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!! Act Break
-> "Maury Winkler, struggling playwright and occasional bill payer. Maury knows that all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. What Maury ''doesn't'' know, is he's about to take center stage in an off-off-'''off'''-Broadway production -- in the Twilight Zone."
Struggling playwright Maury Winkler (James Coco) is behind in his rent, and as such, he needs to come up with a play that won't close after one night. During a particularly intense writing session, Maury's partner Harry (Bob Dishy) suffers a heart attack and dies. Before he does so, Harry gives Maury the amulet he wears around his neck, which he says grants one wish per person. Rather than wish Harry back to life, Maury instead wishes to be partners with the greatest playwright who ever lived, which doesn't go as well as he had hoped.
[[folder:Tropes]]
* ActorAllusion: Playwright Maury is played by James Coco, who has performed in numerous musicals and theatrical productions over the years. Maury's partnership with Harry is also an allusion to Coco having collaborated with Creator/NeilSimon and Terrence [=McNally=], and the fact that all of Maury's plays closed on opening night is a reference to the similar failure of Coco's ''Literature/EastOfEden'' musical, ''Here's Where I Belong''.
* AsYouKnow: James and the dying Harry spell out the origins and purpose of the latter's amulet for the benefit of the audience.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Maury wishes for a better partner to write with instead of wishing Harry back to life. He finds himself sent back in Elizabethan England, where he meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. When Shakespeare spies the amulet he took from Harry, he ends up taking it from Maury and wishes for him to work with him. As a result, Maury ends up with every line Shakespeare ever wrote in his memory, and is forced to become Shakespeare's ghostwriter, without getting any of the credit himself.
* BreatherEpisode: The short is nice and goofy to start things off easily, compared to the darker and more intense episodes that follow.
* ChromosomeCasting: There are only four characters, all of which are male.
* DestinationDefenestration: {{Discussed|Trope}}. Maury and Harry's latest play features an English aristocrat named Roger who kills his lover Ethel, but they're stumped as to how he should do it. Harry suggests Roger throwing Ethel out the window, but Maury says that the room they're in is on the first floor of Roger's house, and people don't die from getting thrown out first story windows. This prompts Harry to debate that she could potentially fall into a swimming pool that's being excavated.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Maury meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare after he wishes to work with the greatest playwright ever.
* {{Irony}}: Instead of using his sole wish on the amulet to bring Harry back to life like Harry told him to, Maury instead wishes to be partners with the greatest playwright ever. He ends up being transported into Shakespeare's house, who swipes the amulet and wishes for Maury to work with him. The result is that Maury now knows all of the Bard's plays from memory and is forced to become his uncredited ghostwriter. As a bonus, Harry and Shakespeare are played by the same actor.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Maury selfishly uses his wish to work with the greatest playwright ever instead of bringing his partner Harry back to life. He ends up forced as William Shakespeare's ghostwriter and getting none of the credit for his work. As the cherry on top, the same actor who plays Harry also plays Shakespeare, as if Harry himself is getting the last laugh.
* LateToTheRealization: Harry suffers a heart attack while he's brainstorming lines to Maury. When he collapses, Maury keeps writing down what he thinks are lines and actions, including his groaning and gurgling during the heart attack, before he finds Harry on the floor.
* LighterAndSofter: This short is very silly compared to the much darker episodes that come after it.
* LoserProtagonist: Maury is a dismally unsuccessful playwright whose 17 plays have nearly all been flops that closed on opening night. He's also forced to work in a filthy and cramped office that smells like low tide, and his fishmongering landlord is inches away from throwing him out for being late on the rent. When he gets a free wish, he decides to use the wish to work with the world's greatest playwright instead of bringing Harry back to life. As a result, he ends the episode as William Shakespeare's uncredited ghostwriter. All of his suffering throughout the short is PlayedForLaughs.
* NoNameGiven: Maury's landlord, a fishmonger who keeps hassling Maury for the rent he's owed.
* ShoutOutToShakespeare: While conversing with the Bard himself, Maury offhandedly mentions ''Hamlet'' to William before he's written it, prompting him to explain the plot and Shakespeare to like his ideas.
* StableTimeLoop: Maury uses Harry's amulet to wish for a better writing partner instead of wishing Harry back to life. He is transported to Elizabethan England and immediately meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. After explaining the plot of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' to him, Shakespeare takes the amulet from Maury and wishes for Maury to work with him. Maury's mind is then filled with every line from all of Shakespeare's plays, and it turns out that the Bard's greatest works were written by Maury, using his newfound knowledge.
* ThreeWishes: {{Discussed|Trope}}. As Harry succumbs to a heart attack, he gives an amulet he received from a group of Burmese monks who saved his life in the war to Maury, but tells him that anyone who wears it gets only one wish, and asks Maury to use his wish to bring him back to life. Maury laments why he doesn't get three wishes, since that's the standard deal. So instead of saving Harry's life, Maury wishes to work with the greatest playwright in the world, and is transported back in time to Creator/WilliamShakespeare's house in Elizabethan England.
* TimeTravelEpisode: Maury is sent back in time to Elizabethan England and becomes the uncredited ghostwriter of Creator/WilliamShakespeare.
* WorldOfHam: Maury, Harry, Shakespeare, and Maury's landlord are all rife with ham, considering that first three are playwrights and the latter is played by a noted stage comedian.
* WritersSuck: Maury and Harry are a pair of middle-aged playwrights who have written 17 plays in 22 years, all of which took six months to a year to write, and most of which closed after only one night, none of them ever getting anywhere near Broadway. They're also two months behind on the rent for their filthy, cramped office, and their fishmongering landlord is threatening to throw them out.
[[/folder]]
-----
!! The Burning Man
In 1936, on the hottest day of the year, young Doug is travelling with his Aunt Neva (Creator/PiperLaurie) across the Kansas countryside. On their way to the lake for a swim, the pair meet a crazed old man in a dirty white suit on the side of the road. Upon giving him a ride, their passenger begins raving about "genetic evil", and how people naturally born malevolent uncontrollably eat people. When Doug grows concerned with the man's rantings, his aunt throws the man out of their car, but they soon discover that the man wasn't so crazy after all.
[[folder:Tropes]]
* AmbiguouslyHuman: The old man compares the "genetically evil" (which includes himself) to locusts, who hibernate in the dirt for 17 years, before undergoing a molt and eating everything and everyone in sight.
* AsideGlance: Doug and his aunt share a nervous one when the boy they pick up questions them about genetic evil.
* TheBadGuyWins: The genetically evil old man "molts" into a young boy, and he is hinted to kill and eat Doug and Neva.
* CassandraTruth: Doug and his Aunt Neva pick up a dirty, disheveled man in a white suit while driving through the countryside. This man immediately begins ranting and raving about genetic evil; people who are born wicked and malevolent, telling Doug and his aunt that they should be wary of said people. He compares these people to seventeen-year locusts, and warns that they [[ImAHumanitarian eat people]] "fried, cooked, boiled, and parboiled." Aunt Neva finally has enough of his wild stories and throws him out of the car. That night, the two of them pick up a [[CreepyChild strange boy in a white suit]] who claims to have been left behind after a town picnic. After making the car stop, the boy asks them, "Have you ever wondered if there was such a thing as genetic evil in the world?". The headlights of the car then go out, implying that he is going to kill Doug and Aunt Neva.
* CloudCuckoolander: The old man who Doug and his aunt pick up, who rants about the heat and the genetically evil out to get them.
* CreepyChild: Doug and Aunt Neva pick up a strange boy in a white suit while they drive back from the lake. They soon discover that he is the reincarnation of the seemingly crazed, disheveled man they met earlier that day, and hints that he was genetically evil all along. It is then implied that the boy kills them and eats them.
* DeadlyClosingCredits: In the final scene, the lights of Doug and Neva's car go out after the [[CreepyChild strange boy they picked up]] asks them if there was such a thing as genetic evil.
* EvilAllAlong: The old man/young boy who questions Doug and his aunt about genetic evil is revealed to be such an example himself.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The opening shot features a couple of cicada husks clinging to a blade of grass. The old man later rants about the genetically evil, comparing them to insects for their unique rebirthing process. He later undergoes this process himself.
** He also first appears near a dried up mud puddle, which he later reveals is such a place where the genetically evil hibernate.
* HeatWave: The episode is set in 1930s Kansas, which Aunt Neva says is experiencing its hottest July in 16 or 17 years.
* HypocriticalHumor: The old man rebukes Neva as being "nuts" for leaving him on a country road in a monster heat wave, despite the fact that he was ranting about genetically evil people who eat everything in sight to her nephew, terrorizing him in the process.
* ImAHumanitarian: Those who are genetically evil apparently eat people in any fashion they want.
* NoNameGiven: Neither the disheveled man who rants about genetic evil, nor the [[CreepyChild strange boy in the white suit]] he apparently molts into, are named.
* {{Reincarnation}}: The genetically evil old man evidently molts into the creepy boy Doug and Neva encounter that night, before he makes them his dinner.
* SharpDressedMan: The [[CreepyChild boy]] whom Doug and Neva pick up is wearing a very expensive looking white suit. He's hinted to be the old man wearing a similar suit the duo met early in the day, having molted into a new body.
[[/folder]]
!! Dealer's Choice
-> "Just a friendly game of cards. It doesn't take much to buy into this game, but buying ''out'' may be something else entirely. You see, there's a wildcard on the table, in a deck that's been reshuffled and cut -- in the Twilight Zone."
Close friends Tony, Jake, Marty, and Pete (Creator/MorganFreeman, Garrett Morris, Barney Martin, and Creator/MEmmetWalsh) are enjoying their usual poker night, drinking, smoking, and shooting the breeze. The usual fifth player in their group, Norman, is mysteriously absent from tonight's game, and a strange man named Nick (Creator/DanHedaya) says that he's playing on his behalf. When it's noted that every one of Nick's winning hands consists of three sixes, the group come to realize that Nick is the Devil, having come for one of their souls. When it looks as though Pete, the oldest of the group, is on his way to damnation, his friends stand up to Satan and allow him to play a last game with Pete, the winner gaining his soul.
[[folder:Tropes]]
* AffablyEvil: Nick/Satan proves to be far more pleasant than most depictions of him appear. He only takes souls because it's his job, and he shows that he's a good sport when he's caught cheating and loses the game, even rewarding the men with a huge feast and a fully stocked fridge.
* BottleEpisode: The episode takes place entirely in Pete's living room and kitchen.
* ChessWithDeath: Pete, Jake, and Tony correctly deduce that Nick, who has taken Norman's place at their regular poker game, is the Devil, and that he is here for one of their souls. Nick suggests that they make a game of it: whoever picks the highest card "wins" and gets to go with him to Hell. Tony picks an eight, Jake picks a seven, and the unfortunate Pete picks a jack. Tony then suggests that Pete and Nick play a game of one-on-one for his soul. Nick agrees attempts to put up $18, but instead puts up $19 at Pete's insistence. As it is dealer's choice, Pete chooses a game of lowball, where the lower hand wins and players don't want matching cards. Being the Devil, Nick has been getting three sixes in every hand. Pete gets four fives and Nick gets three sixes, meaning Pete loses. However, Marty, who is too innocent for the Devil to trick, reveals that Nick's "Death" Tarot card is actually a fourth six. After he's caught, Nick leaves empty handed, but on good(ish) terms with the men. As a reward for beating him, he fills Pete's empty kitchen with food and beer.
