Season 1, Episode 31
Written by Robert Presnell Jr., based on a short story by John Collier – Directed by Douglas Heyes – Starring George Grizzard, Patricia Barry, and John McIntire
A man desperate to win the affection of a woman who wants nothing to do with him resorts to slipping her a love potion.
In a precursor to Obsession, we get “The Chaser.”
Roger Shackleforth is hopelessly infatuated with Leila, but there’s one fairly significant problem: she can’t stand him. His solution arrives in the form of a mysterious salesman who offers him a love potion guaranteed to change that.
It’s a clever variation on the Faustian bargain, although Roger doesn’t realize exactly what he’s bargaining for.
Roger wants Leila’s complete devotion, and that’s precisely what he gets. The woman who wanted nothing to do with him suddenly can’t get enough of him, and it doesn’t take long before all that affection becomes suffocating.
There’s a darker idea underneath the comedy that I really like. Roger isn’t trying to earn Leila’s affection or accept that she doesn’t share his feelings. He simply takes away her ability to choose. His infatuation has reduced her to something he believes he’s entitled to possess, and the love potion makes that disturbingly literal.
The punishment is that Roger gets exactly what he thought he wanted. Once Leila’s entire existence revolves around him, the fantasy quickly loses its appeal. He’s desperate to escape.
I like what “The Chaser” is trying to say much more than I like the way it says it. The episode plays everything broadly, with an almost heightened reality that pushes the story toward satire and comedy. I can see what it’s going for, but that lighter approach never really landed for me.
There’s something wonderfully nasty about the premise, particularly the way the mysterious salesman understands exactly where Roger’s desires are going to lead him. I just wish the episode itself had been as sharp as the idea behind it.
Twilight Zone Verdict: Okay
Leave a Reply