Amazing Stories

Work Title: Amazing Stories
Medium: TV Episode
Episode Title: Remote Control Man
Year: 1985
Writer(s): Douglas Lloyd McIntosh
"Original" Writer: No Own work?: No
Summary:

from imdb.com An unhappy and frustrated husband with a nagging wife and an incorrigible son, finally finds solace in his new TV set that "comes alive" with the use of a magic remote control. Summary written by Anonymous

Era/Year of Portrayal: present_day
Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

present day 1985

Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: remote control
  • Description of the technology: A magic remote control. It controls a large, futuristic for 1985, television set, and can bring the characters within it alive. It can also control people outside of the set. The user only uses it inside his home. He is awed of it, and uses it to remove his irratating family, replacing them with people from TV shows, like Face from the A-Team, Milton Berle, and June Cleaver. They seem totally real. He interacts with them as if they are thier characters. They are, in fact, the real people look very vivid and real.
  • Nature of task or activity: Watching TV, hanging around the house, eating meals, sleeping. indoor activities.
  • Performance of the Technology: It breaks down, bringing too many people out of the tv, and the situation becomes uncontrollable.
  • Description of creator(s): 2 white men, in white lab coats. possibly angels, though unknown.
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): to make the user realize the value of his family, and the escapism of the TV.
  • Description of users of technology: A white male, obese, unhappy, henpecked, taken for granted. a lovable loser.
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: social_presence
  • Description of presence experience: At first, it is lovely. He replaces his wife with June Cleaver, his kids with other TV characters. Then, too many crazy characters come out of the TV, like football players, kidnappers, etc, that were not docile and uncontrollable.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: he is aware. others are not.
  • Valence of experience: at first, pleasant. then crazy.
  • Specific responses: he realizes the the calue of his family.
Long-term consequences:

happy. the tv dissapears and he spends time with his family.

Other:

Coder name: Amanda Scheiner
Coder email: amandags@temple.edu
Coder affiliation: Temple University