Original Story by Anne Collins
 
Directed by Peter Medak
 
Original Airdate - October 25, 1985
 
Starring:    
 
David Dukes - Todd Ettinger
Robert Morse - Cupid
Carolyn Seymour - Magaera
John Myhers - Bacchus
Andrew Massett - Peter
Patti Karr - April
Ingrid Boulting - Enchanting Woman

 

 
Story:
     

Todd Ettinger runs afoul of the gods from Olympus, who are living in our present day world. Cupid is particularly upset with him, and causes him to fall in love with a woman he meets when he runs into her car. But then she's gone, and he's in love with a stranger that Todd can't find. He tracks down Cupid, and finds out that Cupid himself is pining for a lost love, Magaera, who was one of the three Furies. Megaera has thrown Cupid over because he was dallying with another woman.

Todd sets out to find Megaera, and when he does he gets her to show up at his office by lying. He also tricks Cupid into showing up at same time and locks the two Greek gods in his office. While the two hash out their differences they find they are still in love. Cupid relents, and Todd's dream girl shows up again. Everyone lives happily ever after.

 

 

This is the kind of story that I envision everyone thought would be charming when it was filmed, but the finished product isn't as charming as it should be.  It suffers from the same malaise that "If She Dies" had; it's just not that engaging.  David Dukes was more than adequate as the man felled by Cupid's arrows, and Robert Morse is always delightful.  Carolyn Seymour played Megaera a little too highbrow, in my opinion.  While she's great at sneering, supercilious types, Megaera needed a more vibrant, earthy actress, I've always felt. 

One of the good things about the episode are the special effects.  The new Twilight Zone was a pioneer in adding effects directly to videotape, and this episode shows just how good that process could be.  The arrows Cupid shoots are ingeniously devised; they're like cotton candy and seem to melt into the victim. 

Peter Medak directed this episode, which means it should be much better than it is.  He directed the best ghost story every filmed, "The Changeling."  Anyone that could create such a spectacular haunted house, and ghost, should have been able to make this episode more appealing.  It's possible that studio intereference caused the issues, or maybe the fast shooting schedules of the NTZ did him in.  Even post-editing could be responsible.  In any case, I would like to love this episode but just can't bring myself to do it.  Like "If She Dies," it's missing some important element that would have energized the production.