Curiosity Killed story
Jack and Cynthia, an elderly couple who hate each other, are camping in the woods with fellow elderly couple Harry and Lucille, who are more tolerable of one another. Wanting to repay Jack for saving his life in the military, Harry and Lucille let him in on the secret: they are planning to create a potion that will allow them to become young again. Harry, Lucille, and Jack also attempt to keep the secret from the bitter and overbearing Cynthia, who wants to use it for her own means. Directed by: Elliot Silverstein. Story by: Stanley Ralph Ross.
13 total · 1 choice · 8 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coping with aging | choice | The four main characters all felt their years and were desperate to become younger again when they realized they had a chance to do so. Cynthia in particular was bitter because she felt she had given the best years of her life to Jack and had nothing to show for it. The sentiment was somewhat reciprocated. |
| friendship | major | The elderly men Jack and Harry were friends dating back to the time they spend fighting in the war together. |
| husband and wife | major | The story follows two elderly couples as they spend some time together camping in the woods. Jack and Cynthia were constantly at each other's throats, while Harry and Lucille were more tolerable of one another. |
| lovers' quarrel | major | The old married couple of Jack and Cynthia quarreled like one, as the saying goes. |
| magic potion | major | The elderly couple of Harry and Lucille prepared a magic youth restoring nectar. They planned to share the magic nectar with Harry's old friend Jack, but Jack's resentful wife Cynthia ensured they all died horribly before they had the opportunity to enjoy the nectar's benefits. Taking the nectar for herself, Cynthia regained her youth and beauty, only to be mauled to death by a dog that'd regained its vitality by licking the left over nectar from the very glass Cynthia had used. |
| resentment | major | Forty-five yearly of marriage left Jack and Cynthia bitter and resentful toward one another. |
| shrew character | major | Cynthia was a stereotypically unpleasant, ill-tempered, scolding, nagging, and aggressive wife to Jack. |
| spouse murder | major | Cynthia poisoned her husband Jack's youth potion out of spite once it became clear he was not going to share it with her. Jack died a quick, but horrible death after imbibing the lethal brew (as did Harry and Lucille). Harry had earlier exhumed the badly decayed corpse of his first wife, Emma, who he'd done in with a six-inch blade. |
| what if I could be young again | major | The four main characters, and also the dog, all enjoyed the magic youth restoring nectar to varying extents. |
| curiosity killed the cat | minor | Cynthia's nosiness about the youth restoring nectar indirectly led to her demise. It is unclear as to whether the story title refers to this or something else. |