* ChromosomeCasting: No women appear in this episode, though the guys keep mentioning their wives.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Marty, the most innocent and dimmest member of the gang, describes ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'' (which he incorrectly calls ''Streetcar Called Desire'') as a great movie all about poker. His friends humorously say that he's right.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Pete and his friends get to keep their souls, and Nick proves himself to be a good sport by rewarding them with a feast and a fridge full of beer when he's been bested. The guys also plan to start going to church and treating their wives better to make sure Nick doesn't host the next poker night.
* TheEndOrIsIt: Even though Nick takes his loss gracefully, he drops a sly remark that he isn't through with the players yet, since he hopes to host their next poker night. The guys are heard in the ending planning to start treating their wives better and going to church regularly to ensure that's not the case.
* IGaveMyWord: The guys learn that Nick is the Devil, and he's come to claim one of their souls. After they draw cards to determine who he'll take, he offers Pete, the loser, a chance to [[ChessWithDeath win his soul back]] with one last hand. When Pete wins with some help from Marty, Nick, rather than lamenting or pulling a trick, [[GracefulLoser accepts his loss]], leaves without a fight, and even rewards the guys by conjuring up a massive feast and a fridge packed with all kinds of beer for them.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness / KindheartedSimpleton: Marty, the NiceGuy of the friend group, is the dimmest in their circle, thinking that ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'' is a movie about poker, and is in the bathroom reading the label on a bottle of Mr. Bubble for a good portion of the episode. Despite this, he's the one who ultimately defeats Nick when accidentally touches the "Death" Tarot card he pulled during his fatal poker hand with Pete. It turns out that Marty's innocence and faith are [[GoodHurtsEvil anathema to Nick's evil]], and the spell on the card is broken, revealing it to be a fourth six and making Pete the winner.
* JustDoingMyJob: While Satan has come to take one of the men's souls, he holds no ill will against them, since he's just doing his job.
* LouisCypher: The gang of friends find that "Nick", the stranger claiming to be filling in for their regular player Norman, keeps getting three sixes in every hand he's dealt.
* MeaningfulName: The Devil [[LouisCypher uses the name "Nick"]] when he plays poker with Pete, Jake, Tony, and Marty. "Old Nick" is a common nickname for the Devil.
* NumberOfTheBeast: Pete, Jake, and Tony find it odd that Nick, who is filling in for their regular player Norman, always gets three sixes in every hand he's dealt, and come to the conclusion that he's the Devil, which is correct. Later on, when Nick agrees to [[ChessWithDeath play a hand for Pete's soul]], he puts up $18, which Jake points out is another three sixes. This prompts Pete to insist that he instead put up $19.
* PlaceWorseThanDeath: The episode is set in Newark, and Jake makes a crack about how [[UsefulNotes/NewJersey New Jersey]] would be just the kind of place for the Devil to live.
* {{Satan}}: He's Nick's true identity, and even though he's come for Pete's soul, he proves himself to be a pretty affable guy.
* StealthPun: Pete plays a game of one-on-one with Nick, who is actually the Devil, [[ChessWithDeath for his immortal soul]]. In the closing narration, it is pointed out that Pete did not heed the old saying "[[DealWithTheDevil Never deal with the Devil]]."
* SympathyForTheDevil: The Devil/[[MeaningfulName Nick]] is actually a friendly, pleasant fellow who doesn't revel in taking souls; it's [[PunchClockVillain just his job]]. Similarly, when he loses the poker game he sets up, he accepts his defeat gracefully and bows out, even leaving the other players a parting gift in the form of a giant pile of snacks and a fridge filled with beer.
* TakeThat: As mentioned above, when asked what the Devil could be doing in New Jersey, Jake jokes that he must live there.
* TrueCompanions: The gang have been friends for as long as they can remember, always joking and swapping stories during their poker nights. Though each of them try telling Nick to take one of the others' souls when it seems they're on the chopping block, they work together to help Pete beat Nick in a one-on-one hand so his soul can be saved.
[[/folder]]
-> "There's an old saying, oft told, but seldom heeded: "Never deal with the Devil." But if by chance you ''must'', it's nice to know he can be a good sport. Just a friendly game of cards among a friendly group of guys, who have just come back -- from the Twilight Zone."
-----
-> "Maury Winkler, struggling playwright and occasional bill payer. Maury knows that all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. What Maury ''doesn't'' know, is he's about to take center stage in an off-off-'''off'''-Broadway production -- in the Twilight Zone."
Struggling playwright Maury Winkler (James Coco) is behind in his rent, and as such, he needs to come up with a play that won't close after one night. During a particularly intense writing session, Maury's partner Harry (Bob Dishy) suffers a heart attack and dies. Before he does so, Harry gives Maury the amulet he wears around his neck, which he says grants one wish per person. Rather than wish Harry back to life, Maury instead wishes to be partners with the greatest playwright who ever lived, which doesn't go as well as he had hoped.
[[folder:Tropes]]
* ActorAllusion: Playwright Maury is played by James Coco, who has performed in numerous musicals and theatrical productions over the years. Maury's partnership with Harry is also an allusion to Coco having collaborated with Creator/NeilSimon and Terrence [=McNally=], and the fact that all of Maury's plays closed on opening night is a reference to the similar failure of Coco's ''Literature/EastOfEden'' musical, ''Here's Where I Belong''.
* AsYouKnow: James and the dying Harry spell out the origins and purpose of the latter's amulet for the benefit of the audience.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Maury wishes for a better partner to write with instead of wishing Harry back to life. He finds himself sent back in Elizabethan England, where he meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. When Shakespeare spies the amulet he took from Harry, he ends up taking it from Maury and wishes for him to work with him. As a result, Maury ends up with every line Shakespeare ever wrote in his memory, and is forced to become Shakespeare's ghostwriter, without getting any of the credit himself.
* BreatherEpisode: The short is nice and goofy to start things off easily, compared to the darker and more intense episodes that follow.
* ChromosomeCasting: There are only four characters, all of which are male.
* DestinationDefenestration: {{Discussed|Trope}}. Maury and Harry's latest play features an English aristocrat named Roger who kills his lover Ethel, but they're stumped as to how he should do it. Harry suggests Roger throwing Ethel out the window, but Maury says that the room they're in is on the first floor of Roger's house, and people don't die from getting thrown out first story windows. This prompts Harry to debate that she could potentially fall into a swimming pool that's being excavated.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Maury meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare after he wishes to work with the greatest playwright ever.
* {{Irony}}: Instead of using his sole wish on the amulet to bring Harry back to life like Harry told him to, Maury instead wishes to be partners with the greatest playwright ever. He ends up being transported into Shakespeare's house, who swipes the amulet and wishes for Maury to work with him. The result is that Maury now knows all of the Bard's plays from memory and is forced to become his uncredited ghostwriter. As a bonus, Harry and Shakespeare are played by the same actor.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Maury selfishly uses his wish to work with the greatest playwright ever instead of bringing his partner Harry back to life. He ends up forced as William Shakespeare's ghostwriter and getting none of the credit for his work. As the cherry on top, the same actor who plays Harry also plays Shakespeare, as if Harry himself is getting the last laugh.
* LateToTheRealization: Harry suffers a heart attack while he's brainstorming lines to Maury. When he collapses, Maury keeps writing down what he thinks are lines and actions, including his groaning and gurgling during the heart attack, before he finds Harry on the floor.
* LighterAndSofter: This short is very silly compared to the much darker episodes that come after it.
* LoserProtagonist: Maury is a dismally unsuccessful playwright whose 17 plays have nearly all been flops that closed on opening night. He's also forced to work in a filthy and cramped office that smells like low tide, and his fishmongering landlord is inches away from throwing him out for being late on the rent. When he gets a free wish, he decides to use the wish to work with the world's greatest playwright instead of bringing Harry back to life. As a result, he ends the episode as William Shakespeare's uncredited ghostwriter. All of his suffering throughout the short is PlayedForLaughs.
* NoNameGiven: Maury's landlord, a fishmonger who keeps hassling Maury for the rent he's owed.
* ShoutOutToShakespeare: While conversing with the Bard himself, Maury offhandedly mentions ''Hamlet'' to William before he's written it, prompting him to explain the plot and Shakespeare to like his ideas.
* StableTimeLoop: Maury uses Harry's amulet to wish for a better writing partner instead of wishing Harry back to life. He is transported to Elizabethan England and immediately meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. After explaining the plot of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' to him, Shakespeare takes the amulet from Maury and wishes for Maury to work with him. Maury's mind is then filled with every line from all of Shakespeare's plays, and it turns out that the Bard's greatest works were written by Maury, using his newfound knowledge.
* ThreeWishes: {{Discussed|Trope}}. As Harry succumbs to a heart attack, he gives an amulet he received from a group of Burmese monks who saved his life in the war to Maury, but tells him that anyone who wears it gets only one wish, and asks Maury to use his wish to bring him back to life. Maury laments why he doesn't get three wishes, since that's the standard deal. So instead of saving Harry's life, Maury wishes to work with the greatest playwright in the world, and is transported back in time to Creator/WilliamShakespeare's house in Elizabethan England.
* TimeTravelEpisode: Maury is sent back in time to Elizabethan England and becomes the uncredited ghostwriter of Creator/WilliamShakespeare.
* WorldOfHam: Maury, Harry, Shakespeare, and Maury's landlord are all rife with ham, considering that first three are playwrights and the latter is played by a noted stage comedian.
* WritersSuck: Maury and Harry are a pair of middle-aged playwrights who have written 17 plays in 22 years, all of which took six months to a year to write, and most of which closed after only one night, none of them ever getting anywhere near Broadway. They're also two months behind on the rent for their filthy, cramped office, and their fishmongering landlord is threatening to throw them out.
[[/folder]]
-----
!! The Burning Man
In 1936, on the hottest day of the year, young Doug is travelling with his Aunt Neva (Creator/PiperLaurie) across the Kansas countryside. On their way to the lake for a swim, the pair meet a crazed old man in a dirty white suit on the side of the road. Upon giving him a ride, their passenger begins raving about "genetic evil", and how people naturally born malevolent uncontrollably eat people. When Doug grows concerned with the man's rantings, his aunt throws the man out of their car, but they soon discover that the man wasn't so crazy after all.
[[folder:Tropes]]
* AmbiguouslyHuman: The old man compares the "genetically evil" (which includes himself) to locusts, who hibernate in the dirt for 17 years, before undergoing a molt and eating everything and everyone in sight.
* AsideGlance: Doug and his aunt share a nervous one when the boy they pick up questions them about genetic evil.
* TheBadGuyWins: The genetically evil old man "molts" into a young boy, and he is hinted to kill and eat Doug and Neva.
