Originally airing on 31 March 1988, "Now You See It...." begins with a late-night businessman who falls through an elevator cab. The elevator system, Theta, was made by Austin James, and he's called in to check on what could've gone wrong.
While checking out the systems, Austin encounters Arthur Randolf (Nicholas Hormann), a businessman eager to take advantage of the recent death by buying out the company working there. That night, another businessman, in a completely different building, also dies due to an Elevator Failure. At this point, Austin begins to think someone must be plotting murder. This leads him to follow up clues on a blind sculptor (Severn Darden).
This episode provides examples of:
- Artificial Intelligence: Austin designed Theta, an elevator control system that responds to voice-activated command and apparent natural language.
- Bluffing the Murderer: At the climax of the episode, Austin James has recreated the murder method that was used to kill the previous two businessmen. He confronts his prime suspect with the situation (which includes an empty elevator shaft covered by a Hologram) and tricks him into confessing. The murderer does, but then tosses Austin down the empty shaft. Serendip's CEO and several police come out from around corners to arrest him. (Austin is fine, having anticipated this, lying safely on a crash cushion.)
- Deaf Composer: John Bolt is a sculptor who had gone blind many years ago. He now works out of a junkyard, manufacturing kinetic sculptures that mostly work on electricity. He says he hates rich businessmen and only sells the worst of his creations to them (for inflated prices) because he hates them. He refuses to sell to Austin, though, since Austin merely annoys him.
- Elevator Failure: Two businessmen, in two different buildings, within one day of each other, fall to their deaths in empty elevator shafts. Austin is quickly convinced these deaths are murder, since he's the designer of the Theta elevator system, and his stuff would never fail to work. He's right; the culprit used a modified control circuit to override the commands to Theta and a Hologram to make it look like the elevator cab had arrived.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: At the end of the episode, Austin reveals that the IRS audit that Mickey had been so worried about is completely over, and he's even taken the trouble to catalogue and organize all of his finances for the past several decades. Impressed, Mickey goes to look inside one of the boxes, and learns that they were just Holograms. "What can I say? Life's an illusion." Both of them quietly laugh at the joke.
- Fake Assassination: Austin is framed as the perpetrator of an attempted assassination against the CEO of Serendip. This would've been the third murder in a week for the true culprit, but he didn't actually need the CEO dead, just getting Austin framed for it would be enough to complete his plans.
- Frame-Up: Mickey is sitting at Serendip's board of directors, representing Austin's stake as President, when Austin comes in through the door and shoots the Serendip CEO. Except she had just dropped him off at the warehouse, alone. Everyone at the Board Meeting had seen a Hologram, a realistic one that was accompanied by a very real assassination attempt against Serendip's CEO, who had just started trying to remove Austin from his role as President of Serendip.
- Hitler Cam: Whenever the camera is about to show an interior shot of one of three corporate buildings (Etco, Vivatech, or Serendip), we get a shot of that building from very close by, tilting the camera up to observe the top. Serendip is rather low and squat, but the other two are skyscrapers, making them visually imposing.
- Hologram:
- It is hinted at during the first death, but confirmed at the climax; someone is using holographic projectors to convince businessmen to step into empty elevator shafts.
- After Austin has figured out who the murderer is, he and Mickey encounter a detour that sends them over to a new interstate road. Suddenly, the road disappears. When they go back down the ramp, they can't find any detour signs.
- Mickey is sitting at Serendip's board of directors, representing Austin's stake as President, when Austin comes in through the door and shoots the Serendip CEO. Except she had just dropped him off at the warehouse, alone.
- During the falling action of the episode, Austin reveals that he's boxed up everything about his finances so that Mickey doesn't have to worry about his taxes any more. She goes to check on them...and her hand passess right through them. "Life is an illusion."
- Improvised Lockpick: Austin picks the lock of a van with a paperclip.
- The Name Is Bond, James Bond: Rendolf pretends not to recognize Austin ("Mr, uhh") when he strolls into the businessman's office, inviting Austin to introduce himself as "James, Austin James".
- Overcomplicated Menu Order: Austin orders a drink on Mickey's behalf while they're visiting Rendolf's office. It's designed to be complicated enough that it will take the secretary several minutes to make the order, but also shows off that Austin knows exactly what they have available, ensuring that it is within her abilities.She'll have a glass of Renoit spring water from the Arminouc region of France, with shaved ice and a lemon twist.
- Title In: Whenever the camera is about to show an interior shot of one of three corporate buildings (Etco, Vivatech, or Serendip), we get a caption at the bottom of the screen naming the building and the time/weekday.
- Tricked to Death: A murderer lures people into empty elevator shafts, by using a Hologram to make it look like the elevator cab had arrived.
