
The Twilight Zone (1985)
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J. Michael Straczynski — Writer
Episodes 10
What Are Friends For? / Aqua Vita
Alex Mattingly wonders whether his son Jeff's new friend Mike is real or imaginary.
This episode is a cruel "fountain of youth" spin-off. A fortyish reporter is at risk of losing her anchor position on a network evening news broadcast to a younger reporter. She hears about a special type of bottled water from a friend of hers. She orders some at a relatively low cost. It works. Yet she finds she must drink it every day in order to retain her youth. When she orders another 5-gallon container. The price jumps up to $200. She talks to the water deliveryman. He refers he to her as "girlie". She remarks "girlie" is an old term and asks for his actual age. He says something along the lines of "I don't think you'd want to know". She is halfway done with the second bottle and is tearing apart her place looking for items to pawn when her husband shows up. They have no kids. She explains what has happened and decides to end her dilemma by balancing their situations.
Read MoreDream Me a Life
Roger, a curmudgeonly man in a retirement home, has nightmares of an unknown woman trying to hold back some strange creature behind a door in a room filled with candles. He is shocked when that woman, a cataleptic, becomes his next-door neighbor. Roger soon comes to realize that he is somehow tied to the woman, and that even in the dream he can be hurt and possibly killed. The next time he is drawn into the dream he tries to help her, only to realize that she is holding something in - the spirit of her dead husband, as she can't let go of his memory. Roger releases him to pass on to the other side, and slowly begins to reconcile with the woman as she comes back to life.
Read MoreOur Selena is Dying
A young woman, Diane, comes to live with her family, including the dying patriarch Sylena. Much to the doctor's astonishment, Sylena begins to make an astonishing recovery, while Diane begins to show all the signs of rapid aging. The doctor soon deduces the truth: the Brockman's have discovered a way to assure immortality, at the sacrifice of their younger members. When the doctor confronts Sylena, a fire breaks out burning down the house. Diane is restored to her normal youth, and Sylena is taken in as a Jane Doe, and begins to heal herself as a nurse nearby complains of inexplicable burn injuries.
Read MoreActs of Terror
A woman terrorized by her abusive husband finds some small consolation in a statue of a dog given to her by her sympathetic sister. The woman soon discovers that she can summon the dog to life as a huge ferocious beast that will respond when her husband abuses her. He manages to break the statue but the dog is not sent away. Begging for his life, she decides to simply leave, accepting the dog into herself. He tries to stop her but the dog is still there when she needs it.
Read MoreSomething in the Walls
A doctor arrives at his new job in a sanitarium. He discovers the case of a woman who is terribly frightened of things that appear on her walls.
Read MoreThe Mind of Simon Foster
In an impoverished future, Simon Foster goes to a pawnshop to sell some personal items to raise money for rent. The shop owner offers to buy some of his memories. In Simon Foster's life, what could be possibly be valuable?
Read MoreRendezvous in a Dark Place
An old woman with an obsession with death attends funerals for entertainment. One night when an injured thief breaks into her home, she lets him die and waits for Death to come and collect him.
Read MoreSpecial Service
A normal, everyday guy discovers a camera in his closet. Puzzled, a repairman shows up to fix it, and secretly informs him that his life is being televised, and is a top-ratings grabber. The guy, John, doesn't want his life to be aired, and decides to quit. He soon finds that he misses the fame and popularity, albeit was kept secret from him. He has the repairman secretly reinstall the camera, begins to go back to his everyday "popular" televised life, and the ratings start pouring in again.
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