Night of the Meek
| "Night of the Meek" | |
|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone (1985 series) episode | |
|
Scene from Night of the Meek | |
| Episode no. |
Season 1 Episode 13a |
| Directed by | Martha Coolidge |
| Written by | Rockne S. O'Bannon, original story by Rod Serling |
| Original air date | December 20, 1985 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Richard Mulligan: Henry Corwin | |
| Episode chronology | |
"Night of the Meek" is the first segment of the thirteenth episode from the first season (1985–86) from the television series The Twilight Zone.
Plot
Henry Corwin comes to work as a department store Santa Claus drunk. The store owner Mr. Dundee, fires him. Dundee is already upset that the custom-made coat for his wife was sold to a customer and blames Corwin for ruining Christmas for the kids. Corwin rebuffs Dundee saying that it will be the kids that cannot shop at his store that will be disappointed with Christmas.
Corwin is at his apartment depressed on Christmas Eve getting ready to take a garbage bag to the street. He hears the children caroling and says that he wished that he had something to give them. They move on. Then Corwin notices that there are toys coming out of the garbage bag and calls for everyone to come to him.
Mr. Dundee gets home and notices the children on the streets are running around with new toys; it piques his interest. When he enters Corwin's apartment there are many gifts coming out of the bag, so many that Mr. Dundee suspects they have been stolen from his department store. The police are called. They question Corwin and cannot believe that he stole but there are no receipts so they decide to take him in.
Receipts for Dundee's department store start to flow out of the bag. The police are satisfied that everything is okay. Eventually the gifts are distributed and Corwin comes out of his place to see Dundee with all the receipts in his hands. Dundee asks how did Corwin manage to make everything happen. The receipts vanish and Corwin tells Dundee to never question miracles. Reaching into the bag, Corwin pulls out the fur coat intended for Mrs. Dundee and a baseball with the signatures of the 1961 Yankees for himself. Dundee asks Henry if there is anything that he would wish to get? Corwin says that all he wants is to be able to do this every year.
Smiling and happy, Dundee walks to his car and Corwin goes back into his place. Ready to get rid of the costume, Corwin starts with the beard and mustache. It does not come off and he realizes that he must have some new-found magic. In a swoosh, Corwin goes up the chimney. Dundee gets near his car and hears bells and the jolly laugh of Santa Claus overhead. Dundee smiles, knowing that Henry must have gotten his wish too.
Note
This episode is a remake of the original The Twilight Zone series episode, "The Night of the Meek", about a drunken, fired department store Santa (played by The Honeymooners Art Carney) who finds a magical sack that can create presents and becomes a real-life Santa Claus after giving gifts to everyone (including the police officers who arrest him).