Cadwallader

Story: Escape Clause
Written By: Rod Serling
Series: The Twilight Zone (Original Series)
Season: 1

Walter Bedeker is a hypochondriac, constantly believing he is on death's door, never trusting his doctor, and making his wife wait on him due to his fake ailments.  His biggest fear is dying and the world being without him to keep it all in order.  The Devil arrives, under the name Cadwallader, and offers him immortality in exchange for his soul, which the Devil will get if he ever decides to end his life.  Thinking he'd never want to stop living, Bedeker makes the deal.  But he is almost immediately bored with life when he keeps getting himself into accidents and not finding it thrilling at all.  When his wife accidentally falls from the roof, he decides to claim he murdered her in hopes of getting the electric chair...thinking that could be a real thrill.  Only...he is given life in prison instead! 

I think this is a decent episode...Bedeker is a real dope and I was definitely rooting for him to get his ironic punishment.   I also really liked the performance of Thomas Gomez as Cadwallader...he was a charming devil.  Not the greatest episode, but a nice mid-tier one.  I mean the great thing about this show is most episodes don't overstay their welcome (we'll get to the fourth season eventually).   

NEXT TIME: The Prison Sentence