Tales from the Darkside
Each episode of this TV series depicts a short, strange tale...with a twist! With eerie stories vaguely reminiscent of 'The Twilight Zone,' viewers learn to appreciate that things are often not as they seem. The usual plot formula is comprised of an initial normal, mundane situation that gradually begins to get off-kilter, with suspense building up to the final, chilling, surprise conclusion.
- 1983-1988
- 4 seasons
- Paramount Television
- Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Suspense
- TV-14
Each episode of this TV series depicts a short, strange tale...with a twist! With eerie stories vaguely reminiscent of 'The Twilight Zone,' viewers learn to appreciate that things are often not as they seem. The usual plot formula is comprised of an initial normal, mundane situation that gradually begins to get off-kilter, with suspense building up to the final, chilling, surprise conclusion.
Season 4 Episode Guide
20 Episodes 1987 - 1988
Episode 1
Beetles
Sun, Sep 27, 1987 22 mins
Archaeologist Arthur Hartley is accused of stealing expensive artifacts from a museum, is warned of a curse that befalls those who touch the artifacts, but won't be stopped in his quest for wealth.
Episode 2
Mary, Mary
Sun, Oct 4, 1987 30 mins
Mary is a professional photographer with extremely artistic and clever skills, but only in her dingy apartment. Around guys, she's shy, reserved and very plain. When a man moves into the apartment across the window from her own, Mary attempts to impress him with one of her blonde photography dolls, but fantasy gets the better of her in the end when her longing to be exactly like the doll becomes a reality.
Episode 3
The Spirit Photographer
Sun, Oct 11, 1987 30 mins
A man invents a camera which can make ghosts disappear and use it in a room haunted by a violent spirit.
Episode 4
The Moth
Sun, Oct 18, 1987 30 mins
Dying Sybil uses her last hours on Earth to curse her enemies and plan for the afterlife, much to the chagrin of her mother.
Episode 5
No Strings
Sun, Oct 25, 1987 23 mins
Mobster Eddie Minelli plans a private performance by a famous puppeteer, but with a ghoulish new puppet: the bloody remains of Don Paulie, the man Eddie has just murdered.
Episode 6
The Grave Robber
Sun, Nov 1, 1987 30 mins
Two archaeologists turned grave robbers are forced to play strip poker with an angry mummy that protects the tomb they broke into.
Episode 7
The Yattering and Jack
Sun, Nov 8, 1987 22 mins
Happy-go-lucky salesman Jack Polo receives a yuletide visit from the 3.5-foot-tall Yattering, a snarling horned demon that wants to claim Jack's soul.
Episode 8
Seymourlama
Sun, Nov 15, 1987 30 mins
On a bitter cold night, Henry and Ellen Strand's home is visited by exotic Himalayan strangers who claim that son Seymour Strand has been chosen to replace the recently deceased Lama of their faraway country Lo Pu.
Episode 9
Sorry, Right Number
Sun, Nov 22, 1987 30 mins
A woman is troubled by a mysterious phone call and tries desperately to help the person on the other end of the line.
Episode 10
Payment Overdue
Sun, Feb 14, 1988 30 mins
A callous collection agent discovers that she herself has an overdue payment involving Rita Valdez, a client who took drastic steps to end her financial woes.
Episode 11
Love Hungry
Sun, Feb 21, 1988 22 mins
Betsy is a kind woman who happens to be a binge-eater; her life revolves around food although she hates the way she's become and dreams of a skinny life. When her high school sweetheart comes back to town she feels young all over again, but her weight keeps her from being the outgoing person she once was - until services from a mysteriously sinister weight loss company give her more than she bargained for, including advice from her own vice, the food itself.
Episode 12
The Deal
Sun, Feb 28, 1988 22 mins
Starving screenwriter Tom Dash claims he would give anything to sell a script in Hollywood. His acquaintance Donald has the means to help him give anything.
Episode 13
The Apprentice
Sun, May 1, 1988 30 mins
College sophomore Sarah McBride accepts a job at Colonial Village, a tourist attraction that recreates Puritan life in 1692 Salem and allows nothing from the 20th century. But things aren't quite what they seem.
Episode 14
The Cutty Black Sow
Sun, May 8, 1988 22 mins
A young boy's great grandmother dies, after warning him of the Cutty Black Sow, an ancient Scottish monster that will come for the boy and his family if he doesn't place a circle of stones around a fire to represent them and thus keep the beast at bay.
Episode 15
Do Not Open This Box
Sun, May 15, 1988 22 mins
Charles is a meek inventor living with his greedy nagging wife Rose. The mail brings them a misdirected box saying "Do Not Open This Box". Then the postman comes looking for it and says there will be Hell to pay if he doesn't get it back.
Episode 16
Family Reunion
Sun, May 22, 1988 30 mins
Janice Perry claims that her husband Robert has kidnapped their son Bobby, but Robert maintains that the boy needs to be cured of an illness. After all, Bobby hasn't been himself lately.
Episode 17
Going Native
Sun, Jun 19, 1988 30 mins
An alien on Earth who is studying humans in a therapy group envies them and wants to be one.
Episode 18
Hush
Sun, Jul 10, 1988 22 mins
On a seemingly "ordinary night", a teenage babysitter, and a young boy, are terrorized by the boy's latest invention, that's gone awry: a "noise eater", which -- in reality -- sucks the life out of its victims!
Episode 19
Barter
Sun, Jul 17, 1988 30 mins
Harried housewife Ruthie receives a visit from bizarre salesman Klaatzu, whose mechanical device may help her shut out the sound of her son Nicky's constant drum-playing... in a way that Ruthie never imagined.
Episode 20
Basher Malone
Sun, Jul 24, 1988 30 mins
Professional wrestler Basher Malone fights Trog, a demon wrestler summoned by unscrupulous promoter Tippy Ryan for a private match in Tippy's gym.
