duran007 Review of Tales from the Darkside

Tales from the Darkside (1983–1988)

Welcome... to the "Darkside"!

[10/10 · 22 December 2001]

One of the more sinister television series ever to air, "Darkside" was actually passed up by the networks who thought a series of that caliber would be too dark for the demographics. Big mistake. The first two seasons of "Tales From The Darkside" had a sense of realness to them... suspending disbelief, viewers could actually believe these situations would happen. Case in point: An episode ("I'll Give You A Million") dealt with two elder businessmen. One offers the other one million dollars in exchange for the rights to his eternal soul. They agree, but the seller begins to regret his decision, especially after learning he has liver cancer. The buyer refuses to break the deal, until he learns that the seller will give him two million for the contract and his soul back. Only problem: The seller dies and a third party enters the fray. Needless to say, the buyer dies and the third party (The Devil, played perfectly by the underrated Brad Fisher) collects both souls. Many actors (unknowns and former big names) displayed great performances on "Darkside". The series was so successful that CBS revived "Twilight Zone" to capitalize on "Darkside". The show was dark, frightening, and had a sense of bizarre justice. Truly one of the best series ever to air.