- Tweedy college professor discovers his new TV set is animate, apparently possessed by something from the future, and militantly intent on regulating his daily life.
- The last thing College Lit professor Cary West wants, while is wife is out of town, is a TV set to keep him company; but that's just what his wife, Carolyn has bought for him.—Rich Wannen <RichWannen@worldnet.att.net>
- Opening narration explains how this film and the events in it could either frighten you or amuse you
Opening scene
Kerry West (Hans Conried) complains about the TV aerial being installed on the roof of his house. His wife Carolyn (Janet Warren) explains the TV was purchased to keep him company while she is away visiting her pregnant sister. Her taxi arrives and she gives her husband a long list of chores to be completed in her absence. Kerry promptly disposes of the list as soon as the taxi is out of sight. Although annoyed West is rather intrigued by the TV and goes to inspect it. He lights a cigarette and the TV promptly destroys it by shooting a beam. Stunned West takes new interest in the machine and discovers it is not even plugged in. Before he can do more investigating the TV delivery man (Ed Max) arrives demanding a $100.00 deposit he forgot to collect.
West explains he doesn't have a $100.00. But unseen by him the TV finds a $5.00 note previously dropped and begins to duplicate the money till there is now a $100.00. West is happy for the TV to be taken away, however when the repair man goes to collect it, he finds the money instead.
Puzzled West retreats the kitchen to consider his options. The TV follows him, and proceeds to destroy a cup of coffee West ad just poured. The TV then loads all the dirty dishes into the dishwasher Coach Trout (William H. Lynn) visits comes for a visit. West explains that he now owns this odd TV that walks. At first Coach is skeptical, till first the machine enters the room, then destroys a second cup West has poured.
The TV then heads back to the lounge room and takes up station. Fascinated Coach follows the unit and begins trying to tinker with it. Ultimately the TV is too heavy to even turn around. It is decided to retreat to Coachs house and regroup. While there Coach begins drinking and quickly becomes drunk. In his confused state he decides the behavior of the TV was a hallucination. Recalling a childhood memory he gives the TV the name Twonky, which describes anything strange or unknown. Finally Coach slips into a drunken slumber and West heads back home
At home West decides to work on a lecture he has to give Monday. First he opens a bottle of soda, quickly destroyed by the Twonky. He then plays a game of solitaire the machine again intervenes and completes the game for him. Then he tries the record player, again the Twonky stops him and only allows certain music to be played
The following day, West is woken by his wife calling to ask how he is enjoying the new TV. He lies about how things are going. After the call, he takes a shave, as expected the Twonky stops him and completes the process for him
Later in the morning, having sobered up Coach arrives with the intention of photographing the Twonky. It stops him. Coach then tests the machine to see if it will respond to him. It stays motionless and Coach realizes it only obeys or cares for its master (West)
Coach then attacks West and is disabled by the machine, with one of his legs paralyzed. West puts him to be bed in the spare room and returns once more to try and write the lecture. The Twonky, is not happy with the subject matter and forces West to write something completely different.
Monday arrives and West tries to deliver his lecture. Suddenly large amounts of his memory are missing and all he manages to do is utter gibberish. The clase realizes his situation and begins laughing at him. Completely frustrated West rushes out of the lecture hall
Later that day he visits the TV salesmen (Bob Jellison) and insists that they take the TV away. But because the TV was sold to Mrs West, the TV can't be taken away. At the house Wests maid storms out in protest because the Twonky is doing all the house work
To Add to the confusion, members of Coachs team visit to see how he is getting on. Coach tells them to destroy the Twonky. Sometime later Mr West and a repairman arrive with a replacement unit. They find the students in a neat pile unconscious. West revives one of them, but gets no sense out of the team member
The serviceman begins setting up the new machine, but is attacked by the Twonky. The machine then rings and reports to headquarters, ordering a blonde female companion for Mr West after hearing he is lonely. Coach, still bed ridden deducts that the Twonky is an artifact from the future, and has fallen through some sort of hole in time, it looks like a TV so that it can blend in and hide. Downstairs the repairman and West try to figure out what to do with the Twonky. Suddenly a mechanical voice begins to speak, explaining that it is a robot. This outburst seems to confirm Coachs theory.
The repairman goes to report in about the problem with the Twonky, before he can the Twonky disables him. The Coach is disabled as he tries to warn West, amid the confusion the police arrive in response to the report put in by the telephone operator.
West is trying to sort out the miss understanding with the police when officers from the treasury department arrive. They have come into possession of the note replicated by the Twonky. The machine zaps all those after West reducing them to zombies and instructing them to leave
Mrs West rings to tell her husband that her sisters baby has been born. The Twonky answers the phone alerting Mrs West something is wrong.
West returns home alone and very drunk. The Twonky zaps him and he is suddenly sober again. West is now totally frustrated and launches into a rant about the freedoms he deserves.
The next day the TV repairman returns and thinks he is picking up the Twonky. However the machine has substituted itself for another TV. Desperate West convinces the Twonky to go for a drive, where he intends to drive the car off a cliff. Realizing this the Twonky reverses the car controls and foils the plan.
West then ditches the car acting as though he has run out of fuel. The Twonky realizes the ruse and jumps into the boot of a car that stops to render assistance. West discovers the woman is a terrible driver, and after a number of near misses finally collides with a truck
West wakes up in the hospital with his wife at his side. Suddenly he understands he is free of the Twoky and despite his wifes complaints lights a cigarette just to prove he can. His wife explains that the Twonky was destroyed in the car accident
West suddenly becomes very agitated when Coach arrives at the hospital to deliver a new TV
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content