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Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
23 Episodes 1985 - 1986
Episode 0
Pilot
Sun, May 5, 1985100 mins
Four episodes are remakes of the original episodes from the original "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" series. In the first, "Incident in a Small Jail", a mild-mannered traveling businessman is pulled over for speeding in a small town where he is locked up in a jail with a murder suspect which takes another turn when a vigilante mob lays siege to the place. In "Man from the South" a gambler in Las Vegas accepts a bet with a mysterious old southern man, that he can light his cigarette lighter 10 times and if he misses one light, the man from the south will chop off the gambler's little finger on his right hand. In "Bang! You're Dead!" a little girl takes her visiting uncle's .38 caliber revolver and goes around pointing it at people and yelling "bang" in which she eventually loads with real bullets. In "An Unlocked Window" two nurses spend a terrifying night in a secluded large house in the country while there's a serial killer on the loose.
Episode 1
Revenge
Sun, Sep 29, 1985
Lisa Tate is not well. She's showing signs of instability and paranoia and she's afraid to go outside fearing that someone might harm her. Her quaint husband John, professor of English literature, cares a lot about her and tries to convince her to go to a dance class and have some fun since she loves to dance. She does so, dances to some Phil Collins with her class and feels great afterwards. Unfortunately, on her way home she runs into a hulking sleazy man who creeps her out and she becomes panicked, anxious and paranoid all over again. She runs to her house and locks herself in only to be attacked by an unseen assailant. John is shocked at what happened and when she asks him to avenge her, he agrees. However, John is tragically missing the bigger picture.
Episode 2
Night Fever
Sun, Oct 6, 1985
One night, small-time hood Jerry loses it, knocks out his ditsy girlfriend, who's working the night shift in a convenience store, and robs the place. Two police officers arrive to buy something and run into Jerry. After a shootout, one cop is dead and Jerry is shot in the gut. He survives and is taken to hospital. The cops threaten him but no one can touch him. He gathers that his best way out is to try to gain his nurse's trust and affection and convince her to let him escape. It works and nurse Ellen agrees to do it. However, Jerry doesn't have the whole picture.
Episode 3
Wake Me When I'm Dead
Sun, Oct 20, 198530 mins
Socialite Carla Dean and her husband Stewart are holding a lavish dinner party for Stewart's rich brother Charles Dean and Charles' wife Jessie. The party is going well until Stewart suggests to hypnotize someone and get them to remember their previous lives. Carla loves the idea and Jessie agrees to be the subject of this party trick. However, she apparently does actually remember one of her previous lives when she was a woman called Martine San Pierre living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1846. This personality seemingly takes over Jessie and claiming that her husband is cheating on her with a black female slave, she takes a knife from the table and stabs Charles to death. The guests try to stop her but it's too late. She reverts back to her old self and is arrested for murder. Stewart is convinced that she can't be held responsible since she wasn't herself at the time of the murder but their old acquaintance and prosecutor Walter Lang, who was also at the party, believes that she was faking not being herself in order to kill her husband and get his money. The trial begins with Lang as the prosecutor. Jessie's lawyer asks that they try to hypnotize her again and see what happens.
Episode 4
Final Escape
Sun, Oct 27, 1985
Posh, manipulative and unscrupulous woman Lena Trent has been convicted of murder of her rich husband. She's sent to high security tough women's prison. Her cellmate Esther, the oldest convict there, warns her of Shirley, the convict who runs the place. Lena tries to use her charms on Shirley but it backfires in a brutal way. No Lena must find a way out before Shirley beats her to death or worse. She tries to charm the warden, who agrees to assign her work duties so she can have as little contact with the general population as possible. She uses this to try to escape. She fails and the warden gives up on her. Shirley finds her and beats her up worse than before. Lena's only way out now is to abuse the trust of the naive elderly prison mortician who needs an eye operation. This will be her final escape but unfortunately not in the way she thinks.
Episode 5
The Night Caller
Tue, Nov 5, 198530 mins
Betsy Van Kennon has just moved into an apartment building where all apartments are directly across one another and the creepy neighbor that lives across her place is looking at her windows all the time. She covers the windows with bed sheets but then the obscene phone calls start. She eventually calls the police but Duane Calvin, the detective in charge, turns out to be not only somewhat of a sexist but entirely useless. He talks to the peeping neighbor, ex-marine Art Toomey, who's back from a tour in Beirut where the Lebanese Civil War is raging, and he's clearly not all there. Calvin warns him not to bother the girl anymore but when Betsy protests that nothing's stopping him from doing it again, the annoyed cop agrees with her and tells her to buy a gun if she wants to live alone "like a man". The threatening phone calls continue and Betsy has a nervous breakdown. Her friend Steve, who has feelings for her, is worried but her friend and boss Karen is trying to turn the whole issue into a joke. Betsy eventually decides to confront her stalker, who even starts calling her at work in Karen's clothing store, but who is the stalker and what if she's wrong?
