Tales from the Darkside S02E01&02 (The Impressionist & Lifebomb)

All right, listen up Cave's I Got your assignments riga six four three wheeler one four eight not eight oh four and only you. You need to join host HP and fatherm Alone as they examine one of the greatest sitcoms in television history, Taxi in Night Mister Walters a taxi podcast BANDA zero like your boxing record.

Thank mister Walters, weird wave.

Him. Welcome back to Midnight Viewing, the horror anthology podcast, where this season we're taking a look at George A. Romero's nineteen eighties series Tales from the Dark Side. Sharing the Midnight view with me. Are the Projection Booths, Mike White, you Dirty Rats, and from the Culturecast mister Chris Statue.

I prefer to be referred to as my stage names if he remo.

Coming right up tonight. We're looking at two episodes from season one. They are The Impressionist and Life Bomb. The Impressionist season two episode one. This originally aired on September the twenty sixth, nineteen eighty five. Written by Evidently Darkseided Do mainstay Haskell Barkin from a story by M Coleman Easton, and this was directed by friend of Midnight viewing armand Bastriani. We interviewed mister Mostriani a few weeks back. That episode

I'm surprised you didn't draw the more apt comparison to was that movie Contact?

Is that a.

Rival the Amy Adams movie where it's like right on the board and then the aliens? Is that not what this is, but with a little frog alien instead.

I actually thought it was Close Encounters while I was watching it.

I thought I was having a close encounter of the bizarre kind. It's fine, It was a fine It's fine. I mean the conceit is bizarre, to say the least. It's very it's very Last. Yeah, last Starfighter e if Last Starfighter is less tenuous than this, they're just like, this guy does impressions, so he's the most reasonably suited person to interact with an alien. I will say, because you were unable to join us for the episode of Columba that we did with Chuck McCann, at least we

I felt more confused watching this than I did most Night Gallery episodes.

Wow.

Yeah, just that whole idea of the washed up comic slash impressionist who gets recruited by I'm guessing the army or some sort of you know, Area fifty one type guys, and then yeah, come in and because you're such a good impressionist. And is he impersonating the body movements in the language at the same time or is.

It that's part of the language.

Theoretically Apparently allegedly.

Yeah, and he's there trying to get the formula for fusion, which will change everything. Thank you, Bobby to Chico Chico. Yeah, I this one left me very very cold. And then when it ended, it just man, oh man did it end?

It ended? And it sure did.

Yeah, Fiffy Rimo, mister Personalities, Spiffy Rimo. It's it was. His act was kind of like get listening to Dana Carvey nowadays, you know, doing George Bush and stuff. In that nineteen eighty he's doing Stan Laurel from nineteen forty.

Well, I just thinn't wondering. I'm in the club to see him do Charlie Chaplin. Everybody hilarius the fuck is finding this funny.

And the audience is eating it up. And that's what I thought that this gig was. When it came to the whole episode, I was like, Oh, he must be in some sort of healthscape nightclub where he can do or say anything and it will make the audience laugh because he's not funny. I thought this was kind of like one of those Twilight Zone reboots where it was like, oh yeah, and then my wife cheated on me and the whole audience.

Goes crazy and Thomerson, Baby.

I'm like waiting for that, you know. Oh and yeah that was Bizarro when they were laughing like crazy. Oh, the ACX just not what it is, says his agent

At least he was named the Offendi because that was the other thing that reminded me of this. It was like, oh, we need another story about comedians. God no. And also, on top of everything else, comedians are the least interesting people according to media, because they're all just like the most obvious stereotypes of human beings. Like he's an impressionist who does the most on the nose lazy impressions known to man, even at the time they would be lazy.

He does both laurel and hardy.

And announces each impression. That's the best part of the act, Stan Laurel. Oh, wait what you okay? Now you stacked against me there, even though it's still not going to be an enjoyable impression. Hit us with Jack Benny TJ. Castronova, producer on the shows. In the front row of this audience during the nightclub act, he might be to blame for nudging the audience into his oxysms of fucking hilarity. Pudgy using a tiny pen knife to slowly, slowly, slowly

And oh my god, and again it's Chuck McCann. Everybody, our our singular soul hope in this in this world is Chuck McCann.

Chuck McCann, I don't you know what I was not on that Columbo episode. So what is your It sounds like you're goofing on, mister Chuck mccannon, and I want to know what you're actually.

I can Chuck McCann's hilarious. It's just don't expect me to take him seriously in this episode, because our one singular hope for nuclear fusion is with Chuck McCann. It's in his goofy hands.

