Sad what became of little person, David Rappaport. Depression is a serious issue. He appeared so jolly on screen, but inside he was crying. Sadly, the same thing just happened to another little actor, Vern Troyer... Great to see the legendary Mark Hamill post-Star Wars, pre-Joker!
I only caught the last half of this episode when it originally aired and had not seen it since. Well worth watching again in honor of Mark Hamil's 70th birthday.
I used to work for the salvation army and my job was taking people's donations. One day this lady comes in with old school TONKA TOYS. The ones made from METAL. The toys were still in their UNOPENED original packaging and the toys were in pristine condition. A man pulls up behind her to donate his stuff. When he saw the toys, he got out of his car and looked at the them. He then reached into his pocket and took out a wad of cash. He ended up giving the lady several hundred dollars. Turned out he collected those old school tonka toys.
The little imp didn't finish telling the boy enough that he also had to have a nice place to store all his favorite possessions.So the boy should've continued to work hard to support his dreams as well.
Forest Whitaker always seems to appear in the most random of roles lol. I bet when he did Bloodsport he didn't think anyone would ever see it and it's probably the 2nd most popular martial arts film ever behind Enter the Dragon.
Toys & Comics got the bargain of a lifetime! Forest Whitaker and William Dear (Dear is prob best known for directing Harry and the Hendersons, Angels in the Outfield and being one of the script writers for The Rocketeer, he also directed an episode of Amazing Stories called Mummy Daddy), their shop paying $200,000 for all of that in 1986 money, if they held onto some of that stuff for 10+ years they would've more than tripled their investment and that's including adjusting for inflation, especially considering that everything looks to be in mint or near mint condition. That Action Comics #1 looked to be at least a 7.0, I wonder if it was authentic or if they used a reprint for the episode.
...I know most people who read this will either laugh or give a shit but.....I think it's worth mentioning that I'm 36 now and barely found it and got to watch it and so my point is I must'a seen this at about 6...7...8 yrs old??....young, real young and I never forgot it and timeless message.... WOW...and right now at this point in my life I really needed to see this....Thank you God...
@@defcon2544 ....to always remember...... "the world needs more dreamers"..... Albert Einstein said imagination is more important than knowledge....to answer your question, well....I guess losing my way in life and ultimately not giving up.....to always dream big
Another Star Wars alumni in here - Forest Whitaker. "What will you do, when they raise you? What will you do if they offer 1.5 million? What will you become?"
As someone pointed out, it is metaphorical and like many Hollywood productions, also Biblical, about "the road less traveled ultimately being the most rewarding."
So it takes the guy about 50 years to become a millionaire. By that time, he is about 70 years old and if he’s lucky, has only 10 years to FINALLY enjoy that wealth and his life. Sounds about right. 😂
I love this episode. But for those of us who have spent years accumulating "collectibles" the market has gone "soft" and these things hold little value these days. So sad.
I still have all my original Transformers (on card and in box), Star Wars figures and playsets (also in box), Kenner Alien (in package with poster), Clash of the Titans collection (on card and in box), Gizmo and Stripe from Gremlins (in package), and Micronauts, and much, much more-- but I'm keeping them! 😂 I'll let my daughter sort it all out after I'm gone! I hope it's all still worth something in the coming decades.
Golden age comics keep going up, so you’re completely wrong there. Action Comics number one (show in this episode, valued at $20,000 in ‘86). is worth several million near mint now. Things like depression era glass became worthless because they were easy to replicate.
Watched this as a kid. Watched it again decades later as a middle-aged adult. Ah, memories... Very amusing episode although I think they went overboard with Mark Hamill's old man make-up. I hear some people criticize this episode saying the moral of the story is to encourage laziness and irresponsibly. I don't see it that way. Not every story is intended to teach a moral lesson or to offer any underlying message. Some stories are just to entertain, nothing more. So you can just enjoy it for what it is. Plus it's not like the guy, Jonathan Quick didn't pay a terrible price for his path in life. Being a lonely, impoverished vagrant for decades, estranged from his parents, with no family of his own. He didn't finally achieve his dream of wealth until his old age. Not exactly a great trade off ya know what I mean? BTW, the woman he meets at the end whom he inadvertantly asks out, that's the mom of actresses Zooey Deschanel and Emily Deschanel. Cool!
that superman #1 back then was worth $20,000 9.0 grade but now in to days money it's now worth 3.4 million if it's 9.0 grade it's to show you how old this show is.
