This episode starts off very poorly. John Hoyt and Inger Stevens are at home as the mother (Irene Tedrow) sits there--making orgasmic sounds as the maid massages her shoulders. It's a horrible case of overacting and the show's director SHOULD have told the veteran actress to emote a lot less! Sadly, it comes off rather badly as a result.
Soon, Stevens begins having a bit of a hissy-fit. Sure, the character was right that Tedrow's sounds of pleasure were overboard and her contention that having all these perfect robot servants was bad might have made sense...had she, too, not overacted during this soliloquy! It's ironic--think about a person overacting as they comment about another overacting! Again, poor direction was perhaps the problem.
Stevens also seems to hate how she's been locked up in this house all her life. She hates this as she feels like a prisoner in her own home. What happens next (and it's not even halfway through the show) is 100% predictable. And with all these histrionics, it's a LONG way to the end! This is an odd episode, because usually no matter how bad the plot, the acting is always top-notch on this series. Here, however, THE weakest link clearly is the acting--which is often histrionic and fake. As for the plot, it's okay but not enough to support the half-hour format, as the twist is very, very clear from the onset. Not a good show by any standard.
Soon, Stevens begins having a bit of a hissy-fit. Sure, the character was right that Tedrow's sounds of pleasure were overboard and her contention that having all these perfect robot servants was bad might have made sense...had she, too, not overacted during this soliloquy! It's ironic--think about a person overacting as they comment about another overacting! Again, poor direction was perhaps the problem.
Stevens also seems to hate how she's been locked up in this house all her life. She hates this as she feels like a prisoner in her own home. What happens next (and it's not even halfway through the show) is 100% predictable. And with all these histrionics, it's a LONG way to the end! This is an odd episode, because usually no matter how bad the plot, the acting is always top-notch on this series. Here, however, THE weakest link clearly is the acting--which is often histrionic and fake. As for the plot, it's okay but not enough to support the half-hour format, as the twist is very, very clear from the onset. Not a good show by any standard.