Future Trade
| "Future Trade" | |
|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone (2nd revival) episode | |
| Episode no. |
Season 1 Episode 21 |
| Directed by | Bob Balaban |
| Written by | Clyde Hayes |
| Production code | 121 |
| Original air date | November 27, 2002 |
| Guest actors | |
| |
"Future Trade" is the twenty-first episode of the science fiction television series 2002 revival of The Twilight Zone. The episode was first broadcast on November 27, 2002, on UPN.
Opening narration
| “ | Martin Donner doesn't realize it yet, but he's just been offered the deal of a lifetime. All he has to do is walk through a door and into the Twilight Zone. | ” |
Plot
Martin Donner (Frank Whaley) is a salesman at a big-box store who has a miserable family life: his two children behave like complete brats, and his wife is often hostile and frustrated. Martin's only consolation is his computer time, where one day, he finds an advertisement for a corporation with the name "Future Trade".
After talking to a sales representative (Dean Winters), he subscribes and discovers that he can exchange his future with that of another. After undergoing the process, Martin finds he is now Jack, a successful CEO with a beautiful trophy wife Francesca (Sofia Milos). Wondering why Jack would be willing to trade his life with Martin's, he returns to his old home and sees that another man (whose face is hidden) is at his home.
Martin eventually discovers that Francesca is having an affair and that Jack had cheated on her. His wife poisons him with curare, causing him to become paralyzed. Her lover arrives and dumps him face-down in the pool, where he drowns. As Francesca and her lover head into the house, Forest Whitaker appears and issues a warning to read the fine print the next time somebody offers them a deal that is too good to be true.
Closing narration
| “ | Next time somebody offers you a deal too good to be true, make sure you read the fine print. Especially when that deal is brokered in the Twilight Zone. | ” |