@@drlight6677 Yes, If it's 9.8 grade and slab comparing to prices back in the 80s where a steal for $500K comic book that is a 9.8 grade and slab comparing to days vaules of $6 million or more. For example, I bought at a comic book convention a few years a go a vintage first appearance of Star Lord from guardians of the galaxy for about $100 high grad 20 to 50 years from now it can be worth about $250,000 to $700,000.00
This was always a very odd script; it's easy to see what it wants the message to be. But I suspect it was conceptually sabotaged being written in the 80s at the very apex of the new, shallow materialism. Johnathan's life of "being true to his dreams" is framed only as having value because crass collectors see him as a vehicle to make money off of. A better version of the story might present Johnathan as having become a wandering curator of cultural artifacts lost to history - vanished film reels, audio recordings, books. Things disregarded and devalued by short-sighted people. And then Johnathan is vindicated when at last encountering a historian or curator who recognizes the cultural significance of his collection - and knows that it deserves to be displayed to the public for education, not auctioned off to the ultra-wealthy. Such a life for Johnathan would absolutely not have been a waste, and he would have been valued as a person for his insight and appreciation of history he witnessed in the making and felt the need to preserve.
Now THAT would have been a far more rational and reasonable script, but I believe, for story's sake, Jonathon Quick's character has to reach rock bottom as a pauper before rising up to being wealthy.
I enjoyed this episode as a kid but I wonder how Jonathan was able to keep his possessions and car in top condition while living in squalor. The fact that the Toby mug had no chips or damage while holding pennies all those years is highly unlikely even under the best of circumstances. His Auburn is run down after 50 years yet is described as "mint condition" during the auction. He literally had all is eggs in one basket.
Although the twist is clever, the message of the episode is deeply flawed. It's nice to have dreams. But you have to work hard to make those dreams happen. You can't just do nothing. Sure, Mark Hamill eventually got rich later in life. But was it really worth upsetting his parents? Was it really worth having no friends, no home and no job for 40 years? Was it really worth spending 40 years in the gutter? No way!!
You weren't really paying attention. He talked about finding something he enjoyed, whether it was work looking for the circus or not working at all for a while. He traveled, he worked when he could, and he built a life worth looking back on.
@@JoeMama-sy8cg He was also supposed to have played Kivas Fajo in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, The Most Toys, but two days into the shooting, he attempted suicide and was replaced by Saul Rubinek. The clips are on RUclips, and the 3rd season? Blu-Ray.
The Leprechaun talks like Nancy Pelosi - pitch away responsibilities, do what you want, listen to your heart, and live off of others and the government. ;-) I remember watching this episode when it first aired, and even then I thought while I appreciated the message of holding on to those things that are dear to you, it also gave the wrong message to (more than) imply shirking responsibilities. Even as a kid I realized that about this story.
Didn't it ever occur to you that the Skywalker cycle is directly linked to the Lucas cycle? He failed with the prequels, as his alter-ego failed to reawaken the the Jedi. Now it's in the hands of the Disney empire. Are they more machine then men? Only one way to break the cycle of failure.
So is the lesson of this episode: be lazy, don't do anything and wait for gold/money/fortune to come from mother nature??? I mean, the guy spent between 30 and 50 years as a homeless vagabond only to get rich when he is already old (and cannot even walk without a cane) and we should be happy about that? Sure, the world needs dreamers (sorry Mr Trump) but if he didn't want to be a doctor he could have found another job he liked instead of spending his whole life doing nothing.
No, its more of a metaphor for people who want to pursue their dreams. Life will be harder and seem fruitless for a long time, but in the end you may receive gifts that you never thought possible by following a different path. You can then retire a happy republican and date women half your age will sleeping on piles of cash.
Miketar2424, I'd agree with you if they had shown the guy working hard whereas he kept his belongings. However, he spent most of his life doing nothing. Of course your life will be fruitless if you do not make any effort to get what you want and of course it is possible you wont get it.
Yes...we call it California and is why illegals are called Dreamers instead of bums...but he forgot the part about getting on lifelong welfare so you live in a nicer house than the ppl w jobs who are taxed to death
It didn't matter whether or not the lady paid him, he suddenly realized that his stuff had value. Even if she'd run off with it, he wouldn't really have lost anything.
