I have never seen the anthology series "Thriller" and decided to give it a try. After all, I normally love these sort of shows. However, if episode one is any indication of the quality of the shows, then it leaves a lot to be desired.
Leslie Nielsen plays a vice president of a company, Alan. He's happily married and content. However, an obsessed employee, Lily (Natalie Trundy) begins making advances towards him. He does not reciprocate but she won't take no for an answer. She soon begins pursuing him relentlessly and after a while, Alan's wife starts to suspect that he might be cheating.
At the same time, a conniving and lazy guy, Merle (George Grizzard), is looking for any opportunity to get ahead. One night he meets up with Lily--and Merle seems intent on taking advantage of her vulnerability. However, she is repulsed by his awkward advances and Merle kills her. Soon, Alan arrives at Lily's apartment and enters--to find her dead. From behind, Merle clubs Alan and runs. What's next? Well rest assured that neither Alan nor Merle behave reasonably or normally!!
This show took me by surprise by some of the plot twists--few of which ended up being welcome or making much sense. You'd never guess what Merle does next--it's completely out of left field. And, as for Alan, he was almost as poorly written and NEVER calls the police!! Huh?! Overall, a very, very disappointing episode 1 and hopefully the show will get better. The bottom line is that good actors are wasted in this one.