So are you saying you do not buy him as a dramatic actor.

Then I don't buy him as the I just don't buy the conceit of this episode. He has nothing to do with him as an actor. I concede of this episode's goofiest. Look, that is what I'm getting at.

Yeah, well, I like the conceit of the episode. It's just that they put the wrong comic in here. They put in this It shouldn't be a comic at all. It should be some actor or something or something. It could be some other reason that this guy's really good at mimicking things, other than he's been doing impressions of fucking Laurel and Hardy.

You know, he's the best. He's working at some shitty ass club. Do this is the guy we want? Like you're telling me there's not. This is who you're going to for impersonations, like like a dialect coach on the phone.

You know. Now, early in the episode, when we get introduced to Bobby Chico, I wrote in my notes, what's wrong with Bobby to Chico? Look, he was the lead in nineteen forty one and now he's doing bit stuff on Talales from the Dark Side, Right, what's wrong with that guy? Is that, you know. But here's the thing. Later in the episode, I answered my own question because later I wrote, Oh, Chico is a terrible actor. Now

And half Gosh. Don't forget half Gud, the alien named half Gosh.

And fingered with a big old butt for a head.

Hey, you know what, I actually liked the design of the head of that creature. I thought that looked good. I don't know, I'm just a sucker for that era. You know, it was basically a mask. It wasn't a prosthetic rinding anyway.

I like like I like the cold weather blanket that is his outfit, you know, the thing that you're supposed to keep in your car in case your car breaks down in a blizzard. And you need to cover. It's like one of those metallic blank It's that's you know, we joked a long time ago on Cold Chat about oh my god, look there's no monster. We don't get to see it. It's invisible. This is why this is the reason why shit's invisible in shows, because when you see it, it's, oh god, it's just like a guy.

Actually a woman this time.

Yeah, and she heard all these weird body motion things. I'm just like, what is It almost looks like half gosh is dancing. At times, I'm like what is happening? And then I'm like it was actually dancing. Then maybe that would be a better form of communication.

You know, by the way, communicating through interpretive dance.

Yes.

Oh, and I have all of the information about it right here on this compact disc.

Yeah, the CD. Everybody, it's a new technology.

Language and communication. I had to draw this inference from this episode. But language and communication are so important to this creature that if you get it wrong and all, it has to fucking smack you.

Yeah.

So we're very surly alien, but yeah, not not. It's it's the most in between alien we've ever seen. It's not et and it's not some monster trying to eat everybody, but it will smack you if you get out of line.

Psychically smack you. It roots around in your brain for a little bit. And Chuck McCann's just cold sweat. Oh god, oh no. And some of this was filmed and reversed to and then played forward so much.

Yeah, they love that here at it's the next and it's always when somebody is jumping. We haven't seen reverse anything, but somebody jumping onto something. It's really right.

Well I love that jumping a bit, jumping backwards and then back again. I was like, this is just funny. It's just funny to look at it. Can't take this seriously.

Oh yeah, it's okay.

And what's the story with the other scientists the one that actually kidnaps them, because it's I'm going to bring you over here, and then immediately be like, no, this guy sucks.

Let's go.

It's wait wait, give him a shot, would you?

Yeah? The like the killer outside agent, Yeah, who's all intimidation? And then yeah, why go to such length? Was he? I guess he was expecting him to just do it overnight. But it's been three weeks.

Three weeks with an alien, an alien only three weeks, only three weeks.

They when they send him in for the first time, they say, put on this headset, you'll be able to understand him in English. And I'm like, well, if you already have that?

What mimic cry Charlie Chaplin, did it? Remember Buster Keaton? That's it's in the age old tradition. This is the bizarre conceit. It's a bizarre conceit. It's strangers, you know.

They would have just strapped the thing down and started they can if it can communicate in English already. They would be torturing the thing, going tell us about fusion.

Brains, I want brains. I'm in pain. Strap it down and start taking the information by force. Yeah, that's what they would do. The US government wouldn't ask a comedian to come help out. Just cut its fucking head off and start doing all sorts of experiments on it.

The sounds that it made were quite off putting.

It is off putting in general. The name alone is off put it.

Yes, off gosh, haf got like hof scotch butterscotch.

Missus Emmelda, Hey.

What Jimmy hoff Gosh.

By the end of this episode, it turns straight up surling like he's back at the club and he now realizes the meaningless and the meaningless of it all. And Pudge comes in like Chuck McCann actually says, you don't get it, Pudge, just don't get it. And then he goes, it's so fucking surling that I was expecting somebody start singing if he's a jelly good fellow. As he goes at the door.

