My biggest complaint regarding the "Twilight Zone" episodes that I personally dislike (or - better said - like less, because I cannot truly dislike any TZ episode) is that they often don't feature a genuine villain and/or a true force of evil. That's what I love about thrillers/Sci-Fi stories; - a real bad person that you love to hate. Well, the protagonist in "A Piano in the House" - gloriously and colorfully named Fitzgerald Fortune - is exactly the type of mean jerk I'm talking about! Like Joseph Wiseman's character a couple of episodes ago in "One More Pallbearer" (who was slightly better, even), Fortune isn't necessary a criminal, but a rotten human being. He's obnoxious, arrogant, selfish, filthy rich and cowardly. He emotionally tortures his wife and people who are less eloquent than him, which is basically everyone. Evidently, they suffer the most when justice comes peaking around the corner in ... "The Twilight Zone".
F. Fortune, delightfully depicted by Barry Morse, stumbles upon a self-playing piano with a strange and supernatural power. In the first place, he buys the piano because his much younger wife showed an interested in learning to play, so Mr. Fortune buys a self-playing one for her birthday to show her that she will never be able to produce such lovely tunes herself. That's the type of husband and person Fitzgerald Fortune is. Depending on the pre-programmed tune, however, the instrument is somehow able to reveal the true feelings and emotions of certain people in the audience. Fortune promptly sees this as a devilishly fun toy to embarrass and expose his wife and the people at her birthday party that he cannot stand, but ignores the fact that his own deepest (and most secretive) emotions might come to the surface as well.
"A Piano in the House" is another great installment in the overall terrific third season of "The Twilight Zone". This one thrives on the stupendous performance by Morse, but also by the supportive cast (including Joan Hackett and Cyril Delevanti), as well as on the genius dialogues and the thoroughly uncomfortable atmosphere. Another must-see "Twilight Zone" classic.