A huge residential building collapses, taking many of its residents with it. Edison is assigned to the story, and when he arrives at the scene of the disaster, he’s stunned to see the survivors rejoicing at the rescue of television sets instead of people. Despite the magnitude of the collapse and Edison’s live coverage, Big Time TV pulls ahead of Network 23 in the ratings with a mind-numbingly dumb game show – the same show being watched by all of the survivors of the building. A cop at the scene suspects something as up, but when he shares his suspicions with Edison, he’s found dead a while later. Despite Reg’s annoyance that his viewers want it run for the 11th time in a row, “Whacketts” even pulls ahead of Network 66. Edison and Bryce discover that a subliminal video signal is embedded into the one episode of “Whacketts” that keeps running, a signal that forces its viewers’ brains to produce an addictive stream of endorphins. The more people watch, the more hooked they become – and if Ned Grossberg succeeds in wooing Dominique into selling “Whacketts” to Network 66, the entire population could become addicted…just like Max.
teleplay by Arthur Sellers
story by Dennis Rolfe
directed by Victor Lobl
music by Michael Hoenig
Guest Cast: W. Morgan Sheppard (Blank Reg), Charles Rocket (Ned Grossberg), Hank Garrett (?), Lee Wilkof (?), Sharon Barr (?), Concetta Tomei (Dominique), Bert Kramer (Biller), Bill Maher (Haskel), Andreas Katsulas (Bartlett), Richard Frank (Lt. Rico Ziskin), Lawrence Lott (Network 23 Anchor), James F. Dean (Chief Negotiator), Craig Schaefer (Cop #1), Morgan Walsh (Cop #2), Edward Beimfohr (?)
LogBook entry by Earl Green