'The Ray Bradbury Theater' Retro Recap: 'The Banshee'

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

Stories that revolve around classic myths and legends always fascinate me, simply because it's quite amazing that in this day and age, people are still inspired and fascinated by these ancient beings. After all, it's easy to prove or disprove whether or not something is real these days, which means one has to wonder, how is it these ancient creatures continue to find their way into our hearts and minds?

It could be perhaps the idea of a creature hiding beneath the water of Loch Ness or that Bigfoot is waiting in the woods excites the child in us that always believed in those things, but really, it all comes down to one thing...we love the notion that there is more out there than we could possibly understand and to come face to face with it, and potentially be the first to discover it, fires up our imagination in ways we never knew were possible. But while these thoughts are often forgotten as we go about our day, all it takes is a particular moment, when we hear a strange noise downstairs as we get ready for bed, see a shadow out of the corner of our eyes...or hear a mysterious sound outside that leaves us wondering if such things still exist, and The Ray Bradbury Theater decided to explore the notion of what it might be like to encounter the unknown in this era of information in the season one finale, 'The Banshee.'

Douglas Rogers is out late on a cold Irish night, and with good reason. As a respected screenwriter, he has been summoned across the pond by director John Hampton so that the eccentric visionary can get a look at Douglas' latest script. Thankfully the script is well received by John meaning that Douglas is in for a long night of work as they tune the story up. But despite the fact that Douglas is ready to start writing, he has to deal with a little song and dance from John as he pokes and prods his favorite film scribe, trying to get a ruse out of him, rambling on about how the sounds they hear outside this evening, are from a Banshee, calling for a soul to claim. Having enough of John's ribbing, Douglas decides to go outside and prove to the director that nothing is there. But on this night, John may not be joking and there is something incredible waiting in the darkness for Douglas to discover...

So first and foremost, this is one of those rare episodes of television, where the acting is so good they could have spent a half hour reading from the dictionary and you'd be hanging on every single word since acting legend Peter O'Toole plays John and good heavens is he phenomenal. His fear of what lies outside the walls, oozes through in his performance and as always he is a chameleon when it comes to his characters. After you get past the surprise of seeing his legendary face, he becomes John Hampton, and he plays the eccentric man with a certain glee that forces the audience to swing back and forth between loving him and hating him. That performance matters, because without that gravity and strength, there's simply no substance to this episode. We feel for Douglas as the drunken and surly John unloads on him with glee and you want him to earn John's approval so the abuse comes to an end.

Yet what makes this episode fit perfectly into the mold of the series, is the moment when Douglas comes face to face with the Banshee, simply because he doesn't believe for a moment that he's standing next to a specter, he thinks it's just another stupid prank and well...little does he realize that this encounter and the exchange that follows influences him, plays upon his skepticism to allow him to continue to fire back at John and send him out into the night instead, giving us the big reveal that the Banshee is indeed real. Thankfully the show ends with that revelation, so that there isn't any awkward exposition about this discovery, it just allows for the story to become a cautionary tale about sticking to our morals and walking a path of decency when it comes to our fellow man, because by giving in...Douglas was no better than John and a price was paid for both men's arrogant actions. Either way, while this episode is a little drier and vastly more subtle than the ones that have come before it, it's one that draws you in with its unexpected spookiness and serves as a fine finale for a wild and wonderful first season. Until next time. 

---