The Ray Bradbury Theater (TV Series) The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone (1989) User Reviews

Too Much Success

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 27 March 2015]

Dudley Stone is a man of infinite literary talent. A master of poetry, stage, screen, fiction, how-to books, short stories, and so on and so on. He is monumentally prolific. As he signs his latest work at a bookstore, a man, a failed novelist, hands him a note. It says he is there to kill Stone. Stone tells him to wait till the next day and do it at his house on the seashore. The man backs off and, sure enough, is welcomed by Dudley Stone into his house the next day. What transpires is pretty weird. He asks the young writer to help him destroy all his new work by throwing it into the ocean and, hence, killing him. He is tired, he says, and this will allow him to look at the truly wonderful parts of life. Twenty years pass and there is a memorial party, attended by prominent and not-so-prominent writers. Interesting conclusion but a little disappointing.

Paper

[valstone52 · 6/10 · 15 August 2020]

This episode was soso, I didn't like how they polluted the water, by throwing all that paper. That was unnecessary, and did anyone clean it up. I doubt it.

"Will you drink a toast to me, who destroyed a living legend?"

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 19 January 2022]

I appreciate the fact that Dudley Stone (John Saxon) found a way to escape his slavery to writing, but it just seemed like an odd way to go. Did he have to 'die' so anonymously that he left the entire world wondering what happened to him? Fortunately, the only 'death' suffered here was the destruction of Stone's unpublished manuscripts, which by his own admission were starting to take a downward spiral in creativity. Fortunate too that Kendall (Alan Scarfe) avoided a murder rap by hearing out the celebrated author with a novel idea about how he should disappear. The very end of the episode does tease the idea that maybe Stone will go back to his writing, while his wife's (Susan Wilson) wry smile seemed to suggest that she would be okay with it either way. With Ray Bradbury's opening remark questioning whether he would rather give up his work or his life if he had to make the choice, this story tries to have it both ways. But if made today, the thought of all those papers flying in the wind to clutter the ocean shore would surely make the environmentalists apoplectic.

Episode that changes characters in time.

[blanbrn · 9/10 · 15 September 2020]

This "Ray Bradbury Theater" episode from season 3 called "The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone" is one that's interesting with drama as you see a man change his life somewhat and get away from some of the grind. Dudley Stone(late John Saxon) is a well known successful author who has a rival who wants to kill him due to jealousy and greed. However Dudley has a plan it's like vanish and live another life! As it's a reverse to see what life is like away from the pressure of the pages. Overall may not be everyone's favorite still the episode had a nice story as it twist with the vanishing theme.