J. Hardy Hempstead

J. Hardy Hempstead is the secondary protagonist of "Mr. Bevis", the thirty-third episode of the first season of The Twilight Zone, which aired in 1960. He is the guardian angel of the Bevis family, and externally appears as a human man in a fine suit. He is invisible and intangible to everyone except the Bevises, and is capable of warping reality to protect and guide their lives. However, Hempstead tends to favor an adventurous, daring life, briefly bringing him into conflict with the latest Bevis of the line.
J. Hardy Hempstead was portrayed by the late Henry Jones. The episode was meant to be a backdoor pilot for an entirely new series, but was never picked up by a network.
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
J. Hardy Hempstead existed since the time of Jesus, claiming to have once driven a chariot pulled by eleven horses, and (possibly jokingly so) claimed to have helped Ben-Hur win his chariot race. After a human man of the Bevis family committed an act of great courage, God rewarded him by having a guardian angel, Hempstead, assigned to the man and his descendants. As guardian of the Bevis family, J. Hardy Hempstead served under some very notable members of the family, such as Magellan Beavis, a great 16th century explorer, Parnell Beavis, a member of the British Parliament who fought passionately for home rule, and most recently, Gunner Lou Bevis, the first marine to be deployed to Nicaragua, who valiantly led his men against great odds. Hempstead came to appreciate and admire the great aspirations and accomplishments of these notable figures, expecting the same of every member of the Bevis family.
=== Mr. Bevis ===
In the 1960s, after serving Gunner Lou Bevis, J. Hardy Hempstead was assigned to Lou's nephew, James B.W. Bevis, a rather eccentric man who liked funny suits, bow ties, playing sports with children, making model ships, and being overall friendly to those around him. However, his attitude was seen as strange by authority figures around him, and ultimately cost him several jobs. After being fired from his latest job, Bevis lost his car in an accident, and was evicted, all in the same day. With those events, Bevis went to a bar to drink his sorrows away. Sitting at the bar, Bevis then looked at a mirror that reflected himself and the booths behind him, seeing Hempstead sitting the both directly behind him, and waving him over. Bevis turned around to join him, but was shocked to see noone in the booth, for Hempstead had manifested only in the reflection.
Bevis wondered if something in his drink was making him hallucinate, asking why he could see the man in the reflection but not in the booth, only for the bartender to ask who he was seeing. Bevis corrected him that it was 'whom', objective case, making the bartender leave, although Hempstead, still only visible in the mirror, responded to Bevis, verifying the grammatical case. Bevis then went to the booth, sitting at it, where Hempstead fully manifested in front of him, but still only visible to Bevis, identifying himself by name, also revealing that he was Bevis' guardian angel. Bevis then ordered some more drinks, although the bartender still couldn't see Hempstead, and Hempstead summoned his own drink, where Bevis asked for some clarifications. Hempstead explained his past to Bevis, showing him images of Bevis' notable ancestors under whom he served. While Bevis recognized his uncle, he still had a hard time accepting the situation, saying he would close his eyes and wanted Hempstead to be gone when he opened them, only for Hempstead to assure him that he was not an imaginary being. He then demonstrated his powers when a lamp hanging over Bevis suddenly came free and fell towards him, snapping his fingers and making the lamp return to the ceiling just before it could crush Bevis.
Hempstead then got to the chase, telling Bevis that he could reset the day and make a much better outcome, although he noted that he'd have to change some of Bevis' own characteristics help with that, beginning by changing Bevis' plaid suit to a proper black business suit. While Bevis protested, Hempstead insisted that Bevis needed to be different if he wanted the day to end differently. The two then walked outside, Bevis letting Hempstead go first, but as Hempstead was intangible, he passed right through the glass door, which Bevis promptly ran into. Hempstead then reset the day with Bevis' new attributes, rewriting reality to fit him into it. However, Hempstead's standards differed from Bevis, first becoming apparent when a dog that lived in Bevis' apartment barked at him when he tried to pick it up, and a neighbor of his was much less friendly to him. Hempstead then manifested to prevent Bevis from comically sliding down a waxed stair railing. Hempstead followed Bevis outside, where Bevis met his landlady, who usually disliked him for his late rent payments and odd collections. However, with Hempstead's alterations, Bevis had paid her three weeks in advance, making her friendly to him. Bevis then noticed that the boys in the street now ignored him, and a fruit vendor he used to be friends with no longer gave him the usual free apple, all parts of Hempstead's image of a 'better' life for Bevis.
Bevis then searched for his car, only to find that his jalopy had been replaced with an Austin-Healy sports car. Bevis tried to protest again, but Hempstead tried to assure him that it was for the best, getting into the car with Bevis as he drove to work. At Bevis' office, Bevis was first alarmed to see that his desk had been cleared of the little trinkets and model boat he was building, but Hempstead simply told him it was nothing of the sort. Bevis then promptly got a raise, with his boss almost uncharacteristically happy and friendly with him. Bevis asked about the Zither music he used to play that annoyed the boss, but Hempstead then appeared to him and revealed that he had altered that aspect of Bevis' life as well, saying he erased Bevis' interests in Zither music, Christmas carolers, or any 'nonsense' that got the boss upset with him in the original timeline. However, Bevis couldn't take it, walking out of the office and trying to go downstairs, telling Hempstead he just wanted to go play football with the kids, but Hempstead had to clarify that he changed that aspect of Bevis' life as well, removing all his old eccentricities in an attempt to make his life better. Bevis then went down the elevator, and Hempstead manifested in the elevator with him, asking him what he really wanted, expressing that he couldn't grasp Bevis' lack of the grand aspirations his ancestors shared. Bevis replied that he knew he was eccentric, but liked his own oddities, and the affection he got from his fellow citizens, which had been taken away from him, and he felt they were worth more than any raise.
Hempstead asked if Bevis truly preferred the way things were, warning him that he'd be out of everything again, but Bevis confirmed that, also confirming that he had been in such situations before. Accepting it, Hempstead reverted things to the way they were before, Bevis watching from the window as his jalopy was pulled into the accident that wrecked it, and entering the office despite Hempstead saying that he would only be fired again. As such, the day passed by as before, but Bevis didn't care. Hempstead, moved by the warmth people had for Bevis and the kind spirit he kept despite his many hardships, then teleported Bevis' jalopy, fully repaired, to the street in front of him. However, it was teleported in front of a fire hydrant, and a policeman was about to give Bevis a ticket, only for Hempstead to make the hydrant vanish and reappear in front of the officer's motorcycle instead, canceling the ticket. Entering his car, Bevis asked if Hempstead was still with him, and Hempstead's voice echoed through Bevis' head, confirming that he was still watching over him.
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