

To you pool is not a nice, friendly game. Breaking the Fourth Wall: After Fats leaves after Jesse beats him, Jesse asks the audience if they saw him win.įats: I take them as I find them.Bottle Episode: With the exception of two brief scenes in the afterlife, the entire episode takes place in Lister's Pool Room.
#Twilight zone a game of pool free#
Fats has lost the title but is now free to enjoy a much happier afterlife. Bittersweet Ending: Jesse has beaten Fats and become the greatest but is now destined to spend eternity defending his title until a new champion comes, while having nothing but the title to show for his life.Straight Pool is considered the most popular game in the USA and has been popularized by movies like The Hustler (1961). The Game of Pool itself is 14:1/Straight Pool where you must announce the ball you want to sink and in which pocket. Neither Jesse nor Fats are "bad guys" but rather cocky and slightly arrogant pool sharks who are just playing to see who the best pool player is. Shoot that ball, and you may win more than what you bargained for. Badass Boast: Fats gives a somewhat understated one:įats: Wait a minute, Jesse.Always Someone Better: Jesse Cardiff is overshadowed by Fats Brown, but actually becomes this to Fats once he defeats him, as well as the many other challengers waiting in his path.Work and hobbies shouldn't take complete control over your life: remember, The World Is Just Awesome.Also, spending your whole life perfecting one particular skill isn't worth it, even if you are the best.You may be the very best at what you do, but the journey and challenges will never end.Absurdly High-Stakes Game: Jesse bets his life against Fats' reputation as the greatest pool player ever.It uses George Clayton Johnson's originally intended ending in which Jesse loses to Fats. This episode was remade for The Twilight Zone (1985), with Esai Morales and Maury Chaykin as Jesse and Fats, respectively. Meanwhile, Fats has gone fishing since he doesn't have to put up with it anymore. Years later, the now-dead Jesse has wound up in Fats' former situation, having to travel from the afterlife back to Earth and meet challenges by one opponent after another until someone beats him. Fats thanks Jesse for beating him and vanishes, while Jesse angrily calls him a sore loser. Ignoring Fats' warning that he may get more than he bargained for, Jesse sinks the ball and wins. Fats misses his shot, leaving Jesse with an easy approach to the pocket. The game comes down to one ball that both men need to sink in order to win.
#Twilight zone a game of pool full#
Jesse accepts the wager.Īs the game progresses, Fats criticizes Jesse for spending all his time on nothing but pool, commenting that he himself lived a full life. If Jesse wins, he'll become the greatest pool player ever if he loses, he dies. Fats has returned from the afterlife to answer Jesse's challenge and play one game against him. Jesse turns around to find Fats himself ( Jonathan Winters) standing in the room with him. "At your service!" says a voice, seemingly from nowhere. Jesse muses he would give anything to play Fats for one game and prove he is the best, even though Fats has been dead for 15 years. He considers himself the best pool player around, but is bitter over the memory of late pool legend James Howard "Fats" Brown continuing to overshadow him. It is after hours in Lister's Pool Room in Chicago, and pool shark Jesse Cardiff ( Jack Klugman) is alone and polishing his game. Rod Serling: Jesse Cardiff, pool shark, the best on Randolph Street, who will soon learn that trying to be the best at anything carries its own special risks.
