Heart of Artichoke   

The Return                    156      November 9, 1952 
Transport to Terror      158      November 23, 1952  
A Good Thing                185      May 31, 1953 
The Dark Wall               216      July 1, 1954 
The Eye Of Evil             218      July 17, 1954 



THE RETURN 
A man wishes for a world without 'struggle'-- 
i.e. where humankind does not ceaselessly contend, 
because Hite here equates strive with strife-- 
and suddenly finds himself in his wishworld 
(in Escape, the main characters are often 'escaped,' 
just as people in Pinochet's Chile were 'disappeared'). 
Unfortunately, Hite envisions the conditions in such a utopia 
as leading to a passionless existence, 
unlike Roddenberry whose idea(l) was a future that would free us 
to do better things. 
Overwhelmed by Hite's examples of the pointlessness of paradise 
and the sheer screaming banshee boredom of such a place, 
our hero learns his lesson and parabolas out of this parable 
like a watchspring out of Switzerland. 

A GOOD THING 
If you think Escape is only about horror & terror, 
you are... wretchedly wrong. 
It is also about... uh, error. 
Another stock theme is that of dastards and bastards 
who choose to do evil and then think 
they have escaped the episode, 
only to find that at its end lurks... horrific doom!!! 
A Good Thing shows such a devil, a brother 
who doesn't have a cain to stand on except himself. 
His sib, on the other hand, has friends, talent, talents, 
accomplishments, personality, a point in life, 
substance, fortitude, decency, and... cetera. 
Unfortunately, another thing he doesn't lack 
is Abeline (not Abilene--remember this is Escape, not Gunsmoke) 
innocence. He--anthropologist he, so no excuses-- 
fails to sense that he has a resenter, a despiser, and a foe, 
all packaged into one fratricidal no-gooder 
with whom he should not walk into the sugar cane stalks 
'in the heart of a Philippine jungle.' 
Of Hite's four Escapes, this may be the most entertaining. 
Even if you're cowpokey and not a fan of the hokey, 
there are Gunsmoke personnel here besides Hite 
whose work you will enjoy. 
Antony Ellis directed the episode, and besides the dependable Dehner, 
Jack Kruschen is uncannily persuasive as an Igorot. 

THE DARK WALL 
Foreign ports teeming with lepers, thugs, and temptresses, 
readily-profaned temples waiting like speed traps for tourists, 
high priests wielding knives already gleaming with blood 
from previous episodes. Failed flights from fate and comeuppances. 
Palm, rattan, bamboo, nary a tree not found in Pier One. 
Mickey Mouse philosophy, bazaar-cheap irony, 
lukewarm chills and warmed-over thrills. 
Has Escape exhausted its repertoire? Have you gotten away? 
Are you free from the lot of Scott? No more taxes, death, and trouble? 
Ha! Not so fast! There is still the unexpected turn, the surprise ending. 
And you thought you had escaped Escape! Hah! Westerner fool you, 
Easterner fool you. 
The Dark Wall may be the best of Hite's worst, 
if only because it is uncluttered by the elements above. 
Without this crowding of the usual Escape furniture, 
it almost seems minimalist. So what remains? 
Psychosis is a frame of mind that is never outside 
the picture as far as Hite is concerned, 
and the name of the game in this episode isn't 
so much Find Waldo, as Who's Waldo? 
Dependable Dehner is at hand, but Joyce McCluskey is the one 
who truly hits the note of genuine love under strain. 
Shades of Eleanore Tanin! 


May 9, 2006 



Copyright © 2006-2011 E. A. Villafranca, Jr.  
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