Reviewed by Geno McGahee
I like villains and we have a pretty good one in Salvadore Ross (Don Gordon). Ross is a guy that will take advantage of anyone, doesn’t care about anyone but himself, and is obsessed with a woman that he will not allow to leave his life. Leah Maitland (Gail Kobe) has decided to cut all ties with her ex hubby and Ross will have none of it. He is rude and violent and when the door is closed in his face, he punches it and breaks his hand. How many idiots do you know that have done stuff like this before? The Twilight Zone was always good at putting out situations where people could relate and everyone knows a guy like Ross.
Ross checks into a hospital for his broken hand and is sharing a room with an old man that has a cold, but at his age, the cold could be deadly. The old man tells Ross that he would gladly exchange conditions with him if he could and the deal is made. When the duo awakens the next morning, they realize that the switch has taken place. Ross now has a cold and the old man has a broken hand and this gives birth to an evil and money-making idea by our villain, Salvadore.
Mr. Halpert (Douglass Dumbrille) is Ross’s boss. He is the Ross Boss and he is an old man with a lot of money. Ross makes the proposal: youth for money. He would trade years of his life in exchange for one million dollars. Halpert doesn’t believe him but agrees nevertheless, and when they awake, Halpert is young again and Ross is old, but he uses his newfound wealth to buy years from the young at a discounted price and before you knew it, he is back at his age of 26 and wealthy. He is ready to win Leah over….
Rich and happy, he arrives at Leah’s home and is greeted the same way as he was when he had no money. She tells him that he has no compassion and that you can’t buy it and he gives her the look that says, “Well, I got blue balls too.” She tries to leave his life again but he has one more trick up his sleeve and one more switcheroo.
I really liked this tale and Don Gordon really did a great job playing the bad guy. I especially loved when he referred to Leah’s wheelchair bound, war veteran father as a “loser” right to his face, and then mocked his war medals that were hanging on the wall. The ending of this tale is foreseeable but it still is very good and this is definitely another good entry in one of the best television series of all time.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10. Gotta love the switcheroo.
