Rod Serling: In the parlance of the 20th century, this is an oddball. His name is James B. W. Bevis, and his tastes lean toward stuffed animals, zither music, professional football, Charles Dickens, moose heads, carnivals, dogs, children, and young ladies. Mr. Bevis is accident prone, a little vague, a little discombobulated, with a life that possesses all the security of a floating crap game. But this can be said of our Mr. Bevis: without him, without his warmth, without his kindness, the world would be a considerably poorer place, albeit perhaps a little saner... Should it not be obvious by now, James B. W. Bevis is a fixture in his own private, optimistic, hopeful little world, a world which has long ceased being surprised by him. James B. W. Bevis, on whom Dame Fortune will shortly turn her back, but not before she gives him a paste in the mouth. Mr. James B. W. Bevis, just one block away from the Twilight Zone.
Air date: June 3, 1960
James B. W. Bevis (Orson Bean), a good-hearted, happy-go-lucky man with some wild eccentricities, peculiar interests, and off-the-wall mannerisms, is affectionately known to everyone on his block as the resident oddball. Unfortunately, Bevis' habits get him fired from his latest job and evicted from his apartment, and lead to his incredibly vintage car getting totaled. While drinking away his woes, Bevis is visited by his family's guardian angel, J. Hardy Hempstead. Hempstead grants Bevis the chance to relive his disastrous day as a brand-new man, but Bevis finds that having wealth and success at the price of everyone he knows treating him like a stranger isn't necessarily worth it.
Mr. Tropes:
- The Alleged Car: Bevis drives a 1924 Rickenbacker that backfires constantly. The opening scene shows that Bevis is frequently being given tickets for it, then has him enlisting the neighborhood children to help him get the car moving. After he loses his job, it locks bumpers with another car and is sent rolling down the street as the newer car turns, crashing into the curb.
- All-Loving Hero: Bevis loves everyone and everything in his life, and his reputation as a good-hearted oddball means that the favor is returned by all his neighbors and coworkers.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Played With. While the "improved" day is definitely not to Bevis' liking, he never actually wished for anything. Hempstead, his angel, suggested to try the day again, and arranged how everything would work then.
- Bittersweet Ending: Bevis still has no job or apartment, but he's still his happy and optimistic self. Furthermore, Hempstead is still around, helping Bevis out in small ways.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Bevis. He's eccentric, accident-prone, loves zither music and stuffed animals, and drives a 1924 Rickenbacker. On one hand, his mannerisms mean he is beloved by the neighborhood children and many other locals. On the other hand, his idiosyncrasies mean that he can't hold a job long enough to earn a modest pay. He even tells one of his former coworkers that his latest job is the sixth he's lost in a year, and Hempstead reveals that he's already been through 11 jobs in the past 18 months.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Bevis does this after being fired, evicted, and down a car.
- Friend to All Living Things: Bevis. His neighbors, the local children, and his coworkers all love him.
- Guardian Angel: J. Hardy Hempstead has been the guardian angel of multiple Bevis family members ever since one of them, hundreds of years before, performed an unspecified act so heroic, that he earned such an angel as a reward.
- Humiliation Conga: Bevis loses his latest job, his car crashes while nobody's in it, and he gets evicted from his apartment, all in a single day.
- Identical Ancestor: Hempstead shows Bevis three prior generations of Bevises (Magellan Bevis, Parnell Bevis, and his uncle Gunner Lou Bevis), all of whom are likewise played by Orson Bean.
- Invisible to Normals: Guardian Angels can only be seen by members of the family they protect.
- Lighter and Softer: Given that the episode serves as the pilot to an unproduced sitcom, you can bet it counts as this.
- Nice Guy: Bevis. Everyone from neighbors to children to coworkers love the guy as much as he loves them, the only exception being his boss and his landlady.
- One of the Kids: The opening scene has the neighborhood children letting Bevis join their game of football for a bit, no hesitation whatsoever. When he relives the day as a more successful man, they are clearly a little more hesitant to let him join.
- Organ Grinder: One of them and his monkey reside in Bevis' neighborhood, adding a little color to the street.
- Poorly Disguised Pilot: This episode was the pilot for a sitcom that was never made, hence it's goofier tone.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After taking a look at Bevis' desk, his boss Mr. Peckinpaugh calls him into his office and gives him one that goes on for 15 minutes before firing him.
- Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Bevis and his angel are the only ones to remember what things were like before.
- Running Gag: Bevis seems to be the only person (or angel) in the universe to like zither music.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: What Hempstead promises Bevis. Of course, Bevis finds that his attempt actually made his life worse, and he is happy to see things returned to their original state.
- Tuckerization: Bevis' ancestors include Magellan Bevis, a 16th Century explorer, Parnell Bevis, a member of the British Parliament who fought for Home Rule for Ireland, and his Uncle Louie Bevis, a Marine who served in Nicaragua, being the first man to hit the beaches there.
Rod Serling: Mr. James B. W. Bevis, who believes in a magic all his own. The magic of a child's smile, the magic of liking and being liked, the strange and wondrous mysticism that is the simple act of living. Mr. James B. W. Bevis, species of 20th century male, who has his own private and special Twilight Zone.
