Yet another episode with a very intriguing and thought-provoking concept at its core, this one is about a very mean-spirited man who takes pleasure in verbally bullying and belittling other people including his own much younger wife, and how after he purchases a strangely designed old player piano from the world's rudest shopkeeper, he is soon thrilled to lean that his present to his wife is no ordinary musical instrument, but is in fact blessed/cursed with the ability to make anyone speak and reveal who they really are at heart and to say the secret truths that they never normally would, and he delights in humiliating some of the guests at the birthday party he arranges for his trophy wife, until he takes his cruel games too far and the harsh light of truth is turned upon him... This isn't a haunting, scary or particularly mind-blowing episode, but to me it's quite powerful and rich in the topic that it does explore and the tales like this were just as great in their own way. It basically deals with human emotions, but with a slight mystical extra kick! Barry Morse and his devilish acid-tongued performance really drives the story and it's his character who stands out the most. You can see where the plot is heading almost right away and it doesn't disappoint as the villainous Fitzgerald is revealed to be nothing more than a cowardly scarred child on the inside with no love in his heart, and who only treats people with scorn and ridicule for the attention it gives him, for being alone is what he really fears the most. He sounds so pitiful with the silly "I'll be naughty" line that you almost feel sorry for him as he's left broken and even his butler tells him he's not funny anymore. The most striking moment is undoubtedly the beautiful touching scene when the normally self-deprecating Marge reveals the delicate nature and sweet soul who yearns for true love that she is at heart, it's an extraordinarily deeply moving and magical little sequence, she speaks the words with such passion, and Marge has such a big heart that she doesn't laugh at Fitzgerald at the end even after the horrible joke he played on her, but instead suggests they all leave without taunting him. I love every scene with the piano playing, they're all very intensely engaging, and the episode really lights up during them and they make it stand out. It makes you wonder what you might say if you were under the piano's spell, and if what you revealed about yourself would be more than you could bare. I personally believe that some things are best left hidden, while the truth is generally a good thing, if everyone went around saying exactly what they thought about everyone else all the time you'd probably have a lot more anger, not to mention nobody would be able to look anyone in the eye! So to me this is a great, solid and very emotionally involving offering that is very much worth seeing anytime and is very satisfying, if nothing else it's an honest one! I love this episode to me it's one of the real gems x.