Episode 6
Method Actor
Sun, Nov 10, 198530 mins
Alcoholic film star Paul Dano loses a great role to young Lance Richards, then fatally injuries Lance when he visits Paul for advice on how to play the role. He tries to cover it up with some sulfuric acid.
Episode 7
The Human Interest Story
Sun, Nov 17, 1985
A man claiming to be from another solar system warns of an imminent alien invasion via television. A female journalist tracks him down and agrees to go with him on a car ride to see the proof that he's telling the truth.
Episode 8
Breakdown
Sun, Dec 1, 198530 mins
After arranging the arrest of a drug and weapons trafficker, a corrupt businessman is paralyzed in a car accident and taken to the morgue while in South America.
Episode 9
Prisoners
Sun, Dec 8, 1985
Armed, hungry and tired hulking escaped convict Jack breaks into the nice big house of a passive housewife, Julie Randall, and her rich husband, who's always away on business or golfing. He takes her hostage and proceeds to eat from her fridge. After satisfying his hunger, he takes a nice bubbly bath while singing Mr. Sandman. Finally, he gets drunk and tears up the plastic that her husband's furniture is wrapped in. They engage in a conversation and eventually bond over The Price is Right game show. During the next two days they continue to talk and befriend and realize that they have a lot in common, since Julie also feels like a prisoner, although in a gilded cage. Feeling like a kid again, she finally lets loose and they have fun trashing the house further together and playing Monopoly. When Jack thanks her for her hospitality, apologizes for his behavior and says it's time for him to go, she feels sad and decides to join him. Jack tries to talk her out of it since all his life would be from now on is the life of a man on the run. That's when the telephone rings, reality kicks in and things escalate in a rather unexpected and bittersweet way.
Episode 10
Arthur, or the Gigolo
Sun, Dec 15, 1985
A sleazy gigolo seduces an eccentric rich woman who adores cats even though he can't stand them. In order to get her fortune, he brutally murders her and then declares total war on her feline pets.
Episode 11
The Gloating Place
Sun, Jan 5, 1986
Horrifying fate awaits an unpopular, gawky teen girl who feigns an assault in order to appear on the news with her favorite showy crime reporter.
Episode 12
The Right Kind of Medicine
Sun, Jan 12, 1986
Joe, a misanthropic sociopath prone to self-narration, tries to pull off an armed robbery but an off-duty cop shoots him in the leg in the process. However, he manages to kill the cop and take the money. He hijacks a buss and makes it to the office of doctor Vogel, a bitter cynical alcoholic whom he knows from before. Joe forces Vogel to operate on him and then to write him a prescription for some painkillers, since the pain in Joe's leg worsens and Vogel doesn't keep any painkillers in his office. In a fit of paranoia, Joe then kills Vogel fearing that he might try to report him to the police for the reward money. Joe visits the pharmacist but the young clerk tries to explain to him that the pharmacist is old and needs time to prepare his medication. That's when the police arrives but doesn't notice him. Joe finally gets his painkillers and goes home. His plan is to get to the airport and flee the country but the young clerk suddenly shows up at his place and Joe, in another fit of paranoia, decides that the kid is after him for the reward as well and that he must die. And just like that, Joe signs his own death warrant.
Episode 13
Beast in View
Sun, Jan 19, 1986
Dr. Marion McGregor is remarrying after the death of her first husband. That's when she starts receiving threatening phone calls. Her new husband Roger Harden tries to protect her and even buys a gun but the calls continue. He eventually convinces her to calls the police after they find a slaughtered doberman in their bed. A friendly police lieutenant shows up and checks the house including the wine cellar for intruders but finds nothing. Marion suspects her dead husband and lieutenant agrees that it could be him, since his body was never found after the car crash that supposedly killed him. With pragmatic cynicism he suggests that they should buy a gun. During a book signing event where Marion is promoting her new book, a creepy stranger appears and terrifies her, so she runs away. He tries to pursue her but fails. When she arrives home, she freaks out and arms herself with a fire poker. Roger arrives later and hears noises from the cellar. The story ends with a shocking twist.
Episode 14
A Very Happy Ending
Sun, Feb 16, 1986
Pagey Fisher is a deaf bitter young boy from a rich family, who blames his father for his hearing loss as well as his mother's death. At an airport, Pagey witness aging mob hitman Charley killing an acquaintance, Buzzy Carelli. Pagey can read lips and realizes that Charley is on the same flight as he and his caring tutor Martha. During the flight, Pagey watches the in-flight movie, Conan the Barbarian, until Charley falls a sleep and then pick pockets him. He takes Charley's switchblade and I.D. and blackmails him to kill his father or he'll report him. Charley is at first shocked and thinks about killing the kid but his softer side prevails and he plays along while simultaneously trying to convince the kid to give up on his demand even though the kid simply won't budge. During the big birthday party for Pagey, Charley sneaks in. They talk while they wait for Pagey's father to return from a business trip and become friends. Once his father returns the end game begins. However, Charley is in for a surprise when he finally learns who Pagey's dad actually is.
