The Face

The episode opens with a boy having a nightmare about some guy's face. According to the book An Analytical Guide to Television's One Step Beyond the boy dreams about the guy stabbing him to death. The year is 1873. It happens in Liverpool, England.

The kid had the same dream over and over even as he grew up.

Twenty years old and things are no better for him. His brother is getting married. His wife-to-be had once been interested in the bad-dream guy but now suggests he needs to get professional help to deal with his nightmares, etc.

He hires a guy who is basically a sketch artist to draw the face of the guy haunting his dreams.

He takes the sketch to the police but they say they can't identify the guy. Then, (as a sign of his worsening condition) he starts looking at bars, etc,. to see if he can find the guy.

He passes out and ends up getting shanghaied (kidnapped) and put onto a wooden ship. He sees the guy on the ship that he thinks is going to kill him. The guy is the captain of the ship.

He finally talks to the captain and asks him why he plans to kill him. The guy's obviously acting in an almost insane manner. He kills a guy thinking he's the captain but he's not.

Somehow he's caught and they hang him. The captain cuts the rope to let the body drop into the sea.

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