Dreams for Sale (The Twilight Zone)
"Dreams for Sale" is the second segment of the second episode of the first season (1985–86) of the television series The Twilight Zone. A woman (Meg Foster) finds that a relaxing outdoor picnic with her family is nothing more than an escapist fantasy that is beamed directly into her brain.
| "Dreams for Sale" | |
|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone episode | |
 Scene from "Dreams for Sale" | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 2, Segment 2 |
| Directed by | Tommy Lee Wallace |
| Written by | Joe Gannon |
| Original air date | October 4, 1985 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
Meg Foster: Dreamer | |
Plot
On an idyllic outdoor picnic with her husband, their daughters, and their dog, a woman becomes confused and disoriented when her vision stutters and events begin repeating themselves. Eventually, her reality becomes so distorted with repeating images and sounds that she screams. Waking in a dream-making machine, she discovers she is in the future, alongside hundreds of others. They are all in a sterile, industrial indoor environment. A technician explains to her that she was in a Dreamatron, which is a "Fully Interactive Dream Machine," and it was running a "Country Picnic" program.
He fixes the circuit board for her dream bay and tells her to relax and enjoy her last six minutes before returning to work. Still confused, she returns to her dream world and relaxes again. She tries to tell her husband about her "dream" but forgets it almost straight away. She asks her fantasy husband if she can stay with him there forever. He tells her that yes she can and that he wants her to stay forever, too. Meanwhile, the machine burns out before the technicians can disconnect her, trapping her in the alternate reality forever.
They note, "At least she died happy."