* CassandraTruth: Doug and his Aunt Neva pick up a dirty, disheveled man in a white suit while driving through the countryside. This man immediately begins ranting and raving about genetic evil; people who are born wicked and malevolent, telling Doug and his aunt that they should be wary of said people. He compares these people to seventeen-year locusts, and warns that they [[ImAHumanitarian eat people]] "fried, cooked, boiled, and parboiled." Aunt Neva finally has enough of his wild stories and throws him out of the car. That night, the two of them pick up a [[CreepyChild strange boy in a white suit]] who claims to have been left behind after a town picnic. After making the car stop, the boy asks them, "Have you ever wondered if there was such a thing as genetic evil in the world?". The headlights of the car then go out, implying that he is going to kill Doug and Aunt Neva.
* CloudCuckoolander: The old man who Doug and his aunt pick up, who rants about the heat and the genetically evil out to get them.
* CreepyChild: Doug and Aunt Neva pick up a strange boy in a white suit while they drive back from the lake. They soon discover that he is the reincarnation of the seemingly crazed, disheveled man they met earlier that day, and hints that he was genetically evil all along. It is then implied that the boy kills them and eats them.
* DeadlyClosingCredits: In the final scene, the lights of Doug and Neva's car go out after the [[CreepyChild strange boy they picked up]] asks them if there was such a thing as genetic evil.
* EvilAllAlong: The old man/young boy who questions Doug and his aunt about genetic evil is revealed to be such an example himself.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The opening shot features a couple of cicada husks clinging to a blade of grass. The old man later rants about the genetically evil, comparing them to insects for their unique rebirthing process. He later undergoes this process himself.
** He also first appears near a dried up mud puddle, which he later reveals is such a place where the genetically evil hibernate.
* HeatWave: The episode is set in 1930s Kansas, which Aunt Neva says is experiencing its hottest July in 16 or 17 years.
* HypocriticalHumor: The old man rebukes Neva as being "nuts" for leaving him on a country road in a monster heat wave, despite the fact that he was ranting about genetically evil people who eat everything in sight to her nephew, terrorizing him in the process.
* ImAHumanitarian: Those who are genetically evil apparently eat people in any fashion they want.
* NoNameGiven: Neither the disheveled man who rants about genetic evil, nor the [[CreepyChild strange boy in the white suit]] he apparently molts into, are named.
* {{Reincarnation}}: The genetically evil old man evidently molts into the creepy boy Doug and Neva encounter that night, before he makes them his dinner.
* SharpDressedMan: The [[CreepyChild boy]] whom Doug and Neva pick up is wearing a very expensive looking white suit. He's hinted to be the old man wearing a similar suit the duo met early in the day, having molted into a new body.
[[/folder]]
!! Dealer's Choice
-> "Just a friendly game of cards. It doesn't take much to buy into this game, but buying ''out'' may be something else entirely. You see, there's a wildcard on the table, in a deck that's been reshuffled and cut -- in the Twilight Zone."
Close friends Tony, Jake, Marty, and Pete (Creator/MorganFreeman, Garrett Morris, Barney Martin, and Creator/MEmmetWalsh) are enjoying their usual poker night, drinking, smoking, and shooting the breeze. The usual fifth player in their group, Norman, is mysteriously absent from tonight's game, and a strange man named Nick (Creator/DanHedaya) says that he's playing on his behalf. When it's noted that every one of Nick's winning hands consists of three sixes, the group come to realize that Nick is the Devil, having come for one of their souls. When it looks as though Pete, the oldest of the group, is on his way to damnation, his friends stand up to Satan and allow him to play a last game with Pete, the winner gaining his soul.
[[folder:Tropes]]
* AffablyEvil: Nick/Satan proves to be far more pleasant than most depictions of him appear. He only takes souls because it's his job, and he shows that he's a good sport when he's caught cheating and loses the game, even rewarding the men with a huge feast and a fully stocked fridge.
* BottleEpisode: The episode takes place entirely in Pete's living room and kitchen.
* ChessWithDeath: Pete, Jake, and Tony correctly deduce that Nick, who has taken Norman's place at their regular poker game, is the Devil, and that he is here for one of their souls. Nick suggests that they make a game of it: whoever picks the highest card "wins" and gets to go with him to Hell. Tony picks an eight, Jake picks a seven, and the unfortunate Pete picks a jack. Tony then suggests that Pete and Nick play a game of one-on-one for his soul. Nick agrees attempts to put up $18, but instead puts up $19 at Pete's insistence. As it is dealer's choice, Pete chooses a game of lowball, where the lower hand wins and players don't want matching cards. Being the Devil, Nick has been getting three sixes in every hand. Pete gets four fives and Nick gets three sixes, meaning Pete loses. However, Marty, who is too innocent for the Devil to trick, reveals that Nick's "Death" Tarot card is actually a fourth six. After he's caught, Nick leaves empty handed, but on good(ish) terms with the men. As a reward for beating him, he fills Pete's empty kitchen with food and beer.
* ChromosomeCasting: No women appear in this episode, though the guys keep mentioning their wives.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Marty, the most innocent and dimmest member of the gang, describes ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'' (which he incorrectly calls ''Streetcar Called Desire'') as a great movie all about poker. His friends humorously say that he's right.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Pete and his friends get to keep their souls, and Nick proves himself to be a good sport by rewarding them with a feast and a fridge full of beer when he's been bested. The guys also plan to start going to church and treating their wives better to make sure Nick doesn't host the next poker night.
* TheEndOrIsIt: Even though Nick takes his loss gracefully, he drops a sly remark that he isn't through with the players yet, since he hopes to host their next poker night. The guys are heard in the ending planning to start treating their wives better and going to church regularly to ensure that's not the case.
* IGaveMyWord: The guys learn that Nick is the Devil, and he's come to claim one of their souls. After they draw cards to determine who he'll take, he offers Pete, the loser, a chance to [[ChessWithDeath win his soul back]] with one last hand. When Pete wins with some help from Marty, Nick, rather than lamenting or pulling a trick, [[GracefulLoser accepts his loss]], leaves without a fight, and even rewards the guys by conjuring up a massive feast and a fridge packed with all kinds of beer for them.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness / KindheartedSimpleton: Marty, the NiceGuy of the friend group, is the dimmest in their circle, thinking that ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'' is a movie about poker, and is in the bathroom reading the label on a bottle of Mr. Bubble for a good portion of the episode. Despite this, he's the one who ultimately defeats Nick when accidentally touches the "Death" Tarot card he pulled during his fatal poker hand with Pete. It turns out that Marty's innocence and faith are [[GoodHurtsEvil anathema to Nick's evil]], and the spell on the card is broken, revealing it to be a fourth six and making Pete the winner.
* JustDoingMyJob: While Satan has come to take one of the men's souls, he holds no ill will against them, since he's just doing his job.
* LouisCypher: The gang of friends find that "Nick", the stranger claiming to be filling in for their regular player Norman, keeps getting three sixes in every hand he's dealt.
* MeaningfulName: The Devil [[LouisCypher uses the name "Nick"]] when he plays poker with Pete, Jake, Tony, and Marty. "Old Nick" is a common nickname for the Devil.
* NumberOfTheBeast: Pete, Jake, and Tony find it odd that Nick, who is filling in for their regular player Norman, always gets three sixes in every hand he's dealt, and come to the conclusion that he's the Devil, which is correct. Later on, when Nick agrees to [[ChessWithDeath play a hand for Pete's soul]], he puts up $18, which Jake points out is another three sixes. This prompts Pete to insist that he instead put up $19.
* PlaceWorseThanDeath: The episode is set in Newark, and Jake makes a crack about how [[UsefulNotes/NewJersey New Jersey]] would be just the kind of place for the Devil to live.
* {{Satan}}: He's Nick's true identity, and even though he's come for Pete's soul, he proves himself to be a pretty affable guy.
* StealthPun: Pete plays a game of one-on-one with Nick, who is actually the Devil, [[ChessWithDeath for his immortal soul]]. In the closing narration, it is pointed out that Pete did not heed the old saying "[[DealWithTheDevil Never deal with the Devil]]."
* SympathyForTheDevil: The Devil/[[MeaningfulName Nick]] is actually a friendly, pleasant fellow who doesn't revel in taking souls; it's [[PunchClockVillain just his job]]. Similarly, when he loses the poker game he sets up, he accepts his defeat gracefully and bows out, even leaving the other players a parting gift in the form of a giant pile of snacks and a fridge filled with beer.
* TakeThat: As mentioned above, when asked what the Devil could be doing in New Jersey, Jake jokes that he must live there.
* TrueCompanions: The gang have been friends for as long as they can remember, always joking and swapping stories during their poker nights. Though each of them try telling Nick to take one of the others' souls when it seems they're on the chopping block, they work together to help Pete beat Nick in a one-on-one hand so his soul can be saved.
[[/folder]]
-> "There's an old saying, oft told, but seldom heeded: "Never deal with the Devil." But if by chance you ''must'', it's nice to know he can be a good sport. Just a friendly game of cards among a friendly group of guys, who have just come back -- from the Twilight Zone."
-----
to:
-> "Maury Winkler, struggling playwright and occasional bill payer. Maury knows that all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. What Maury ''doesn't'' know, is he's about to take center stage in an off-off-'''off'''-Broadway production -- in the Twilight Zone."
Struggling playwright Maury Winkler (James Coco) is behind in his rent, and as such, he needs to come up with a play that won't close after one night. During a particularly intense writing session, Maury's partner Harry (Bob Dishy) suffers a heart attack and dies. Before he does so, Harry gives Maury the amulet he wears around his neck, which he says grants one wish per person. Rather than wish Harry back to life, Maury instead wishes to be partners with the greatest playwright who ever lived, which doesn't go as well as he had hoped.
[[folder:Tropes]]
* ActorAllusion: Playwright Maury is played by James Coco, who has performed in numerous musicals and theatrical productions over the years. Maury's partnership with Harry is also an allusion to Coco having collaborated with Creator/NeilSimon and Terrence [=McNally=], and the fact that all of Maury's plays closed on opening night is a reference to the similar failure of Coco's ''Literature/EastOfEden'' musical, ''Here's Where I Belong''.
* AsYouKnow: James and the dying Harry spell out the origins and purpose of the latter's amulet for the benefit of the audience.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Maury wishes for a better partner to write with instead of wishing Harry back to life. He finds himself sent back in Elizabethan England, where he meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. When Shakespeare spies the amulet he took from Harry, he ends up taking it from Maury and wishes for him to work with him. As a result, Maury ends up with every line Shakespeare ever wrote in his memory, and is forced to become Shakespeare's ghostwriter, without getting any of the credit himself.
* BreatherEpisode: The short is nice and goofy to start things off easily, compared to the darker and more intense episodes that follow.
* ChromosomeCasting: There are only four characters, all of which are male.
* DestinationDefenestration: {{Discussed|Trope}}. Maury and Harry's latest play features an English aristocrat named Roger who kills his lover Ethel, but they're stumped as to how he should do it. Harry suggests Roger throwing Ethel out the window, but Maury says that the room they're in is on the first floor of Roger's house, and people don't die from getting thrown out first story windows. This prompts Harry to debate that she could potentially fall into a swimming pool that's being excavated.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Maury meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare after he wishes to work with the greatest playwright ever.
