joe and phyllis britt are an old married couple in new york city who do not get along. joe gets home from his job as a cab driver late one night, and phyllis accuses him of seeing another woman. in the meantime, a television repairman is in the next room fixing their broken set. irritated, joe harasses the repairman about the inconvenience and cost. the repairman abruptly closes the open tv panel and announces the tv is fixed. after stating the job is free, he leaves, and the tv starts getting channel 10—a station showing the past, present, and future of joe and phyllis' lives. joe refuses to let phyllis watch the tv and faints when he sees himself and phyllis talking about getting engaged.