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Jackie Thompson (Creator/EricBogosian), a small time cat-burglar, breaks into a local museum to look for treasures to pilfer. What particularly captures his interest is a small, shiny stone sitting on display. When he nabs the stone, Jackie is shot in the stomach by a security guard, but soon finds out that his wound has completely healed. Realizing that the stone is the cause of his healing after he tests it on his heart attack-stricken neighbor Harry Faulk (Creator/VincentGardenia), the two decide to put the stone to good use by having Jackie become a faith healer known as "Brother John", healing the sick and injured in the hopes of raking in cash. As he gradually enjoys healing people for good and not for the money, Jackie has a change of heart regarding Harry's ideas, especially when the healing properties of the stone apparently stop working.

to:

Jackie Thompson (Creator/EricBogosian), a small time small-time cat-burglar, breaks into a local museum to look for treasures to pilfer. What particularly captures his interest is a small, shiny stone sitting on display. When he nabs the stone, Jackie is shot in the stomach by a security guard, but soon finds out that his wound has completely healed. Realizing that the stone is the cause of his healing after he tests it on his heart attack-stricken neighbor Harry Faulk (Creator/VincentGardenia), the two decide to put the stone to good use by having Jackie become a faith healer known as "Brother John", healing the sick and injured in the hopes of raking in cash. As he gradually enjoys healing people for good and not for the money, Jackie has a change of heart regarding Harry's ideas, especially when the healing properties of the stone apparently stop working.



* StealthPun: The episode begins with Bob singing Rod Stewart's "Some Guys have all the Luck". He sings all the lyrics ("Some guys have all the luck, some guys have all the breaks, some guys have all the pain") except for the last one ("Some guys do nothing but complain"), as though poking fun at Bob's lack of self-awareness at his [[NeverMyFault belly-aching]].
* WhamShot: There are two. First, the other's driver's dead body being taken away on a stretcher. Shortly after this, Bob's own dead body being taken away on a stretcher.

to:

* StealthPun: The episode begins with Bob drunkenly singing Rod Stewart's "Some Guys have all Have All the Luck". He sings all the majority of the lyrics ("Some guys have all the luck, some guys have all the breaks, some guys have all the pain") except for pain"), but not the last one ("Some guys do nothing but complain"), as though the episode is poking fun at Bob's lack of self-awareness at his [[NeverMyFault belly-aching]].
* WhamShot: There are two. First, the other's other driver's dead body being taken away on a stretcher. Shortly after this, Bob's own dead body being taken away on a stretcher.
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* BlatantLies: In Bob's flashback, when Bob's coworkers insist on giving him a ride home and telling Bob to hand over his keys due to being drunk, he refuses and tells them he'll call a cab. Since the episode begins with Bob driving drunk, we know he's lying.

to:

* BlatantLies: In Bob's flashback, when Bob's coworkers insist on giving him a ride home and telling tell Bob to hand over his keys due to being drunk, he refuses and tells them he'll call a cab. Since the episode begins with Bob driving drunk, we know he's lying.
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Added example(s)

Added DiffLines:

* StealthPun: The episode begins with Bob singing Rod Stewart's "Some Guys have all the Luck". He sings all the lyrics ("Some guys have all the luck, some guys have all the breaks, some guys have all the pain") except for the last one ("Some guys do nothing but complain"), as though poking fun at Bob's lack of self-awareness at his [[NeverMyFault belly-aching]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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Added DiffLines:

* NoNameGiven: We never learn the names of the other driver and the bar’s original owner.
* OffscreenTeleportation: When Bob wakes up in the morning and looks out the window, he turns and sees the other driver is now standing behind him. After he looks out the window again and sees the driver’s dead body being taken away, he turns back and sees that the other driver has now disappeared from the bar.

Added: 502

Changed: 12

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* AnAesop: Don’t drive drunk.



