Gabe's Story

"Gabe's Story"
The Twilight Zone (2nd revival) episode
Episode no. Season 1
Episode 23
Directed by Allan Kroeker
Written by Dusty Kay
Production code 123
Original air date December 11, 2002
Guest actors

Christopher Titus as Gabe O'Brien
Kelly Perine as Jumpsuit Guy

"Gabe's Story" is the twenty-third episode of the science fiction television series 2002 revival of The Twilight Zone. The episode was first broadcast on December 11, 2002, on UPN.

Opening narration

“ William Shakespeare once wrote that the fault lies not in our stars but in ourselves. However, Gabe O'Brien, a man who just can't get a break is about to learn the fault may actually lie somewhere else. ”

Plot summary

Deliveryman Gabe O'Brien is coming home from work and is caught in a car accident. He receives a bruise on his head and his car is in bad shape. Arriving home, he has to put up with his daughter practicing the violin incessantly. Gabe's wife Nancy is taking care of the baby, and warns that she has not been able pay the car insurance premiums for three months. Gabe tells her that he did not get the promotion they were looking forward to, but things should turn out better.

Going out on the porch, Gabe sees a man in a jumpsuit using chemicals on the yard and killing the grass. He confronts the Jumpsuit Man who is surprised Gabe can see him but figures the blow to the head gave him second sight. Nancy comes out and does not notice anything and the Jumpsuit Man tells Gabe to forget what he saw and then leaves.

That night, Gabe talks to his friend Luke about what happened. Luke wants Gabe to help him rip off Gabe's electronics company, but Gabe refuses. However, the next day Gabe makes a delivery to a customer named Fisher and discovers the Jumpsuit Man in the house breaking a vase. The Jumpsuit Man refuses to answer Gabe's questions and leaves: Fisher does not believe Gabe's story that an unseen man broke the vase. Gabe goes home and Nancy tells him the other driver is suing for injuries. When Gabe tries to explain about the Jumpsuit Man, Nancy figures that he is just making up an excuse so he does not have to take responsibility for his own actions, the same way Gabe has always done. She tells Gabe that she has called her parents, and she and the children are going to live with them for a while. To add to the blow, Gabe's boss calls and informs him the price of the vase will be coming out of his wages.

Desperate, Gabe accepts Luke's offer and they go to Fisher's house. Gabe is to make the delivery and leave the truck door unlocked so Luke can steal the electronics. However, Luke has to come in and ask Gabe for help carrying it. Gabe looks outside and sees the Jumpsuit Man slashing Luke's tires. Naturally, Luke does not see anything, so Gabe grabs the Jumpsuit Man and demands an explanation. The Jumpsuit Man warns that he only has fifteen minutes to get to his next assignment. Gabe refuses to let him go until he gets an explanation. The Jumpsuit Man finally explains that the Writer has scripted it so that the police will arrive and Luke and Gabe will be unable to get away, and will end up in jail.

Angry, Gabe demands a meeting with the Writer and forces Jumpsuit Man to take him to her office building. The Jumpsuit Man takes Gabe to a seemingly empty plaza, but then a huge building appears, extending upward into the clouds. Following Jumpsuit Man's directions, Gabe goes to the 2100th floor to meet the Writer Roxanne. She is a lower-class bureaucrat in an office who explains that she is in charge of 6,000 lives and that if she does not write their lives, then nothing will happen to them. Roxanne explains that she has a really great car chase laid out for Gabe but he is not interested. When he demands that she change his life, she explains that she is only in charge of the small-time stuff, and her superiors are the ones who handle the overall course of his life. When he refuses to leave, she finally calls Mr. Jennings in Management. Jennings insists that as a matter of efficiency they cannot change Gabe's life. Gabe demands control of his own life back and points out that if he gets his wish, then Roxanne will have less work. With her support, they convince Mr. Jennings to let Gabe be in charge of his own life.

Back home, Gabe starts making plans with Luke to open up their own electronics firm. Nancy is preparing to leave when Gabe talks her into staying, noting that since she has supported him through the bad times, it is only fair she be on board for the good times. She decides to stay and they begin to prepare for their new life under their own control. They start by selling their daughter's violin in order get her a piano. Forest Whitaker appears and narrates that Gabe O'Brien proved that sometimes you can grab the pen from the poet in order to write your own story.

Closing narration

“ Shakespeare observed that all the world's a stage, its men and women merely players. But Gabe O'Brien proved that sometimes you can grab the pen from the poet and write your own story. A lesson learned in the Twilight Zone. ”

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