User Reviews

This is a bit dull. Once again a good man is nearly thrown in jail despite his not really doing anything wrong. He has treated a railroad engineer who has had a heart attack and who has died on the job, derailing his train, causing the deaths of numerous passengers. He had given him a clean bill of health based on a fundamental examination. Of course, the reporters pretty much wreck his reputation. He is left to work on a new kind of heart machine that would allow a doctor to monitor one of his patients while away from the office. This is such old science now that it seems trite. Yet we all know what has to happen for the man to redeem himself. Fortunately, he has the support of a colleague and his family. The fascinating thing is that the science predicted here has come to pass in such a short time.

This episode is one of my favorites in predicting technology before it became reality. There are a number of plotting errors (which may have been intentional for dramatic purposes or may just be due to technology not being in existence/use in the mid-50s). The lead off accident that triggers the story is not possible since the train should have come to a stop when the engineer had his heart attack due to the engine being equipped with a "Dead Man" switch (which was in use for years before the story). As to his heart condition not being detected, I will give them a pass since in that time frame I do not know if exams involved the now standard stress test (such as running someone on a treadmill while being monitored). The portable EKG invented in this story which radioed its readings to a recorder eventually was developed for the space program to monitor the astronauts and acted as the needed stress test.