* BitchInSheepsClothing: The bar’s original owner acts friendly to Bob, but it’s just an act. He tricks Bob into buying the bar from him so he’ll be trapped there for eternity, and then laughs at his suffering as he gloats about screwing him over.

to:

* BitchInSheepsClothing: The bar’s original owner acts friendly to Bob, but it’s just an act. He tricks Bob into buying the bar from him so he’ll be trapped there for eternity, and then laughs at his suffering as he gloats to gloat about screwing him over.



* EvilOldFolks: The bar’s original owner is an old man, and he tricks Bob into trapping himself in the Kentucky Rye for eternity, and then laughs at his misfortune.
* {{Flashback}}: Shortly after the episode begins, we’re shown a flashback of the events that lead to Bob trying to drive home while drunk.



* GilliganCut: When Bob’s flashback ends, the story instantly cuts back to the present.

to:

* GilliganCut: When Bob’s the flashback ends, the story instantly cuts back to the present.



* NeverMyFault: After Bob crashes his car into a tree by swerving to miss hitting another car, Bob blames the other driver and calls him an idiot, despite the accident being entirely Bob’s own fault, due to him driving in the wrong lane.

to:

* NeverMyFault: After Bob crashes his car into a tree by swerving to miss hitting another car, Bob blames the other driver and calls him an idiot, despite the accident being entirely Bob’s own fault, due to him fault for driving in the wrong lane.lane.
* WhamShot: There are two. First, the other’s driver’s dead body being taken away on a stretcher. Shortly after this, Bob’s own dead body being taken away on a stretcher.
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None


* BlatantLies: In Bob’s flashback, when Bob’s coworkers insist on giving him a ride home and telling Bob to hand over his keys due to being drunk, he refuses and tells them he’ll call a cab. The story immediately cuts back to the present, where Bob is driving drunk.

to:

* BlatantLies: In Bob’s flashback, when Bob’s coworkers insist on giving him a ride home and telling Bob to hand over his keys due to being drunk, he refuses and tells them he’ll call a cab. The story immediately cuts back to Since the present, where episode begins with Bob is driving drunk.drunk, we know he’s lying.

Changed: 20

Removed: 92

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* LethallyStupid: Bob’s moronic decision to drive while drunk causes another driver to get in an accident and die.

to:

* LethallyStupid: LethallyStupid / TooDumbToLive: Bob’s moronic decision to drive while drunk causes him and another driver to get in an accident and die.



* TooDumbToLive: Bob tries to drive home while drunk. This act of stupidity gets him killed.
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Jackie Thompson (Eric Bogosian), a small time cat-burglar, breaks into a local museum to look for treasures to pilfer. What particularly captures his interest is a small, shiny stone sitting on display. When he nabs the stone, Jackie is shot in the stomach by a security guard, but soon finds out that his wound has completely healed. Realizing that the stone is the cause of his healing after he tests it on his heart attack-stricken neighbor Harry Faulk (Creator/VincentGardenia), the two decide to put the stone to good use by having Jackie become a faith healer known as "Brother John", healing the sick and injured in the hopes of raking in cash. As he gradually enjoys healing people for good and not for the money, Jackie has a change of heart regarding Harry's ideas, especially when the healing properties of the stone apparently stop working.

to:

Jackie Thompson (Eric Bogosian), (Creator/EricBogosian), a small time cat-burglar, breaks into a local museum to look for treasures to pilfer. What particularly captures his interest is a small, shiny stone sitting on display. When he nabs the stone, Jackie is shot in the stomach by a security guard, but soon finds out that his wound has completely healed. Realizing that the stone is the cause of his healing after he tests it on his heart attack-stricken neighbor Harry Faulk (Creator/VincentGardenia), the two decide to put the stone to good use by having Jackie become a faith healer known as "Brother John", healing the sick and injured in the hopes of raking in cash. As he gradually enjoys healing people for good and not for the money, Jackie has a change of heart regarding Harry's ideas, especially when the healing properties of the stone apparently stop working.

