Strictly opinion here, of course, but I thought "The Pardon" to be extremely weak on all levels. In classic RMT-at-less-than-its-best style, the episode is impossibly padded; Act 1 could easily be completely dropped--the story should really start with the wife's fear of her husband returning home, with a quick flashback explaining why he was in prison in the first place. As for her fear, it's never sufficiently motivated; the fact that he popped off in anger at the trial just isn't enough to carry the story for two more acts. The writer, Gerald Keane, seems to realize this, and so we get what at first appears to be the best scene in the play--the husband's apparent frightening return, his obviously homicidal behavior--only to find that it's all just a dream (possibly the hoariest bad-writing cliche of them all). Moreover, Act 3 includes as time filler a pointless diversion in which the characters at first believe the husband has been released, only to find out it was someone else. I never believed for a second that Larry Haines's voice was that of a seriously injured coal miner, and no one else was very convincing, either. So, big trouble here on all fronts! I think Mr. Keane never really figured out what he wanted to do with this story. It's one of those RMTs that has the inescapable feeling of a writer determinedly filling pages any way he can until he reaches the magic 45-minute mark--then handing it off to Himan Brown with nary a second glance. At least it was nice to hear Mr. Brown's voice as the bus station clerk. Other than that, I can't think of anything to recommend "The Pardon."

A simple story in which, if you have a mother in law that you don't care for, you might have some fun with. Larry Haines does a good job playing characters that slowly go nuts. He's pretty good in this one too. Carol is an okay actress and the guy playing the father is pretty lame really. In Act 2 when it jumps forward in time quite a few years it kind of changes direction. Carol's character gets kind of cliched. And the ending is almost like an ending to another story. Not one of the worst I've heard from CBSRMT but not one of the best either.

This show reminds me of that old joke of 2 cannibals sitting around the fire, one of them says, "I hate my mother-in law." The other one says, "Then here, try the potatoes." I'm sorry that was a bad joke, by mother-in law loved it though.

To VWATSON . . . Thank You for the link to the show!!!! This is kinda strange. I agree with all the earlier comments to a large degree. But I ended up liking the show, even if it was a bit padded, etc. And I'm a bachelor with no M.I.L. to identify with. But the show held me, even if the ending seemed a little lackluster. I kept waiting for the missing "treasure" to show up . . . but I guess it never existed. The strange dream episode, the mistaken announcement of Jack's death, the unaccounted guilt of the wife . . . well, it was effortless for me to stay with the story; not always the case with RMT. Not a favorite? Okay I agree, not a favorite. Not enough exotica to make it a truely memorable tale. Feel a bit sorry for Jack. Bad accident, wrongful conviction, deceased wife . . . I hate it when that stuff happens.

The most pathetic thing about this play was the part of the father. He must have been hen pecked to the point of numbness. Moving himself and his wife into a home where he is unwelcome, having no feeling when his son-in-law kills his wife, accident notwithstanding. Finally when that same son-in-law is responsible for the death of his daughter, he actually defends him. I would hate to be that guy.

His part didn't really require much acting on his part. He was just a minor character in the story.

As usual, I'm happy some of the commercials have been preserved. Wish there were more, and it would've been interesting to hear the newscast at the end, wouldn't it? I appreciate the good sound quality of this episode. Was this one not done in acts? I listen as I try to fall asleep, so I might have missed him, but I don't recall hearing EG do anything but the intro and wrap-up.

I'm the odd woman out because I really like this episode. Larry Haines is very good in it...the dream sequence actually frightened me while I was trying to sleep.

Yes, he was really good. That scene was terrifying, lol! I don't blame Anna for being afraid after that dream, lol! As I said in my comment below, if they had just let her die of fear at the end, maybe that would have been understandable, but I don't get where the guilt thing comes in.

I don't get it. Why did Anna die at the end? Okay, I understand she was afraid of her husband, but why was she guilty? That's the part that isn't explained. The ending implies that her guilt killed her in the end, but what was she guilty of? She blamed herself for her husband going to jail? But I don't get that. He was the one who killed her mother, (even if it was accidental). So, are we supposed to believe that she was so tortured with guilt that she died?