Changes: The Man Who Was Death

Revision as of 12:20, 21 July 2018

"A shocking experience! When the death penalty is abolished, a penitentiary executioner turns freelance electrocutioner. But fate may pull a switch on this man who loves to throw the switch."

-- DVD description for the episode

Plot

The episode starts with a close up of Charles Ledbetter, a prison who is about to be executed. Niles Talbot explains

that a few years back, Ledbetter was thinking about the pay raise he was refused while drinking vodka at lunch, since he worked at his job for over 7 years and didn't have much to show for it, in a fit of drunken rage, Ledbetter took a .45 from the glove compartment of his car, and used it to kill his boss, Joe Saylor, and a secretary in the process. It is now the night of his execution, and as Ledbetter is being brought to the electric chair, he was screaming "The governor's gonna call! He's gonna give me a stay! He's got to!" At the order of the warden, Niles threw the switch, and Ledbetter was executed.

He seems to take joy in his job. Niles says that he's a country boy, but he loves the city. In the beginning of his adult years he was an electrician and got hired by the prison repairing the power generators, and a few years later, he became the new executioner. Niles claims to use electricity because "You can trust it." In execution, he doesn't believe in using gas chambers or lethal injections, claiming that's a method to kill rabid or terminally ill animals only, not for a man. For a man, in his case, it had to be the electric chair. He even knows that some myths of the electric chair wasn't true like black blood coming out of someone's mouth or someone foaming at the mouth. However some heads were known to smoke afterwards.

That night, Niles goes into a diner for a cheese sandwich and coffee when he sees the TV news where a news lady reports about an argument to ban the death penalty for some say if banned, it will increase the crime rate, and cause overcrowding in the prisons, and some say that execution is still qualified as murder. The next day, Niles was fired as the executioner for the death penalty was banned, and Niles can't get his old job as the electrician because Niles trained someone to take over the job before he was reassigned, and the warden thought it would be for the best because the prisoners know he is the man who executed the prisoners. Niles said is anyone in the prison gets out of line, he can handle everything. The warden still can't have that because of the rules, even though he sees Niles as a dear friend. The next day, a biker named Jimmy Flood was on trial for murder. He is found guilty but is acquitted because the arrest warrant was misworded. Niles was in his garage after court saying "I don't have anything against bikers. I used to own a hog myself once upon a time. You see, bikers are free spirited. They don't believe in the rules, they just go where the wind takes them. Now this biker, Jimmy Flood, he went out of line, and he oughta pay."

That night, Jimmy Flood was driving by on his bike and was trying to break into a fenced property, but in the process was killed because Niles hooked up the metal gate with electric wires, which everyone believed was a fallen phone wire that caused all this. At the next trial, Theodor Carne and Cynthia Baldwin was on trial for murder in the first degree, and were both found not guilty. Niles said Carne was cheating on his wife with Cynthia and divorce was out of the question, considering for the fact that his wife has full control of the money, so he and Cynthia arranged the murder. He came in their home and used their hot tub to electrocute then. After a failed attempt on a hookers life he is busted and the death penalty is reintroduced and he is next. His last words were "I was only doing my job". As he was executed his final thoughts were "I didn't want a haircut. They told me it was a big mistake because my hair would catch on fire when they juice me. I told them 'Don't worry, the governor's gonna call'"

Cast

William Sadler

...

Niles Talbot (as Bill Sadler)

J.W. Smith

...

Charley Ledbetter

Roy Brocksmith

...

Vic

David Wohl

...

Warden Havers

Gerrit Graham

...

Theodore Carne

Dani Minnick

...

Cynthia Baldwin

Tony Abatemarco

...

Detective

Mimi Kennedy

...

Distraught Woman

Robert Winley

...

Jimmy Flood

Eve Brent

...

Judge #1

Edgar Small

...

Judge #2

Mark Lowenthal

...

District Attorney

F.J. O'Neil

...

Priest

Raymond O'Connor

...

Jury Foreman (as Raymond O'Conner)

Jennifer Evans

...

Newscaster #1 (as M. Jennifer Evans)

Patti Yasutake

...

Newscaster #2

Al Allen

...

Attorney (as 'Al' M. Allen)

Kate Benton

...

Waitress

Julie Ann Lucas

...

Second Waitress

Ed DeFusco

...

New Executioner

Laura Albert

...

Go-Go Dancer

Johnnie Johnson III

...

John (uncredited)

D. David Morin

...

FBI Detective (uncredited)

Opening Segment

"Aww, poor little fellas. When I think of their childhood, all those cute little maggots hahahahaha. Our story is about a man with nobler ambitions. He likes to kill human pests and he does it in front of an audience. Now that's entertainment hahahaha. So hang onto your hats kiddies, this one's a real shocker."

Closing Segment

"God, what a revolting development. And what a switch for poor Talbot. It just goes to show what happens when you get too caught up in your work. Don't worry though, I'm sure he never knew "watt" hit him hahahahahahahaha. So remember boys and girls, safety first!"

Trivia

This episode is available on the Tales from the Crypt: The Complete First Season DVD.

This episode aired on the same night as "And All Through the House".

Actor Raymond O'Connor's name is mis-spelled as Raymond O'Conner in this episode.

Actress Jennifer Evans is credited as M. Jennifer Evans.
Walter Hill agreed to give William Sadler the lead only if he vowed to perform it exactly as he had for the audition.
William Sadler initially auditioned for the role of the detective who arrests Niles Talbot but asked at his audition about auditioning to play Talbot. The casting director informed Sadler that they sought Christopher Walken or John Malkovich for the role. Nevertheless, Sadler was allowed to audition and was eventually cast as Talbot.

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 == Plot ==
-The episode starts with a close up of Charles Ledbetter, a prison who is about to be executed. [[Niles Talbot]] ex
+The episode starts with a close up of Charles Ledbetter, a prison who is about to be executed. [[Niles Talbot]] explains
 [[File:Vlcsnap-00006.png|thumb]]
-plains that a few years back, Ledbetter was thinking about the pay raise he was refused while drinking vodka at lunch, since he worked at his job for over 7 years and didn't have much to show for it, in a fit of drunken rage, Ledbetter took a .45 from the glove compartment of his car, and used it to kill his boss, Joe Saylor, and a secretary in the process. It is now the night of his execution, and as Ledbetter is being brought to the electric chair, he was screaming "The governor's gonna call! He's gonna give me a stay! He's got to!" At the order of the warden, Niles threw the switch, and Ledbetter was executed.
+that a few years back, Ledbetter was thinking about the pay raise he was refused while drinking vodka at lunch, since he worked at his job for over 7 years and didn't have much to show for it, in a fit of drunken rage, Ledbetter took a .45 from the glove compartment of his car, and used it to kill his boss, Joe Saylor, and a secretary in the process. It is now the night of his execution, and as Ledbetter is being brought to the electric chair, he was screaming "The governor's gonna call! He's gonna give me a stay! He's got to!" At the order of the warden, Niles threw the switch, and Ledbetter was executed.
 He seems to take joy in his job. Niles says that he's a country boy, but he loves the city. In the beginning of his adult years he was an electrician and got hired by the prison repairing the power generators, and a few years later, he became the new executioner. Niles claims to use electricity because "You can trust it." In execution, he doesn't believe in using gas chambers or lethal injections, claiming that's a method to kill rabid or terminally ill animals only, not for a man. For a man, in his case, it had to be the electric chair. He even knows that some myths of the electric chair wasn't true like black blood coming out of someone's mouth or someone foaming at the mouth. However some heads were known to smoke afterwards.