Added: 590

Changed: 21

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* BlatantLies: In Bob’s flashback, when Bob’s coworkers insist on giving him a ride home and telling Bob to hand over his keys due to being drunk, he refuses and tells them he’ll call a cab. The story immediately cuts back to the present, where Bob is driving drunk.



* FourEyesZeroSoul: The bar’s original owner wears glasses, and he’s nasty guy.

to:

* FourEyesZeroSoul: The bar’s original owner wears glasses, and he’s a nasty guy.guy.
* GilliganCut: When Bob’s flashback ends, the story instantly cuts back to the present.



* IronicHell: After learning that he was killed in an accident that he caused, Bob is doomed to spend eternity in the now-deserted Kentucky Rye as punishment for killing another driver in said accident, surrounded by empty bottles.

to:

* IronicHell: After learning that he was killed in an accident that he caused, caused by driving drunk, Bob is doomed to spend eternity alone in the now-deserted Kentucky Rye bar as punishment for killing another driver in said accident, surrounded by empty bottles.


Added DiffLines:

* NeverMyFault: After Bob crashes his car into a tree by swerving to miss hitting another car, Bob blames the other driver and calls him an idiot, despite the accident being entirely Bob’s own fault, due to him driving in the wrong lane.

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Changed: 516

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* DeadAllAlong: After managing to walk away from a car crash, the drunken Bob wanders into the titular tavern and, after befriending the patrons and owner, winds up ''buying'' it. The next morning, Bob wakes up in the tavern... which is now dusty and abandoned. The somber man who pressured him into buying the place is in there with him, and as they look outside, they see police officers and paramedics cleaning up a car crash outside the "Kentucky Rye". The victims? The somber man and Bob, who hit the former before crashing himself.

to:

* BaldOfEvil: The Kentucky Rye’s original owner, who dooms Bob by tricking him into buying the bar from him, is bald.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: The bar’s original owner acts friendly to Bob, but it’s just an act. He tricks Bob into buying the bar from him so he’ll be trapped there for eternity, and then laughs at his suffering as he gloats about screwing him over.
* DeadAllAlong: After managing to walk away from a car crash, the drunken Bob wanders into the titular tavern and, after befriending the patrons and owner, winds up ''buying'' it. The next morning, Bob wakes up in the tavern... which is now dusty and abandoned. The somber man who pressured him into buying the place is in there with him, and as they look outside, they see police officers and paramedics cleaning up a car crash outside the "Kentucky Rye". The victims? The somber man and Bob, who hit ran the former off the road, causing him to crash his car, before crashing himself.


Added DiffLines:

* FourEyesZeroSoul: The bar’s original owner wears glasses, and he’s nasty guy.


Added DiffLines:

* LethallyStupid: Bob’s moronic decision to drive while drunk causes another driver to get in an accident and die.
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* KarmicPunishment: Bob is an alcoholic who gets himself and another driver killed by driving drunk. As punishment, his spirit is trapped in a deserted, run-down bar filled with nothing but empty bottles.

Added: 240

Changed: 485

Removed: 138

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* TheAlcoholic: Bob, who celebrates nearly occasion with a stiff one. Or ten. His stubborn refusal to have someone drive him home after his party leads to him and another driver getting themselves killed, as well as Bob himself trapped in a FateWorseThanDeath.
* TheAtoner: Once he discovers the truth about himself, Bob becomes despondent at killing a motorist and damning himself to an IronicHell.

to:

* TheAlcoholic: Bob, who celebrates nearly every occasion with a stiff one. Or ten. His stubborn refusal to have someone drive him home after his party leads to him and another driver getting themselves killed, as well as Bob himself getting trapped in a FateWorseThanDeath.
* TheAtoner: Once he discovers the truth about himself, Bob becomes despondent at killing a motorist and damning himself to
an IronicHell.