I have been searching for this episode for years. I haven't seen it since '86 I think. Thank you for posting this,
Feel ya brother
First saw it in '94
I'm looking for Amazing Stories The Movie
@@jamaalbachelor9563 85 for me brand new glad U saw it though
I saw it in 2004
Its awesome reading the comments of people that watched this as a kid, having the same impact on them as it did me. RUclips is amazing.
Sad what became of little person, David Rappaport. Depression is a serious issue. He appeared so jolly on screen, but inside he was crying. Sadly, the same thing just happened to another little actor, Vern Troyer...
Great to see the legendary Mark Hamill post-Star Wars, pre-Joker!
I only caught the last half of this episode when it originally aired and had not seen it since. Well worth watching again in honor of Mark Hamil's 70th birthday.
I think this episode got me started in comic collecting.... crazy
A bittersweet lesson in treasures and self worth. It only both could happen when we are young enough to enjoy it.
My favorite episode!
I used to work for the salvation army and my job was taking people's donations. One day this lady comes in with old school TONKA TOYS. The ones made from METAL.
The toys were still in their UNOPENED original packaging and the toys were in pristine condition. A man pulls up behind her to donate his stuff.
When he saw the toys, he got out of his car and looked at the them. He then reached into his pocket and took out a wad of cash. He ended up giving the lady several hundred dollars. Turned out he collected those old school tonka toys.
The little imp didn't finish telling the boy enough that he also had to have a nice place to store all his favorite possessions.So the boy should've continued to work hard to support his dreams as well.
Raef Gotti Yep..The young man should've been hard working all the time
Congrats, you missed the whole point of the episode.
Sunday night's on NBC in 85 was Amazing
I kept all my video games, comics, cards, and do that with my stocks as well. Good lessons here.
HodL
I kept a lot of my Star Wars toys and comics for that reason. Funny how it took Mark Hamil to inspire me to keep my Star Wars merchandise
I think this episode is what turned me into a hoarder.
This episode certainly encouraged my collecting habit.
Same
The go to show you how disrespectful people are when someone has a passion.
Young Forest Withaker plays in this episode!
Forest Whitaker always seems to appear in the most random of roles lol. I bet when he did Bloodsport he didn't think anyone would ever see it and it's probably the 2nd most popular martial arts film ever behind Enter the Dragon.
@@drlight6677 Cyborg Is probably my all time favorite Van Damme flick.
@@fawkkyutuu8851 Cyborg is good, but Bloodsport is handily the best Van Damme film bar none.
This episode and the one with Patrick Swazye in prison always remained in my memory.
Toys & Comics got the bargain of a lifetime! Forest Whitaker and William Dear (Dear is prob best known for directing Harry and the Hendersons, Angels in the Outfield and being one of the script writers for The Rocketeer, he also directed an episode of Amazing Stories called Mummy Daddy), their shop paying $200,000 for all of that in 1986 money, if they held onto some of that stuff for 10+ years they would've more than tripled their investment and that's including adjusting for inflation, especially considering that everything looks to be in mint or near mint condition. That Action Comics #1 looked to be at least a 7.0, I wonder if it was authentic or if they used a reprint for the episode.
...I know most people who read this will either laugh or give a shit but.....I think it's worth mentioning that I'm 36 now and barely found it and got to watch it and so my point is I must'a seen this at about 6...7...8 yrs old??....young, real young and I never forgot it and timeless message.... WOW...and right now at this point in my life I really needed to see this....Thank you God...
Why did you need to see this again?
@@defcon2544 ....to always remember...... "the world needs more dreamers".....
Albert Einstein said imagination is more important than knowledge....to answer your question, well....I guess losing my way in life and ultimately not giving up.....to always dream big
Another Star Wars alumni in here - Forest Whitaker. "What will you do, when they raise you? What will you do if they offer 1.5 million? What will you become?"
His role in Rogue One was a joke. Great movie, but most of the characters suuuuucked. That evil general guy was a great villain though.
As someone pointed out, it is metaphorical and like many Hollywood productions, also Biblical, about "the road less traveled ultimately being the most rewarding."
Always check before you throw anything away!
I found this series at last for so long i been searching
One of my college classmates was married to the guy who wrote this episode....Stu Krieger....great episode....
So it takes the guy about 50 years to become a millionaire. By that time, he is about 70 years old and if he’s lucky, has only 10 years to FINALLY enjoy that wealth and his life. Sounds about right. 😂
I love this episode. But for those of us who have spent years accumulating "collectibles" the market has gone "soft" and these things hold little value these days. So sad.
