Tales from the Darkside S01E02&03 (I'll Give You a Million - Pain Killer)

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, Vanda zero like your boxing record, Frank mister Walters Weird Way Readings. Midnight Viewers, we have another very special episode for you. We got to sit down and talk with Tamps from the dark Side Royalty, mister Bradley Fisher. He appears in one of tonight's episodes I'll Give You a Million, and will again in season four's No Strings.

Mister Fisher tells us all about his time in the dark Side, but we also chat about his experiences on everything from the A Team to Westworld, from Happy Days to bo Is Afraid. So check that out at the halfway point, and as always, try to enjoy the daylight. Welcome back to Midnight Viewing, the Horror and Pology 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, Oh, I would sell my soul to have more people listen to this podcast and the culture Cast Chris Statue.

You know, I heard Bart Simpson sold his soul one time and it didn't work out too well for him either. It's not going to work out for anybody. Tonight, we're taking a look at two episodes from season one. They are I'll give You a Million and Painkiller. I'll give You a Million is season one episode two.

It originally aired on October the seventh, nineteen eighty four. Written by Mark Durand and David Shield from a story by John Harrison, also directed by that very same John Harrison. Stars Keenan Wynn, that Chester copper pont Tou Nostalgia Nerds in the Goonies. He appears in the newspaper article about the character's disappearance George Petrie. He appeared in Twilight Zone eighty five shadow play Maker the Chuck bowmant.

He was the judge in that he was a big TV guy, but he also had the distinction of appearing on both The Adams Family and The Monsters. It also stars Michael Freeman and Bradley Fisher. As the Devil. Spoilers, he's still working strong today. He was just in bow Is Afraid.

He was in that Welcome to Chippendale's series. He was in seven episodes of Westworld. But before we talk about the episode proper, I do have to talk about John Harrison for a moment. He is a large looming figure in Tales from the Dark Side and in George Romero's films and in his own right. Back in the early nineteen seventies, he played bass for Roy Buchanan on four albums and toured with him.

This is after he graduated from Emerson College and Carnegie Mellon. For film in the Pittsburgh area, he partnered up with a fellow by the name of Pasqually Bubba, who'd eventually be one of the editors on Michael Man's Heat. That's not a real There's no way. Yeah, you're trying to pass one off on us. Yeah, it's a new year, father Malone.

We're not suckers like that. Pusqually Bouba yesterday. He is such a good editor. Okay, listen. Pasqually Booba, in addition to working behind the scenes and films, worked occasionally in front of the camera.

He's a drug dealer in Martin, which was directed by George Romero, which is how these fellows got connected. Harrison John Harrison appears on screen in Dawn of the Dead. He's the screwdriver zombie, the one that Roger has to tangle with after it grabs hold of his newly found sweater, and he has a bit part of Night Riders. But Romero would utilize him on his next two films, Creep Show and The Day of the Dead as his first assistant director. And it was on creep Show that Harrison's musical background came to the four because originally Romero intended to score Creep Show entirely with library tracks, but when they got to the editing phase, they realized that they needed some music to tie everything together, so Harrison was enlisted.

Now I mentioned in our last episode that the soundtrack to Martin by Donald Rubinstein is one of my favorite film scores. Creep Show is my favorite film score. The main theme to that film I would put up against any orchestral score in cinema history. That is a hill I will die on. He'd also do the soundtrack Today of the Dead, which if you're a fan of Gorillaz.

They sampled quite heavily on the first album. This episode of Tales marks his episodic television directorial debut, but it would not be his last. He did two Tales from the Crypt episodes. He did the two thousand mini series of Dune and its sequel. He did half a dozen episodes of leverage.

His current standing on the current creep show is eight episodes, which ties his record here on Dark Side. At a certain point, we're going to take a look at Tales from the Dark Side, the movie that was also directed by John Harrison. Now, then I'll give you a million. It is the tale of two bitter, evil tycoons whose debates on the existence of the afterlife comes with a price. What do I think of this one?