* {{Irony}}: Instead of using his sole wish on the amulet to bring Harry back to life like Harry told him to, Maury instead wishes to be partners with the greatest playwright ever. He ends up being transported into Shakespeare's house, who swipes the amulet and wishes for Maury to work with him. The result is that Maury now knows all of the Bard's plays from memory and is forced to become his uncredited ghostwriter. As a bonus, Harry and Shakespeare are played by the same actor.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Maury selfishly uses his wish to work with the greatest playwright ever instead of bringing his partner Harry back to life. He ends up forced as William Shakespeare's ghostwriter and getting none of the credit for his work. As the cherry on top, the same actor who plays Harry also plays Shakespeare, as if Harry himself is getting the last laugh.
* LateToTheRealization: Harry suffers a heart attack while he's brainstorming lines to Maury. When he collapses, Maury keeps writing down what he thinks are lines and actions, including his groaning and gurgling during the heart attack, before he finds Harry on the floor.
* LighterAndSofter: This short is very silly compared to the much darker episodes that come after it.
* LoserProtagonist: Maury is a dismally unsuccessful playwright whose 17 plays have nearly all been flops that closed on opening night. He's also forced to work in a filthy and cramped office that smells like low tide, and his fishmongering landlord is inches away from throwing him out for being late on the rent. When he gets a free wish, he decides to use the wish to work with the world's greatest playwright instead of bringing Harry back to life. As a result, he ends the episode as William Shakespeare's uncredited ghostwriter. All of his suffering throughout the short is PlayedForLaughs.
* NoNameGiven: Maury's landlord, a fishmonger who keeps hassling Maury for the rent he's owed.
* ShoutOutToShakespeare: While conversing with the Bard himself, Maury offhandedly mentions ''Hamlet'' to William before he's written it, prompting him to explain the plot and Shakespeare to like his ideas.
* StableTimeLoop: Maury uses Harry's amulet to wish for a better writing partner instead of wishing Harry back to life. He is transported to Elizabethan England and immediately meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. After explaining the plot of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' to him, Shakespeare takes the amulet from Maury and wishes for Maury to work with him. Maury's mind is then filled with every line from all of Shakespeare's plays, and it turns out that the Bard's greatest works were written by Maury, using his newfound knowledge.
* ThreeWishes: {{Discussed|Trope}}. As Harry succumbs to a heart attack, he gives an amulet he received from a group of Burmese monks who saved his life in the war to Maury, but tells him that anyone who wears it gets only one wish, and asks Maury to use his wish to bring him back to life. Maury laments why he doesn't get three wishes, since that's the standard deal. So instead of saving Harry's life, Maury wishes to work with the greatest playwright in the world, and is transported back in time to Creator/WilliamShakespeare's house in Elizabethan England.
* TimeTravelEpisode: Maury is sent back in time to Elizabethan England and becomes the uncredited ghostwriter of Creator/WilliamShakespeare.
* WorldOfHam: Maury, Harry, Shakespeare, and Maury's landlord are all rife with ham, considering that first three are playwrights and the latter is played by a noted stage comedian.
* WritersSuck: Maury and Harry are a pair of middle-aged playwrights who have written 17 plays in 22 years, all of which took six months to a year to write, and most of which closed after only one night, none of them ever getting anywhere near Broadway. They're also two months behind on the rent for their filthy, cramped office, and their fishmongering landlord is threatening to throw them out.
[[/folder]]
-----
!! The Burning Man
In 1936, on the hottest day of the year, young Doug is travelling with his Aunt Neva (Creator/PiperLaurie) across the Kansas countryside. On their way to the lake for a swim, the pair meet a crazed old man in a dirty white suit on the side of the road. Upon giving him a ride, their passenger begins raving about "genetic evil", and how people naturally born malevolent uncontrollably eat people. When Doug grows concerned with the man's rantings, his aunt throws the man out of their car, but they soon discover that the man wasn't so crazy after all.
[[folder:Tropes]]
* AmbiguouslyHuman: The old man compares the "genetically evil" (which includes himself) to locusts, who hibernate in the dirt for 17 years, before undergoing a molt and eating everything and everyone in sight.
* AsideGlance: Doug and his aunt share a nervous one when the boy they pick up questions them about genetic evil.
* TheBadGuyWins: The genetically evil old man "molts" into a young boy, and he is hinted to kill and eat Doug and Neva.
* CassandraTruth: Doug and his Aunt Neva pick up a dirty, disheveled man in a white suit while driving through the countryside. This man immediately begins ranting and raving about genetic evil; people who are born wicked and malevolent, telling Doug and his aunt that they should be wary of said people. He compares these people to seventeen-year locusts, and warns that they [[ImAHumanitarian eat people]] "fried, cooked, boiled, and parboiled." Aunt Neva finally has enough of his wild stories and throws him out of the car. That night, the two of them pick up a [[CreepyChild strange boy in a white suit]] who claims to have been left behind after a town picnic. After making the car stop, the boy asks them, "Have you ever wondered if there was such a thing as genetic evil in the world?". The headlights of the car then go out, implying that he is going to kill Doug and Aunt Neva.
* CloudCuckoolander: The old man who Doug and his aunt pick up, who rants about the heat and the genetically evil out to get them.
* CreepyChild: Doug and Aunt Neva pick up a strange boy in a white suit while they drive back from the lake. They soon discover that he is the reincarnation of the seemingly crazed, disheveled man they met earlier that day, and hints that he was genetically evil all along. It is then implied that the boy kills them and eats them.
* DeadlyClosingCredits: In the final scene, the lights of Doug and Neva's car go out after the [[CreepyChild strange boy they picked up]] asks them if there was such a thing as genetic evil.
* EvilAllAlong: The old man/young boy who questions Doug and his aunt about genetic evil is revealed to be such an example himself.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The opening shot features a couple of cicada husks clinging to a blade of grass. The old man later rants about the genetically evil, comparing them to insects for their unique rebirthing process. He later undergoes this process himself.
** He also first appears near a dried up mud puddle, which he later reveals is such a place where the genetically evil hibernate.
* HeatWave: The episode is set in 1930s Kansas, which Aunt Neva says is experiencing its hottest July in 16 or 17 years.
* HypocriticalHumor: The old man rebukes Neva as being "nuts" for leaving him on a country road in a monster heat wave, despite the fact that he was ranting about genetically evil people who eat everything in sight to her nephew, terrorizing him in the process.
* ImAHumanitarian: Those who are genetically evil apparently eat people in any fashion they want.
* NoNameGiven: Neither the disheveled man who rants about genetic evil, nor the [[CreepyChild strange boy in the white suit]] he apparently molts into, are named.
* {{Reincarnation}}: The genetically evil old man evidently molts into the creepy boy Doug and Neva encounter that night, before he makes them his dinner.
* SharpDressedMan: The [[CreepyChild boy]] whom Doug and Neva pick up is wearing a very expensive looking white suit. He's hinted to be the old man wearing a similar suit the duo met early in the day, having molted into a new body.
[[/folder]]
!! Dealer's Choice
-> "Just a friendly game of cards. It doesn't take much to buy into this game, but buying ''out'' may be something else entirely. You see, there's a wildcard on the table, in a deck that's been reshuffled and cut -- in the Twilight Zone."
Close friends Tony, Jake, Marty, and Pete (Creator/MorganFreeman, Garrett Morris, Barney Martin, and Creator/MEmmetWalsh) are enjoying their usual poker night, drinking, smoking, and shooting the breeze. The usual fifth player in their group, Norman, is mysteriously absent from tonight's game, and a strange man named Nick (Creator/DanHedaya) says that he's playing on his behalf. When it's noted that every one of Nick's winning hands consists of three sixes, the group come to realize that Nick is the Devil, having come for one of their souls. When it looks as though Pete, the oldest of the group, is on his way to damnation, his friends stand up to Satan and allow him to play a last game with Pete, the winner gaining his soul.
[[folder:Tropes]]
* AffablyEvil: Nick/Satan proves to be far more pleasant than most depictions of him appear. He only takes souls because it's his job, and he shows that he's a good sport when he's caught cheating and loses the game, even rewarding the men with a huge feast and a fully stocked fridge.
* BottleEpisode: The episode takes place entirely in Pete's living room and kitchen.
* ChessWithDeath: Pete, Jake, and Tony correctly deduce that Nick, who has taken Norman's place at their regular poker game, is the Devil, and that he is here for one of their souls. Nick suggests that they make a game of it: whoever picks the highest card "wins" and gets to go with him to Hell. Tony picks an eight, Jake picks a seven, and the unfortunate Pete picks a jack. Tony then suggests that Pete and Nick play a game of one-on-one for his soul. Nick agrees attempts to put up $18, but instead puts up $19 at Pete's insistence. As it is dealer's choice, Pete chooses a game of lowball, where the lower hand wins and players don't want matching cards. Being the Devil, Nick has been getting three sixes in every hand. Pete gets four fives and Nick gets three sixes, meaning Pete loses. However, Marty, who is too innocent for the Devil to trick, reveals that Nick's "Death" Tarot card is actually a fourth six. After he's caught, Nick leaves empty handed, but on good(ish) terms with the men. As a reward for beating him, he fills Pete's empty kitchen with food and beer.
* ChromosomeCasting: No women appear in this episode, though the guys keep mentioning their wives.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Marty, the most innocent and dimmest member of the gang, describes ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'' (which he incorrectly calls ''Streetcar Called Desire'') as a great movie all about poker. His friends humorously say that he's right.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Pete and his friends get to keep their souls, and Nick proves himself to be a good sport by rewarding them with a feast and a fridge full of beer when he's been bested. The guys also plan to start going to church and treating their wives better to make sure Nick doesn't host the next poker night.
* TheEndOrIsIt: Even though Nick takes his loss gracefully, he drops a sly remark that he isn't through with the players yet, since he hopes to host their next poker night. The guys are heard in the ending planning to start treating their wives better and going to church regularly to ensure that's not the case.
* IGaveMyWord: The guys learn that Nick is the Devil, and he's come to claim one of their souls. After they draw cards to determine who he'll take, he offers Pete, the loser, a chance to [[ChessWithDeath win his soul back]] with one last hand. When Pete wins with some help from Marty, Nick, rather than lamenting or pulling a trick, [[GracefulLoser accepts his loss]], leaves without a fight, and even rewards the guys by conjuring up a massive feast and a fridge packed with all kinds of beer for them.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness / KindheartedSimpleton: Marty, the NiceGuy of the friend group, is the dimmest in their circle, thinking that ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'' is a movie about poker, and is in the bathroom reading the label on a bottle of Mr. Bubble for a good portion of the episode. Despite this, he's the one who ultimately defeats Nick when accidentally touches the "Death" Tarot card he pulled during his fatal poker hand with Pete. It turns out that Marty's innocence and faith are [[GoodHurtsEvil anathema to Nick's evil]], and the spell on the card is broken, revealing it to be a fourth six and making Pete the winner.
