episodes of "Tales From The Darkside" discussion thread

[wiseguy182]

I wanted to discuss my insights and analyses on various Tales From The Darkside episodes.

The Last Car ~ This was one of the best episodes of the series and probably the most talked about as the whole thing was mysterious and the ending didn't tie everything up. This was the one where a young woman boards a train at night. There are 3 other passengers on the train, a bunch of mysterious happenings and she can't get off, even when she tries to get thrown off. In the end, we realize she isn't (or no longer is human).

Various sites have heavily debated this episode, throwing out every theory that they were in Hell, or in Limbo on the way to Heaven. I definitely don't believe they were in Hell as one of the other passengers was a little boy and it's difficult to believe a child that looks to be about 10 would endure such a cruel fate, especially one with no apparent ending.

Rather, I believe something else entirely. I believe that they were dead and had not accepted that they were dead yet. So, in essence, they were in some sort of Limbo until they accepted what they were.

Sorry, Right Number ~ This was another one of the best and most famous episodes (not hard to see why since it was written by Stephen King). This was the episode where Deborah Harmon plays a mother and wife who receives a mysterious phone call one night. She can't make out much before the call terminates, but is able to glean that the caller is familiar, a female and is in trouble. She tracks down all of her female relatives, and none of them placed the call. Later that night, her husband suddenly passes. The end features Harmon's character 10 years in the future reliving the night of her husband's death via a memento and having flashbacks. She then frantically calls her past self in an attempt to inform her that her husband will die and to get him to the hospital.

I've seen various people on other sites wonder how it was possible that Harmon's character could call her past self on the old phone number, or why she would even do such a thing since the events of that night were long gone and she couldn't go back in time to change them.

But I realized something. At the very beginning of the episode, Harmon's character is on the phone, chatting it up about mundane topics. She casually mentions that her husband is having health problems, but isn't too concerned about it. Her two youngest children have a sibling rivalry, but she too sweeps that under the rug. What happens when her future self calls her is really her feelings of guilt. She feels guilty that she didn't pay attention to her family more and feels responsible for her husband's death. She then finally realizes this at the end and tries to do anything possible to make it right, even something as nonsensical as calling the old phone number and trying to change the past. The whole story is about guilt.

I would be interested to hear what others have to say about these episodes or any other episodes for that matter. While like all other anthology shows, this one had some misses, but there were also a good number of fascinating and wonderfully spooky episodes.

[soggybottom]

Rather, I believe something else entirely. I believe that they were dead and had not accepted that they were dead yet. So, in essence, they were in some sort of Limbo until they accepted what they were.

I think that you probably have the best literal interpretation of The Last Car that's out there. And you're right--It doesn't look like ANY of them belong in hell, especially not the little boy (although he did have a fascination with guns).

Some might argue that if they're in a state of limbo, then why are there only 4? Slow period for The Grim Reaper? The other-3 have seemingly been on that train for a long time--so long that the old lady doesn't even know what "time" means anymore.

If they stay on until they have accepted the fact that they're dead, the train (and the tunnels) don't seem to be doing a very-good job of convincing them.

And if they're dead, why are they hungry, cold, or tired? You kinda need to be alive for your body to have these needs.

I've also heard the interpretation that she just got on the wrong train (and this one just happens to be headed to "the darkside").

But I take the more-abstract interpretation in that it's just a never-ending nightmare that gets worse and worse as it goes along.

Have you ever been in a situation where things don't go your way--where you just can't get a break to save your life?

And just when you think that things couldn't possibly get any worse...

Tunnel...

Tunnel...

Tunnel...

Tunnel...

It's kind of a simplistic interpretation, but it's the one that works the best for me. I really believe that sometimes story-writers don't put as much thought into them as we like to think that they do.

The real horror in episodes like these is the fact that we're left high and dry with unanswered questions that have no obvious answers. It's like a scary haunted-train ride that doesn't make sense on purpose for the uneasy feeling that it leaves us with.

As for Sorry, Right Number being all about guilt, that's an interesting take on it that I'd never heard of before.

I've always thought of it as a "If you called yourself from the future (or past), would you recognize your own voice?" type of story.

She knew that it was "one of her own" but didn't know exactly who. If I called myself from the future, I'd probably do the same--knowing it sounded familiar but not sure who it was.

That would be creepy to get a call like that, and I think that's the main appeal of this episode.