As they hold hands and walk into the spaceship together.

I will say in that last segment he walks out that door and then ends up on location. Yeah, and suddenly, no matter how shitty the rest of the episode was, it came alive.

I mean again, when we get to see it close above that alien again and we get to see it

Open your mouth?

Okay, show me your tongue. All right, look at this fucking headshat can you turn this is not original? Yeah, let me see your profile.

You got you got any referal vision over here?

Yeah. I like the hand. My favorite detail is the hand. That's just there's no nothing, It's just like a hand. It's stick your fingers, all four of your fingers into this one thing, and then your thumb off to the side. It's just look the show. The show, for the most part, has a really high production value until it doesn't. This is one of those episodes where it's like, what was this Just one of the ones that they were like, yeah, we tried.

Now, you know. I spoke to Robert Draper, the DP, one of the dps on Teslam Dark Side, and he told me that the mandate was to do noir lighting, so hard lighting or rather low lighting, which is quick and that's most of the episodes of the first season are definitely adhere to that. But when I spoke to armand Mastriani, he said he was given no such directive, so he just lit. They lit however they wanted, if they could make day basically no.

I was gonna say, like, I would like to go back and rewatch the first season to compare it to this then, because I mean, I feel like I feel like we did say it in the first season. A couple times, this looks rather set bound. I don't necessarily consider set bound to be noir lighting that over lit is normally the way I look at set bound stuff.

You can you can noir light something and make it look threadbare and just painted. You know, the lighting. The lighting package itself doesn't save it. But what it does save twice now for mister Mastriani, is he created a UFO here at the end with just the lighting package, and back in that if the shoe fits, he created a circus tent basically with just just lights. I love the guy. Those are those are a little short film like moments that it makes me happy when we see

Feels very set bound. I mean, ultimately, like this does. I mean most of the episode takes place in being shot from high angles in like a square room, a gray square room.

There's no way you could shoot those scientists breaking into applause when he's made the breakthrough with the fucking hof gosh in the next ro it is so melodramatic and weird. It's just sort of representative of the episode sentiment overall. This is a weird I don't understand this is the town from the dark Side episode?

What is this better suited like amazing stories?

Yeah, there you go.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, even.

He already made this movie a few times.

Yeah, pretty much.

I don't know what it was about this series of episodes, but I really noticed the film rating during these four that we we're gonna be talking about too now and two next week or next month, well whatever our schedule is now with this, it feels like you're releasing these every day now even though we haven't for.

We're going through August.

Oh, fantastic, fantastic. Yeah, but it just feels like I was seeing a lot of dirt on the film, and I'm just like, oh man, these are really rough looking at times.

I was very surprised. Yeah. I wonder if then is

And I think I think the most goofy thing about Chuck mccannon is probably the hairdo, which I know, you know, it's the eighties. He's an older man, but just always something about the way that he wore his hair would throw me. So I have absolutely nothing against mister McCann. I like him in quite a few things. I tried to interview him about Linda Lovelace for President, because he plays a fairly substantial role in that, And of course I love The Projectionists. Though I haven't seen it since

He's the best part of the episode. He's just horribly miscast.

Yeah, but I will say that when they do go to that on location shot, he steps out in the street and the car nearly hits him. That car nearly hits him, like Chuck mccannon doing stunts for Townsend The Dark Side here, I was.

Really hoping when the alien comes down and he's coming off the ship all waddling along, I was really hoping that Chuck McCann would start waddling his way towards hawf gosh, like.

You came back. They're gonna go away together and live a happy life.

Half gosh or what if it was the opposite and half Gosh.

Was like, what's going on?

Just comes down?

Yeah, great life, Bob. This is season two, episode two. It aired originally on October the sixth, nineteen eighty five. This one was written by This one was written by Michael CB McDowell from his story what are the odds that there are two writers effectively on staff at Toe Some of the dark STI I'd named Michael McDowell. It's really Will. Directed by Frank DePalma. This one stars Bill Macy, who I get most people probably know him from Mad Mod from the nineteen seventies. He was also in The

Mike Man, oh man, it took me so long to figure out the bad part of this. I was just like, Okay, yeah, cool, there's this goofy suit thing that pops out of your back and wraps you up and keeps you safe, and okay, I don't see any downside to this until he starts having heart attacks and coming back, and I really kind of wish that there have been more to that to show.

Just oh oh.