* JustDoingMyJob: While Satan has come to take one of the men's souls, he holds no ill will against them, since he's just doing his job.
* LouisCypher: The gang of friends find that "Nick", the stranger claiming to be filling in for their regular player Norman, keeps getting three sixes in every hand he's dealt.
* MeaningfulName: The Devil [[LouisCypher uses the name "Nick"]] when he plays poker with Pete, Jake, Tony, and Marty. "Old Nick" is a common nickname for the Devil.
* NumberOfTheBeast: Pete, Jake, and Tony find it odd that Nick, who is filling in for their regular player Norman, always gets three sixes in every hand he's dealt, and come to the conclusion that he's the Devil, which is correct. Later on, when Nick agrees to [[ChessWithDeath play a hand for Pete's soul]], he puts up $18, which Jake points out is another three sixes. This prompts Pete to insist that he instead put up $19.
* PlaceWorseThanDeath: The episode is set in Newark, and Jake makes a crack about how [[UsefulNotes/NewJersey New Jersey]] would be just the kind of place for the Devil to live.
* {{Satan}}: He's Nick's true identity, and even though he's come for Pete's soul, he proves himself to be a pretty affable guy.
* StealthPun: Pete plays a game of one-on-one with Nick, who is actually the Devil, [[ChessWithDeath for his immortal soul]]. In the closing narration, it is pointed out that Pete did not heed the old saying "[[DealWithTheDevil Never deal with the Devil]]."
* SympathyForTheDevil: The Devil/[[MeaningfulName Nick]] is actually a friendly, pleasant fellow who doesn't revel in taking souls; it's [[PunchClockVillain just his job]]. Similarly, when he loses the poker game he sets up, he accepts his defeat gracefully and bows out, even leaving the other players a parting gift in the form of a giant pile of snacks and a fridge filled with beer.
* TakeThat: As mentioned above, when asked what the Devil could be doing in New Jersey, Jake jokes that he must live there.
* TrueCompanions: The gang have been friends for as long as they can remember, always joking and swapping stories during their poker nights. Though each of them try telling Nick to take one of the others' souls when it seems they're on the chopping block, they work together to help Pete beat Nick in a one-on-one hand so his soul can be saved.
[[/folder]]
-> "There's an old saying, oft told, but seldom heeded: "Never deal with the Devil." But if by chance you ''must'', it's nice to know he can be a good sport. Just a friendly game of cards among a friendly group of guys, who have just come back -- from the Twilight Zone."
-----
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Changed line(s) 57,58 (click to see context) from:
Close friends Tony, Jake, Marty, and Pete (Creator/MorganFreeman, Garrett Morris, Barney Martin, and Creator/MEmmetWalsh) are enjoying their usual poker night, drinking, playing, and shooting the breeze. The usual fifth player in their group, Norman, is mysteriously absent from tonight's game, and a strange man named Nick (Creator/DanHedaya) says that he's playing on his behalf. When it's noted that every one of Nick's winning hands consists of three sixes, the group come to realize that Nick is the Devil, having come for one of their souls. When it looks as though Pete, the oldest of the group, is on his way to damnation, his friends stand up to Satan and allow him to play a last game with Pete, the winner gaining his soul.
to:
Close friends Tony, Jake, Marty, and Pete (Creator/MorganFreeman, Garrett Morris, Barney Martin, and Creator/MEmmetWalsh) are enjoying their usual poker night, drinking, playing, smoking, and shooting the breeze. The usual fifth player in their group, Norman, is mysteriously absent from tonight's game, and a strange man named Nick (Creator/DanHedaya) says that he's playing on his behalf. When it's noted that every one of Nick's winning hands consists of three sixes, the group come to realize that Nick is the Devil, having come for one of their souls. When it looks as though Pete, the oldest of the group, is on his way to damnation, his friends stand up to Satan and allow him to play a last game with Pete, the winner gaining his soul.
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Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
->"Maury Winkler, struggling playwright and occasional bill payer. Maury knows that all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. What Maury ''doesn't'' know, is he's about to take center stage in an off-off-'''off'''-Broadway production -- in the Twilight Zone."
to:
Changed line(s) 55,56 (click to see context) from:
->"Just a friendly game of cards. It doesn't take much to buy into this game, but buying ''out'' may be something else entirely. You see, there's a wildcard on the table, in a deck that's been reshuffled and cut -- in the Twilight Zone."
to:
Changed line(s) 80 (click to see context) from:
->"There's an old saying, oft told, but seldom heeded: "Never deal with the Devil." But if by chance you ''must'', it's nice to know he can be a good sport. Just a friendly game of cards among a friendly group of guys, who have just come back -- from the Twilight Zone."
to:
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Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
->''"Maury Winkler, struggling playwright and occasional bill payer. Maury knows that all the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. What Maury doesn't know, is he's about to take center stage in an off-off-OFF-Broadway production -- in the Twilight Zone."''
to:
Changed line(s) 55,56 (click to see context) from:
->''"Just a friendly game of cards. It doesn't take much to buy into this game, but buying out may be something else entirely. You see, there's a wildcard on the table, in a deck that's been reshuffled and cut -- in the Twilight Zone."''
to:
Changed line(s) 80 (click to see context) from:
->''"There's an old saying, oft told, but seldom heeded: "Never deal with the Devil." But if by chance you must, it's nice to know he can be a good sport. Just a friendly game of cards among a friendly group of guys, who have just come back -- from the Twilight Zone."''
to:
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Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
A playwright (James Coco) gains an artifact that will grant one wish per user.
to:
Struggling playwright Maury Winkler (James Coco)
[[folder:Tropes]]
* ActorAllusion: Playwright Maury is played by James Coco, who has performed in numerous musicals and theatrical productions over the years. Maury's partnership with Harry is also an allusion to Coco having collaborated with Creator/NeilSimon and Terrence [=McNally=], and the fact that all of Maury's plays closed on opening night is a reference to the similar failure of Coco's ''Literature/EastOfEden'' musical, ''Here's Where I Belong''.
* AsYouKnow: James and the dying Harry spell out the origins and purpose of the latter's amulet for the benefit of the audience.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Maury wishes for a better partner to write with instead of wishing Harry back to life. He finds himself sent back in Elizabethan England, where he meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. When Shakespeare spies the amulet he took from Harry, he ends up taking it from Maury and wishes for him to work with him. As a result, Maury ends up with every line Shakespeare ever wrote in his memory, and is forced to become Shakespeare's ghostwriter, without getting any of the credit himself.
* BreatherEpisode: The short is nice and goofy to start things off easily, compared to the darker and more intense episodes that follow.
* ChromosomeCasting: There are only four characters, all of which are male.
* DestinationDefenestration: {{Discussed|Trope}}. Maury and Harry's latest play features an English aristocrat named Roger who kills his lover Ethel, but they're stumped as to how he should do it. Harry suggests Roger throwing Ethel out the window, but Maury says that the room they're in is on the first floor of Roger's house, and people don't die from getting thrown out first story windows. This prompts Harry to debate that she could potentially fall into a swimming pool that's being excavated.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Maury meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare after he wishes to work with the greatest playwright ever.
* {{Irony}}: Instead of using his sole wish on the amulet to bring Harry back to life like Harry told him to, Maury instead wishes to be partners with the greatest playwright ever. He ends up being transported into Shakespeare's house, who swipes the amulet and wishes for Maury to work with him. The result is that Maury now knows all of the Bard's plays from memory and is forced to become his uncredited ghostwriter. As a bonus, Harry and Shakespeare are played by the same actor.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Maury selfishly uses his wish to work with the greatest playwright ever instead of bringing his partner Harry back to life. He ends up forced as William Shakespeare's ghostwriter and getting none of the credit for his work. As the cherry on top, the same actor who plays Harry also plays Shakespeare, as if Harry himself is getting the last laugh.
* LateToTheRealization: Harry suffers a heart attack while he's brainstorming lines to Maury. When he collapses, Maury keeps writing down what he thinks are lines and actions, including his groaning and gurgling during the heart attack, before he finds Harry on the floor.
* LighterAndSofter: This short is very silly compared to the much darker episodes that come after it.
* LoserProtagonist: Maury is a dismally unsuccessful playwright whose 17 plays have nearly all been flops that closed on opening night. He's also forced to work in a filthy and cramped office that smells like low tide, and his fishmongering landlord is inches away from throwing him out for being late on the rent. When he gets a free wish, he decides to use the wish to work with the world's greatest playwright instead of bringing Harry back to life. As a result, he ends the episode as William Shakespeare's uncredited ghostwriter. All of his suffering throughout the short is PlayedForLaughs.
* NoNameGiven: Maury's landlord, a fishmonger who keeps hassling Maury for the rent he's owed.
* ShoutOutToShakespeare: While conversing with the Bard himself, Maury offhandedly mentions ''Hamlet'' to William before he's written it, prompting him to explain the plot and Shakespeare to like his ideas.
* StableTimeLoop: Maury uses Harry's amulet to wish for a better writing partner instead of wishing Harry back to life. He is transported to Elizabethan England and immediately meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. After explaining the plot of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' to him, Shakespeare takes the amulet from Maury and wishes for Maury to work with him. Maury's mind is then filled with every line from all of Shakespeare's plays, and it turns out that the Bard's greatest works were written by Maury, using his newfound knowledge.
* ThreeWishes: {{Discussed|Trope}}. As Harry succumbs to a heart attack, he gives an amulet he received from a group of Burmese monks who saved his life in the war to Maury, but tells him that anyone who wears it gets only one wish, and asks Maury to use his wish to bring him back to life. Maury laments why he doesn't get three wishes, since that's the standard deal. So instead of saving Harry's life, Maury wishes to work with the greatest playwright in the world, and is transported back in time to Creator/WilliamShakespeare's house in Elizabethan England.
* TimeTravelEpisode: Maury is sent back in time to Elizabethan England and becomes the uncredited ghostwriter of Creator/WilliamShakespeare.
* WorldOfHam: Maury, Harry, Shakespeare, and Maury's landlord are all rife with ham, considering that first three are playwrights and the latter is played by a noted stage comedian.
* WritersSuck: Maury and Harry are a pair of middle-aged playwrights who have written 17 plays in 22 years, all of which took six months to a year to write, and most of which closed after only one night, none of them ever getting anywhere near Broadway. They're also two months behind on the rent for their filthy, cramped office, and their fishmongering landlord is threatening to throw them out.
[[/folder]]
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Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
A woman (Creator/PiperLaurie) and her nephew pick up a hitchhiker who claims the ultimate evil is upon them!
to:
[[folder:Tropes]]
* AmbiguouslyHuman: The old man compares the "genetically evil" (which includes himself) to locusts, who hibernate in the dirt for 17 years, before undergoing a molt and eating everything and everyone in sight.
* AsideGlance: Doug and his aunt share a nervous one when the boy they pick up questions them about genetic evil.
* TheBadGuyWins: The genetically evil old man "molts" into a young boy, and he is hinted to kill and eat Doug and Neva.
