Ep 10. Remote Control Man

In "Remote Control Man," the tenth episode of Amazing Stories' first season, a man named Fritz "F.J." Stiles is tired of his mundane life as a television repairman in a small town. One day, he gets his hands on a mysterious remote control that can control time and space, allowing him to rewind, pause, and fast forward real life as if it were a television show.

Initially, F.J. uses the remote control for petty pranks and personal gain, such as rewinding time to relive a missed kiss with his crush and fast forwarding through work meetings. However, as he becomes more comfortable with the power of the remote control, he grows increasingly reckless and even dangerous.

F.J. starts rewinding time to undo his mistakes and get out of sticky situations. However, this proves to be a double-edged sword as his actions have consequences that he cannot always anticipate. When his crush rejects him, F.J. rewinds time repeatedly to try to convince her to change her mind, only to further alienate her and make things worse.

Furthermore, F.J. begins using the remote control to control other people's lives, pausing time to steal from a store and fast forwarding through traffic. He even rewinds time to save a man from a fatal car crash, but soon realizes that by doing so, he has caused the man's wife to die instead.

As F.J. becomes more desperate to fix the problems he has caused, he turns to using the remote control to change major events in history, such as preventing JFK's assassination and stopping the Challenger space shuttle disaster. However, these changes have unintended and disastrous consequences on the present day.

In the end, F.J. realizes that his quest for power has only caused pain and destruction, and he decides to destroy the remote control before it can cause any more harm. As he destroys the remote control, F.J. discovers that his real power comes from within, as he finally has the courage to face the world and live his life on his own terms.

"Remote Control Man" is a thought-provoking and cautionary tale about the dangers of seeking power for its own sake, and the importance of accepting the consequences of our actions. Through its engaging storytelling and clever use of the concept of a remote control that controls real life, it offers a unique perspective on the nature of free will and the limits of our control over our destinies.