The Playground story

rbt1985e1x02 · 1985-06-04

A father haunted by the constant bullying he suffered in his childhood takes his son to a local playground, only to find that the ghosts of his past now reside in the playground. Directed by: William Fruet. Story by: Ray Bradbury.

14 total · 1 choice · 5 major · 8 minor

Theme	Level	Motivation
childish bullying	choice	Charles confronted his repressed memories of a traumatic childhood when he was serially bullied. In a supernatural twist, he somehow ended up trading bodies with his own son and was forced to experience a bullying incident anew.
childhood trauma	major	It became clear that Charles had suffered a repressed but lifelong trauma from being regularly bullied as a kid.
father and son	major	The story concerns single father Charles Underhill trying to raise his son, Steve, responsibly while also confronting ghosts from his own childhood when he was regularly bullied.
overprotective parent	major	Charles was pathologically apprehensive about letting his young son go to play at the local playground, fearing the boy would endure the same torment from bullies that Charles endured in his own youth.
single fatherhood	major	The story concerns single father Charles Underhill trying to raise his son, Steve, responsibly while also confronting ghosts from his own childhood when he was regularly bullied.
standing up to a bully	major	The story built up to Charles confronting his childhood bully, Ralph. The end result, alas, was Charles suffering the bullying all over again.
aunt and nephew	minor	Carol was helping to raise her young nephew, Steve.
body swap	minor	After going down a spiraling slide together, Charles and his son Steve somehow ended up inhabiting each other's bodies.
brother and sister	minor	Charles's sister, Carol, was helping to raise his young son.
coping with the death of a spouse	minor	In a poignant scene, Charles gazed longingly at dually framed photos showing his young son and his dearly departed wife.