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Title

The Visions of Sir Philip Sidney

Plot

A Zulu War veteran in 19th century London begins to think he is suffering from delusions when he starts seeing people on a train that no one else seems to notice.

Episode

1315

Air Dates

  • First Run - April 14, 1982
  • Repeat - July 21, 1982

Actors

Writer

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Rating

43
34     9


4 Responses to Episode 1315

This is JMHO, but some of the 1982 shows seemed somewhat downbeat on the RMT. I always thought the cast seemed to know this season was their last, though there were still some good ones. This particular one, based on a short story, was surprising. Sir Philip Sydney is a wealthy Briton who frequently rode the trains there on business. He was a veteran of the Zulu wars in South Africa (anyone remember that Micheal Caine flick about that: "Zuluuuuuuu!!!!!") and saw some horrible things, though he may not have been completely forthright about his military service there. On three separate occasions, he's quite shaken by meeting, a: a gentleman who smokes (who reminds him of one of his former compatriots in the war), b: a beautiful, mysterious, hooded lady (who reminds Sir Phillip of his wife, whom he met during the war while she was with the Red Cross and who he's having some marital problems with), and c: another man (who reminds him of his good friend, also a Scotland Yard inspector). Sir Phillip is terrified because each of them (who no one else on the train or at the train stations can recall seeing) leaves a bloody footprint behind when they walk away from him. He is afraid he's going insane. Here's the surprising part: how many of you would predict, when you learned that he's having a sort of premonition about these people, and that the premonition means that he'll be shooting all THREE of them, that this would have a happy ending? Amazingly, this one does.

Mike Masters

3 stars--difficult episode to really get into. However, a very happy ending.

DAVY JOE

Just a couple of stand-outs in this episode. At the very beginning of this recording the radio station has the sounds of a Halloween type theme with eerie spooky sounds and women screaming with fright, and an announcer says stay tuned for the mystery theater. Yet what follows is a dreary and boring story of a rich English gentleman traveling a train and talking to some traveling companions. That is about as frightening as it gets. The second stand-out is actually the commercial near the end when Tammy Grimes says she will be right back for the conclusion. Two women are dress shopping but the largest dress is a size 12. First woman says she would have to lose weight then. Next woman says have you tried diet pills. Yes but it doesn't help. Well then you should try Aids which are diet pills and so much more. The commercial ends with the woman buying the dress then saying I can fit in it now because "I have Aids." Now if I can remember HIV started to become world wide news around 1982 because Rock Hudson caught it and died of Aids in the year 1983, I believe. (without doing any research). Something tells me this Aids diet pill commercial didn't do very well, and soon the product went out of production, because I certainly haven't heard of it lately.

D.C. Klinkensmit

You are correct, D.C. Klinkensmit - the AIDS epidemic ruined the Ayds diet pill business - although the Ayds diet pill was around much longer before some idiot named the disease AIDS. ("The product was originally introduced by the Carlay Company of Chicago. A U.S. trademark was registered in 1946 claiming first use in commerce was in 1937." ... ) I think Ayds should've sued, but then, again - maybe that diet candy didn't work all that well. They did taste good though. ;)

D.Reeger


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