"Christabel" is an installment of "Alcoa Theatre" that was based on James Thurber's life. If this sounds familiar, William Windom starred in "My World and Welcome to It" is pretty much the same thing...except for one important thing. This later series was good..."Christabel" sucks!
Arthur O'Connell stars as John Monroe...a euphemism for James Thurber. He is a writer and illustrator who has a wife and daughter. James is a grouch...and his wife and daughter are pretty nasty. Why do I say this? The wife and daughter ask James for another dog but he responds no...since they already have a dog. Their reactions were rather mean spirited...with the daughter telling him she hates him. It softens a bit later...but by then, who cares.
There are TWO huge problems with this show. First and foremost, whoever was responsible for using the laugh track should be ashamed of themselves, as it's used way too much and even when what's being said isn't the least bit funny. Second, the show isn't the least bit funny.
I strongly suspect "Christabel" was actually an unsold pilot episode for a proposed and rejected series. And, to recoup costs, they dumped it into the weekly lineup for "Alcoa Theatre"...a normally GOOD show.