* DownerEnding: Bob discovers that he killed himself and another motorist while driving drunk. As punishment for his vehicular misdeeds, he's forced to spend enternity trapped in the deserted tavern, which he sold to the former owner with all the money he made from his big deal plus an extra hundred dollars, with nothing but empty bottles for company.

to:

* DownerEnding: Bob discovers that he killed himself and another motorist driver, who had a wife, while driving drunk. As punishment for his vehicular misdeeds, he's forced to spend enternity eternity trapped in the deserted tavern, which he sold to the former owner with all the money he made from his big deal plus an extra hundred dollars, with nothing but empty bottles for company.company. Upon realizing the truth, he breaks down and starts crying.



* IronicHell: After learning that he was killed in an accident that he caused, Bob is doomed to spend eternity in the now-deserted Kentucky Rye as punishment for killing another driver in said accident, surrounded by booze bottles he can never drink from.
* TooDumbToLive: Bob tries to drive home while drunk. His stupidity gets him killed.

to:

* IronicHell: After learning that he was killed in an accident that he caused, Bob is doomed to spend eternity in the now-deserted Kentucky Rye as punishment for killing another driver in said accident, surrounded by booze bottles empty bottles.
* KarmicPunishment: Bob is an alcoholic who gets himself and another driver killed by driving drunk. As punishment, his spirit is trapped in a deserted, run-down bar filled with nothing but empty bottles.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Once
he can never drink from.
discovers the truth about himself, Bob becomes despondent at killing another man and damning himself to an IronicHell.
* TooDumbToLive: Bob tries to drive home while drunk. His This act of stupidity gets him killed.

Added: 84

Changed: 146

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* AwfulWeddedLife: Sheila and Martin are always arguing, and they're implied to be cheating on one another, all while they don't care how any of this affects their young daughter.

to:

* AwfulWeddedLife: Sheila and Martin are always arguing, and they're Martin’s implied to be cheating on one another, Sheila, all while they don't care how any of this affects their young daughter.



* FiveStagesOfGrief: As Debbie tours the zoo, she glimpses five couples who represent each stage. The first couple plead to be released by claiming that they don't know what they did wrong (denial). The second couple furiously threaten the staff and guests to let them out (anger). The third couple are just sleeping like complacent animals, possibly having submitted themselves to their fate (depression). The fourth couple try flattering Debbie and attempt to spoil her into freeing them by letting them buy her anything she wants (bargaining). The last couple Debbie encounters are wiser and more humble than all the others, admitting that their former son was right when he brought them there. They tell Debbie that they've learned from their mistakes and now know what it means to be good parents (acceptance). Debbie is convinced to let them out and chooses them as her new parents.

to:

* FiveStagesOfGrief: As Debbie tours the zoo, she glimpses five couples who represent each stage. The first couple plead to be released by claiming that they don't know what they did wrong (denial). The second couple furiously threaten the staff and guests to let them out (anger). The third couple are just sleeping like complacent animals, possibly having submitted themselves to their fate (depression). The fourth couple try flattering Debbie and attempt to spoil her into freeing them by letting them buy saying they’ll give her anything she wants (bargaining). The last couple Debbie encounters are wiser and more humble than all the others, admitting that their former son was right when he brought to bring them there. They tell Debbie that they've learned from their mistakes and now know what it means to be good parents (acceptance). Debbie is convinced to let them out and chooses them as her new parents.



* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Debbie's father, despite being a smoking, drinking, and womanizing LazyBum, is shown to care about Debbie more than his wife, yelling at her to give Debbie a break and putting on an affectionate voice in her presence.

to:

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Debbie's father, despite being a smoking, drinking, and womanizing LazyBum, drinking LazyBum who cheats on his wife, is shown to care about Debbie more than his wife, yelling at her to give Debbie a break and putting on an affectionate voice in her presence.



