The New Arrival story
Dr. Alan Goetz, an arrogant and snobbish child psychologist, learns that his radio show is on the verge of cancellation. In an attempt to boost his sagging ratings, he decides to do a series of episodes from the home of regular caller Nora, a strange woman who wants help for her deeply disturbed daughter, Felicity. Directed by: Peter Medak. Story by: Ron Finley.
14 total · 2 choice · 8 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| dealing with children | choice | Alan was a child psychologist, and fancied himself one of the finest. His motto was "good psychology beats bad behavior", but in a moment of desperation he strangled the problem child, exclaiming "the only way to beat bad behavior is with worse behavior". |
| psychology | choice | Alan was a child psychologist, and fancied himself one of the finest. His motto was "good psychology beats bad behavior", but in a moment of desperation he strangled the problem child, exclaiming "the only way to beat bad behavior is with worse behavior". |
| coping with stress at work | major | The whole story was more or less Alan's desperate gambit to retain his job after he got news that he was about to be fired as a radio show talker |
| delusion of being someone one is not | major | The going hypothesis up until the end was that the strange woman, Nora, suffered from a kind of delusion that she was also the problematic child. |
| living corpse | major | In addition to the Crypt Keeper being his ordinary cackling self, the troublesome child proved to be some sort of ghoulish apparition underneath its mask. |
| medical occupation | major | Alan was a child psychologist. |
| mother and daughter | major | Although the situation proved to be different in the end, we were presented with the relationship details of Nora and her misbehaving daughter whom Alan promised to help with his psychology. |
| multiple personality disorder | major | The viewer is led to believe that Nora was living a double life as her own daughter. It was revealed to be otherwise in the end. |
| pride goes before a fall | major | The child psychologist Alan arrogantly boasted of how "good psychology beats bad behavior every time" before entering the house of the troubled child that would be his undoing. |
| the entertainment industry | major | The story featured the radio entertainment industry. |