* CassandraTruth: Doug and his Aunt Neva pick up a
* CloudCuckoolander: The old man who Doug and his aunt pick up, who rants about the heat and the genetically evil out to get them.
* CreepyChild: Doug and Aunt Neva pick up a strange boy in a white suit while they drive back from the lake. They soon discover that he is the reincarnation of the seemingly crazed, disheveled man they met earlier that day, and hints that he was genetically evil all along. It is then implied that the boy kills them and eats them.
* DeadlyClosingCredits: In the final scene, the lights of Doug and Neva's car go out after the [[CreepyChild strange boy they picked up]] asks them if there was such a thing as genetic evil.
* EvilAllAlong: The old man/young boy who questions Doug and his aunt about genetic evil is
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The opening shot features a couple of cicada husks clinging to a blade of grass. The old man later rants about the genetically evil, comparing them to insects for their unique rebirthing process. He later undergoes this process himself.
** He also first appears near a dried up mud puddle, which he later reveals is such a place where the genetically evil hibernate.
* HeatWave: The episode is set in 1930s Kansas, which Aunt Neva says is experiencing its hottest July in 16 or 17 years.
* HypocriticalHumor: The old man rebukes Neva as being "nuts" for leaving him on a country road in a monster heat wave, despite the fact that he was ranting about genetically evil people who eat everything in sight to her nephew, terrorizing him in the process.
* ImAHumanitarian: Those who are genetically evil apparently eat people in any fashion they want.
* NoNameGiven: Neither the disheveled man who rants about genetic evil, nor the [[CreepyChild strange boy in the white suit]] he apparently molts into, are named.
* {{Reincarnation}}: The genetically evil old man evidently molts into the creepy boy Doug and Neva encounter that night, before he makes them his dinner.
* SharpDressedMan: The [[CreepyChild boy]] whom Doug and Neva pick up is wearing a very expensive looking white suit. He's hinted to be the old man wearing a similar suit the duo met early in the day, having molted into a new body.
[[/folder]]
Changed line(s) 11,25 (click to see context) from:
A group of friends' (Creator/MorganFreeman, Garrett Morris, Barney Martin, and Creator/MEmmetWalsh) poker game is joined by the Devil (Creator/DanHedaya).
!!This episode contains the following tropes:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Act Break]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: An unsuccessful playwright wishes for a better writing partner than the one he currently has. He finds himself sent back in time, where he meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. He ends up with every line that Shakespeare ever wrote stuck in his memory, and is forced to become Shakespeare's ghost writer, without getting any of the credit or accolades.
* ChromosomeCasting: This episode features no speaking roles for women.
* DestinationDefenestration: {{Discussed|Trope}}. Maury Winkler and Harry are writing a play in which an English aristocrat named Roger kills a woman named Ethel but they can't decide how he should do it. Harry suggests throwing her out the window. When Maury says that people don't die from being thrown out of first story windows, Harry thinks that she should fall into a swimming pool that is being renovated. They eventually agree that Roger should strangle Ethel.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Creator/WilliamShakespeare shows up.
* LighterAndSofter: This episode is very silly compared to the much darker "The Burning Man"
* StableTimeLoop: Maury Winkler uses Harry's amulet to wish for a better writing partner instead of wishing for Harry to [[BackFromTheDead come back to life]]. He is transported to Elizabethan England and immediately meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. Taking the amulet from Maury, Shakespeare wishes for Maury to work with him. Maury's mind is then filled with every line from all of Shakespeare's plays. It turns out that Shakespeare's greatest works were written by Maury using his knowledge of the future.
* ThreeWishes: {{Discussed|Trope}}. After Harry has a heart attack, he gives the amulet that he received from monks in Burma to his partner Maury Winkler and tells him that everyone gets one wish. He asks Murray to use his wish to bring him back to life. Maury laments that he doesn't get three wishes, which is the standard deal. Instead of saving Harry's life, he wishes to work with the greatest playwright in the world and is transported back in time to Creator/WilliamShakespeare's house in Elizabethan England.
* TimeTravelEpisode: Maury Winkler is sent back in time to the Elizabethan era and becomes the uncredited writing partner of Creator/WilliamShakespeare.
* WritersSuck: Maury Winkler and Harry are a pair of middle-aged writers who have written 17 unsuccessful plays in 22 years. Each one took six months to a year to write but most of them closed after only one night and none of them got anywhere near Broadway. They are two months behind on the rent for their filthy, cramped office and the landlord is threatening to throw them out.
!!This episode contains the following tropes:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Act Break]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: An unsuccessful playwright wishes for a better writing partner than the one he currently has. He finds himself sent back in time, where he meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. He ends up with every line that Shakespeare ever wrote stuck in his memory, and is forced to become Shakespeare's ghost writer, without getting any of the credit or accolades.
* ChromosomeCasting: This episode features no speaking roles for women.
* DestinationDefenestration: {{Discussed|Trope}}. Maury Winkler and Harry are writing a play in which an English aristocrat named Roger kills a woman named Ethel but they can't decide how he should do it. Harry suggests throwing her out the window. When Maury says that people don't die from being thrown out of first story windows, Harry thinks that she should fall into a swimming pool that is being renovated. They eventually agree that Roger should strangle Ethel.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Creator/WilliamShakespeare shows up.
* LighterAndSofter: This episode is very silly compared to the much darker "The Burning Man"
* StableTimeLoop: Maury Winkler uses Harry's amulet to wish for a better writing partner instead of wishing for Harry to [[BackFromTheDead come back to life]]. He is transported to Elizabethan England and immediately meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. Taking the amulet from Maury, Shakespeare wishes for Maury to work with him. Maury's mind is then filled with every line from all of Shakespeare's plays. It turns out that Shakespeare's greatest works were written by Maury using his knowledge of the future.
* ThreeWishes: {{Discussed|Trope}}. After Harry has a heart attack, he gives the amulet that he received from monks in Burma to his partner Maury Winkler and tells him that everyone gets one wish. He asks Murray to use his wish to bring him back to life. Maury laments that he doesn't get three wishes, which is the standard deal. Instead of saving Harry's life, he wishes to work with the greatest playwright in the world and is transported back in time to Creator/WilliamShakespeare's house in Elizabethan England.
* TimeTravelEpisode: Maury Winkler is sent back in time to the Elizabethan era and becomes the uncredited writing partner of Creator/WilliamShakespeare.
* WritersSuck: Maury Winkler and Harry are a pair of middle-aged writers who have written 17 unsuccessful plays in 22 years. Each one took six months to a year to write but most of them closed after only one night and none of them got anywhere near Broadway. They are two months behind on the rent for their filthy, cramped office and the landlord is threatening to throw them out.
to:
Close friends Tony, Jake, Marty, and Pete (Creator/MorganFreeman, Garrett Morris, Barney Martin, and Creator/MEmmetWalsh) are enjoying their usual poker night, drinking, playing, and shooting the breeze. The usual fifth player in their group, Norman, is mysteriously absent from tonight's game, and a strange man named Nick (Creator/DanHedaya) says that he's playing on his behalf. When it's noted that every one of Nick's winning hands consists of three sixes, the group come to realize that Nick is the Devil, having come for one of their souls. When it looks as though Pete, the oldest of the group, is on his way to damnation, his friends stand up to Satan and allow him to play a last game with Pete, the winner gaining his soul.
[[folder:Tropes]]
* AffablyEvil: Nick/Satan proves to be far more pleasant than most depictions of him appear. He only takes souls because it's his job, and he shows that he's a good sport when he's caught cheating and loses the game, even rewarding the men with a huge feast and a fully stocked fridge.
* BottleEpisode: The episode takes place entirely in Pete's living room and kitchen.
* ChessWithDeath: Pete, Jake, and Tony correctly deduce that Nick, who has taken Norman's place at their regular poker game, is
!!This episode contains the following tropes:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Act Break]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: An unsuccessful playwright wishes for
* ChromosomeCasting:
*
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Pete and his friends get to keep their souls, and Nick proves himself to be a good sport by rewarding them with a feast and a fridge full of
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Creator/WilliamShakespeare shows up.
* LighterAndSofter: This episode is very silly compared
* StableTimeLoop: Maury Winkler uses Harry's amulet
* TheEndOrIsIt: Even though Nick takes his loss gracefully, he drops a sly remark that he isn't through with the players yet, since he hopes to host their next poker night. The guys are heard in the ending planning to start treating their wives better and going to church regularly to ensure that's not the case.
* IGaveMyWord: The guys learn that Nick is the Devil, and he's come
* IncorruptiblePurePureness / KindheartedSimpleton: Marty, the NiceGuy of the friend group, is
* JustDoingMyJob: While Satan has come to take one of the
* ThreeWishes: {{Discussed|Trope}}. After Harry has a heart attack,
* LouisCypher: The gang of friends find that "Nick", the
* MeaningfulName: The Devil [[LouisCypher uses the name "Nick"]] when he plays poker with Pete, Jake, Tony, and Marty. "Old Nick" is a common nickname for the Devil.
* NumberOfTheBeast: Pete, Jake, and Tony find it odd that Nick, who is filling in for their regular player Norman, always gets three sixes in every hand he's dealt, and come to the conclusion that he's the Devil, which is correct. Later on, when Nick agrees to [[ChessWithDeath play a hand for Pete's soul]], he puts up $18, which Jake points out is another three sixes. This prompts Pete to insist that he
* PlaceWorseThanDeath: The episode is set in
* {{Satan}}: He's Nick's true identity, and even though he's come for Pete's soul, he proves himself to be a pretty affable guy.
* StealthPun: Pete plays a game of one-on-one with Nick, who is actually the Devil, [[ChessWithDeath for his
* SympathyForTheDevil: The Devil/[[MeaningfulName Nick]] is actually a friendly, pleasant fellow who doesn't
*
*
Changed line(s) 27,50 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:The Burning Man]]
* CassandraTruth: Doug and Aunt Neva pick up a dirty, disheveled man while driving through Kansas. He immediately begins ranting and raving about people who are born evil, telling Doug and Aunt Neva that they should be wary of genetic evil. He compares such people to seventeen year locusts and warns that they [[ImAHumanitarian eat people]] "fried, cooked, boiled and parboiled." Aunt Neva has finally had enough of his wild stories and throws him out of her car. That night, the two of them pick up a [[CreepyChild strange boy in a white suit]] who claims to have been left behind after a town picnic. After making the car stop, the boy asks Doug and Aunt Neva, "Have you ever wondered if there was such a thing as genetic evil in the world?" The headlights of the car then go out, implying that he is going to kill Doug and Aunt Neva.
* CreepyChild: Doug and Aunt Neva pick up a strange boy in a white suit while driving through Kansas. They soon discover that he is the genetic evil whom their earlier passenger, a seemingly crazed, disheveled man, warned them about. It is implied that the boy kills them.
* DeadlyClosingCredits: {{Implied|Trope}}. In the final scene, the lights of Doug and Aunt Neva's car go out after the [[CreepyChild strange boy in the white suit]] asks them if they had ever wondered if there was such a thing as genetic evil.
* HeatWave: Kansas is experiencing its hottest July in 16 or 17 years in 1936.
