Living Doll (The Twilight Zone)
| "Living Doll" | |
|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone episode | |
"Talky Tina", whose design was inspired by Chatty Cathy and was voiced by June Foray (the original voice for Chatty Cathy),
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| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 6 |
| Directed by | Richard C. Sarafian |
| Written by |
Jerry Sohl (Credited to Charles Beaumont) |
| Featured music | Original score by Bernard Herrmann |
| Production code | 2621 |
| Original air date | November 1, 1963 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Telly Savalas: Erich Streator |
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Telly Savalas: Erich Streator
Mary LaRoche: Annabelle Streator
Tracy Stratford: Christie Streator
June Foray: Talky Tina (voice)
"Living Doll" is the 126th episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.
Annabelle buys her daughter, Christie, a wind-up doll named "Talky Tina" which says "My name is Talky Tina and I love you" in order to comfort Christie. Annabelle has recently remarried to an infertile man named Erich Streator. Frustrated at his inability to have his own children with Annabelle, Erich is hostile toward Christie. Annabelle tries to persuade him that if he gives himself the chance, he will be able to love Christie.
When Erich winds up with the doll, it repeats its usual phrase but substitutes antagonisms such as "I don't like you" for "I love you". At first, Erich blames the manufacturers. However, when the doll later begins engaging him in more elaborate conversation, he comes to the conclusion that Annabelle is playing a trick to get back at him for his treatment of Christie. He places the doll in a trash can in the garage, but then receives a phone call and hears the doll's voice threatening to kill him. Checking the trash can, he finds it empty. He confronts Annabelle, but she pleads innocence and it occurs to Erich that since she was upstairs putting Christie to bed, she could not possibly have made the phone ring.
He runs upstairs to find the doll in bed with Christie. Erich takes the doll away against Christie's tearful protests, and angrily corrects her when she addresses him as "daddy". He attempts to destroy the doll using a vise, a blow torch and a circular saw, all to no effect. He ties the doll in a burlap sack and returns it to the trash can, weighing the lid with bricks. Annabelle begins packing to leave, unable to tolerate his hostility and irrational behavior any longer. She says that Erich should see a psychiatrist. Erich himself begins to question if the doll was talking to him was just his imagination, and offers to return it to Christie if Annabelle will stay. He takes the doll out of the trash and returns it to Christie.
Later that night, Erich is awakened by muffled noises. He tells Annabelle to stay in the bedroom, and leaves to investigate. Christie is in bed, but Tina is gone. Going down the stairs, he trips over Tina, who is lying on one of the treads, and falls, sustaining fatal injuries. Attracted by the noise, Annabelle finds Erich's body. Beside him is Tina, who opens her eyes and says, "My name is Talky Tina... and you'd better be nice to me!"
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