pedott seems to specialize in helping those down on their luck and generally ignored by others.
* YouHaveToBelieveMe: Averted. While people seem dubious of what he can do for them, Pedott calmly makes the case for seemingly unneeded objects in a completely calm, if a bit strange, manner.

* WhamLine: "...They are what ''I'' need." This comes from Pedott, who's letting him know the shoes he took out weren't for Renard's well-being, but rather were meant to [[BatmanGambit anticipate]] his dangerous and greedy tendencies.

* IgnoredEpiphany: Pedott tries to reason with Renard that what the latter really needs is not material possessions or money, but values like serenity, peace of mind, and good humor. Renard seems reflective for a split-second only to purposefully ignores this and continues to bully Pedott for more stuff.

* ObsessiveCompulsiveBarkeeping: Most of the episode takes place in a bar. When the bartender first appears, he is cleaning out a glass with a cloth.

* ObsessiveCompulsiveBarkeeping: How the bartender passes the time, as all bartenders in visual media do.

Now doubly convinced Pedott has an ability to predict the future, he tracks the man down, asking for Pedott to tell him what lies in store. Pedott is more nervous, but when Renard gets aggressive again, Pedott provides a leaking fountain pen. A drop of ink lands next to a certain horse in tomorrow's races, and Renard wins a fortune with his bet. But he's still not satisfied and tracks Pedott down ''again''. Pedott refuses to hand him anything more, but Renard rummages around and steals a pair of new shoes from Pedott's briefcase. In his avarice, he puts them on immediately and notes the leather soles (he hates leather soles; they have no grip). As Pedott attempts to sneak away without telling Renard what the shoes are for, Renard gets more heated, so he gives tries to give chase with slow, careful steps... but when a car speeds through, he slips on the wet crosswalk and can't get out of the way. Before the inevitable crowd comes to see what happened, Pedott looks back and admits to the dying Renard that he always knew the desperate gambler was going to try to kill him eventually. The shoes were what ''Pedott'' needed.

!! This episode contains examples of the following tropes:

This gets Renard's attention. How does the little man seem to know ''exactly'' what people need and be able to give it to them? The man with the briefcase hems and haws, but the gambler is threatening and insistent. Pedott reaches into his pack and brings up a pair of scissors, which Renard takes as an desperate attempt to free himself, but relents when the little man insists that they're what he needs. He leaves Pedott unblemished for now, but still thinks it was just a ploy to get rid of him... until his scarf is caught in the elevator doors and he would have been strangled to death if not been for Pedott's scissors.

* AdaptationalNameChange: In the short story, Peter Talley's ability to see the future is taken advantage of by Tim Carmichael. In the television adaptation, their names are Pedott and Fred Renard.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': ''You're looking at Mr. Fred Renard, who carries on his shoulder a chip the size of the national debt. This is a sour man, a friendless man, a lonely man, a grasping, compulsive, nervous man. This is a man who has lived thirty-six undistinguished, meaningless, pointless, failure-laden years and who at this moment looks for an escape—any escape, any way, anything, anybody—to get out of the rut. And this little old man is just what Mr. Renard is waiting for.''