Chris? I mentioned the Simpsons at the beginning of this, and it feels like almost two on the nose to have mentioned the Simpsons, because there's an episode of The Simpsons, both Treehouse of Horror and Not that feature this exact same plot line. So when I was watching it, I was like, oh, wow, this is just oh someone sells their soul and then the devil comes to collect. I thought it was fine. I'm not sure it told a story that I haven't heard before or does anything particularly interesting with the narrative, But it's a solid episode, and Keenan Winn is fun.

I think it's a fun episode. It's fun to see these two old assholes just be old rich assholes. That's fun. If these guys existed in real life, they're not getting there come up ince either way. So that's sad.

That's the sad reality of a story like this. So a little bit of this is wish fulfillment of getting to see these two old, rich, embittered assholes be terrible to each other and both get taken down in the end. So there's a little bit of wish fulfillment there. So it's fun. This seemed like a sequel to Training Places for me.

This is what like Randolph and Mortimer Duke going out at it through this whole thing to the point where I had to look up trading places because I was like, what were their names? Again? It had been a minute since I had seen that, and I was like, oh, okay, no, Duncan Williams, Jack Blaine, all right, all right, I'm good. This is I'll definitely side with Chris as far as We've seen people sell their souls a lot. I've never really seen or remember, and maybe this was what was going on in the Bard episode.

I don't remember someone not collecting and this whole thing of trying to double. Keina Wynn has this whole scheme of doubling his money because he's freaked out his friend so much and he's going to get two million dollars from this and easiest money ever made. And then when his friend shows up with his soul, it's pretty RinkyDink this effect. But whatever. When he shows up with this soul, he's just like, hey, you got to take this from me.

This is yours, this is your property. And then the devil shows up. I was like, ah, that's nice. I thought that was a nice twist on it. I've just seen Keenan Win be such an asshole through this whole thing.

That was delightful. I love Keenan Winn. I love his big, overbearing personality. I love that huge thatch of Harry's gone on his chest. That's just glorious.

And when the devil puts his hands in that chest hair, I was like, oh man, I don't think I could do that, but it was fun. I really had a good time with this one. Tails from the Dark Side really likes old people being mean, either to other old people or to young people. Because two of the four episodes so far have just been old people being mean to one another, I guess three of the four technically old people being mean to each other or young people. So I'm liking this trend.

It's bizarre and fun. It's a It is a trait of tawnsman Dark Side that they never shy away from the horribleness of the elderlies. We get it here, We're gonna get it a lot looking forward to it. This episode could have been titled Cackling and koonyak. These guys do a lot of that.

They also what came to mind immediately when the episode starts, these guys who are riding in the back of a limousine toasting some other person that they've crushed potentially murdered, that they could very well be contemporaries of Ups and Pratt from Creep Show, like they have his number memorized when they go to okay this. I mentioned in the last episode that Tales from the Dark Side would alternate episodes where they would shoot it either on the west coast or the east. This is definitely a west coast because Keenan Winn's house. The address is so prominently displayed. I had to look it up.

It's two four h five Glendauer, which used to be the Russian Consulate from nineteen thirty eight to nineteen fifty five. It's been Michael Feinstein's home for the past I don't know, twenty or so years. Where he bought it for two million, currently selling for twenty six Good for him. One of the things I really liked in this episode was that when they're playing billiards, they keep betting on every shot, but they seem to have to pay the bet immediately, which means that they have tens of thousands of dollars in cash in their wallets. Right, it was a little crazy, like five thousand on this one all right, fold takes out the billfold counts out five thousand dollars.

Wow, it's just walking around money. Also, do these two wear tuxedos at all times? They're like stereotypical rich. They're like monocle having tuxedo wearing, drinking champagne out of flute glasses all the time, and cognac and everything else and constantly smoking cigars. They are the epitome of stereotypical mid I don't know.

I'm want to say, turn to the century rich, but there's something timeless about the story the way that they do it, so it's hard to place exactly when it takes place. But they're just like the stereotype rich. Expect them to go a room for roomp every time they say something. Well, you know what's funny though, if this was a night Gallery episode, we would definitely have any idea what time period this was. I absolutely knew it's like nineteen eighty four and here's these two rich old bastards who are holdovers from the earlier part of the century.

