The Curious Case of Edgar Witherspoon (The Twilight Zone)
Encyclopedia
The Curious Case of Edgar Witherspoon is the thirty-sixth episode (the first episode of the third season (1988–1989) of the television series The New Twilight Zone
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will fall into the ocean. Edgar rushes back into the apartment but apologizes to the doctor for his rudeness and shuts the door in his face.
Dr. Sinclair later talks with Edgar's niece Cynthia. He tells her he appears harmless but she's insistent. While they talk, the doctor notices a news report on the radio about Santa Barbara and an apparent earthquake there. Dr. Sinclair then promises to try harder to get into Edgar's life and help him. He goes back to Edgar's apartment the next week but Edgar won't let him in at first. When the doctor says he could legally force him to open the door, Edgar does so, but shuts it behind him. While he's bantering with the doctor, Edgar appears to be told something from an unheard voice. After another threat, Edgar brings him in to discover the apartment filled with odds and ends all connected together. Edgar apparently catches a problem just in time. When Dr. Sinclair asks what it is, Edgar says this is what keeps the world from going "poof!"
Edgar explains that he used to be a successful engineer, but then retired. He was so bored, but then the voice spoke to him. Sitting in the park, the voice asked him "Edgar, have you ever been to England?" The voice explained how it all works inside Big Ben, the clock tower in the middle of London. In order to keep it right all the time, they must do incredibly minute adjustments. The doctor doesn't understand, but Edgar continues about how the world works in the same way. The voice said he had to build something to keep the world from falling off its perch, so to speak. Edgar thought it was God at first, but he doesn't really think so. The voice tells him what he needs and he gets it. The doctor leaves, but he returns with the niece and the landlady, Mrs. Milligan, and they want to take him to be observed by doctors. On the way out, the doctor knocks off something and Edgar panics. He says that an island in the Pacific at that particular time ceased to exist.
Later, the doctor, in his office, hears a report about an island in the Pacific was destroyed by a tidal wave. Frantically, he calls a newspaper to confirm that it was destroyed at exactly the time the doctor knocked something off of Edgar's "creation". He panics, gets his assistant to release Edgar and take him home. The doctor then races to Edgar's apartment, fearful that Mrs. Milligan will destroy Edgar's creation. He arrives just in time and stops her, creating a story about needing to keep the creation in existence and that he will pay double to rent the apartment. Just then, Edgar comes in, goes straight for his belongings, and begins packing. The doctor apologizes for putting him away, but Edgar says he is leaving. The voice told him that, after eleven years, he's off duty and can retire in Miami. The doctor asks him about the creation, but before he can finish, he realizes something needs adjusting and does so. Edgar smiles and realizes he's left the world in good hands...
The New Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is the first of two revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1950/60s television series of the same name. It ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.-Series history:...
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Opening narration
Plot
A man named Edgar Witherspoon is being discussed by his niece and his landlady with a psychiatrist, Dr. Jeremy Sinclair. They are concerned that he is going crazy. They say he's always looking for the oddest things, going through garbage dumps, and bothering other people for these odd things. He won't let anyone into his apartment. They beg Dr. Sinclair to help him. When Dr. Sinclair goes to visit Edgar, he discovers him frantically searching for a doll's head and needing it within the next five minutes or Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
will fall into the ocean. Edgar rushes back into the apartment but apologizes to the doctor for his rudeness and shuts the door in his face.
Dr. Sinclair later talks with Edgar's niece Cynthia. He tells her he appears harmless but she's insistent. While they talk, the doctor notices a news report on the radio about Santa Barbara and an apparent earthquake there. Dr. Sinclair then promises to try harder to get into Edgar's life and help him. He goes back to Edgar's apartment the next week but Edgar won't let him in at first. When the doctor says he could legally force him to open the door, Edgar does so, but shuts it behind him. While he's bantering with the doctor, Edgar appears to be told something from an unheard voice. After another threat, Edgar brings him in to discover the apartment filled with odds and ends all connected together. Edgar apparently catches a problem just in time. When Dr. Sinclair asks what it is, Edgar says this is what keeps the world from going "poof!"
Edgar explains that he used to be a successful engineer, but then retired. He was so bored, but then the voice spoke to him. Sitting in the park, the voice asked him "Edgar, have you ever been to England?" The voice explained how it all works inside Big Ben, the clock tower in the middle of London. In order to keep it right all the time, they must do incredibly minute adjustments. The doctor doesn't understand, but Edgar continues about how the world works in the same way. The voice said he had to build something to keep the world from falling off its perch, so to speak. Edgar thought it was God at first, but he doesn't really think so. The voice tells him what he needs and he gets it. The doctor leaves, but he returns with the niece and the landlady, Mrs. Milligan, and they want to take him to be observed by doctors. On the way out, the doctor knocks off something and Edgar panics. He says that an island in the Pacific at that particular time ceased to exist.
Later, the doctor, in his office, hears a report about an island in the Pacific was destroyed by a tidal wave. Frantically, he calls a newspaper to confirm that it was destroyed at exactly the time the doctor knocked something off of Edgar's "creation". He panics, gets his assistant to release Edgar and take him home. The doctor then races to Edgar's apartment, fearful that Mrs. Milligan will destroy Edgar's creation. He arrives just in time and stops her, creating a story about needing to keep the creation in existence and that he will pay double to rent the apartment. Just then, Edgar comes in, goes straight for his belongings, and begins packing. The doctor apologizes for putting him away, but Edgar says he is leaving. The voice told him that, after eleven years, he's off duty and can retire in Miami. The doctor asks him about the creation, but before he can finish, he realizes something needs adjusting and does so. Edgar smiles and realizes he's left the world in good hands...