Rod Serling: Small message of reassurance to that horizontal young lady: "Don't despair. Help is en route. It's coming in an odd form from a very distant place, but it's nonetheless coming." [...] Submitted for your approval, the case of one Miss Agnes Grep, put on Earth with two left feet, an overabundance of thumbs and a propensity for falling down manholes. In a moment, she will be up to her jaw in miracles, wrought by apprentice angel Harmon Cavender, intent on winning his wings. And, though it's a fact that both of them should have stood in bed, they will tempt all the fates by moving into the cold, gray dawn of the Twilight Zone.
Agnes Grep (Carol Burnett) is a kind-hearted klutz who winds up losing her latest job thanks to her own clumsiness. Watching her stumble around from the heavens above is Harmon Cavender (Jesse White), a wisecracking, binge-drinking, heavy-smoking angel. Cavender is known as somewhat of a mere apprentice in his line of work, and a poorly performing one at that, but his boss grants him the opportunity to improve Agnes' life so he can earn his wings. Cavender is also warned that he has 24 hours to complete this task, and failing will result in his demotion. After introducing himself to Agnes, Cavender turns her into a member of high society, but Agnes soon finds out that this kind of life isn't exactly her cup of tea.
Tropes Are Coming:
- Actor Allusion: One of Agnes' fellow usherettes at the movie theater is named "Burnett". Agnes even being an usherette at all is a reference to when Carol Burnett did the same.
- The Alcoholic: Cavender is a very heavy drinker, spending his time at Agnes' high society party getting drunk off the booze that's being served, to the point where he passes out on the couch and wakes up a few hours before his deadline.
- All-Loving Hero: Though she's a klutz of the highest order, Agnes shows love to everyone in her life, be they her friends, neighbors, or children.
- Author Appeal: The episode takes liberties to recreate a moment or two to recreate Carol Burnett's life as she plays Agnes. The opening scene where she works as a movie theater usherette is a reference to when Burnett did the same for one of her earliest jobs, complete with the manager giving her tons of silent signals to follow.
- Be Yourself: Cavender turns Agnes into a very wealthy woman and a member of high society. When all of her old friends and neighbors fail to recognize her, she tells him that she was happy as she previously was, even though she was unemployed and far behind on the rent. Cavender returns things to normal, telling Agnes that money doesn't guarantee contentment, and that she's the richest woman that he knows.
- Brick Joke: Agnes tells Cavender she goes bowling every Thursday night, describing it as the highlight of her week. At the end of the episode, Cavender and his boss watch her bowl just offscreen. As they note that her fingers are still stuck in the bowling ball's holes when she throws it and she presumably slides all the way down the lane, it's revealed she's as clumsy at play as she is at work.
- Cigar Chomper: Cavender is often seen smoking a cigar to illustrate that he's not your average angel.
- Denser and Wackier: Hopeless klutz Agnes gets her life "improved" by a wise-cracking, poorly-performing guardian angel who hopes to earn his wings. It's just like "Mr. Bevis" from Season 1, only with a lot more comedy involved.
- Fantastic Comedy: Guardian angel Cavender attempts to improve Agnes' life, and they get into all sorts of wacky hijinks in the process.
- Friend to All Children: Agnes adores the children who live in her building, regularly baby-sitting them and giving them sweets whenever she comes home.
- Guardian Angel: Cavender is assigned as Agnes' guardian angel to see whether he can improve her life in 24 hours and finally earn his wings.
- Kindhearted Simpleton: Agnes may be otherworldly levels of clumsy, but she's got a huge heart for everyone in her life.
- The Klutz: Agnes, whom Serling's opening narration describes as having "two left feet, an overabundance of thumbs, and a propensity for falling down manholes."
- Laugh Track: The episode featured a laugh track during its original airing and in early syndication, being the only episode of the series to do so. It was removed from syndication prints in the mid-1980s.
- Motor Mouth: The socialites at the high society party Agnes is throwing all talk rapidly and in terms she's never heard before. The camera repeatedly shows this from her perspective, with the audio even speeding up to illustrate how disoriented she is with the whole thing.
- Poorly Disguised Pilot: Just like "Mr. Bevis", this episode was the pilot for a sitcom that was never made. Evidently, this was the second attempt to have it greenlit.
- Race Against the Clock: Cavender has a strict 24-hour deadline to improve Agnes' life. If he fails, he risks being demoted.
- Recycled Premise: The episode's plot is an exact rehash of "Mr. Bevis", as a guardian angel attempts to improve a comedic protagonist's life with wacky shenanigans. Both episodes served as the pilot for an unproduced sitcom, with this one being Rod Serling's second attempt to get it greenlit.
- Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Cavender changes Agnes' life so that she is a wealthy and extremely successful woman. They are the only ones to remember the previous version of her life, in which she was extremely clumsy and unable to hold down a job.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: As the first demonstration of his abilities to Agnes, Cavender turns the bus they're riding on into a horse-drawn carriage, then into a sports car, before turning it back to normal. The driver, utterly confused, tells the two of them that if anyone asks, he's resigning his post. The man puts his hat on the dashboard and promptly leaps out the closed window.
- Shout-Out: Just like Clarence Oddbody in It's a Wonderful Life, Cavender is assigned to help someone so he can earn his wings.
- Talking with Signs: A variation. Cavender writes "Guardian Angel" in thin air to prove to Agnes that he's telling the truth about his identity.
- Win-Win Ending: Both parties come out on top in the end. Agnes learns to love her life just as it is, and Cavender finally gets his wings for allowing Agnes to see that fact.
Rod Serling: A word to the wise now to any and all who might suddenly feel the presence of a cigar-smoking helpmate who takes bankbooks out of thin air. If you're suddenly aware of any such celestial aids, it means that you're under the beneficent care of one Harmon Cavender, guardian angel. And this message from the Twilight Zone: "Lotsa luck!"