* PeopleZoo: The titular zoo turns out to be a place where children with abusive, neglectful, or just plain bad parents bring them to be imprisoned like animals while they pick out new ones. Debbie inspects five potential pairs of parents locked in cells before deciding on the couple who she wants to become her new parents.

to:

* PeopleZoo: The titular zoo turns out to be a place where children with abusive, neglectful, abusive or just plain bad neglectful parents bring them to be imprisoned like animals while they pick out new ones. Debbie inspects five potential pairs of parents locked in cells before deciding on the couple who she wants to become her new parents.



* INeverToldYouMyName: The original owner of the Kentucky Rye mysteriously knows Bob on a first name basis, despite the fact that he never gives his name to anybody there. Being the arrogant, incompetent fool he is, Bob never brings this up.

to:

* INeverToldYouMyName: The original owner of the Kentucky Rye mysteriously knows Bob on a first name basis, despite the fact that he never gives his name to anybody there. Being the arrogant, incompetent thoughtless fool he is, Bob never brings this up.


Added DiffLines:

* TooDumbToLive: Bob tries to drive home while drunk. His stupidity gets him killed.
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Jackie Thompson (Eric Bogosian), a small time cat-burglar, breaks into a local museum to look for treasures to pilfer. What particularly captures his interest is a small, shiny stone sitting on display. When he nabs the stone, Jackie is shot in the stomach by a security guard, but soon finds out that his wound has completely healed. Realizing that the stone is the cause of his healing after he tests it on his neighbor Harry Faulk, the two decide to put the stone to good use by having Jackie become a faith healer known as "Brother John", healing the sick and injured in the hopes of raking in cash. As he gradually enjoys healing people for good and not for the money, Jackie has a change of heart regarding Harry's ideas, especially when the healing properties of the stone apparently stop working.

to:

Jackie Thompson (Eric Bogosian), a small time cat-burglar, breaks into a local museum to look for treasures to pilfer. What particularly captures his interest is a small, shiny stone sitting on display. When he nabs the stone, Jackie is shot in the stomach by a security guard, but soon finds out that his wound has completely healed. Realizing that the stone is the cause of his healing after he tests it on his heart attack-stricken neighbor Harry Faulk, Faulk (Creator/VincentGardenia), the two decide to put the stone to good use by having Jackie become a faith healer known as "Brother John", healing the sick and injured in the hopes of raking in cash. As he gradually enjoys healing people for good and not for the money, Jackie has a change of heart regarding Harry's ideas, especially when the healing properties of the stone apparently stop working.



Four-year-old Debbie Cunningham goes through another day of hearing her abusive parents, Sheila and Martin, constantly arguing with one another. She then shows them an invitation she got from a friend, inviting her to a place called "The Children's Zoo". When Sheila and Martin begrudgingly accept her request and take her, they learn that this particular zoo has an interesting gimmick to it.

to:

Four-year-old Debbie Cunningham (Jaclyn Bernstein) goes through another day of hearing her abusive parents, Sheila and Martin, Martin (Lorna Luft and Creator/StevenKeats), constantly arguing with one another. She then shows them an invitation she got from a friend, inviting her to a place called "The Children's Zoo". When Sheila and Martin begrudgingly accept her request and take her, they learn that this particular zoo has an interesting gimmick to it.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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Added DiffLines:

!! Healer

-> "Ah, Jackie, Jackie. You're a small-timer. A roof-crawler. A poke pincher. A nickel-and-dime grifter with salt in your dreams and ashes in your pockets. Don't cut that wire. Jackie, don't open that window. You won't be able to jimmy yourself out as easily as you got in. That's not the big score in there -- it's the Twilight Zone."