It took me almost until the very last minute of

What do you think, Chris, Yeah, no, I feel almost identical to the way that you do. I mean, I like the idea, the conceit is interesting, but.

The special effects are amazing.

Okay, we didn't have to know that far. No game. Now we're just being on bearing.

Off that stop motion madness like the shields on the eighty nine Batmobile.

The Wizard of Speed and Time is just like, what the fuck was that.

There's a moment where they where the little thing is like cocooning the guy, and you can see that they didn't do a very good job of keeping the sheet on the bed in the same spot, because the sheet in the bed like moving around like crazy. I'm with you one hundred percent. I mean, I think it's an interesting idea, but it's so poorly executed. In the top of everything else, the guy who's selling the product is using the product, so what incentive does he have to

Pretty pretty wilid piece of shit. I mean he running this mining company.

Yeah, he runs a mining company. There was a cave in and more than twenty people dined, and he's fucking bitching the entire time about the thirty million dollar payout that will absolve them of any future trouble with those people. Are you kidding me? I was like, I loved this episode, and I was loving this episode, and like you said, Mike, I was going, I don't really see the outs identity

I mean, I'm yeah, I don't, I don't. I don't disagree with you. I mean, I see where I see where you're coming from. I hmm, yeah, I mean I think I think in terms of what it is going for, yeah, it does pull it off, but I think, yeah, I think we are at least in agreement. It's clunky, right, Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, it's it's not well directed. That's the problem with it, because the writing is good, all the performances are super solid. A little bit not on his wife, but even that sort of those exchanges between him and his wife because he's a cocksucker at home too. Yeah, like she's not great, but that scenario. I never felt, let's get to the supernatural or anything. When I was with these characters. I was in it, but I don't know.

His performance is really spectacular, especially when he just goes off the deep end and starts screaming as lungs out. It's pretty impressive, and I'm just very happy every time he goes to reach for his chest, I'm like, yeah, this is what you get, motherfucker.

The first thing, the first note I have on this is that I loved the music, and this is a

Because I always get the princess the sisters right, and

That is Paul Apprentice. Yes, marriage Richard Benjamin. Uh that that episode that Dracula shot Mister Missus Dracula. It's on YouTube. Everyone go watch it. It's Mister and Missus Dracula the Pilot. You're gonna You're gonna have a blast. Oh. I don't know you guys got any more in this one.

No, I'm just gonna sign out and go watch Mister and Missus dragett I.

Do like the Tails from the Dark Side. Does seem to be bothering itself with sticking it to corporate dickheads of the eighties, because this is what the second or third episode that we've gotten like this in the run of the show so far.

And compare and contrast that to Twilight Zone eighty five, where we would be with that corporation owner trying to figure out where he went wrong and what he needs to do it fix if some magic come help me?

What turn did I take that should have been left when I went right? Did I marry the wrong woman? Am I a jolly good fellow?

We all come into a path in the road, the.

Path less travel in the Twilight Zone? Yep, yep, yep. But you know, though, that is the thing about this show, at least this show at the end of the episodes it is. Towilets one eighty five didn't feel as mean spirited at times as this show does. This show has a little bit of that mean spirit to it, which I appreciate. I mean now that it's kind of continuing to do it, because towards the end of the last season it started doing it a lot more, and I

Right, this show will kick you in the crotch if it has to about it all right, the next episode of Midnight Viewing, We're gonna be taking it. Two more episodes from season two. Those are Ring Around the Redhead and Parlor Floor Front Until next time. What are you working on? Where can people find it? Mike White?

Everything that I do is I think this is going to get repetitive, But everything I do is over at weirding Way to come, including the show that I've been working on for over thirteen years, the Projection Booth, and yeah, still as fresh as ever, brushes me after a long hard day at the office in the mines. How about you, Chris?

How about you Chris?

Yeah, same same spiel, Same same place, Weirdingwaymedia dot com, where you can find everything that I work on other than ranking on Bond, which can be found at to Patreon dot com, slash, Projection Booth or culture Cast, respectively. You fought them alone.

As for me, everything I do, I do it for you. You go listen, Go over to weirdoway dot com. Keep listening. To midnight viewing. This show started off as a monthly slowly worked its way up to a weekly and notice it twice weekly. Bi weekly? Is that the word? I don't know, but twice a week now midnight viewing? Everybody, jesus, bro, what the fuck is? What are?

What's wrong with you?

I don't know, but you ramped it up a lot.

Yeah, you went from biweekly every other week to the other definition of biweekly twice a week, which nobody uses bro other than you.

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