Night Gallery/Brenda

Brenda
Season 2, Episode 7B
Airdate	November 3, 1971
Teleplay by	Matthew Howard
Story by	from the short story by Margaret St. Clair
Directed by	Allen Reisner
Produced by	Jack Laird
← 2x07A Midnight Never Ends	2x08A → The Diary
Night Gallery — Season Two

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Brenda is part of the seventh episode of the second season of Night Gallery, and the fourteenth episode overall.

Starring: Glenn Corbett (Richard Alden), Laurie Prange (Brenda Alden)

Co-Starring: Robert Hogan (Jim Emsden), Barbara Babcock (Flora Alden), Sue Taylor (Elizabeth), Pamelyn Ferdin (Frances Anne)

Uncredited: Rod Serling (Host)

Plot Overview

The story concerns Brenda Alden (Laurie Prange), a lonely young girl who is vacationing with her parents at their island summer home. Brenda's often bratty and sometimes cruel behavior has cost her the likelihood of making friends with any of the other kids whose families are also vacationing on the same island by alienating them. However, one day as she's out and about in the island's forests, she comes across a strange, Bigfoot-like creature that looks as if it was unearthed from the forest itself with it's moss and plant-like appearance but no identifiable facial features. An initially frightened Brenda begins to run with the creature slowly on her trail until the girl, who shows no resistance in taunting anyone or anything, exhibits the same kind of behavior toward the creature in a playful manner. Eventually, Brenda manages to trick the creature by tossing rocks at a rocky ditch, which the creature investigates and has the misfortune to fall into the ditch and tries escape but with no luck. A gleeful Brenda escapes unnoticed before having a conversation with her father, who confronts his daughter about an earlier incident in which Brenda has to apologize to a girl's parents for upsetting their daughter over destroying her sandcastle voluntarily. As the day turns to night and the family goes to bed, Brenda still has the creature on her mind and chooses to leave the front door ajar. Halfway during the night, Brenda awakens to hear her mother scream and goes out to investigate.

As she observes downstairs, the creature has walked into the house, courtesy of Brenda leaving the door ajar. Her parents stand near it, petrified as her father points a flashlight at the creature while her mother immediately calls a neighbor, who is the father of the girl Brenda upset earlier. The man comes to Brenda's father's assistance with torches and the two manage to fend the creature off the property and the three of them disappear into the night with Brenda witnessing this all firsthand.

The following morning, Brenda goes back to the ditch to find a bunch of rocks have kept the creature trapped. A thoroughly upset Brenda goes to the rocks and apologizes for what's happened, which her father soon arrives and demands Brenda to back away from the rocks. In a tense conversation, Brenda's father informs her that they're going to be leaving that day with her father making up an excuse about work.

Time passes and the family returns to the island, with Brenda returning to the same spot where the creature was trapped, with rocks still serving as a prison. The rock is starting to show signs of plant growth which indicates the creature's roots have gotten longer but still living. Brenda apologizes and embraces the rocks, confessing that she'll do what she can in order to be with the creature as she has fallen in love with it in a tearful monologue. The creature sheds a lone tear, which can be seen sliding down one of the rocks.

Notes

• The creature was played by actor and stuntman Fred Carson, whose acting credits included appearances on TV shows for the original Star Trek, The Wild Wild West and I Spy.