Amazing Stories 1.10

Remote Control Man

starring Sydney Lassick

written by Douglas Lloyd McIntosh, Steven Spielberg

directed by Bob Clark

Walter (Sydney Lassick) has a miserable life. He hates his job. His wife and children hate him. His only solace in life is his television, until his wife sells it so that she can buy some clothes. He goes out and buys a new television that changes everything. The remote control transforms his wife into a participant in a beauty pageant. His sons get transformed into Face (from the A-Team) and Arnold (from Different Strokes). 

Things seem better at first but they quickly spinout of control. Walter uses the remote control over and over again until the house is filled with people from television including but not limited to June Cleaver (from Leave to Beaver), Aunt Esther (from Sanford and Son), Lyle Alazado (from the Oakland Raiders), Richard Simmons, the Incredible Hulk, and Ed McMahon (from the Tonight Show). Eventually it all gets to be too much at which point Walter makes them all go away.

Thoughts

This seems to be one of those cautionary tales. I'm not sure if I care for the message or buy that Walter's wife would have changed for the better at the end of the episode.

I enjoyed this episode. It isn't great but it was wacky fun, especially seeing all those characters and actors that I recognized together in one place. 

Notes

This is the only episode of this show in which Sydney Lassick appeared. He was also in an episode of Moonlighting, 2.11 The Bride of Tupperman. He was also in a few movies I have watched including Deep Cover (1992).

The Hulk was not played by Lou Ferrigno but by Jake Steinfeld whom I remember best from the Body by Jake ads on the back of the TV Week section of the Sunday newspaper. All the other characters that i mentioned above were played by the actors who played them in their respective TV shows.

Also seen in this episode was Clara Peller who became famous as the lady who asked "Where's the Beef?" in TV ads for Wendy's.

This is the only episode of this show that Douglas Lloyd McIntosh has a hand in writing. This is the only episode of this show that Bob Clark directed. He also directed A Christmas Story (1983).