User Reviews

Bruce Weitz plays a man labeled a "murderer." Actually, he never killed another human being. He is visited by a psychologist who is hoping to rehabilitate him. It turns out that we have leaped into a future (not unlike the one we have now) where people can never get a moment's peace from the their devices. While the devices are slightly different than they are now, they monopolize time and thought and take over our existences. Weitz tells a tale of being constantly attacked with noise from every direction, from his boss, his children, his wife. He get so wound up in his disdain for noise that he decides to start destroying the devices. He even shoots his refrigerator and his oven. Weitz, who played Nick Belker on "Hill Street Blues," is the perfect protagonist. He has that dangerous unbalance that works great in this part. This is certainly a prophetic episode and doesn't even seem that far-fetched these days.

This episode 2 from season 4 of "The Ray Bradbury Theater" called "The Murderer" is one that's ahead of it's time as it captures the fast paced world of technology and it's items and how it affects the world and it's people. It involves a mental health doctor who visits a prison and it's unique inmate Albert Brock(Bruce Weitz) who's a guy who hates sounds as he has destroyed any device that talks or interrupts life like phones, and computers. Really this episode was ahead of it's time as now in the present day viewers can relate to some of the episodes themes. However the episode twist in the end as it's like the disdain for technology rubs off on the doctor!

The episode is 31 years old and is just as relevant today.

My wife has a Zoom workout a couple of times a week and is used to coming downstairs to find me watching tv or surfing the web. She was worried about me when she came down a few times in a row to find me sitting on the couch, doing.....nothing. No music, no phone, no computer, no tv.....just......sitting.

Unlike the main character in the show, the constant aural assault on our senses didn't break me but I realized that there is nothing quite as remarkably freeing as silence.

Very well done given the limits on special effects at the time. Would love to see a redux.

I promise... no real spoilers.

While Bradbury has written many great things in the past, I believe it is this short televised story that will remain his most prophetic for the 21st century.

I remember watching this shortly after it's premiere and it's message was quite subtle. It's about "me time". At the time, I just couldn't relate to the message. Where is the line between communication, keeping in touch, and just plain harassment. Now, in 2011, the average person is bombarded with messages all the time. We get texts, cellphone calls, beeps, tweets, alerts, through our iPhones, iPods, laptops, and emails and (insert your least favorite device here).

In 1990, cell phones were a luxury and rarely seen. Bradbury and the producers of this episode were relying on the popular devices at the time - ie: The telephone (lapel phone, precursor to our cells), fax machine, television, radios, pagers, loudspeakers, and conference calls. Bradbury brilliantly illustrates through his interpretation of the human condition where we as people must take a stand and say, "Enough! Too far!" He brings this into shocking relief through simplicity. The illustration and comparison of silence to the ambient noise we're exposed to constantly and have voluntarily desensitized ourselves to. This episode is a must see for anyone who thinks that our communication problem has gone too far.

This is my favorite episode in the show, if you can believe that. This is a funny one but it's also a satire on the dehumanization technological subculture has caused. Don't get me wrong I love technology as much as the next guy, but as an old saying goes too much of a good thing or anything isn't healthy. What's interesting is how prolific this story is now prolific this story is because it predicted or was prolific on the cell phone subculture and things like the verbal command device Alexis we have right now.

You're sympathetic with the suspect in question, he's a murderer but the real question isn't who but what. We get his back story where he pretty much is just an ordinary guy that goes about his day, until one day the noise of the electronics just really gets to him which is both funny and sad to see. Really like the sound effects on it, just hearing it you can easily understand how he's driven to what he's done, if I was ever in a room and heard all this for hours I'd lose my cool or worse my sanity.

Some devices are unnecessary and useless like a door mat that tells you to wipe your feet, seriously you really need a device to tell you that. But it's also the constant dehumanization that we see from people talking on phones and use of tech but not really talking and interacting with each other.

One day he just had enough and picks up this gizmo which is some sort of disruptor, I think. As it constantly destroys electronic devices of every kind. It's funny as we're just seeing him just running with it and madly laughing with joy and relief at the destruction of these devices. But also, this character I feel is doing something most of us in our subconscious think of doing to free ourselves of our technological devices that are just getting on our nerves.

I like this one thing he says about how constantly advancing tech is like a whining child constantly demanding more. That sort of gets at adjustment blues we all have with changes that come too rapidly. Personally, I like changes if their positive ones and come at the right pace or when necessary. Though I also like what he says about not wanting to fall in line with societal standards that their not always right; he really has a point why the hell should we, says who, it's kind of stupid when you think about it, it's could be like jumping off a bridge because someone told you to.

If there is a moral to this is, don't let technology run or be your whole life. Unplug or tune off for a little while and tune into life, otherwise you can never be truly free.

Rating: 4 stars

Telephones are no longer just to communicate, the internet is everywhere, and screens have taken over our lives. This is reality today and Bradbury saw it coming years before we even had the technology. Some stories of Bradbury work better than others on screen and this one is one of those that is somewhere in the middle.

I loved this so much because at the time I saw it I was already past the time period technologically speaking we had all of it and umansvare so hooked

Psychiatrists are Medical Doctors btw. The "Doctor" was a " Office of Mental Health" Social(ist) Worker and someone that demands to be called Doctor..where have we heard that in 2020. And prisons run by social workers, LOL. Another socialist prophecy story "we're still a democracy" hint America used to be a Republic aka a democracy with minority rights, but No longer. The only reason not rare a 10 is it did not foresee all the technology changes of social media.