I watched it when I was 8, and watching it 35 years later, it was *exactly* as I remembered it, and just as impactful.

I think he's stalling for time. Psyching himself up to go in there…and he just can't bring himself to do it.

It's checked later. But the thing they make clear is they *know* where their daughter is. She's under the bed. They can hear her quite clearly. They just can't see or feel her.

I found the parents quite plausible and relatable. :)

I'm glad you put these two episodes together. My daughter and I just watched them both in a row (slightly anachronistic… we should have waited a week…but we did watch them at the right time: 9pm on Friday night!) for our run through the series, which we review here: http://galacticjourney.org/…