Good old Laurel. She gave testimony at the murder trial of her husband, and the guy got a long sentence (but not death). For some reason she decides she wants his clothes and there is a pair of glasses he used. When she looks through them, she begins to see visions. She sees the actual murder unfold. Because there are individual segments of the event that are produced, we are led on a merry chase to see what really happened. We find that this woman had a lot of issues with drugs and alcohol and wasn't the most stable. The murder trial took two years of her life as she submerged herself in the evidence. The conclusion is quite interesting to say the least.
4 Reviews
"It was an accident"
planktonrules15 February 2022
In the original "Twilight Zone" episode "Dead Man's Shoes", a body is dumped at the beginning of the story. A bum steals the dead man's shoes...and then begins to think and act like the dead man would have....like he's possessed. This bum turned zombie now goes in search of justice for his murder.
Since this time, there was a remake of the episode in the 1980s (making the dead man a woman) and now in 2002, it's remade again. Fortunately this last remake is more a reworking of the story...so a lot of it is very different and it's in many ways all all new story.
When the show begins, a man is sentenced for murder. The victim's wife thinks the sentence was incredibly lenient and she begins screaming out in court how unjust this was. She clearly wanted the man sentenced to death.
As she is about to leave the courthouse, she asks the prosecutor for her husband's possessions and he gives them to her. Among them are the dead man's glasses....and when the wife tries them on later, she can see the world through the husband's eyes. Can she use this to determine, for sure, if the convicted man is the killer...or is someone else to blame?
As I said above, the story is quite different from the original...and so I think it shouldn't be seen as a remake but a show INSPIRED by "Dead Man's Shoes"...which I really appreciate. Too often the reboots do straight remakes...which is very lazy and the outcome is never as good as the original versions. But here the story is different and in a few ways a bit better than the first version...a real rarity...though overall I still prefer the original.
Despite some innovations, which I liked, the reason I didn't love this episode is that the writing late in the story is a bit of a letdown. There are a few logical problems with the script at this point....but you should see it...perhaps I am overthinking it a bit.
Since this time, there was a remake of the episode in the 1980s (making the dead man a woman) and now in 2002, it's remade again. Fortunately this last remake is more a reworking of the story...so a lot of it is very different and it's in many ways all all new story.
When the show begins, a man is sentenced for murder. The victim's wife thinks the sentence was incredibly lenient and she begins screaming out in court how unjust this was. She clearly wanted the man sentenced to death.
As she is about to leave the courthouse, she asks the prosecutor for her husband's possessions and he gives them to her. Among them are the dead man's glasses....and when the wife tries them on later, she can see the world through the husband's eyes. Can she use this to determine, for sure, if the convicted man is the killer...or is someone else to blame?
As I said above, the story is quite different from the original...and so I think it shouldn't be seen as a remake but a show INSPIRED by "Dead Man's Shoes"...which I really appreciate. Too often the reboots do straight remakes...which is very lazy and the outcome is never as good as the original versions. But here the story is different and in a few ways a bit better than the first version...a real rarity...though overall I still prefer the original.
Despite some innovations, which I liked, the reason I didn't love this episode is that the writing late in the story is a bit of a letdown. There are a few logical problems with the script at this point....but you should see it...perhaps I am overthinking it a bit.
Thou Doth Protest Too Much!
kapelusznik1825 February 2015
****SPOILERS**** With the convicted of murder Stanley Coe,Dion Luther, getting off with a light sentance-15 years to life-for her husband Nick Janus's, William DeVry,murder his wife Laurel,Portia de Rossi,throws a fit in the courtroom feeling that the judge and jury were somehow paid off to let that skunk Coe off so easily. Composing herself and getting somewhat cooled off Laurel then asks the prosecuting D.A Lew Gallo, Peter Kelamis, to hand her over Nick's personal belongings as mementos to the life they both shared together.
It's when Laurel tried on Nick's glasses she started seeing images of what happened and who in fact murdered him through the late Nick Janus's eyes! It was Laurel's best friend Becca Niles, Kristin Lehman, who stood by her side all through her husband's murder trial who was very prominent in the images that Laurel saw! And as it shockingly turned out Becca, her best friend, was having and affair with Nick behind Laurel's back before he was, in him possibly breaking up their relationship, murdered by her!
***SPOILERS*** Confronting Becca about her screwing around with her husband Laurel beats the truth out of her but the truth turned out to be quite different then what she at first thought it was. Now completely insane and locked up in a padded cell Laurel can reflect back on events in her life that ended up putting her there. There was something very fishy in how Laurel acted in wanting to have the book thrown on her husband Nick's killer Stanley Coe. And what that was is her attempt to cover up what she in fact did!
It's when Laurel tried on Nick's glasses she started seeing images of what happened and who in fact murdered him through the late Nick Janus's eyes! It was Laurel's best friend Becca Niles, Kristin Lehman, who stood by her side all through her husband's murder trial who was very prominent in the images that Laurel saw! And as it shockingly turned out Becca, her best friend, was having and affair with Nick behind Laurel's back before he was, in him possibly breaking up their relationship, murdered by her!
***SPOILERS*** Confronting Becca about her screwing around with her husband Laurel beats the truth out of her but the truth turned out to be quite different then what she at first thought it was. Now completely insane and locked up in a padded cell Laurel can reflect back on events in her life that ended up putting her there. There was something very fishy in how Laurel acted in wanting to have the book thrown on her husband Nick's killer Stanley Coe. And what that was is her attempt to cover up what she in fact did!
"He didn't do it."
classicsoncall27 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Another reviewer rightfully points to an original Rod Serling episode of 'The Twilight Zone' titled 'Dead Man's Shoe's' as possibly inspiring this story. I think another good one, perhaps even better, was a 1960 episode of Boris Karloff's 'Thriller' titled 'The Cheaters', about a pair of one hundred-year-old glasses that allowed the wearer to learn the absolute truth about themselves and others. That comes into play here as the story progresses with Laurel Janus (Portia de Rossi) agonizing over the murder of her husband and the convicted killer getting a fifteen year prison sentence. After obtaining some of her husband's possessions, she's attracted to a shimmering presence in his glasses, and when she puts them on, she gets images of the events leading up to Nick Janus's (William deVry) murder. Step by step, she becomes convinced that Mr. Janus's business partner Stanley Coe (Dion Luther) didn't really kill him, turning her attention to best friend Becca (Kristin Lehman) with whom her husband had an affair. The great twist to this story occurs when the glasses finally reveal Nick's real killer, combining in a way, the best of both worlds from 'Thriller' and 'The Twilight Zone'.
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