* NoNameGiven: Neither the disheveled man who rants about evil nor the [[CreepyChild strange boy in the white suit]] are named.
* SharpDressedMan: The [[CreepyChild strange boy]] whom Doug and Aunt Neva pick up is wearing a very expensive looking white suit.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Dealer's Choice]]
* BottleEpisode: This episode takes place entirely in Pete's living room and kitchen.
* ChessWithDeath: Pete, Jake and Tony correctly deduce that Nick, who has taken Norman's place at their regular poker game, is the Devil and that he is here for one of them. Nick suggests that they make a game of it: whoever picks the highest card "wins" and gets to go with him. Tony picks an eight, Jake picks a seven and the unfortunate Pete picks a jack. Tony suggests that Pete and Nick play a game of one-on-one, all or nothing. Nick agrees and tries to put up $18 ([[NumberOfTheBeast three sixes]]) but instead puts up $19 at Pete's insistence. As it is dealer's choice, Pete chooses a game of lowball, where the lower hand wins and players don't want matching cards. Being the Devil, Nick has been getting three sixes in every hand. Pete gets four fives and Nick gets three sixes, meaning that Pete loses. However, Marty, who is too innocent for the Devil to trick, reveals that Nick's Tarot death card is in fact a fourth six. After been caught out, Nick leaves empty handed, though not before filling Pete's empty kitchen with food and beer.
* ChromosomeCasting: No women appear in this episode.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: The extremely innocent and not very bright Marty describes ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'' (which he incorrectly calls ''Streetcar Called Desire'') as a great movie all about poker.
* IGaveMyWord: Nick - who's actually the Devil - explains that he's come to claim one of the men's souls during their poker night. After they draw cards to determine who he'll take, he offers Pete, the loser, a chance to [[ChessWithDeath win back his soul]] with one last hand of poker. When Pete wins with some help from his friend Marty, the Devil, rather than lamenting or pulling some kind of trick, [[GracefulLoser accepts the loss]], leaves without a fight, and even rewards the men by conjuring up a massive feast (complete with a fridge packed with all kinds of beer) for them.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: How Nick is ultimately defeated: Marty, the NiceGuy of the friend group, touches the Tarot "Death" card that the Devil pulled during the fatal poker hand with Pete. Turns out that Marty's innocence and faith are [[GoodHurtsEvil anathema to evil]], and the spell on the card is broken, making Pete the winner.
* LouisCypher: A group of friends find themselves playing poker with a stranger named "Nick", who keeps getting three sixes in every hand he is dealt...
* MeaningfulName: The Devil [[LouisCypher uses the name "Nick"]] when he plays poker with Pete, Jake, Tony and Marty. Old Nick is a common nickname for the Devil.
* NumberOfTheBeast: Pete, Jake and Tony find it odd that Nick, who is filling in for their regular player Norman, always gets three sixes in every hand of poker. They come to the conclusion that he is the Devil. Later when Nick agrees to [[ChessWithDeath play one hand for Pete's immortal soul]], he puts up $18, which Jake points out is 6 + 6 + 6. Peter insists that he instead put up $19.
* PlaceWorseThanDeath: This episode makes jokes about [[UsefulNotes/NewJersey New Jersey]] being like {{Hell}}.
* StealthPun: Pete plays a game of one-on-one with Nick, who is in actuality the Devil, [[ChessWithDeath for his immortal soul]]. In the closing narration, it is pointed out that he did not heed the old saying "[[DealWithTheDevil Never deal with the Devil]]."
* SympathyForTheDevil: [[MeaningfulName Nick]] is actually a friendly, pleasant fellow who doesn't revel in taking souls--it's [[PunchClockVillain just his job as Satan]]. Similarly, when he loses the enchanted poker game he set up, he accepts defeat gracefully and bows out, leaving the other players the parting gift of a giant pile of snack food and beer.
[[/folder]]
to:
* ChromosomeCasting: No women appear in this episode.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: The extremely innocent and not very bright Marty describes ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'' (which he incorrectly calls ''Streetcar Called Desire'') as a great movie all about poker.
* IGaveMyWord: Nick - who's actually the Devil - explains that he's come to claim one of the men's souls during their poker night. After they draw cards to determine who he'll take, he offers Pete, the loser, a chance to [[ChessWithDeath win back his soul]] with one last hand of poker. When Pete wins with some help from his friend Marty, the Devil, rather than lamenting or pulling some kind of trick, [[GracefulLoser accepts the loss]], leaves without a fight, and even rewards the men by conjuring up a massive feast (complete with a fridge packed with all kinds of beer) for them.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: How Nick is ultimately defeated: Marty, the NiceGuy of the friend group, touches the Tarot "Death" card that the Devil pulled during the fatal poker hand with Pete. Turns out that Marty's innocence and faith are [[GoodHurtsEvil anathema to evil]], and the spell on the card is broken, making Pete the winner.
* LouisCypher: A group of friends find themselves playing poker with a stranger named "Nick", who keeps getting three sixes in every hand he is dealt...
* MeaningfulName: The Devil [[LouisCypher uses the name "Nick"]] when he plays poker with Pete, Jake, Tony and Marty. Old Nick is a common nickname for the Devil.
* NumberOfTheBeast: Pete, Jake and Tony find it odd that Nick, who is filling in for their regular player Norman, always gets three sixes in every hand of poker. They come to the conclusion that he is the Devil. Later when Nick agrees to [[ChessWithDeath play one hand for Pete's immortal soul]], he puts up $18, which Jake points out is 6 + 6 + 6. Peter insists that he instead put up $19.
* PlaceWorseThanDeath: This episode makes jokes about [[UsefulNotes/NewJersey New Jersey]] being like {{Hell}}.
* StealthPun: Pete plays a game of one-on-one with Nick, who is in actuality the Devil, [[ChessWithDeath for his immortal soul]]. In the closing narration, it is pointed out that he did not heed the old saying "[[DealWithTheDevil Never
* SympathyForTheDevil: [[MeaningfulName Nick]] is actually
[[/folder]]
-----
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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Added DiffLines:
* LighterAndSofter: This episode is very silly compared to the much darker "The Burning Man"
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
A woman (Creator/PiperLaurie( and her nephew pick up a hitchhiker who claims the ultimate evil is upon them!
to:
A woman (Creator/PiperLaurie( (Creator/PiperLaurie) and her nephew pick up a hitchhiker who claims the ultimate evil is upon them!
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
A playwright gains an artifact that will grant one wish per user.
to:
A playwright (James Coco) gains an artifact that will grant one wish per user.
Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
A woman and her nephew pick up a hitchhiker who claims the ultimate evil is upon them!
to:
A woman (Creator/PiperLaurie( and her nephew pick up a hitchhiker who claims the ultimate evil is upon them!
Changed line(s) 11,12 (click to see context) from:
A group of friends' poker game is joined by the Devil.
to:
A group of friends' (Creator/MorganFreeman, Garrett Morris, Barney Martin, and Creator/MEmmetWalsh) poker game is joined by the Devil.
Devil (Creator/DanHedaya).
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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Changed line(s) 11 (click to see context) from:
A group of friends' poker game is joined by the Devil.
to:
A group of friends' poker game is joined by the Devil.Devil.
!!This episode contains the following tropes:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Act Break]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: An unsuccessful playwright wishes for a better writing partner than the one he currently has. He finds himself sent back in time, where he meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. He ends up with every line that Shakespeare ever wrote stuck in his memory, and is forced to become Shakespeare's ghost writer, without getting any of the credit or accolades.
* ChromosomeCasting: This episode features no speaking roles for women.
* DestinationDefenestration: {{Discussed|Trope}}. Maury Winkler and Harry are writing a play in which an English aristocrat named Roger kills a woman named Ethel but they can't decide how he should do it. Harry suggests throwing her out the window. When Maury says that people don't die from being thrown out of first story windows, Harry thinks that she should fall into a swimming pool that is being renovated. They eventually agree that Roger should strangle Ethel.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Creator/WilliamShakespeare shows up.
* StableTimeLoop: Maury Winkler uses Harry's amulet to wish for a better writing partner instead of wishing for Harry to [[BackFromTheDead come back to life]]. He is transported to Elizabethan England and immediately meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. Taking the amulet from Maury, Shakespeare wishes for Maury to work with him. Maury's mind is then filled with every line from all of Shakespeare's plays. It turns out that Shakespeare's greatest works were written by Maury using his knowledge of the future.
* ThreeWishes: {{Discussed|Trope}}. After Harry has a heart attack, he gives the amulet that he received from monks in Burma to his partner Maury Winkler and tells him that everyone gets one wish. He asks Murray to use his wish to bring him back to life. Maury laments that he doesn't get three wishes, which is the standard deal. Instead of saving Harry's life, he wishes to work with the greatest playwright in the world and is transported back in time to Creator/WilliamShakespeare's house in Elizabethan England.
* TimeTravelEpisode: Maury Winkler is sent back in time to the Elizabethan era and becomes the uncredited writing partner of Creator/WilliamShakespeare.
* WritersSuck: Maury Winkler and Harry are a pair of middle-aged writers who have written 17 unsuccessful plays in 22 years. Each one took six months to a year to write but most of them closed after only one night and none of them got anywhere near Broadway. They are two months behind on the rent for their filthy, cramped office and the landlord is threatening to throw them out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Burning Man]]
* CassandraTruth: Doug and Aunt Neva pick up a dirty, disheveled man while driving through Kansas. He immediately begins ranting and raving about people who are born evil, telling Doug and Aunt Neva that they should be wary of genetic evil. He compares such people to seventeen year locusts and warns that they [[ImAHumanitarian eat people]] "fried, cooked, boiled and parboiled." Aunt Neva has finally had enough of his wild stories and throws him out of her car. That night, the two of them pick up a [[CreepyChild strange boy in a white suit]] who claims to have been left behind after a town picnic. After making the car stop, the boy asks Doug and Aunt Neva, "Have you ever wondered if there was such a thing as genetic evil in the world?" The headlights of the car then go out, implying that he is going to kill Doug and Aunt Neva.
* CreepyChild: Doug and Aunt Neva pick up a strange boy in a white suit while driving through Kansas. They soon discover that he is the genetic evil whom their earlier passenger, a seemingly crazed, disheveled man, warned them about. It is implied that the boy kills them.
* DeadlyClosingCredits: {{Implied|Trope}}. In the final scene, the lights of Doug and Aunt Neva's car go out after the [[CreepyChild strange boy in the white suit]] asks them if they had ever wondered if there was such a thing as genetic evil.
* HeatWave: Kansas is experiencing its hottest July in 16 or 17 years in 1936.
* NoNameGiven: Neither the disheveled man who rants about evil nor the [[CreepyChild strange boy in the white suit]] are named.
* SharpDressedMan: The [[CreepyChild strange boy]] whom Doug and Aunt Neva pick up is wearing a very expensive looking white suit.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Dealer's Choice]]
* BottleEpisode: This episode takes place entirely in Pete's living room and kitchen.
