What happens
Walter Brailing, a henpecked husband, plans to escape his wife Gloria for a month by sending a mechanical duplicate of himself, built by Marionettes Incorporated, to stay home in his place. His friend Henry Smith hears of the scheme and considers ordering a duplicate of his own. The duplicate that Walter has already installed begins to resent its cramped life in the toolbox and its role at home, and the arrangement starts to unravel. This X Minus One episode, aired December 21, 1955, is based on a Ray Bradbury story adapted by George Lefferts.
Present-day American suburbs and a city bar in the near future, around 1990, where a firm sells lifelike robot duplicates of people.
Characters: Walter Brailing, Brailing Two, Gloria Brailing, Henry Smith, Nettie Smith, Mr. Zag, Sam
Listen for: The moment Brailing Two begins to speak with its own feelings, and Henry Smith's discovery in the cellar.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.