Side Show , Ep. 12 de 'Way Out
Este foi o 12º (e mais conhecido) episódio da série de ficção científica de Roald Dahl , Way Out, que foi ao ar na CBS por 14 episódios em 1961. Foi escrito por Elliott Baker ( A Fine Madness , 1964). O seguinte é uma descrição da tv.com:
Meek Harold Potter is a bookkeeper with a nagging wife Edna, and no life. One night, he goes to a sideshow at a carnival. The main attraction is Cassandra, a headless lady strapped into an electric chair; only the chair is not a method of execution, but the opposite-- 10,000 volts "keep her alive." Somehow, telepathically, the headless Cassandra pleads with Harold to stay. Later, the carnival closes for the night. But Harold comes back to see Cassandra night after night. Harold falls in love with Cassandra; he even promises to help her escape the carny life. He is convinced that she is a normal girl, and the "headless" routine is just a carny trick; he thinks the only reality is that she is strapped into the electric chair, being held a virtual prisoner. Late one night, Harold sneaks into the sideshow, and using some pliers he starts to cut the metal straps that hold Cassandra. Later, Edna comes looking for her missing, errant hubby. A carny woman has fresh stitches on her neck, her head looks like that of the guillotined lady. And now there is a new sideshow attraction: a headless man strapped into an electric chair. The body looks like Harold's.
A conexão de Ray Bradbury não está longe, já que a dama elétrica é extremamente reminiscente de um conto que Bradbury gostava de contar sobre um artista de circo, Sr. Electrico, desde sua juventude. A seguir, o relato de Bradbury sobre o Sr. Electrico,
Mr. Electrico was a fantastic creator of marvels. He sat in his electric chair every night and was electrocuted in front of all the people, young and old, of Waukegan, Illinois. When the electricity surged through his body he raised a sword and knighted all the kids sitting in the front row below his platform. I had been to see Mr. Electrico the night before. When he reached me, he pointed his sword at my head and touched my brow. The electricity rushed down the sword, inside my skull, made my hair stand up and sparks fly out of my ears. He then shouted at me, "Live forever!"
Isso é de em suas palavras em raybradbury.com. Foi esse evento que ele acreditou em inspirá-lo a se tornar um escritor.