The Call
"Norman Blane, whose greatest fear is that, if he were to vanish from the Earth tomorrow, no one will notice, or mourn, or question. And whose greatest sadness is the realization that he is probably right. Sofa, coffee table, chair, and pet, solitary decorations in a life noted chiefly for its isolation. Point of origin and point of destination for Norman Blane, whose days and nights are routinely swallowed into unhappy silence."
Norman Blane (William Sanderson), a miserable office worker who has spent the majority of his life completely alone, calls the number of a TV commercial advertising for an album of classical music. By accidentally dialing the wrong number, Norman hears the voice of a woman who identifies as Mary Ann Lindeby (Julie Khaner) over the phone. Gradually falling in love with Mary Ann, Norman suggests that they meet in person, to which Mary Ann adamantly refuses. By tracing the calls he gets from Mary Ann, Norman learns that they originate from the Civic Art Gallery, where he is told that Mary Ann was an artist who committed suicide and whose spirit inhabits her last work: a bronze self-portrait that cries real tears.
Tropes
- 555: In the opening scene, Norman sees a commercial for a classical music album that he can order by phoning 555-4221. However, he accidentally dials 555-4212, and this mistake allows him to meet Mary Ann.
- Classical Music Is Cool: Norman seems to be a fan of classical music, specifically the piano, since he turns his radio to such a composition and accidentally calls Mary Ann while trying to order a collection of the music of noted composers from a TV commercial.
- Commonality Connection: Norman and Mary Ann fall for one another because they're both unimaginably lonely in life and death.
- Driven to Suicide: Struggling artist Mary Ann committed suicide because of her overwhelming depression. Her spirit has since inhabited her last piece, a bronze sculpture of herself housed in the Civic Art Gallery. She becomes concerned that Norman may be planning to kill himself too, as he feels just as hopeless and miserable as she did.
- For Want Of A Nail: The entire episode wouldn't have happened if Norman wasn't watching that classical music commercial and dialed the wrong number by mistake. Of course, the fact that he did gives the episode a happy ending.
- Happy Ending: Norman manages to turn himself into an extension of the bronze sculpture Mary Ann possesses, letting the two lonely people finally be together forever.
- Hates Being Alone: Norman has led a very lonely and secluded life, to the point where the opening narration states that his greatest fear would be that no one would notice if he vanished tomorrow, and the realization that he's probably right. However, Norman receives a new lease on life when he dials a wrong number and it's answered by Mary Ann, who is just as lonely as he is. They form an instant bond and talk for hours every night, but she declines his offer of an in-person date. After tracing her phone number to the Civic Art Gallery, Norman discovers that Mary Ann was an artist whose ghost inhabits her last work, a bronze sculpture of herself. Norman is initially shocked and disturbed, cutting off all contact with Mary Ann, but he later changes his mind and confesses to her he has fallen in love with her. That night, he breaks into the gallery when it closes and turns into a bronze sculpture himself, allowing for him and Mary Ann to be together forever.
- Haunted Fetter: Norman learns that after her suicide, Mary Ann's spirit possessed a bronze sculpture she made as a self-portrait, on display at the Civic Art Gallery.
- Phone Call from the Dead: Norman gradually discovers that his new lover, Mary Ann, has been dead for 10 years, and her spirit has been calling him from the museum where the bronze sculpture she possesses is housed.
- Taken for Granite: In the end, Norman is turned into a bronze sculpture so he and Mary Ann can spend eternity together. As such, this is a rare example of the trope leading to a happy ending.
- Tears from a Stone: The bronze sculpture Mary Ann made of herself, whose spirit inhabits it, sheds a single tear when Norman tells her that he loves her.
"On display; a very special exhibit, cast in bronze and loneliness. A tender symmetry of line and form, suggestive of love, finally found — in the Twilight Zone."
