John Braling, henpecked husband and unambitious computer salesman, is mystified when every computer he turns on suddenly shows him the name of a company – Marionettes, Inc. – and its slogan, “we shadow forth”, followed by a data dump of nearly every piece of Braling’s personal information. When even the computers he tries to sell begin showing this, costing him business, Braling pays Marionettes, Inc. a call. He is greeted by Mr. Fantoccini, who shows Braling a robot duplicate of himself, a perfect replica that can take Braling’s place while he goes off to live the life he really wants to live. The cost? Braling’s life savings – and yet he pays up in full. But when Braling becomes uncomfortable with how friendly his robot doppelganger is becoming with Mrs. Braling, can he simply put his duplicate back in the box and return it for a refund?
written by Ray Bradbury
directed by Paul Lynch
music by Bruce Ley
Cast: James Coco (John Braling), Leslie Nielsen (Fantoccini), Jayne Eastwood (Mrs. Braling), Kenneth Welsh (Crane), Pixie Bigelow (Buyer), Rex Hagon (Buyer), Michael Fletcher (Buyer), Laura Henry (Secretary), Tom Christopher (The Other Braling)
LogBook entry by Earl Green