There was a line in the story by Fats Brown spoken to Jesse Cardiff that made me chuckle, because I was almost certain it played havoc with the casting of the characters. "Why when I was your age I would have jumped at the chance" was Fats' (Jonathan Winters) way of challenging Jesse (Jack Klugman) to put it all on the line in a billiard battle showdown. Trouble is, Klugman was actually older than Winters, and it showed. I'm surprised Serling actually went along with it.
Not that it mattered much, because the story itself was the attraction more than the actors (although in hindsight that might not necessarily be the case). In another genre, this would have been your classic 'fastest gun in the West' picture, with the good guy being challenged by the rowdy punk upstart. In that situation, the stakes would really have been life or death, but in a game of pool? And by the way, what was Fats going to give up if he lost the match? We find out, but it wasn't such a bad trade-off. Had Jesse known Fats would have gone fishing for an eternity, he might have held out for a better deal.
I liked this episode, and was surprised to read the naysayers coming in at about half the reviews on this board. It kept the suspense up pretty well, and you never really had a good idea who was going to get to three hundred first. If I didn't know better, I'd say maybe Fats missed that last shot on purpose. You can just take so many challenges before your stamina or luck runs out; I'd say Fats went out in style and right on cue.
Not that it mattered much, because the story itself was the attraction more than the actors (although in hindsight that might not necessarily be the case). In another genre, this would have been your classic 'fastest gun in the West' picture, with the good guy being challenged by the rowdy punk upstart. In that situation, the stakes would really have been life or death, but in a game of pool? And by the way, what was Fats going to give up if he lost the match? We find out, but it wasn't such a bad trade-off. Had Jesse known Fats would have gone fishing for an eternity, he might have held out for a better deal.
I liked this episode, and was surprised to read the naysayers coming in at about half the reviews on this board. It kept the suspense up pretty well, and you never really had a good idea who was going to get to three hundred first. If I didn't know better, I'd say maybe Fats missed that last shot on purpose. You can just take so many challenges before your stamina or luck runs out; I'd say Fats went out in style and right on cue.