Experimenter Page #8

- Well, that's me.

Yes.

Can you identify anyone else?

Not by name.

Most commuters recognize,

on average, four individuals

that they see in their daily routine

but never speak to.

Familiar strangers.

Amongst these are

"sociometric stars".

Figures that they not only recognize

but even fantasize about.

They wonder what kind of lives

these strangers lead,

what their jobs are like.

And if they ran into each other

in another place,

or if some emergency jolted them

out of this routine,

they might start to speak,

actually know one another.

I teach at CUNY, and I see you

out here, you know, all the time

and I wonder about the things

you must see.

You look familiar.

What do you teach?

Social psychology. "The City of

New York is a vast laboratory."

I had no idea you were English.

You're English?

- Yes.

- Assuming that accent is real.

- I saw you on TV.

- Good Morning America.

- I knew you looked familiar.

- He tortures people

- with electric shocks.

- That isn't accurate.

He's very controversial.

Have you read my book?

Have you?

I don't get a chance to read as

much as I would like to.

- It's okay.

- I read the review.

Well, there were many reviews.

It was the Times, wasn't it?

Harsh.

Yes, it was. It was harsh.

It was nominated for an award,

but, yeah, who cares?

Why disabuse yourself?

What?

I don't wanna make you angry,

ma'am. Just...

have a nice day, okay?

Abe, it was a pleasure

meeting you.

I was bowled over when I first

read about it,

and you in the Times,

and then I read the original material

and the scientific journals,

and I mulled.

- You mulled?

- I mulled.

This mulling produced the idea

to do a TV play

of a hopefully high caliber,

for an accepted show,

of a decently adult level,

treating, in fictional form,

the kind of experiments you

performed and its aftermath.

Using it as a springboard for

my own characters

and situational inventions.

I, uh, I kept this.

D'you see how yellow?

Stan, sorry, help me.

I was just wondering.

Your name, its derivation?

Milgram means "pomegranate"

in Hebrew.

It's one of the seven fruits of

the Bible. I'm Jewish,

if that's what you're asking?

Apples is another, right?

Figs, grapes.

Olives, they're a fruit?

Anyhow, when you point out

the parallels, the connections,

Hannah Arendt,

The Banality of Evil,

the My Lai massacre, all of that,

I see where you're coming from.

I'm here because a serious

situation is pending

with regard to the drama I propose.

Playhouse 90, the Columbia

Broadcasting System.

CBS.

Michele, ma belle. Ca va?

Hi.

I was just gonna get

some ice cream.

Whenever I'm up late like this,

which is a lot,

I think of your grandfather.

- Sam?

- Yeah, that was his name.

Yeah.

He died.

That's right, in his sleep.

It's the luckiest way, people say,

not to know what's happening.

Why... Why did he die?

Hmm.

Heart disease.

It was before you were born,

before your mother could meet him.

He was a baker,

his specialty were cakes.

- He worked late.

- Mmm-hmm.

I got it from him.

Maybe you'll get it from me.

Basically there are

three types of people.

That's what

your research confirms.

There's the person

who makes things happen,

the person who

watches things happen,

then the person who says,

"What happened?"

Right?

I'm a dramatist, I was explicit,

not a scientist.

Your work is a springboard for

revealing basic human truths.

You get your consultant's fee.

What's the problem?

It isn't about the money.

I'm sorry, she needs

to speak to you again.

She says it's urgent.

Tell her to relax.

Excuse me.

Dr. Stanley?

Yes?

Mr. Bellak won't be back

in his office this afternoon.

Excuse me?

He can't talk to you today anymore.

He says you can visit the set.

Okay.

So, you sold him the rights?

No. But it's a gray area.

But it's your book, it's your work,

it's your experiments.

So either you did it or you sold it

or you didn't. Right?

In the opinion of

Harper's legal department,

we don't have a supportable claim,

not on the basis of

copyright infringement,

because the show is fiction.

Are we finished with this?

They gave me a consulting fee.

Is that enough?

Your father's turning into

a fictional character.

- Why?

- Yes, why?

And why do they have

to make you a goy?

It's not about me.

I'm just a springboard.

- Why?

- I don't know.

Oh, I see.

So, you had no choice?

I could just give the money back

but they'd make the show anyway.

Why don't I give the money back?

I'll give the money back!

That's a good idea.

You know what?

You don't have to be so snippy.

They don't just come in

and sadistically pull these switches.

Bing. Bing.

They have an inner struggle

not to obey.

Their inner pain is

the evidence to that.

Steven, what you're doing

is very important,

and I love the design.

It's audacious.

And?

I am being careful, which is why

I've got tenure around here

long before black

became popular.

It's tricky. Very tricky.

There'll be criticism of

anything breaking new ground.

There are times when

your life resembles a bad movie,

but nothing prepares you if your life

actually becomes a bad movie.

Here's Dr. Steven Turner,

Steven/Stanley, Turner/Milgram,

of Rutledge University,

a bachelor and a WASP,

being played by William Shatner,

four years after

his last Star Trek episode.

Ossie Davis plays his colleague

and best friend.

I don't believe you're

adequately considering...

faculty reaction.

You may find yourself teaching

in Siberia.

This has to be somewhat weird

for you.

Well, I've made some films

myself actually.

Documentaries.

I think Ossie may have meant,

and I was wondering also,

do you have a best friend

who is, you know, a brother?

I mean this tradition of

a black best friend,

where did that come from?

You don't have

a black best friend, Bill?

No. Do you?

This character isn't me.

I'm just a springboard.

Did you know I did the first

interracial kiss in US TV history?

Ah, Star Trek, sure.

I kissed Nichelle Nichols on

network TV.

Controversial, but you did it.

The network was... nervous.

They insisted we shoot

an alternative version,

but during the close up

I did this...

First time, 1968,

in the history of TV.

I've read about

your experiments, Doctor.

Did you happen to use

any black folks?

Yes, of course.

And the results?

They fared the same as

everyone else.

Roughly 65 percent compliant.

You didn't force or

threaten anyone, right?

- No.

- You didn't twist anyone's arm?

- No, no.

- Didn't hold a gun to anyone's head?

You see, it brings to mind when

I was six or seven years old,

coming home from school.

Two policemen call me over

from their car.

"Come over here, boy.

Come on over."

- Have I heard this one?

- No.

They tell me to get into the car,

and they take me

to the precinct station.

Then one of them

takes a jar of cane syrup

and pours it over my head.

And they both laugh like it's

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