User Reviews

As the original summary told how the episode ends, there is no opportunity for any spoiler here. As one of the relatively few who was able to see it for many years after the first airing, I found this episode stunning: we abruptly learn that goofy sidekick Maynard has ESP! He is able to identify the doors opened by each key on Mr. Pomphret's key ring, he repeatedly informs people that their pens have leaked in their pockets before they know it themselves, and casually blurts out many other details that he has no way of knowing. He thinks he's on a fast track to celebrity, when Dobie points out his intended prediction of the very close Kennedy-Nixon Presidential Election on TV could prompt some to vote differently than they intended, so he gives it to Dobie in a sealed envelope -- but refuses to name it on the air, alienating his new fans, and is an instant pariah (and, as the summary said, he was wrong!) This episode was clever, as it aired days BEFORE the actual election, and did not state the name Maynard had written, just that it was of the loser, so the writer needed no ESP. What I found sad was that it was the best example I know of a trend I'd seen elsewhere and disliked: revealing that an ongoing character has a previously unknown amazing ability, that is never mentioned after the episode where it drives the plot! There could have been a spin-off comedy, "Maynard G. Krebs, Psychic Beatnik Detective", before Bob Denver starred in "Gilligan's Island"! Never noticed that writer's trick? Another example: On the stylish police drama "Burke's Law", one of Capt. Amos Burke's subordinates, Detective Les Hart, suddenly mentions that he has a photographic memory and can perfectly repeat long strings of random numbers. Pretty handy skill for a Police Detective to have! If it ever came up in an episode thereafter, I missed it. Even though the common knowledge of the 1960 election result made "Mystic Powers..." unattractive to syndicate for a number of years, I still think it was a great episode on the responsibilities of celebrity that more should view!