An excellent performance from Bruce Weitz as down-on-his-luck Simon Foster, feeling the pain of a deep economic depression in the "future of 1999", needing money just to pay the rent since unemployment benefits have been practically exhausted, hawking what little possessions he has left—the pawn broker has a deal for Foster if he so decides. Mr. Quint (an especially slimy Géza Kovács) offers Foster a chance to make some quick cash by literally "selling his memories"! It seems that people are willing to pay top dollar to *experience* the feel of other people's memories, whether it be a birthday party, graduation ceremony, or the first time a person made love! So desperate, because the rent is due (and the sleazy landlord demands an extra month's rent in advance), Foster will start to *sell off* his memories, paying a price when job offers start to come with him unable to remember certain important details of his own history, such as what college he attended, his work experience, etc. I think the success of "The Mind of Simon Foster" derives from the depressing predicament of this time presented in 1999, which I think is relatable to many unemployed people in today's sad economic climate. Weitz's Simon Foster is an appropriate symbol of the many downtrodden, stuck in a crisis of hand-to-mouth where work is scarce and the employment lines stretch for miles. Many of us can sympathize with his plight because we've been there and understand that pain of sacrifice in order just to survive. So the episode has relevance and ends with Simon "gaining new memories", the loss of his identity bought by others, a patchwork of memories replacing those that no longer exist.
4 Reviews
we can remember it for you wholesale
jrpa8 August 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I believe that was the title a short, short story made into a movie that, as i recall, essentially only used the same theme -- or premise -- of securing other peoples memories ande implanting them in customers. Same with this twilight zone vignette. It is rather well done. The movie i referred to was "Total Recall".
The sum of all parts
sol121815 September 2010
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** 1989 "New Twilight Zone"episode that takes place in the very near future, in 1999, when the world was going through a deep financial downturn with unemployment in the US reaching an astronomical 32% and people selling whatever they had in valuables in order to sustain themselves.
Simon Foster, Bruce Weitz, had just about used up his unemployment benefits and was in the process of hocking anything of value, like his gold watch,to just be able to pay his rent. Going to see the local neighborhood pawnbroker Mr.Quint, Geza Kovacs, Simon is only able to get a measly $65.00 for his watch and whatever other "valuables" that he had. Needing money to pay his rent or he'll be thrown by his landlord, Rafe Macpherson, out on the street Mr.Quint makes Simon an offer that he can't refuse. Mr.Quint talks Simon into selling his lifetime of memories for as much as $1,000 a pop or memory!
At first things turn out all right for Simon with his memories deleted from his brain in order to pay off his bills but later he realizes that he'slowly becoming a non entity or person in not knowing his past and thus jeopardizing his future, as an engineer, employment! Quickly coming to his senses Simon now goes to see Mr. Quint to get his memories back or deplete, by blowing Mr.Quint away, him of his life for what he did, with of course Simon's approval, to destroy his identity!
***SPOILERS*** Not being able to restore Simon of his memory bank Mr. Quint does the second best thing! Give Simon a new set on memories, from both men & women,that will give him a new start in life. In Simon being an expert in any profession he chooses to go into!
Simon Foster, Bruce Weitz, had just about used up his unemployment benefits and was in the process of hocking anything of value, like his gold watch,to just be able to pay his rent. Going to see the local neighborhood pawnbroker Mr.Quint, Geza Kovacs, Simon is only able to get a measly $65.00 for his watch and whatever other "valuables" that he had. Needing money to pay his rent or he'll be thrown by his landlord, Rafe Macpherson, out on the street Mr.Quint makes Simon an offer that he can't refuse. Mr.Quint talks Simon into selling his lifetime of memories for as much as $1,000 a pop or memory!
At first things turn out all right for Simon with his memories deleted from his brain in order to pay off his bills but later he realizes that he'slowly becoming a non entity or person in not knowing his past and thus jeopardizing his future, as an engineer, employment! Quickly coming to his senses Simon now goes to see Mr. Quint to get his memories back or deplete, by blowing Mr.Quint away, him of his life for what he did, with of course Simon's approval, to destroy his identity!
***SPOILERS*** Not being able to restore Simon of his memory bank Mr. Quint does the second best thing! Give Simon a new set on memories, from both men & women,that will give him a new start in life. In Simon being an expert in any profession he chooses to go into!
Memories Are Made of This
Hitchcoc4 July 2017
Bruce Weitz (Belker on "Hill Street Blues") is Simon Foster, a man who is down and out. With raging unemployment, he is unable to get a job, so he goes to a pawn shop to hock what little he has left. The man who runs the place talks of science that can steal memories from a person and then transplant them into another's psyche. The problem is that it creates holes in one's personal history. As things get harder and harder, Simon keeps returning, losing more and more of himself along the way. He eventually has a realistic job interview but can't remember the college he went to or his major. This is an intriguing idea and Weitz pulls it off quite nicely.
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