Jackie Thompson (Eric Bogosian), a small time cat-burglar, breaks into a local museum to look for treasures to pilfer. What particularly captures his interest is a small, shiny stone sitting on display. When he nabs the stone, Jackie is shot in the stomach by a security guard, but soon finds out that his wound has completely healed. Realizing that the stone is the cause of his healing after he tests it on his neighbor Harry Faulk, the two decide to put the stone to good use by having Jackie become a faith healer known as "Brother John", healing the sick and injured in the hopes of raking in cash. As he gradually enjoys healing people for good and not for the money, Jackie has a change of heart regarding Harry's ideas, especially when the healing properties of the stone apparently stop working.

[[folder:Tropes]]
* AdaptationalBackstoryChange: In the episode, Harry is Jackie's neighbor, and they seemingly didn't have much of a relationship until they began using the stone to make money. In the short story adaptation by Alan Brennert, Harry is the closest thing that Jackie has to a father. They met when they were both serving sentences in Vacaville Prison ten years earlier, and had worked together on numerous scams and swindles since their release, as well as the occasional burglary, but they only ever made enough to pay their bills until Jackie stole the stone.
* AdaptationDeviation: In the short story, Joseph Rubello dies from a heart attack. In the episode, he has lung cancer, but still lives.
* AdaptationExpansion: The episode tells of Jackie's discovery and use of the healing stone, setting himself up as a FakeFaithHealer. Alan Brennert's short story adaptation features an alternating narrative of Ta'li'n, one of the priest-rulers of the city later known as Teotihuacan, who is haunted by premonitions of the city's destruction. He also receives a vision of Jackie using the stone in what looks to him to be the distant future. Ta'li'n belongs to the ancient and never conclusively identified civilization that built Teotihuacan, which the Aztecs settled in centuries later. One of Ta'li'n's contemporaries, Ch'at'l, is an elderly healer who has been entrusted with the stone for sixty years. Furthermore, the present day sections of the short story go into further detail about the stone's limitations. For instance, it cannot cure cancer permanently, but it can cause it to go into remission, and it is unable to heal diseases such AIDS and multiple sclerosis.
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Harry is almost as mercenary when it comes to money in the short story adaptation as he is here, but he still has a conscience. The episode has Harry refusing to use the stone to heal Jackie's reopened gunshot wound since he wants all their cash for himself. In the short story, Harry makes a genuine effort to heal Jackie, but he becomes scared and runs away, promising to call an ambulance as he does so.
* AdaptedOut: Alan Brennert's short story omits Duende, the Mexican man who warns Jackie about misusing the healing stone.
* BittersweetEnding: Harry may have [[KarmaHoudini gotten away with stealing the money he and Jackie were going to split and left his partner for dead]], but Jackie manages to use the stone one last time to heal a deaf little boy, who in turn heals Jackie's bullet wound. Now calling himself "John", Jackie changes for the better and returns the stone to its rightful owner.
* DeathByAdaptation: Mob boss Joseph Rubello has lung cancer, which Jackie is unable to heal after using the stone for selfish means. In spite of this, Rubello is still alive when he is last seen. In the short story adaptation by Alan Brennert, Jackie is able to heal Rubello in the short term, but he still dies two weeks later.
* HealingHands: Small-time crook Jackie steals a rare stone from a museum and is shot in the process of escaping. He soon discovers that the stone can heal any injury when his wound disappears. The next day, his neighbor Harry has a heart attack and dies, but Jackie manages to heal him with the stone. Realizing that they can make a great deal of money this way, Jackie (calling himself "Brother John") becomes a FakeFaithHealer, with Harry as his manager. Duende later reveals that the stone only works when it is used selflessly, as Jackie fails to heal people with it and has his gunshot wound reopen soon after.
* KarmaHoudini: Harry leaves Jackie for dead and runs off with all the cash they made from their healing scam.
* TheMafia: Joseph Rubello is a mob boss who Jackie used to do jobs for in the 1970s. He quit after he botched a delivery and two of Rubello's thugs beat him severely enough to put him in the hospital.
* MeaningfulRename: Jackie begins calling himself "Brother John" after setting himself up as a FakeFaithHealer. After he realizes that it was wrong to use the stone for a selfish purpose, he begins calling himself "John".
* NoHonorAmongThieves: As Jackie is bleeding out from his reopened wound, Harry runs off with the cash they made from their scam and leaves him to die.
* OutOfBodyExperience: After being brought back to life, Harry describes to Jackie that he was moving outside of his body, able to see all of his neighbors gathered around him while he was temporarily dead.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The opening narration is spent directly rebuking petty crook Jackie as he breaks into the museum. The closing narration is more humble, however, praising him for his new outlook on life.
* UngratefulBastard: Jackie revives Harry with the stone after he has a heart attack. Harry, however, refuses to return the favor when Jackie's bullet wound reappears, running off with the money that they made from their TV ministry.
[[/folder]]
-> "Now he is John, no longer Jackie. Perhaps not ''Brother'' John, brother to all men, but at least fit to walk among men who care. Because caring is part of the secret, the secret we all learn. That the heart cannot heal what the eye cannot see. Not even -- in the Twilight Zone."
-----

