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
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