What's funny is when they finally do get out of their tux is it's Keenan Win in his garden and he's doing a little bit of a gardening and I was shocked he wasn't in the tux. I really hoped he would be. When George Patrick comes to visit him again, yeah, you're right, Keenan Win is such a mean bastard. It's a really very well written script. The dialogue is all very good, Like when George Patrick comes to tell him that he's dying.

He says, let me guess it's your liver. He says, yes, it is. He says, I have a drink, right. It's a good friend that one. Oh yeah, I was looking out for his buddy.

The score here is by John Harrison, working off of that Prophit five synthesizer he used for the entirety of the Creep Show score. Here was a weird thing for me. In the episode, when Blaine George Petrick's character finally dies, keenan Win immediately receives a phone call from his maid. Was she instructed? She doesn't say, she was, Like, it's the weirdest thing ever.

It's talk about mimicking creep Show. This ups and Pratt right before he gets his final come up, and it gets a call from the widow of some man who had basically crushed who had committed suicide earlier the day. This mimics that entirely, but makes zero sense because the maid has no stake in this at all. Anyway, struck me very weird. It's so tight with just these few characters.

Both episodes we're going to talk about, and really, I think the episodes we've talked about already very spare when it comes to the number of characters, and I love it, Like we don't need large expanses of all these different characters and traveling through history, you know, all this kind of stuff. I'm looking at you, Night Gallery. But this is great. It's basically three people. Just it's so small when it comes to the scale of this story about it just works so well.

It is a half hour episode, which is at least length of a long episode of Night Gallery. And at no point did it feel boring or let's get to the point. Even as obvious as the storytelling was, as the plot was like before the twist, and it is. It is the Devil and Daniel Webster, it is I sold my soul. You got to have a sort of sort of trial about it.

But it flies along fair, it is. It is just cut to the bone. When the Devil shows up, he reminded me of Taco from that New way putting on the rents. You're blue and you don't know where to go. Yeah, boy, he had some real it's jewel gray energy for me.

Yeah, he got a lot of pancake makeup on. That's for sure. You're white in the face. That is as I said, that's the fellow who's on Westworld, and now I liked him as the devil. Actually, that's the devil we don't see too often.

I like the shot of him looking at his green hand. They put the green light in his hand and he's just staring at it. It's just it's this, this show is reveling and how fun it is. Like Nike Knight Gallery kind of always took itself little seriously this I don't think this show is taking itself nearly as seriously as Nike Gallery did, and I am all for that. Personally.

Night Gallery kind of got to be a drag because it never never seemed to understand how to have fun. And I don't know whose fault that was, but this show already feels he's reaching into this dumbass green jar and pulling out the soul of the guy. It's so hokey, but who cares, it's fun whatever. I loved that effect, by the way I wrote it down, when he reaches and he grambs the soul, pulls his hand out and then they immediately have the go the George Petries ghost fade away as he's I thought it worked like Gangbusters, like it is the cheapest effect, like it is the most spare kind of filmmaking. But hell if it doesn't work as long as your storytelling is solid.

I made fun of that effect, but it's very effective. It works, especially for this story. You just have a light in the bottom and some smoke effect going on. It's perfect. What else is the soul going to look like?

Who knows? Speaking of smoke, they have little wisps of smoke everywhere. At George Pantry's steps, they're pumping fog through his pants or through the shoes, so every time his foot comes down a little bit, a little whisp of smoke comes away with it. Fucking fantastic effect. And he looks pretty gross too.

He's got some things hanging off of his face that don't look great. They look good in terms of the quality, but it looks proper gross. So yeah, there's I don't know, there's something about this that I'm enjoying already, just like it. There's already been like zombies and all kinds of horseshit in the show, like awesome, Like I'm here for it. I'm so here for it.

Yeah, as I said, they're not going to shy away from all of the supernatural elements. They're going whole hog. And you know what if that means we get seventeen episodes where there's a deal with the devil, I'm cool with that as long as they're fucking out front with here it is, folks, The devil is real, and he walks among us, and that's the world we live in. He's got pockets full of flash paper. Baby.

