Story by Haskell Barkin
 
Directed by Robert Downey
 
Original Airdate - January 31, 1986
 
Starring:    
 
David Birney - Dr. Myron Mandel
Kenneth Mars - Tooth Fairy
Oliver Clark - Dr. Walter Pinkham
Teresa Ganzel - Lydia Bixby
Peggy Pope - Mrs. Schulman
Mina Kolb - Mrs. Taylor
Jane Ralston - Receptionist
Ermal Williamson - Mr. Frank
Martin Azarow - Man
Mitzi McCall - Middle-Aged Woman
William Utay - Eating Hobo
Nat Bernstein - Hobo #1
Jack Lindine - Hobo #2
Ron Ross - Hobo #3

 

  
Story:
     

The tale of a dentist who cannot face one more patient being afraid of having their teeth worked on.  One day he makes a wish, and the Tooth Fairy shows up to grant it.  Everyone now loves him, and flock to him to have their teeth worked on.  He's ecstatic.  Initiially.  After that first blush of happiness, people being mobbing him in his office, begging him to work on their teeth.  He can't sleep or relax. The Tooth Fairy tells him he's stuck. Finally, he can't take the masses of people in his waiting room and hallway, and hops the next freight train out of town.  In the boxcar are half a dozen other men, who all used to be dentists.  It turns out the Tooth Fairy has ruined a lot of dentist's lives.

  

 

Of little consequence in the NTZ episode list, "Tooth or Consequences" is one of those uncomfortable types of segments anthologies usually get stuck with to fill up an hour.  Night Gallery suffered through them as well, with short blackout skits like "Phantom of What Opera?, and "Junior."  In Night Gallery's case, these comic interludes broke the spell of suspense that the previous segment had woven, and while some of them are funny they have no place in the Night Gallery.  I know many people who enjoy the comic blackouts in Night Gallery, but except for a very few cases, I am not one of them. 

The new Twilight Zone was a bit different in tone.  It wasn't going for horror in most cases, and these comic segments should not have been a distraction and in reality, they weren't when they were done well, like "I of Newton." This episode drags on and seems to not come to much of a conclusion.  I'm a huge Kenneth Mars fan, but he's just too laid back in this.  Based on a story by Haskell Barkin, it's just not manic enough, I think.  We're left with too much time to think about the story, and the scenes run on a bit too long.