Episode no. Season 2
Episode 7 Written by Richard Matheson Production code 173-3643 | Directed by Richard L. Bare Featured music Uncredited Original air date November 18, 1960 | |
"Nick of Time" is episode 43 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on November 18, 1960 on CBS.
Contents
Plot
When newlywed Don and Pat Carter's automobile breaks down in Ridgeview, Ohio, they have lunch at the Busy Bee Cafe while they wait for repairs to be made. The booth they sit in has a fortune teller machine on the table that answers yes or no questions for a penny each. Don asks the "mystic seer" if he is going to get a promotion at work. The card says "It has been decided in your favor." Don calls the office, and learns he has been promoted. Because of this initial success, Don asks the seer if their car will be fixed in the promised time, and receives the answer "You may never know." Questioning the seer on this point produces eerily relevant answers, leading to the prediction that it is unsafe to leave the diner until 3 p.m.
Don accordingly stalls for time, but Pat argues that the seer cannot genuinely predict the future and eventually convinces him to leave a few minutes before 3. The couple is almost struck by a car while crossing the street. A nearby clock shows it is 3 p.m. After they calm down, Don goes back to the cafe and asks about their car again. The seer answers "It has already been taken care of", and the mechanic steps into the diner to tell Don that his car is fixed. Pat remains skeptical, contending that the seer answers only in generalities while Don provides all the specifics in his questions, so Don challenges her to try it for herself. She asks the seer trick questions, and the answers are still accurate.
Don wants the seer to tell him where they're going to live and asks the seer yes/no questions to narrow down the answer. Pat finally breaks down and tells Don that whether or not the seer can really tell the future doesn't matter, only Don's obsession with its predictions. She argues that it is better for him to make his own future than to be controlled by what the seer tells him. Recognizing the truth in what she says, Don apologizes and then announces directly to the mystic seer that they're leaving to go do what they please. After their exit, an older couple enters the diner. The couple is beleaguered and distraught. Approaching the mystic seer, the man asks questions about whether they will ever leave Ridgeview. The couple is deflated by the answers. While this is happening, Don and Pat leave Ridgeview.