!! Children's Zoo

Four-year-old Debbie Cunningham goes through another day of hearing her abusive parents, Sheila and Martin, constantly arguing with one another. She then shows them an invitation she got from a friend, inviting her to a place called "The Children's Zoo". When Sheila and Martin begrudgingly accept her request and take her, they learn that this particular zoo has an interesting gimmick to it.

[[folder:Tropes]]
* AbusiveParents: Debbie's parents Sheila and Martin are frequently abusive towards her, verbally, emotionally, and perhaps physically. Her mother yells at her without the slightest provocation, her father often ignores her, and the two of them spend all of their time arguing with each other, with no regard for the effect that it's having on their daughter. This leads Debbie to trade her parents in for a new pair at the [[PeopleZoo titular zoo]].
* AwfulWeddedLife: Sheila and Martin are always arguing, and they're implied to be cheating on one another, all while they don't care how any of this affects their young daughter.
* BreatherEpisode: The short serves as a darkly comedic interlude between the thought-provoking "Healer" and the morose "Kentucky Rye"
* EarnYourHappyEnding: After spending her young life putting up with her abusive parents, Debbie travels to the titular zoo to trade them in for another couple who have learned what it takes to be good parents, all three of them walking off to a better life together while her original parents frantically plead for her to reconsider.
* FiveStagesOfGrief: As Debbie tours the zoo, she glimpses five couples who represent each stage. The first couple plead to be released by claiming that they don't know what they did wrong (denial). The second couple furiously threaten the staff and guests to let them out (anger). The third couple are just sleeping like complacent animals, possibly having submitted themselves to their fate (depression). The fourth couple try flattering Debbie and attempt to spoil her into freeing them by letting them buy her anything she wants (bargaining). The last couple Debbie encounters are wiser and more humble than all the others, admitting that their former son was right when he brought them there. They tell Debbie that they've learned from their mistakes and now know what it means to be good parents (acceptance). Debbie is convinced to let them out and chooses them as her new parents.
* FriendToAllChildren: Melody, the zookeeper at the titular zoo, given that all of her customers are children with horrid parents.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Debbie's father, despite being a smoking, drinking, and womanizing LazyBum, is shown to care about Debbie more than his wife, yelling at her to give Debbie a break and putting on an affectionate voice in her presence.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Sheila and Martin become the newest additions to the Children's Zoo as punishment for their atrocious treatment of Debbie.
* NoIndoorVoice: Sheila and Martin, as part of how atrocious they are at parenting.
* ParentsAsPeople: The last couple Debbie meets admit that they aren't perfect, as well as the fact that they weren't good parents to their original child, but they tell her that they've learned from their experiences and know what they need to do differently to be better parents. This convinces Debbie to choose them as her replacement parents.
* PeopleZoo: The titular zoo turns out to be a place where children with abusive, neglectful, or just plain bad parents bring them to be imprisoned like animals while they pick out new ones. Debbie inspects five potential pairs of parents locked in cells before deciding on the couple who she wants to become her new parents.
* TheQuietOne: Debbie only says one word during the whole episode, staying silent the rest of the time.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Debbie's unnamed friend who gives her the invitation to the Children's Zoo.
* WorldOfJerkass: The short is evidently set in a world full of rotten parents, so much so that there's a place where said parents' children bring them in to be traded for better parents.
[[/folder]]
-----

