Season 1, Episode 21
"Bigelow's Last Smoke"
This episode is one from the tail end of Season 1 that finishes it strong. In it, a man named Frank Bigelow with a very serious smoking problem wakes up to find he's imprisoned within his own apartment. A man appears on his television screen and informs him the only way to leave is to give up smoking. Now yes, this sounds like a PSA for smoking, but it gets better. Bigelow breaks the smoking rule many times, and each and every time an alarm buzzes with a painful screech, and another peice of his furniture is taken as a punishment. After the third infraction, he screams and seemingly wakes up. He is disgusted with cigarettes and chooses not to smoke, which he believes frees him. When he gets a cup of coffee, the man on the tv returns, and claims that now he will focus on helping Bigelow with his caffiene addiction.
Good: This episode seems like a PSA, up until the bit at the end. What's wonderful is we see Bigelow fall further into paranoia and hysteria as his apartment slowly loses all its furnishings. He begins to sweat profusely, desperate to escape. When we finally think it's over, he wakes up to find his next addiction is up to play. This ending is brilliant because it has a point to it. It's not horrible or gory like other episodes with a moral backing, but we are left to assume Bigelow will either go insane running the gauntlet of his addictions, or die of thirst or starvation. It's the implications that count.
Bad: Not too much, were I in charge I'd maybe play up Bigelow going crazy a bit more
Grade: 7/10
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