Episode 15
The Canary Sedan
Sun, Mar 2, 1986
A wife travels to Hong Kong to join her businessman husband only to become haunted by the friendly spirit of his late Chinese lover. Since he still hasn't gotten over her, her spirit must help the wife win him back to join the afterlife.
Episode 16
Enough Rope for Two
Sun, Mar 9, 1986
Artist Zoe asks her caring boyfriend Scott to take her down-on-his-luck cousin Ray Lee with them on their camping trip. He begrudgingly agrees. At first, Scott tries to chat with moody Ray about his bad luck in life and Bruce Springsteen but that doesn't go anywhere. Zoe asks that they change their route and travel to a place in the desert called China Lake, instead. Scott protests but then gives in. They stop at a convenience store in the middle of nowhere to freshen up and buy more drinks. Angry religious sermon plays on the radio. Ray asks the store clerk to show him a gun from her gun cabinet. Scott hears gun shots and finds Ray with the gun standing over the dead clerk. Ray gives a nonsensical explanation and forces Scott to get in the jeep and continue their trip. Zoe agrees. Scott starts to puzzle things together and realizes that the whole trip was a ruse. Ray promises Scott that after they arrive at China Lake and get what they're going there for, they'll let Scott go. However, Ray's not seeing the whole picture.
Episode 17
The Creeper
Sun, Mar 16, 198625 mins
A fashion designer thinks a serial killer has the keys to her apartment.
Episode 18
Happy Birthday
Sun, Mar 23, 1986
Robert Warren is turning 50 and he's trying not to have a midlife crisis. His wife is gone, he's now the old guy in the office and his health and lifestyle could be better but he keeps his spirit up and always tries to be nice and friendly towards everyone and enjoy life. On the evening on his birthday, he's alone at home reminiscing when the door bell rings. Two agents are there to arrest him for a murder they claim he committed 23 years ago. He is shocked and terrified and claims innocence. He even calls his lawyer, but the lawyer tells him that their arrest warrant is legitimate and that he has to go with them. The stress caused by this situation starts to get to Warren, so they agree to stop at a diner to grab something to eat. The agents talk about executions of those sentenced to death which only aggravates Warren's condition. Warren asks to go to the bathroom and in desperation runs away through the bathroom window. However, the agents and the sheriff immediately intercept him and one of the agents even plans to beat him up but his colleague arrives in time to prevent it. Warren asks about the details of the murder he's been arrested for and nothing the agents say sounds familiar or even makes sense to him. He claims he's never even held a gun since his tour of duty in the Korean War. The agents claim they have a more than solid case backed by firm evidence that he's the shooter. They eventually agree to stay in a hotel for the evening, since everyone's getting tired, and continue their trip in the morning. The finale is a mixture of irony, tragedy and black comedy.
Episode 19
The Jar
Sun, Apr 6, 198630 mins
A suffering artist finds a mysterious jar and decides to incorporate it into his exhibition. It's a enormous success, but it also causes problems around the household.
Episode 20
Deadly Honeymoon
Sun, Apr 13, 1986
A woman learns from a P.I. that her new husband is suspected of killing his first two wives for insurance money to cover his gambling debts. However, he convincingly denies it. Who to trust?
Episode 21
Four O'Clock
Sun, May 4, 1986
A corrupt judge thinks his wife is having an affair, though she denies it. He then decides to do away with her by using something he learned in court, which is basically setting a bomb in their house to go off at a certain time he thinks his wife will be there. But two burglars knock him out and tie and gag him. So when he sees that the time he set the thing to go off is approaching he freaks out.
Episode 22
Road Hog
Sun, May 11, 1986
Desperate father, Sam Medwick, tries to get his son to a hospital in time, after he's accidentally hanged in a freak oil rig accident, but Ed Fratus, an obnoxious self-centered showy traveling salesman unaware of the gravity of the situation, won't let Sam's truck pass his glitzy pink Cadillac with bull horns on the front. Left with no other options, Sam tries to hit the Cadillac, which only enrages Ed and he ends up ramming Sam's truck off the road. The boy eventually reaches hospital but too late for the doctors to save him. A month or so later, Ed returns and stops by at the local desert bar just like he always does when he's in the area. He even tries to hit on the waitress even though she shows him her wedding ring. That's when Sam reappears as well to exact his brilliant yet perfectly simple revenge.