* ChessWithDeath: Pete, Jake and Tony correctly deduce that Nick, who has taken Norman's place at their regular poker game, is the Devil and that he is here for one of them. Nick suggests that they make a game of it: whoever picks the highest card "wins" and gets to go with him. Tony picks an eight, Jake picks a seven and the unfortunate Pete picks a jack. Tony suggests that Pete and Nick play a game of one-on-one, all or nothing. Nick agrees and tries to put up $18 ([[NumberOfTheBeast three sixes]]) but instead puts up $19 at Pete's insistence. As it is dealer's choice, Pete chooses a game of lowball, where the lower hand wins and players don't want matching cards. Being the Devil, Nick has been getting three sixes in every hand. Pete gets four fives and Nick gets three sixes, meaning that Pete loses. However, Marty, who is too innocent for the Devil to trick, reveals that Nick's Tarot death card is in fact a fourth six. After been caught out, Nick leaves empty handed, though not before filling Pete's empty kitchen with food and beer.
* ChromosomeCasting: No women appear in this episode.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: The extremely innocent and not very bright Marty describes ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'' (which he incorrectly calls ''Streetcar Called Desire'') as a great movie all about poker.
* IGaveMyWord: Nick - who's actually the Devil - explains that he's come to claim one of the men's souls during their poker night. After they draw cards to determine who he'll take, he offers Pete, the loser, a chance to [[ChessWithDeath win back his soul]] with one last hand of poker. When Pete wins with some help from his friend Marty, the Devil, rather than lamenting or pulling some kind of trick, [[GracefulLoser accepts the loss]], leaves without a fight, and even rewards the men by conjuring up a massive feast (complete with a fridge packed with all kinds of beer) for them.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: How Nick is ultimately defeated: Marty, the NiceGuy of the friend group, touches the Tarot "Death" card that the Devil pulled during the fatal poker hand with Pete. Turns out that Marty's innocence and faith are [[GoodHurtsEvil anathema to evil]], and the spell on the card is broken, making Pete the winner.
* LouisCypher: A group of friends find themselves playing poker with a stranger named "Nick", who keeps getting three sixes in every hand he is dealt...
* MeaningfulName: The Devil [[LouisCypher uses the name "Nick"]] when he plays poker with Pete, Jake, Tony and Marty. Old Nick is a common nickname for the Devil.
* NumberOfTheBeast: Pete, Jake and Tony find it odd that Nick, who is filling in for their regular player Norman, always gets three sixes in every hand of poker. They come to the conclusion that he is the Devil. Later when Nick agrees to [[ChessWithDeath play one hand for Pete's immortal soul]], he puts up $18, which Jake points out is 6 + 6 + 6. Peter insists that he instead put up $19.
* PlaceWorseThanDeath: This episode makes jokes about [[UsefulNotes/NewJersey New Jersey]] being like {{Hell}}.
* StealthPun: Pete plays a game of one-on-one with Nick, who is in actuality the Devil, [[ChessWithDeath for his immortal soul]]. In the closing narration, it is pointed out that he did not heed the old saying "[[DealWithTheDevil Never deal with the Devil]]."
* SympathyForTheDevil: [[MeaningfulName Nick]] is actually a friendly, pleasant fellow who doesn't revel in taking souls--it's [[PunchClockVillain just his job as Satan]]. Similarly, when he loses the enchanted poker game he set up, he accepts defeat gracefully and bows out, leaving the other players the parting gift of a giant pile of snack food and beer.
[[/folder]]
!!This episode contains the following tropes:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Act Break]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: An unsuccessful playwright wishes for a better writing partner than the one he currently has. He finds himself sent back in time, where he meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. He ends up with every line that Shakespeare ever wrote stuck in his memory, and is forced to become Shakespeare's ghost writer, without getting any of the credit or accolades.
* ChromosomeCasting: This episode features no speaking roles for women.
* DestinationDefenestration: {{Discussed|Trope}}. Maury Winkler and Harry are writing a play in which an English aristocrat named Roger kills a woman named Ethel but they can't decide how he should do it. Harry suggests throwing her out the window. When Maury says that people don't die from being thrown out of first story windows, Harry thinks that she should fall into a swimming pool that is being renovated. They eventually agree that Roger should strangle Ethel.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Creator/WilliamShakespeare shows up.
* StableTimeLoop: Maury Winkler uses Harry's amulet to wish for a better writing partner instead of wishing for Harry to [[BackFromTheDead come back to life]]. He is transported to Elizabethan England and immediately meets Creator/WilliamShakespeare. Taking the amulet from Maury, Shakespeare wishes for Maury to work with him. Maury's mind is then filled with every line from all of Shakespeare's plays. It turns out that Shakespeare's greatest works were written by Maury using his knowledge of the future.
* ThreeWishes: {{Discussed|Trope}}. After Harry has a heart attack, he gives the amulet that he received from monks in Burma to his partner Maury Winkler and tells him that everyone gets one wish. He asks Murray to use his wish to bring him back to life. Maury laments that he doesn't get three wishes, which is the standard deal. Instead of saving Harry's life, he wishes to work with the greatest playwright in the world and is transported back in time to Creator/WilliamShakespeare's house in Elizabethan England.
* TimeTravelEpisode: Maury Winkler is sent back in time to the Elizabethan era and becomes the uncredited writing partner of Creator/WilliamShakespeare.
* WritersSuck: Maury Winkler and Harry are a pair of middle-aged writers who have written 17 unsuccessful plays in 22 years. Each one took six months to a year to write but most of them closed after only one night and none of them got anywhere near Broadway. They are two months behind on the rent for their filthy, cramped office and the landlord is threatening to throw them out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:The Burning Man]]
* CassandraTruth: Doug and Aunt Neva pick up a dirty, disheveled man while driving through Kansas. He immediately begins ranting and raving about people who are born evil, telling Doug and Aunt Neva that they should be wary of genetic evil. He compares such people to seventeen year locusts and warns that they [[ImAHumanitarian eat people]] "fried, cooked, boiled and parboiled." Aunt Neva has finally had enough of his wild stories and throws him out of her car. That night, the two of them pick up a [[CreepyChild strange boy in a white suit]] who claims to have been left behind after a town picnic. After making the car stop, the boy asks Doug and Aunt Neva, "Have you ever wondered if there was such a thing as genetic evil in the world?" The headlights of the car then go out, implying that he is going to kill Doug and Aunt Neva.
* CreepyChild: Doug and Aunt Neva pick up a strange boy in a white suit while driving through Kansas. They soon discover that he is the genetic evil whom their earlier passenger, a seemingly crazed, disheveled man, warned them about. It is implied that the boy kills them.
* DeadlyClosingCredits: {{Implied|Trope}}. In the final scene, the lights of Doug and Aunt Neva's car go out after the [[CreepyChild strange boy in the white suit]] asks them if they had ever wondered if there was such a thing as genetic evil.
* HeatWave: Kansas is experiencing its hottest July in 16 or 17 years in 1936.
* NoNameGiven: Neither the disheveled man who rants about evil nor the [[CreepyChild strange boy in the white suit]] are named.
* SharpDressedMan: The [[CreepyChild strange boy]] whom Doug and Aunt Neva pick up is wearing a very expensive looking white suit.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Dealer's Choice]]
* BottleEpisode: This episode takes place entirely in Pete's living room and kitchen.
* ChessWithDeath: Pete, Jake and Tony correctly deduce that Nick, who has taken Norman's place at their regular poker game, is the Devil and that he is here for one of them. Nick suggests that they make a game of it: whoever picks the highest card "wins" and gets to go with him. Tony picks an eight, Jake picks a seven and the unfortunate Pete picks a jack. Tony suggests that Pete and Nick play a game of one-on-one, all or nothing. Nick agrees and tries to put up $18 ([[NumberOfTheBeast three sixes]]) but instead puts up $19 at Pete's insistence. As it is dealer's choice, Pete chooses a game of lowball, where the lower hand wins and players don't want matching cards. Being the Devil, Nick has been getting three sixes in every hand. Pete gets four fives and Nick gets three sixes, meaning that Pete loses. However, Marty, who is too innocent for the Devil to trick, reveals that Nick's Tarot death card is in fact a fourth six. After been caught out, Nick leaves empty handed, though not before filling Pete's empty kitchen with food and beer.
* ChromosomeCasting: No women appear in this episode.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: The extremely innocent and not very bright Marty describes ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'' (which he incorrectly calls ''Streetcar Called Desire'') as a great movie all about poker.
* IGaveMyWord: Nick - who's actually the Devil - explains that he's come to claim one of the men's souls during their poker night. After they draw cards to determine who he'll take, he offers Pete, the loser, a chance to [[ChessWithDeath win back his soul]] with one last hand of poker. When Pete wins with some help from his friend Marty, the Devil, rather than lamenting or pulling some kind of trick, [[GracefulLoser accepts the loss]], leaves without a fight, and even rewards the men by conjuring up a massive feast (complete with a fridge packed with all kinds of beer) for them.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: How Nick is ultimately defeated: Marty, the NiceGuy of the friend group, touches the Tarot "Death" card that the Devil pulled during the fatal poker hand with Pete. Turns out that Marty's innocence and faith are [[GoodHurtsEvil anathema to evil]], and the spell on the card is broken, making Pete the winner.
* LouisCypher: A group of friends find themselves playing poker with a stranger named "Nick", who keeps getting three sixes in every hand he is dealt...
* MeaningfulName: The Devil [[LouisCypher uses the name "Nick"]] when he plays poker with Pete, Jake, Tony and Marty. Old Nick is a common nickname for the Devil.
* NumberOfTheBeast: Pete, Jake and Tony find it odd that Nick, who is filling in for their regular player Norman, always gets three sixes in every hand of poker. They come to the conclusion that he is the Devil. Later when Nick agrees to [[ChessWithDeath play one hand for Pete's immortal soul]], he puts up $18, which Jake points out is 6 + 6 + 6. Peter insists that he instead put up $19.
* PlaceWorseThanDeath: This episode makes jokes about [[UsefulNotes/NewJersey New Jersey]] being like {{Hell}}.
* StealthPun: Pete plays a game of one-on-one with Nick, who is in actuality the Devil, [[ChessWithDeath for his immortal soul]]. In the closing narration, it is pointed out that he did not heed the old saying "[[DealWithTheDevil Never deal with the Devil]]."
* SympathyForTheDevil: [[MeaningfulName Nick]] is actually a friendly, pleasant fellow who doesn't revel in taking souls--it's [[PunchClockVillain just his job as Satan]]. Similarly, when he loses the enchanted poker game he set up, he accepts defeat gracefully and bows out, leaving the other players the parting gift of a giant pile of snack food and beer.
[[/folder]]
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Added DiffLines:
!! Act Break
A playwright gains an artifact that will grant one wish per user.
!! The Burning Man
A woman and her nephew pick up a hitchhiker who claims the ultimate evil is upon them!
!! Dealer's Choice
A group of friends' poker game is joined by the Devil.
A playwright gains an artifact that will grant one wish per user.
!! The Burning Man
A woman and her nephew pick up a hitchhiker who claims the ultimate evil is upon them!
!! Dealer's Choice
A group of friends' poker game is joined by the Devil.
