Some appointees come to view government service as an investment, counting on the eventual payoff.

The more ties, the greater the value of the skin and the bigger the eventual payoff.

Berardinelli also believed the attempted development of parallel storylines to be too much for the film, weakening the eventual payoff.

The ability of buckyballs infused with other elements to become superconductors is only one reason why the eventual payoff from the patents controlling their commercial uses could be substantial.

Neither did the eventual payoff.

But the eventual payoff could be enormous, he said, calling the project "the ultimate test of ecosystem restoration."

So scientists are pressing ahead on the basic science of the problem in the hope of an eventual payoff.

If the sales job in Los Angeles takes some time, it's willing to patiently wait for that eventual payoff in exposure, ratings and dollars.

Still, the eventual payoffs are satisfying enough that "Out on the Cutting Edge" remains more a testament to Mr. Block's strengths than his weaknesses.

That helps explain why an opening credit sequence that invokes Woody Allen's "Manhattan," though without the shimmering imagery (or the eventual payoff of midcareer Allen) is a bad idea.