Baseball cards have moved very quickly recently, toys still doing well.
Comics are way up.
I still have all my original Transformers (on card and in box), Star Wars figures and playsets (also in box), Kenner Alien (in package with poster), Clash of the Titans collection (on card and in box), Gizmo and Stripe from Gremlins (in package), and Micronauts, and much, much more-- but I'm keeping them! 😂 I'll let my daughter sort it all out after I'm gone! I hope it's all still worth something in the coming decades.
@@jomopressley3958 I still have plenty of those from the 70's and 80's.
Golden age comics keep going up, so you’re completely wrong there. Action Comics number one (show in this episode, valued at $20,000 in ‘86). is worth several million near mint now. Things like depression era glass became worthless because they were easy to replicate.
Mark Hamill was such a beautiful man. Still is if you ask me.
No one asked you.
Watched this as a kid. Watched it again decades later as a middle-aged adult. Ah, memories... Very amusing episode although I think they went overboard with Mark Hamill's old man make-up. I hear some people criticize this episode saying the moral of the story is to encourage laziness and irresponsibly. I don't see it that way. Not every story is intended to teach a moral lesson or to offer any underlying message. Some stories are just to entertain, nothing more. So you can just enjoy it for what it is. Plus it's not like the guy, Jonathan Quick didn't pay a terrible price for his path in life. Being a lonely, impoverished vagrant for decades, estranged from his parents, with no family of his own. He didn't finally achieve his dream of wealth until his old age. Not exactly a great trade off ya know what I mean? BTW, the woman he meets at the end whom he inadvertantly asks out, that's the mom of actresses Zooey Deschanel and Emily Deschanel. Cool!
Mark Hamill looks almost like Obi Wan Kenobi.
that superman #1 back then was worth $20,000 9.0 grade but now in to days money it's now worth 3.4 million if it's 9.0 grade it's to show you how old this show is.
CaptainViral84 Fun Fact: Nicolas Cage owns it..Or OWNED it. Before he went broke.
Are you talking about Action Comics #1? It was worth half a million back then. Even in the 80's the book was worth a ton.
@@drlight6677 Yes, If it's 9.8 grade and slab comparing to prices back in the 80s where a steal for $500K comic book that is a 9.8 grade and slab comparing to days vaules of $6 million or more. For example, I bought at a comic book convention a few years a go a vintage first appearance of Star Lord from guardians of the galaxy for about $100 high grad 20 to 50 years from now it can be worth about $250,000 to $700,000.00
Sadly this episode glorifies a life poorly lived
This story is basically my life, minus the mystical troll
Mine too
god this brings back a lot of memories
12:00 I'm sure, Mark Hamill is good at fighting with dad!
This was always a very odd script; it's easy to see what it wants the message to be. But I suspect it was conceptually sabotaged being written in the 80s at the very apex of the new, shallow materialism. Johnathan's life of "being true to his dreams" is framed only as having value because crass collectors see him as a vehicle to make money off of.
A better version of the story might present Johnathan as having become a wandering curator of cultural artifacts lost to history - vanished film reels, audio recordings, books. Things disregarded and devalued by short-sighted people. And then Johnathan is vindicated when at last encountering a historian or curator who recognizes the cultural significance of his collection - and knows that it deserves to be displayed to the public for education, not auctioned off to the ultra-wealthy.
Such a life for Johnathan would absolutely not have been a waste, and he would have been valued as a person for his insight and appreciation of history he witnessed in the making and felt the need to preserve.
Now THAT would have been a far more rational and reasonable script, but I believe, for story's sake, Jonathon Quick's character has to reach rock bottom as a pauper before rising up to being wealthy.
"no family, no friends" THEN WHAT'S THE POINT OF LIVING?
Near the end, he looks more like Dick Van Dyke as Mr. Dawes Sr. than Mark Hamill!
I enjoyed this episode as a kid but I wonder how Jonathan was able to keep his possessions and car in top condition while living in squalor. The fact that the Toby mug had no chips or damage while holding pennies all those years is highly unlikely even under the best of circumstances. His Auburn is run down after 50 years yet is described as "mint condition" during the auction. He literally had all is eggs in one basket.
I thought it was supposed to be Mark Hamill, but that's clearly Yoda in whiteface.
Couldn’t he have kept his collection....AND hold down a job?!
Natalie Ann The collection consumed his life
No one seems to get that he worked. He worked in the circus, probably worked lots of other places he enjoyed that just didn't last.