!! Kentucky Rye

Businessman Bob Spindler (Creator/JeffreyDeMunn) successfully closes a huge deal, and celebrates by getting royally plastered. On the drive home, Bob nearly comes close to colliding with another motorist, then comes across the Kentucky Rye, a tavern where the fun seemingly never stops. After enjoying himself even more, Bob accepts a whirlwind offer to purchase the tavern for $1,600, only for Bob to learn that he's been given a raw deal.

[[folder:Tropes]]
* TheAlcoholic: Bob, who celebrates nearly occasion with a stiff one. Or ten. His stubborn refusal to have someone drive him home after his party leads to him and another driver getting themselves killed, as well as Bob himself trapped in a FateWorseThanDeath.
* TheAtoner: Once he discovers the truth about himself, Bob becomes despondent at killing a motorist and damning himself to an IronicHell.
* DeadAllAlong: After managing to walk away from a car crash, the drunken Bob wanders into the titular tavern and, after befriending the patrons and owner, winds up ''buying'' it. The next morning, Bob wakes up in the tavern... which is now dusty and abandoned. The somber man who pressured him into buying the place is in there with him, and as they look outside, they see police officers and paramedics cleaning up a car crash outside the "Kentucky Rye". The victims? The somber man and Bob, who hit the former before crashing himself.
* DownerEnding: Bob discovers that he killed himself and another motorist while driving drunk. As punishment for his vehicular misdeeds, he's forced to spend enternity trapped in the deserted tavern, which he sold to the former owner with all the money he made from his big deal plus an extra hundred dollars, with nothing but empty bottles for company.
* DrunkDriver: Bob and his co-workers celebrate closing a big deal. As ever, Bob has ''way'' too much to drink and becomes angry when several of his co-workers suggest either driving him home or calling a cab. Instead, he drives drunk and runs another car off the road. Bob is injured in the process and seeks refuge in the Kentucky Rye. The owner sells him the place for $1,600, the last $100 of which is contributed by a strange, somber-looking man. The next morning, Bob wakes up to find the place covered in cobwebs and dust, no one else there except for the strange man. It turns out that the man is the driver who Bob ran off the road, having died in the accident. Bob himself was killed in the accident, and is now trapped in a deserted tavern for all eternity.
* EvilLaugh: The tavern's original owner gives one to Bob, once he realizes the circumstances of his predicament.
* HowWeGotHere: As Bob talks to himself while driving drunk, the episode cuts to a few hours earlier, where we learn that Bob got drunk as a means of celebrating the huge deal he closed.
* INeverToldYouMyName: The original owner of the Kentucky Rye mysteriously knows Bob on a first name basis, despite the fact that he never gives his name to anybody there. Being the arrogant, incompetent fool he is, Bob never brings this up.
* IronicEcho: "It's yours! It's all yours!" The Kentucky Rye's original owner says it to Bob once he buys the place, and again when he realizes it's his IronicHell.
* IronicHell: After learning that he was killed in an accident that he caused, Bob is doomed to spend eternity in the now-deserted Kentucky Rye as punishment for killing another driver in said accident, surrounded by booze bottles he can never drink from.
[[/folder]]
-> "Bob Spindler, new owner and sole customer of the Kentucky Rye. A hell of a tavern, where last call goes on forever -- in The Twilight Zone."
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