Let's be honest. When it comes to the Twilight's one eighty five, some of my favorite episodes were the deals with the Devil episodes or the ones where obviously the famous one with Ron Glass being the devil, such a great episode, and then the one with Dan Hedega being the devil. I love those episodes. Speaking of another hairy man, yes, the hairyest of Harry. Yes, isn't that right, Matrix And that Harry test certainly comes in handy for the visual effects team here where they mock up is just you get to burn that hair away to reveal the effect.

I loved it. The effect too is great. The burning in full Oh, that was such a comic book panel, right, yes, yes, yes, this is this feels to me like what Creep showed the show would have been if they had made it in the eighties, Because I don't know if we'll ever go back to that creep show show, Father Malone. You and I covered it at one point on Chronicles from the Crypt we were, We did it for a couple episodes. But like this, Tonally already feels so much like creep show that I'm like that, Yeah, just the text on his chest alone at the end and where they leave this episode.

Like you said, Mike, it's just it's visually arresting, which makes sense for what this is going for. Oh, we'll get to creep show eventually. This is the horror Anthology podcast. I'm so excited to be talking to you today. This is everybody here at midnight viewing.

We're talking to Bradley Fisher. He's he's Tales from the Tells from the Dark Side of Royalty, appearing on one but two episodes and not only appearing in the episodes. But you're a devil. You're the devil in one of one of the best episodes of the entire series. Where we want to talk to you about both of those episodes of the show.

But before before we get there, I want to want to find out how you got there? Like what gave you the bug? What was the theatrical thing that grabbed hold of you? What led you on the path as it were, How did I get onto like Tales of the Dark Side? What that situation was?

Yes, that's a fun story. I think it was nineteen eighty three. I was doing a play called Brooklyn, USA. It was directed by TJ Castronova, who is the producer, executive producer and actually the director of No Strings. And so we were doing this and I was playing a guy named Smiley manone and he's a Brooklyn gangster and a killer, a wild man.

And so TJ had just gotten this anthology series going and when this came up, he thought I'd be right for the devil and cast me. So that's how I got actually how I got both parts in this series. And this part was especially fun because it was with Keenan Wynn and George Petrie, who were you know, can't win Jesus yep, my doctor is going to have to answer to the Cola company. Yeah, right, So that was that That was the genesis of how that that I got that part of you. Now I have to ask Now we've I've spoken to a couple of behind the scenes folks at tails some dark side and evidently that now the production was split on different coasts.

Some episodes filmed West Coast, some east. Where were yours filmed West coast? Both were West coast? Yes, both were West Coast. That's where TJ was based.

Caskernova was based here in these warehouse studios. I think that in my industrial area of Los Angeles. Actually whereabouts? May I ask? Because I know the folks we spoke to were all East Coast folks, and then they were in a warehouse and queens.

Now I know my way around Los Angeles, so I'm wondering. I think this was close if I'm not, and I think it was close to where the old Sears building was. Oh okay, East LA kind of area. So somewhere in that area, I believe. I love that that's where it was in the nineteen eighties in Los Angeles.

But it must have been so terrifying just to be over there. Just get off at De Soto to get to the studio was frightening. Where you even got to get past the freeway offering. Now, could you tell me what was your experience like with mister Keenan Wynn. He just like what a towering figure in cinema and just entertainment in general.

No, absolutely, he I was my part. I was a day player. I shot one day, so I came literally on the last air shooting and I think they had like it was like five production days for these kind of these things. And I talked to him. It was like he was, you know, he was pretty old at the time and he was just working.

He was just sort of in that mode of his just happy to be be doing something at the back end of his career. And so we chatted about I told, you know, I told him I was such a fan and that I enjoyed all the movies, and you know, there there were stories there, but it seemed like he wasn't too he didn't want to give too much. He was like, you know, he was there to get his Hayden full burned into his chest and that was about that was, you know, as soon as that was done, he was done. So it was a pleasure. I meane, my god, it's Keenan Winn.

So at least I have that moment to remember. And George Petrie was sort of fun too. I mean, he was a little friendlier than Canaan, and I just loved George. Not so much for the parts that he did, but he was like Groucho Marx's sideman on Groucho Mark Wrist Show, So have a little chet And I'm a Marx Brothers fan, so it was fun chatting with him too. So yeah, it was a good you know day player, Hello, goodbye with these two guys.