25.:10 Forrest Whittaker lol
He's driving an Auburn Speedster replica.
Why is the screen small and cloudy? Very hard to watch.
my glaucoma!
The troll told him to throw the medical book in a lake. Even that would've been worth money at the auction. Bad advice all around.
dont worry youll be rich when your 107 years old. ridiculous 😂
Absolutely 😂😂
8:30
Early traces of The Joker...
Can you post the one about the giant pumpkin?
I want to see '' You gotta believe me ''
The Pumpkin one was AWESOME! I'd love to see it again.
JEdimaster Luke skywalker !!
Although the twist is clever, the message of the episode is deeply flawed. It's nice to have dreams. But you have to work hard to make those dreams happen. You can't just do nothing. Sure, Mark Hamill eventually got rich later in life. But was it really worth upsetting his parents? Was it really worth having no friends, no home and no job for 40 years? Was it really worth spending 40 years in the gutter? No way!!
Douglas Hryniuk No not at all...He should've wised up at 18 rather than at 68
I agree. The best years of his life is gone. He's too old to enjoy money he's made.
From a philosophical standpoint, I think your questions are what make this episode great. I asked myself many of those same questions.
You weren't really paying attention. He talked about finding something he enjoyed, whether it was work looking for the circus or not working at all for a while. He traveled, he worked when he could, and he built a life worth looking back on.
@@StarWarsMoments correct. ‘The world needs more dreamers’… the rest of the world just takes a long time to catch up what the dreamer always saw.
Is that Warwick Davis?
No, it's David Rappaport R.I.P
@@JoeMama-sy8cg He was also supposed to have played Kivas Fajo in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, The Most Toys, but two days into the shooting, he attempted suicide and was replaced by Saul Rubinek. The clips are on RUclips, and the 3rd season? Blu-Ray.
20:51
Are you sure were not supposed to rob the bank 33?
The Leprechaun talks like Nancy Pelosi - pitch away responsibilities, do what you want, listen to your heart, and live off of others and the government. ;-)
I remember watching this episode when it first aired, and even then I thought while I appreciated the message of holding on to those things that are dear to you, it also gave the wrong message to (more than) imply shirking responsibilities. Even as a kid I realized that about this story.
Glad to see you truly didn't get it.
Steven speilberg
The last Jedi sucks. They ruined Lukes legacy
Didn't it ever occur to you that the Skywalker cycle is directly linked to the Lucas cycle? He failed with the prequels, as his alter-ego failed to reawaken the the Jedi.
Now it's in the hands of the Disney empire. Are they more machine then men?
Only one way to break the cycle of failure.
Nope, and you don't have a goddamn clue about writing characters.
The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi sucked so bad that I never even watched Rise of Skywalker and I've heard nothing but terrible things about it lol.
So is the lesson of this episode: be lazy, don't do anything and wait for gold/money/fortune to come from mother nature??? I mean, the guy spent between 30 and 50 years as a homeless vagabond only to get rich when he is already old (and cannot even walk without a cane) and we should be happy about that?
Sure, the world needs dreamers (sorry Mr Trump) but if he didn't want to be a doctor he could have found another job he liked instead of spending his whole life doing nothing.
No, its more of a metaphor for people who want to pursue their dreams. Life will be harder and seem fruitless for a long time, but in the end you may receive gifts that you never thought possible by following a different path. You can then retire a happy republican and date women half your age will sleeping on piles of cash.
Miketar2424, I'd agree with you if they had shown the guy working hard whereas he kept his belongings. However, he spent most of his life doing nothing. Of course your life will be fruitless if you do not make any effort to get what you want and of course it is possible you wont get it.
Yes...we call it California and is why illegals are called Dreamers instead of bums...but he forgot the part about getting on lifelong welfare so you live in a nicer house than the ppl w jobs who are taxed to death
Victor Vera Yes he lucked out that the wealthy lady paid him not everyone has that happen to him
It didn't matter whether or not the lady paid him, he suddenly realized that his stuff had value. Even if she'd run off with it, he wouldn't really have lost anything.
COMO PUEDEN COLGAR VIDEOS QUE SE VEN PESIMOS !!
Horrible message. doesn't require an in depth analysis.
What do you mean? It's a great lesson that you simply need to wait around and riches will eventually come to you.
No analysis would help you. It's called living a happy life instead of living somebody else's. And antiques always happen; it's just a matter of time.