Main cast: A Martinez (Peter Deutch), Maria Bertrand (Cleo), and David Bowie (The Host)
Director: Daniel Grou

Author and artist Peter Deutch is waiting for his pal Mitch, who is at the hospital for injuries sustained during an accident, when he becomes fascinated by an argument between Mitch and a beautiful woman. Well, his fascination is mostly because Cleo is a fan of his books, which I suppose makes up for how awful Maria Bertrand is in this episode.

Seriously, Ms Bertrand utters all her lines with robotic stiffness, devoid of discernible human qualities, and her movements are equally stiff. Since Cleo is supposed to be some seductive femme fatale, the whole thing feels like a really bad casting mistake.

Anyway, Mitch encourages Peter to accept Cleo’s invitation to drive him home, so it’s not long before Peter and Cleo are doing the naughty. Well, she’s a big fan, alright?

The kernel of brilliance in David J Schow’s short story is present here, and A Martinez actually does a good job in portraying the pretentious conflicted artist that has to, gasp. grasp with the fact that perhaps he has to sell out in order to make money.

The entire episode almost works without a hitch… until Cleo shows up and the whole thing devolves into a painful showcase of casting actor for all the wrong reasons for a role she is not suited for at all. Instead of sexy, Cleo comes off as haughty and bitchy with all the sex appeal of a rhubarb. She plays a pivotal role in Peter’s mental breakdown, so this miscasting really sets the entire episode back considerably.

Still, she isn’t in the episode that much, so this problem never becomes so bad that it ruins an otherwise watchable episode. She does taint the episode a lot, however, making me cringe and wince every time she opens her mouth or just do anything because she is really that awful.

The Falling Man, therefore, is a good example of how casting can make or break an episode.