User Reviews

A sad tale of romantic yearning presented first as soap opera, then with what feels like like life drama, with a dollop of the supernatural, it ends on a note of mystery. Extremely well acted by Maria Palmer and Robert Douglas, with the latter playing unlikable very well (I found his character loathsome), this One Step Beyond delves, more than most episodes in the series, into human heart, and then explores, with a kind of clinical compassion, the matter of what becomes of a broken heart.

There's another topic present in this supposedly based on fact tale, and it's mental illness. Inspired by what look to her like signals she see on a Ouija board, the woman recalls a man named Jeremy who had, according to her, contacted her before, and was now doing it again. She's delighted to have him back, however the viewer can only wonder what's actually happening, as one can see no concrete evidence that this Jeremy ever existed outside the woman's imagination.

A small cast helps the viewer get to the heart of the matter of what's wrong with this modern marriage of the contemporary London of the postwar era in which the story is set. At first, the husband appears jealous, even goes so far as to hire a detective to follow his wandering wife around; and then it becomes increasingly apparent that she's not seeing another man but living in what seems to be a dream world.

Or is it? The issue of whether this woman's "invisible man" actually exists gets raised, and yet is not satisfactorily answered. The husband, if nothing else a rational human being, calls for a doctor to take his seemingly slipping into schizophrenia wife to a sanitarium. A man comes, the wife appears fond of him, and the two leave. A while later another man arrives looking for the woman and her husband said that someone had already come for her and that she was gone.

As stated during host John Newland's introduction to this story the woman disappeared that night and has never been seen again. This is restated at the episode's close, accompanied by speculations on,--is it the supernatural or more, "respectably", the paranormal?--and I was not convinced that the woman was anything more than a deeply disturbed individual who disappeared from the face of the earth likely due to mental illness. Still, it was a compelling story and presented in such a manner as to allow for differing interpretations of it.

Well if this particular story ever actually happened, it would be one for the ages. The Ackroyd's, Sylvia (Maria Palmer) and husband Harrison (Robert Douglas) have a loveless marriage in which she feels trapped and unloved. To replace her Friday evening loneliness while Harrison meets business clients for dinner, Sylvia seems to invent an imaginary friend who regales her with conversation and laughter. This occurs after Sylvia comes across a ouija board in the attic of their home. Following a heated argument in which Harrison accuses her of seeing another man, Sylvia admits that she's been communicating with someone who died eighteen years earlier. Concerned now more for Sylvia's sanity than over any perceived marital discord, Harrison calls for a doctor to take his wife away to a sanitarium. A professional looking gentleman arrives and escorts Sylvia away after speaking the words in my summary line to her. The relieved husband is shocked when shortly later, the doctor he originally called shows up to deal with Sylvia. You'll have to make up your own mind on this one. Rod Serling would have paid good money for this script.

In his introduction John Newlands asked. What happened to Sylvia Ackroyd.

Set in London, Sylvia Ackroyd is trapped in a loveless marriage. Her husband Harrison seems to care little for her and just expects that she does not embarrass him.

Harrison becomes concerned about rumours that Sylvia might be having an affair. An investigator tells Harrison that although his wife has not been anyone, she has been seen muttering to herself.

Sylvia seemed to have summoned an old lover called Jeremy with a Ouija board. He had died some years earlier but has now come back.

When Harrison hears about this, he is shocked and calls for a doctor to have his wife committed. Despite her protestations, a young man does arrive to take Sylvia away.

Later the actual doctor visits the house.

This is very much a story with a supernatural twist, although I did think when the young man arrived, it was bound to be Jeremy. A ghost lover is bound to be a better option than the cold Harrison.