A middle class couple are trying to cope with the insurmountable grief that comes when their son, Tommy, is killed in active service. A shadow looms into view behind the door (a taste of foreboding to come). It is Martin Fuller (John Nolan), a cheery (too cheery?) soldier, best friend to Tommy (so he says). So starts "In the Steps of a Dead Man" - a really smashing episode from Thriller's season 3 (much better than the previous episode "Death to Sister Mary"). You think you know how everything is going to turn out (this "I'm a friend of your dead son and I even know where the bathroom is" kind of plot has been done so often) - but you don't quite.
George Cornfield (Richard Vernon, he was the doddering, kindly Major in "The Duchess of Duke Street") is taking his son's death hard - so when Martin appears, even though George doesn't realise it, his mind is pushed to the edge of reason. He takes Marty to his heart, in his mind Martin has replaced Tommy - even to the extent of putting Tommy's photos and memorabilia in the attic. George, his wife Betty and Tommy's girl Sheila (Denise Buckley) are in a trance - only outsider, Grace Worth, is not so sure.
Sheila starts to have doubts as well, when she finds Tommy's service diary and sees a lot of references to "M" - a very disturbed man, who starts fights, has stolen Tommy's watch and is definitely not his best friend. She questions Marty about it, he has started romancing her - Big Mistake!! And to make matters worse, the military police have been around, asking questions about Marty Fuller. Another Big Mistake - Sheila cannot be allowed to thwart Marty's plans!! The one blot on an otherwise perfect episode - Marty's murder of Sheila doesn't tie in with his obsession to have the perfect family - father, mother and adoring girlfriend!!!
Not to give anything away - but you will never guess the outcome of this superb episode. Wait, I'll give you a clue - George is an avid inventor and finds he has finally found a way for Marty to really become a member of the Cornfield family. Skye Aubrey was the obligatory American cast member. She plays Grace Worth, who by the episode's end has all the cards in her favour.
Highly, Highly Recommended.
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