The Booth At The End

Hulu, the video service site that features television favorites for free, recently released episodes for an original Fox web series, The Booth at the End. The show has already been shown in Europe and Canada, and has just debuted for American viewers. There are 62 short episodes that will each be released daily. The show is a psychological drama, centering around the question, “How far would you go to get what you want?”

In the series, a man sitting at a booth in a diner gets requests from people asking for various things, ranging from prettiness to a cure for a son’s cancer. The man has a gift. He can grant these people’s requests on one condition: They make a deal. And not just any deal; these deals must involve an abandonment of personal morals and values. One person must rob a bank, and another must set off a bomb in a crowded area, while yet another must kill a young child, etc. All the people who carry out these deals must return to the man and describe every step in detail. Then, their wishes will be granted. The deals are sinister, which leads one person, a nun, wondering if the man is the devil. Who knows? All that seems certain (for now) is that this man can grant whatever their heart desires…for a big price.

The question, “How far would you go to get what you want?,” puts the viewer in the hot seat. Really, what would you do to get back the person you love? Or what would you do to save your child from death? Many people say they would do anything, but would they really? It’s almost uncomfortable to watch for viewers who can relate to the wishful characters, and think deeply, wondering what they would do if they were in such a situation? Most people would gasp in horror at the thought of killing another child to save their own, and say they would never do that. But if push comes to shove, and they were put in that situation…well, one can’t help but wonder what would happen?

Viewers could keep a holier-than-thou attitude while watching the show, or dig deeper and question their own morality, or lack thereof. Either way, the show is sure to be quite a glimpse into how far people will go when their every wish can be granted. Will they be consumed by their own interests and lose sight of everyone else in their path, stopping at nothing to get what they want? Or will they back out of the deal before it’s too late?

Only time will tell in this gripping new series, a must see for any fan of psychological dramas. Even though the show focuses on the conversations between the man and the people who come to him with requests, the action transcends that of an ordinary conversation. The deals are both a blessing and a curse, and only those on the receiving end of the deal can decide for themselves if they want to go through with it. The action is comprised of the conversations, questions about who or what the man is, whether or not the people will act upon the deals, and if the man can even grant them their wishes or if there is going to be a twist in the plot. So continue watching this great, albeit dark and psychologically engrossing, show, and see for yourself what happens next.