"Cavender is Coming" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)

The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...

.

Synopsis

Agnes Grep, unemployed and behind on her rent, gets help from Cavender, her guardian angel, who has to make Agnes happier in twenty-four hours to earn his wings. At one point, Cavender tries to change the bus Agnes is riding on into a convertible with a chauffeur, however he goofed twice, so they decided to get back to the bus, causing the bus driver to resign. Cavender provides riches and friends, a luxurious apartment and an active social life, but while it is a dazzling run, Agnes realizes she is happier with her normal life, despite all its shortcomings. Cavender reluctantly restores everything to the way it was and returns to Heaven. To his surprise, he earns Polk the Head Angel's approval upon seeing Agnes' happiness. However, the Head Angel determines that, before Cavender can earn his wings, he must help "other deserving subjects down there", and those will be his assignments for future evaluation. "In a strange way", the Head Angel muses, "I feel sorry for them...".

Episode notes

This episode was originally broadcast with a laugh track

Laugh track

A laugh track is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into television programming of comedy shows and sitcoms.The term "laugh track" does not apply to the genuine audience laughter on shows that shoot in...

 — the only Twilight Zone episode to feature one — because this episode was intended as a backdoor pilot for a regular comedy series featuring the Cavender character. The version airing in the US on Sci Fi Channel

Sci Fi Channel (United States)

Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...

 has the laugh track removed.

The essential premise of this episode is exactly the same as the first-season Twilight Zone episode "Mr. Bevis

Mr. Bevis

"Mr. Bevis" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:A kindly fellow's life is turned topsy-turvy when he receives "help" from his guardian angel....

". Both episodes are comedies about well-meaning guardian angels who try to help kind-hearted, but hapless human beings by magically giving them everything they think they desire -- only to discover the humans are happier with the way life had been previously. Both episodes were written by Rod Serling.

Reception

This is the lowest rated Twilight Zone episode at both TV.com

TV.com

TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...

 and the Internet Movie Database

Internet Movie Database

Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...

. However, as is the case with other episodes, some viewers will find names in the credits that they recognize from elsewhere.

External links

• Full video of the episode at CBS.com