"How Much Do You Love Your Kid?" is the thirty-fourth episode of the science fiction television series 2002 revival of The Twilight Zone, and one of the only two episodes in this incarnation to feature no supernatural elements, the other being "Evergreen". The episode was first broadcast on February 26, 2003, on UPN.
It is often thought of as one of the best episodes in the 2002 series.
Opening narration[]
- "Meet Donna Saicheck. Just another person living beyond her means in uncertain times and looking for a short break from the reality of her existence. We're about to see just how far Donna is willing to go, when another kind of reality intrudes, in the Twilight Zone."
Plot[]
A woman, Donna (Bonnie Somerville), is told her son Wylie (Nico McEown) has vanished and then finds herself in a licensed reality TV show How Much Do You Love Your Kid?. The host, Nick Dark (Wayne Knight), informs her that she has to find her child in one hour by answering 'clue cards', but never tells her what will happen if she does not. When the authorities claim the show has all the required permits and that they cannot do anything about it, she is forced to play this twisted game show for her son's life.
Nick and the camera crew follow her around town as she answers a series of tedious questions. Finally, they track down the 'kidnapper' and her son, chasing them in a car chase. The kidnapper's car, however, is driven off a hill and the car, with the son inside, crashes.
The crew and Nick are shocked by this unscripted event, and momentarily shut off the cameras as Donna has a moment with the injured Wylie who is now in a stretcher. Nick informs her that the kidnapper got away, and that she should take revenge upon him for what he did to her son. He even offers her more prize money, and a gun, in addition to getting her son back.
She chases down the kidnapper back to her house and to only discover that the kidnapper is her husband (Steve Bacic), who did it for the money, the whole time. Donna expresses her anger at him because he risked their son's life, and, in a fit of anger, shoots him. Nick appears congratulating her for winning, states that she won $1 million and, as Nick tells her, "the best defense money can buy". This leads to the police arresting her for murder. (The events of Wylie were unknown after he was sent to the hospital, from the car crash.)
Closing narration[]
- "There's reality and there's entertainment. There's a life you lead and the fantasies you're led to, by a small but powerful group of people known as television executives, who recently discovered the entertainment value of real life. And in the future, if you think there's a risk they won't take, a line they won't cross, then we have an offer to make and some time for you to spend in the Twilight Zone."
Cast[]
- Bonnie Somerville as Donna Saicheck
- Wayne Knight as Nick Dark
- Steve Bacic as Ted Saicheck
- Nico McEown as Wylie Saicheck
Quotes[]
- Nick Dark: Something tells me that, even if we lived in a world with no kids, Donna Saicheck would still find her son...
- Donna Saicheck: (yelling) HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?! (she pushes one of the cops)
- Cop: Hey! Your kid is gonna be OK!
- Donna Saicheck: (yelling) ARE YOU CRAZY?! HE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?!
- Cop: Lady, it's just a TV show.
- Ted Saicheck: Don't be mad, honey!
- Donna Saicheck: (yelling) YOU ALMOST GOT HIM KILLED!!
- Ted Saicheck: We lost control!
- Donna Saicheck: (yelling) YOU! YOU LOST CONTROL AND THEN YOU JUST LEFT HIM THERE!
- Ted Saicheck: He's OK.
- Donna Saicheck: (yelling) HE HAS A FRACTURED RIB, HIS FACE IS ALL CUT UP!
- Ted Saicheck: (chuckles) He's OK.
- Donna Saicheck: (yelling) YOU CALL THAT OK?!?!
External links[]
| v • e The Twilight Zone (2002) episodes | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | "Evergreen" • "One Night at Mercy" • "Shades of Guilt" • "Dream Lover" • "Cradle of Darkness" • "Night Route" • "Time Lapse" • "Dead Man's Eyes" • "The Pool Guy" • "Azoth the Avenger is a Friend of Mine" • "The Lineman, Part 1" • "The Lineman, Part 2" • "Harsh Mistress" • "Upgrade" • "To Protect and Serve" • "Chosen" • "Sensuous Cindy" • "Hunted" • "Mr. Motivation" • "Sanctuary" • "Future Trade" • "Found and Lost" • "Gabe's Story" • "Last Lap" • "The Path" • "Fair Warning" • "Another Life" • "Rewind" • "Tagged" • "Into the Light" • "It's Still a Good Life" • "The Monsters Are on Maple Street" • "Memphis" • "How Much Do You Love Your Kid?" • "The Placebo Effect" • "Cold Fusion" • "The Pharaoh's Curse" • "The Collection" • "Eye of the Beholder" • "Developing" • "The Executions of Grady Finch" • "Homecoming" • "Sunrise" • "Burned"
|