Description: Season 1, Episode 33
Air Date: June 3, 1960
Plot Summary: An oddball man has the worst day of his life but is offered the chance to do it over again.
Review: With a title like "Mr. Bevis" you know this story is going to be a bit strange. I just kept wondering when was Butthead going to show up. This is one of those episodes that hardly anyone remembers and for mostly good reasons. The message is decent, and a universal one as well, but the presentation is severely dated. I think this was TZ attempting to be funny--and not working--but perhaps others at the time would be more entertained. So we meet an eclectic weirdo named, obviously, Mr. Bevis as he goes through a most troublesome day. Although Mr. Bevis is a huge goofball, he is beloved by many for his unusual eccentricities and easygoing attitude. The first order of business is that Mr. Bevis is fired from his job, followed by his car crashing, and ending with him being evicted from his apartment. Surprisingly, Mr. Bevis takes this horrible situation with great stride as, seemingly, nothing will keep him down.
As Mr. Bevis drinks at a bar, he begins to see a man that only appears in a mirror and motions him toward a table. It would appear this mysterious stranger is Mr. Bevis' guardian angel who watches over the entire Bevis bloodline; they mention something about a Bevis relative that did the world a great favor and his reward was a guardian for his ancestors. Ehh, that's a questionable explanation, but I suppose the ridiculousness can't get any worse. The guardian angel explains that the Bevis family has had big dreams and accomplished much, but this particular Mr. Bevis is thinking too small. The guardian angel then proceeds to help Mr. Bevis by redoing the day with everything changing to work out in Mr. Bevis' favor; in reality, he appears to have altered Mr. Bevis' entire life and personality.
When the day starts over, Mr. Bevis has transformed into a respectable-looking guy, no longer concerned with his old interests, and learns his rent has been paid in advance to prevent any kind of eviction. Instead of being fired, he is actually promoted, and instead of crashing his car, Mr. Bevis is given a crazy sports car. The cost, however, is that Mr. Bevis is no longer the lovable loser, and all the friends and associates he had are cold to him. Although Mr. Bevis likes the idea of success, he sees that losing his true self is not worth the trade-off. This is solid advice for anyone or time, and I can appreciate what TZ was going for with this episode. In the end, everything is restored back to the way it was, but the guardian angel tries to help Mr. Bevis in tiny ways that Mr. Bevis is more comfortable with; for example, helping him out of a parking ticket.
I do like the concept of staying true to yourself no matter what others think, but Mr. Bevis is too bizarre for the current era. I mean, he likes taxidermy, zither music, pointless odds and ends, and hanging out with kids. I think that's a recipe for a serial killer. At the same time, the comedic moments aren't really funny and appear stupid. Ehh, this episode is okay, but it's perfectly understandable why it is not a classic. It's a good message, no doubt, but presenting it through the eyes of a nutcase was not the best manner to showcase said message.
The goofy Mr. Bevis reminded me of Jim Carrey and his characters in like Ace Ventura, Dumb and dumber, etc. except not as overbearingly crude. But his goofball characteristics like sliding down the bannister, his huge collection of odds and ends, and his movements, body language, even sort of the way he looked resembled Carrey.
ReplyDeleteMy bigger question about this episode was that why did his guardian angel have to give him either all or nothing? Why couldn't he keep some of his fun easy going characteristics that made many people love him, but at the same time been made to take his job more seriously and been made more responsible about paying his rent on time so his boss and landlady would've liked him better? He could've had the best of both worlds.
The goofy Mr. Bevis reminded me of Jim Carrey and his characters in like Ace Ventura, Dumb and dumber, etc. except not as overbearingly crude. But his goofball characteristics like sliding down the bannister, his huge collection of odds and ends, and his movements, body language, even sort of the way he looked resembled Carrey.
ReplyDeleteMy bigger question about this episode was that why did his guardian angel have to give him either all or nothing? Why couldn't he keep some of his fun easy going characteristics that made many people love him, but at the same time been made to take his job more seriously and been made more responsible about paying his rent on time so his boss and landlady would've liked him better? He could've had the best of both worlds.
You're right, they didn't really give Bevis much of a chance to alter his life in a precise manner. I kept wondering why didn't he just fix the things that went wrong without changing his personality? I think TZ just wanted a quirky, funny episode to lighten the mode, but it falls flat.
DeleteExactly, it does fall flat. They should've have just made him lose his goofy Jim Carrey side just during the hours he was at work (and for the hour before it so he'd always be at work on time), and for the first ten minutes after receiving his weekly paycheck so he'd pay what he needed out of it to his landlady, and then during the rest of his time keep his fun characteristics so the other people who liked him before would keep doing so. He could've also kept his Jeep, what kind of car you drive is not related to how well you perform at work and how responsible you are with paying bills.
Delete