What's your favorite Marx Brothers film, Ducks Boy, Yeah, it's kind of hard to beat, right, Yeah, Okay, I can't even counter TJ. Castnovia. He's a figure that looms large in two of my podcasts. My friend HP and I do a taxi podcast, and he was he was featured quite heavily on the show over at Marios. He was running Marios anyway.

What was he like, because I know he was He's running the show really of Tales from the Dark Side, Like, well, TJ. TJ was was was awesome. I love Tej. I mean he I had I. TJ gave me really my first big break as far as a theater actor was concerned, in the sense I had been a ballet dancer for like ten ten years and I was getting away from that because I couldn't make a good living.

And the first play I auditioned for out of that was Brooklyn, USA. And so he cast me, and I mean that that that show had been done before that he directed, and he was just remounting it. And Brooklyn and smiling Mononial was the lead character. So he had a lot of guys on there that had done the show before. So there was a little bit of a not jealousy thing, but a you know who, who's this guy coming in?

Sure? And so he you know, he he went against a couple of the cast members and cast me and we became friends. But he was Brooklyn, I mean, he was New York, tough guy the whole the whole nine yards. I mean, and but sweet hart go and a good looking guy. I loved working with TJ.

And he was just he was just a lot of fun. He was a New York guy. And so that's the best way I think you can describe him. No nonsense, you know, no bullshit, just just just and so like you know that the pizza guy owner on taxi, uh and in general just how he always wore a sports coat, you know, always looked good, well dressed. Yeah, it was he was eighties New York.

Well, eighties New York is apparently what horror anthology needed. We We've been doing a lot of horror anthologies and they all falter at some point. This one didn't. Didn't. I'm gonna I'm gonna lay that at his feed because this one never flagged in quality.

One that did. One that felt really hard for us was the Twilight Zone nineteen eighty five, but not your episode. We liked Dead Run quite a bit. Yeah, well there was some There were some decent actors in Dead Run, but it went on Brent who that wasn't his name when we did Dead Run here it was he, it was it was another guy. He had just gone out of New York.

He had did I think Sunday in the Park with George under a different stage name, and then he was in Dead Run with me and Jimmy Skaggs and it's back Steve railsback. So that was my god, Charles Manson himself run totally absolutely sweek I under stunt me before I forget it. This is a total tangent. But you were witnessed to one of the greatest fights of all time between Tom Hanks and Phonsie unhappy what you've done some nice research? What legendary episode and there you are having a burger while they're squaring off.

Oh my god, please tell me about that experience. Yeah, well that was that literally was My first part on film was a taxi driver in Days of Our Lives, But my first part with my stag car because that at that time sagging afterward two different unions. Was was the Tom Hanks Bonsie Show where you know, I mean the burger and comes over you hey, and I go, so what my first two lines immortalized with the finds, you know, And yeah, that was. That was, And plus I was there the entire episode because there was a lot of it was in the diner and that new Arnolds, that wood paneled Arnolds. What the hell was going on there?

They were just trying to figure it out. Ron was gone, and you know, it was Bonzie's show by that time, Sonsie and Chachi and Joany and not not as not as strong a show as as the old ones were, but that one was fun and Hanks was just off the wall, off the wall, like this young kid just really just riffing all the way, not unlike when you know, Robin Williams did his bit, but not as crazy, but yeah, and a sweet man, Tom Hanks, very sweet man. I reminded I worked with Henry on another show about I'd say about fifteen years ago, and I think this was at a point where Henry was like trying to forget that he did Phonsie and now he's Okay, he's written a book, he's accepted his his his the notoriety and the fame, and looks back on it fondly.

But at the time, I don't think because I reminded him, I said, hey, you know, I did my first sag line with you, and he goes, yeah, and I'm going, okay, that was that. Well, that wasn't one I expected. But now he's you know, he's he's he's an elder statesman. Now. Must have been a heavy burden for a long time, so come on that.

He lived with that forever, and I mean there were tough times, I'm sure for him as an actor to get away from that. But yeah, so and the part and the show that we did wasn't the greatest, greatest film, so I don't I'm not sure he was too pleased about being there. But you'll always have happy days and now he's even happy about it. No in sense and he was really he's really sweet. Yeah, yeah, okay, since I'm in tangent Land with you, I also do a podcast about Banchik.

