CBSRMT Bombs

[TMal]

Like all dedicated websites, the CBSRMT forum is full of suggestions for the "best 5 episodes." Now, as much as I love the CBSRMT experience, I have to admit that not all episodes were knockouts.
So I thought I would good naturedly ask, in my best Simpson's comic book store guy voice, "What is the worst episode ever?"

To start off, I will nominate "Phantom Lullaby", a story I recently heard that truly drove me to the depths of listening to radio Disney instead. Definitely a road trip I'd rather not remember.

No rules here - except it must be based on storyline, script or acting - bad encodes don't qualify.

[brian1984_2001]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The worst episode ever is "Appointment in Uganda". The guy dreams he's a baby elephant and finds virtue in their attitudes and behavior. So he tries to incorporate that into his human life.

this episode is bad in every way. A truly atrocious script from the infamous Elspeth Eric. Horrible acting by almost everyone involved. Arnold Stang's voice is as melodious as a circular saw cutting concrete.

Just thinking of EG Marshall being involved in this episode is as sad to me as thinking of Bela Lugosi in "Plan 9 from Outer Space".

My runner up is "Through the Looking Glass".

[TMal]

Brian,

I've read a few of your comments regarding Elspeth Eric, and at the time I really didn't understand. However, now that I've listened to a few more episodes, I have to concur. Note that my submittal was one of her scripts. Her dialogue and character development are consistently secondary to the storyline, which is a trap that a lot of bad sci-fi movies fall in to as well. It seems they concentrate so hard on the special effects and storyline that they forget the audience needs a character to relate/empathize with. At the other end of the spectrum is Ian Martin's character in the recent SOTW "The Secret Chamber." By the title alone I knew the storyline halfway through the episode, but it didn't matter - I kept listening because I cared about the characters.
Not being a neccesarily avid reader of fiction nor a writer of anything beyond banal banter, this character/plot analysis surprises me. Somewhere in heaven, my high school Literature teacher is proclaiming, "YES! The dork finally gets it! And it only took him 25 years!"

I digress. I'll have to give "Appointment in Uganda" a go when I feel the need for a dose of self-induced brutality. Thanks Brian!

[Lagavulin]

I must agree with Brian about Appointment in Uganda. What a dog!
Scanning through my listening logs, here are others that gave low ratings:

#0038 Under Grave Suspicion
#0054 The Thing in the Cave
#0084 The Death Bell
#0197 Poe Week: The Premature Burial
#0313 The Poisoned Pen
#0314 Appointment in Uganda
#0382 Lamps of the Devil

[TMal]

Lagavulin,

I was just about to put "The thing in the cave" on the platter when I read your list. I'll have to give it a try Friday night....after a couple of Hefeweizens and Brats. Thanks - T

[Fizzlestix]

I don't know about you, but if you haven't visited Stephanie's Room, then do yourself a favor - don't!

[TMal]

That's pretty harsh - no redeeming value eh? :D

[Fizzlestix]

[quote:bd4fdec8b6="TMal"]That's pretty harsh - no redeeming value eh? :D [/quote:bd4fdec8b6]

It's the story of two women. One woman (A) bought a house with her husband and after years of living there, felt something odd about a certain bedroom... as though the room didn't like her.

The other woman (B) was the young girl (grown) who once lived in that certain room while growing up. She had a close relationship with the room.

The room itself never spoke, but mumbled and garbled a lot. It made me roll my eyes when I listened to it.

The second woman (B) decided she wanted to visit the old room. She didn't know why, just did. So, she goes to the house.

The first woman (A) let's her in and they chat before woman (B) says she'd like to see the room she grew up in.

From there, the episode - in my opinion - goes completely silly. Not only unbelievable, but weird in a way I can't describe.

SPOILER... scroll down a bit:
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You see, the woman (B) begins to mentally regress back to her childhood. The room begins to change back to when she was a kid (drapes, paint, etc). And the woman (A) suddenly herself goes whacky and starts acting like the other woman's mother.

What I found most irritating is that the woman (B) begins talking like a child when she regresses. It's the kind of a thing that an actress with a smoky, sultry voice just shouldn't try.

The redeeming part of this is that there is in some, odd way, a positive outcome. That two whacky, lonely women somehow find comfort in one another (as mother and daughter) and comfort in a room that garbles when it speaks.

I recommend giving it a go if it sounds interesting to you. I was making a "face" when I posted my original post about it. ;o)

Best wishes,

Fizz