The Toys of Caliban
Toby Ross (David Greelee) is a mentally disabled teenage boy who is kept sheltered from the outside world by his struggling parents Ernest and Mary (Richard Mulligan and Anne Haney). Toby also possesses the ability to summon any object he becomes fascinated with, just by observing a picture of it and saying "Bring." When their son gets sick from eating too many "brought" donuts and has to be rushed to the hospital, Toby's parents are interviewed by Mandy Kemp (Alexandra Borrie), a social worker who takes a strong interest in their domineering treatment of their son. When she pays a visit to the Ross household, Mandy learns of Toby's power by witnessing it for herself, and desires to have Toby either taken to foster care or a science lab to study his powers, leading his parents to try and fight back.
Tropes
- Abusive Parents: Mandy investigates Ernest and Mary because she believes that they're abusing the intellectually-impaired Toby. From interviews with relatives and neighbors, she learns that Toby isn't allowed to go outside, play with other children, or even watch television. She accuses Ernest of keeping him as a virtual prisoner, but later learns the truth when Ernest shows her Toby's ability to manifest anything he sees a picture of, and that Toby is kept isolated in order to protect others from his powers. Mandy apologizes, having realized that Toby's parents were the real prisoners.
- Attack on the Heart: Toby accidentally kills Mary when he removes her heart with his ability to manifest anything from a picture. He had seen a diagram of a heart in a magazine from the hospital and wanted to know how it worked.
- Big Eater: As they discuss Toby's stomach-ache, Ernest reminds Mary that their son can and will eat any food he can fit in his mouth.
- Catchphrase: Toby has "Bring!", which he says throughout the episode to have whatever he sees in a picture.
- Delayed Reaction: When Toby removes her heart, Mary is still able to come into his room to ask what he's playing with. When she actually sees her heart in his hands, that's when she falls over dead.
- Disability Superpower: Toby was born with a severe mental disability, but it also allows him to manifest any object that he sees in a picture. The downside is that whenever he tries to "bring" a living thing, it arrives dead, prompting Ernest to bury every animal he "brings" in the backyard.
- Downer Ending: Knowing that it's only a matter of time before Toby is taken by Mandy and Child Services, Ernest spends a last moment together with his son, and shows him one last picture of an item for him to "bring". Said picture happens to be of a fire, and Mandy arrives to find the house in flames, Ernest and Toby having died in the process.
- For Want Of A Nail: Toby "brings" an extra dozen donuts after he's tucked in and eats them all in one go, giving himself food poisoning. If he hadn't "brought" all those extra donuts, his parents wouldn't have had to call the hospital and meet Mandy.
- Good Parents: Despite the nonstop hassles that come with raising a mentally disabled teenager with an omnipotent ability, Mary and Ernest do their best to make sure Toby is comfortable and content.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Ernest has Toby "bring" a picture of a fire, burning his house down and killing him and his son, but keeping Mandy from taking Toby away.
- Knight Templar Parent: Toby's parents are very controlling of what their son sees and does, but only because they care about his well-being and try to keep him safe, away from hospitals and science labs that would want to experiment on him.
- Matricide: Toby accidentally kills his mother by removing her heart from her body, since he saw a diagram of one and wanted to know how it worked.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In the hospital, Mandy tries to offer Toby a magazine before Ernest swipes it from her. Even though he only got a glimpse of it, Toby manages to "bring" the magazine when he's taken home. It's in this magazine that he discovers a diagram of the human heart, and he "brings" one to figure out how it works. The heart in question happens to be his mother's, who collapses and dies when she finds Toby playing with it.
- Playing with Fire: In the end, Toby is shown a picture of fire by his father, and his ability to manifest something after seeing a picture of it prompts him to "bring" it. As Ernest intended, the fire burns their house down and kills them both, keeping Mandy from taking Toby to a mental hospital.
- Shout-Out to Shakespeare: The episode's title is a reference to Caliban, the "half fish and half monster" creature from The Tempest.
- Taking You with Me: Knowing that Toby's power is too much to handle and unable to stop Mandy and the authorities from taking him away, Ernest shares one final moment with his beloved son and shows him a picture of a fire. With Toby's ability to manifest whatever he sees a picture of, this results in the house burning down, father and son perishing in the blaze.
- They Would Cut You Up: Mandy suggests that Ernest allow Toby to be examined by experts after discovering that he can manifest anything he sees in a picture. Ernest angrily rebuts that Toby would be subjected to countless tests and experiments to determine how his power works, even most likely being killed when all is said and done.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Toby loves donuts, having his father show him a picture of one so he can "bring" some for dessert every night. His parents grow concerned when he "brings" two donuts without looking at the picture, and later that night, Toby summons dozens of donuts, all of which he eats, prompting him to be rushed to the ER to have his stomach pumped.
- Wham Shot: At the end of the episode, over the sounds of approaching police sirens, Ernest, sharing a final moment with Toby, shows him one last picture of something to summon. The picture in question, reflected in Toby's eyes? A fire.
- Your Mind Makes It Real: Toby, a mentally impaired teenager, has the ability to manifest any item after he sees a picture of it by saying "Bring!" As a reward, his parents show him a picture of a donut every night after dinner. Ernest is worried when Toby is somehow able to create two donuts for himself without looking at the picture, something which has never happened before. That night, Toby suffers from a severe stomachache after manifesting dozens of donuts. His parents reluctantly take him to the emergency room to get his stomach pumped. As a result of Ernest and Mary's odd, evasive behavior, social worker Mandy calls on them before they leave the hospital the next morning. She becomes extremely concerned about Toby's welfare when Ernest angrily prevents her from giving Toby a magazine. Although Toby only got a glimpse of the magazine, he is nevertheless able to "bring" it later. He sees a diagram of a heart and accidentally kills Mary when he removes her heart from her chest, wanting to see how it worked. Sometime later, Mandy visits the Ross household, convinced that Toby is being horribly mistreated, prompting Ernest to demonstrate Toby's ability for her. As Mandy leaves, Toby sees an old photograph of his mother and "brings" her back. This results in Mary's decomposing corpse appearing in her armchair, traumatizing Toby. After re-burying Mary's body in the backyard, Ernest believes that he has run out of options, and shows Toby a picture of fire. When Mandy returns with the police, they find the house in flames.
- You No Take Candle: Toby's mental impairment means that he can largely only speak in broken English.
