RODNEY meets EARL and GERALD in a communal space. The retirement center is running a marathon of Murder In The Dark, an old show on KTN developed with RODNEY’s oversight.
EARL
So this is your show? Murdering The Dark?
RODNEY
Murder *In* The Dark. And yes. First non-kids show we ever aired on KTN.
GERALD
Did it do well?
RODNEY
Did it do well? It was our top-rated show for eight seasons!
EARL
Wow, eight seasons on the air. Impressive.
RODNEY
Oh, it was on the air for eleven. But we don’t talk about that.
EARL
Well either way, I’m impressed.
RODNEY
Sometimes, you just have to put your work ahead of your marriage. That’s what I did.
EARL and GERALD are silent. Murder In The Dark starts playing.
GERALD
This is kind of scary.
EARL
Do you remember this episode, Rodney?
RODNEY
Oh, I didn’t watch the show. I left that up to Standards & Practices.
Everyone watches the show for a while longer.
RODNEY
Though looking at this…I’m not even sure if they watched it.
GERALD
Somebody had to be watching it.
RODNEY
Yeah, viewers at home. Not anyone at KTN, that’s for sure.
EARL
So what you’re saying is Sharon watched this but you didn’t?
RODNEY
Um…I guess so?
EARL
Now you see why that may have caused a little problem with your marriage, right?
RODNEY looks down at the ground and mutters
Yup.
GERALD
Hey, maybe it gets better.
Everyone keeps watching Murder In The Dark, waiting for it to get less gruesome and for a storyline to develop. Neither happen. At the end, RODNEY gets up to leave and return to his apartment. GERALD and EARL follow him uninvited. They stop RODNEY from closing the door behind him.
RODNEY
I didn’t invite you guys up here.
GERALD
We know.
RODNEY
Then what are you doing here?
EARL
Just seeing if you were okay. You know, since you just found out the show that cost you your marriage was utter trash.
RODNEY
It made both me and the network a lot of money.
GERALD
Sharon left you over it.
RODNEY
So? Even if it never aired, I would’ve picked up a similar-themed show and she’d leave me over that.
EARL and GERALD are quiet.
RODNEY
Does anyone else get a so-bad-that-it’s-good feeling out of that show?
EARL
In a strange way.
GERALD
Want to go back down and watch more? You know, to hate watch.
RODNEY
I got nothing else to do.
RODNEY, EARL, and GERALD all return to the communal area. However, two of their three seats have been taken since they left. RODNEY takes the empty seat. The episode ends almost immediately after he sits down. He realizes he sat down next to RUSSELL when he hears his voice.
RUSSELL
Need a hand getting up?
RODNEY
I can get up by my own damn self, thank you very much.
RUSSELL
Not you.
RODNEY looks past RUSSELL and sees SHARON sitting two seats away from him. SHARON gives RUSSELL her hand, then stands up.
RODNEY
Sharon.
SHARON gives RODNEY a polite grin, then leaves with RUSSELL.