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The Next Step Beyond
S1.E5
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Ondine's Curse

  • Episode aired 1978
YOUR RATING
The Next Step Beyond (1978)
DramaFantasyHorrorMysterySci-FiThriller

A man suffering from Ondine's Curse, a rare condition which mimics death, is left for dead after an encounter with a violent hitchhiker. His wife, the only person aware of his strange condit... Read allA man suffering from Ondine's Curse, a rare condition which mimics death, is left for dead after an encounter with a violent hitchhiker. His wife, the only person aware of his strange condition, utilizes her psychic abilities to locate her husband before he is laid to rest.A man suffering from Ondine's Curse, a rare condition which mimics death, is left for dead after an encounter with a violent hitchhiker. His wife, the only person aware of his strange condition, utilizes her psychic abilities to locate her husband before he is laid to rest.

  • Director
    • John Newland
  • Writer
    • Merwin Gerard
  • Stars
    • Meredith MacRae
    • Nick Holt
    • Robert Cleaves
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Newland
    • Writer
      • Merwin Gerard
    • Stars
      • Meredith MacRae
      • Nick Holt
      • Robert Cleaves
    • 1User review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
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    Top cast11

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    Meredith MacRae
    Meredith MacRae
    • Sara Westerly
    Nick Holt
    • Tom Westerly
    Robert Cleaves
    • Anderson
    Christopher Ellis
    • Hitchhiker
    Joseph G. Medalis
    Steve Mitchell
    Sandy Champion
    Ed Ness
    Don Monte
    Tamar Cooper
    John Newland
    John Newland
    • Self - Host
    • Director
      • John Newland
    • Writer
      • Merwin Gerard
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews1

    Featured reviews

    3LuvSopr

    Lackluster

    "Ondine's Curse" starts with a bang, as Tom (Nick Holt) gets his head knocked into a car door by a loser who is angry over a parking spot, leaving the loser and a concerned passerby to assume he's dead. As the loser flees, you briefly assume the story will follow him and some kind of haunting, but instead, Tom wakes up. A doctor tells us, and him, that he suffers from Ondine's Curse, meaning he will appear dead even when he's not. When a dangerous encounter with a hitchhiker (wearing a Superman T-shirt - the best part of the episode is when one of the characters expresses disbelief over this fashion choice) leaves him in peril, his wife (Meredith MacRae) feels psychic flashes as she tries to find him and save him.

    After watching this, I watched the original version (OSB's "12 Hours to Live") and was quickly struck by how much more involving and how much better paced that episode was. "Ondine's Curse" feels cluttered and lethargic, especially in the back half. The main strength of the episode, especially if you aren't as partial to the cheap shot-on-tape look as I am, is getting to see the lovely, underrated MacRae in a role outside of her usual realm.

    A morbid coda for this episode is that Nick Holt died in a car-related accident only a year later.

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    • Release date
      • 1978 (United States)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

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