As for the complaint about why she would call her old number 10 years later when it wouldn't do her any good, I thought that they explained that really well. She popped the "Spider's Kiss" tape into the VCR, which immediately took her mind right back to the events of that day, so she tried to call to stop his heart-attack from happening.

Obviously, it doesn't make any sense from a realistic standpoint, but I thought that it was made perfectly clear what was going on in her mind at that time.

As for the complaint about how she was even able to call the past, come on--This is "the darkside" that we're talking about here--Anything is possible!

But maybe you're on to something there--She could've definitely been feeling guilty for not having spread enough attention around to her various family-members. I know a lot of people (including myself) who can relate to that.

Well-done Wiseguy!

[macbeth06]

What was the signficant of a new man was the kid Jerry a demon

[soggybottom]

Hey MacBeth. It's good to see another TFTD-fan. I like "A New Man". Well, for years I didn't because I could never make any sense out of it. But after many viewings, I finally came to an interpretation that actually works for me.

So is Jerry a demon and his only purpose is to mess with recovering alcoholics and make them start drinking again? That's a definite possibility, and that interpretation is as good as any, but I don't choose to see it that way, mainly because I have a hard time seeing a little kid as a demon.

For me, the episode is like the final test to see if a recovering alcoholic has REALLY mended his ways. Put yourself in his shoes...

You've successfully resisted booze for a whole year. Then some kid shows up out of the blue claiming to be your son, and everybody believes him. For the life of you, you can not remember this kid at all, and your entire family blames it on your drinking. They ditch you, and you lose your job.

You have absolutely no idea what has just hit you. You've been doing so well all of this time, and this is your reward? You'd have been better off had you stuck with the booze and never sobered up!

Oh, what do we have here? A bottle of booze for li'l ol' me to drown my sorrows?

Now if you can STILL resist temptation after going through all of that, then, my friend, you have passed the test.

Contestant #1 failed.

I wonder how contestant #2 did...

*waits for the sequel*

[MikeLutton]

i got the entire series i dont like the new man episode either,

[soggybottom]

I feel ya Mike. It is one messed-up episode, and I don't blame you for not liking it. But over time, I've come to like the episodes that make you scratch your head wondering what you just watched more than the standard "bad guy gets what's coming to him" episode. I like those episodes once in a while, but there are way-too many of them in these anthology shows, making them way-too predictable.

If you didn't like my interpretation, here's a bunch more that I've found online that you might want to consider...

1) That Jerry is a personification of booze, trying to make Alan lose his mind so that he'll start drinking again.

2) That Alan's whole family, Jerry included, isn't real, and that Alan is dreaming them up while he's drunk.

3) That Alan's boss who offered him the booze is the mastermind behind the whole scheme, and that he's sent Jerry to bother Alan. This theory came from the scene where Alan drinks and then says "waste not, want not". Jerry also looks like a younger version of Alan's boss.

4) That Jerry is some sort of monster that feeds on the souls and minds of alcoholics.

5) That Jerry is an allegory for all the torment Alan caused his family.

6) That Jerry is Alan's tulpa, or more simply put, his imaginary friend that has come to life and now wants to be part of the family.

7) That Sharon wants her marriage to Alan to end, so she and Petey teamed up and hired Jerry to drive Alan crazy.

8) That Alan is hallucinating Jerry.

9) That Jerry is Alan's conscience come to haunt him.

I think it's great that this episode has created so much thought and different interpretations.

However, I gotta say that most of these don't hold up when you take into account the ending when Jerry is doing the same thing to another person. It shows that it (whatever IT is) applies to MORE than just Alan (How can the kid be the same imaginary friend, hallucination, conscience, etc. to both guys?)

And then you throw in the fact that it's also the same office and the same cubicle and the same co-worker with the same celebratory drink. There are just too many coincidences to be able to reach any logical explanation.

That's why I take the more-abstract interpretation in that it's just the final step of The Darkside's version of an alcoholic-recovery program, where each alcoholic gets transformed into an alternate reality and takes the same job and deals with the same kid, and his family is all part of it as well (whether they are aware of it or not).

It can't happen realistically, but anything is possible in The Darkside!

[MikeLutton]

alan had to much of mel/s chilli and is only hanuclenting jerry couldnt resist

[Fallon97]

I always liked this show.

[JustJoe]

Hello Wiseguy182,
U have an episode of American Justice that I have been seeking for years. How do I get in contact with you ? I have over 1,000 DVDs. I'm sure we can do a good trade. Thanx much.......Joe