Now you were on the A team. Yeah, please tell me about George Paparte. Seems like, if I may, seems like a detestable person, but I adore every inch of the man. Well, his movie career is pretty spectacular, fantastic without fail. Yes, So I mean he went on to the A Team after being a major, you know, heart throw movie star, and so I don't think he was really I think that was a paycheck for George.

But I didn't have that much to do with George. George wasn't in the scene I did. As a matter of fact, the scene I did never made final cut because because I got cast in that based on the Brooklyn, USA play, Oh my god, it just keeps giving. Yeah, it really did, and gave me this great story. The fasting director saw me, saw this tough guy, and I was I was very tough in the play, and so she cast me as this gi MP and I'm the vand drives up to this checkpost and I'm rousting mister T.

Now, I may be a tough guy, but I'm five foot seven, okay, one hundred and forty pounds wet, mister T. I start with this thing. First of all, they give me one of those old fashioned walkie talk He's that's about, you know, about two feet big there, and in one rifle. So I've got a walkie talkie in one hand, an in one rifle in the other, a helmet that's a little bit too big on my head because one of my parts. So I'm panicking in the sense that I'm so happy to be there, but I didn't have the balls to say, helmet's too big?

What the hell is this walkie talk doing? How can I tell anything? So anyway, they drive up. Now this is the first time mister T actually sees me, and they're shooting, and so I tell him to get out of the out of the van, and I have to pull the antenna on the walkie talkie up. I have to.

My first line is into the walkie talkie while I'm holding my in one gun on mister T, who gets out of the van. I pull up the uh in on the walkie talking I hit my helmet, which starts spinning around, and I'm trying to talk tough to mister T. S literally picks me up, picks me up by my by my uniform off the ground, and goes to the director, What the fuck are we doing with this guy trying to rouse me up? This is ridiculous And I can't even really remember the exact line, but it was funnier and it was so mister T. And anyway, so he puts me down, the director goes moving up.

That was That was my moment and a story for the rest of my life, my moment with mister T and truly, truly, and it could have been if I would have been aware, if I would have been not so anxious about the whole situation, I could have made it a real comedy. And I wish I would. I wish I would have just gone with the hat spinning around then the you know, a real Don Knott's moment, you know, and then then then maybe they might have kept it in. Still, you were man handled by mister T at the exact time. Yeah, was I ever?

All? Right? Banks to Tennis in the dark side, if you don't mind speaking specifically, but I'll give you a million when it came to your devil. Let's talk about the look of your devil. What how much input did you have in that if any?

Well, No, I I definitely saw him as sort of androgynists and uh uh, the the the wardrobe was the wardrobe. I mean that sort of lends it very much to what you'r how are you playing it? And the director Harrison was was all for making him so sort of non sexual or a sexual and that whole inference of like, you know, just being, you know, just being This is his job, this is what he loves to do, and he's got this guy, you know, and it's such Now these are his these are his joys in his eternal life. It's took. There are a couple of actually great portrayals of the devil over the years, and very few of them touch on the one on a flavor that you landed on, which is elegant.

No, lets the devil be elegant, And why wouldn't he be. He's having the time of his life. Absolutely, he's the only one that's really having fun in the in the scope of good and evil. Good you're always afraid of evil coming in, and how do you prevent evil and how do you stop it? The devil?

I mean, that's this is, this is he doesn't have anything to fear. Yeah, why wouldn't he be just amused by every little thing, like there's really no consequence to him. So I just adored your portrayal of him. Let me just thank you so much. That means a lot, thank you.

It's it's amazing that it gets the kind of reception that you've given it. It's on flattered, to say the least. It's a superior episode of television, and in no small part to you and your performance. Also that you guys went with the very the pallor kind of definitely that the paler Levil, which again suited it perfectly. I will say that we've already reviewed this episode.

One of us referred to it as a jewel gray look, but I kind of referred to it as a taco look. You remember putting on the Ritz. It was very popular at that moment in time, the wilder putting on the writs and no, no, no no. It was like this new wave guy like remember that's right, disco version. I know what you're talking about now, but I got to tell you that wasn't the that wasn't the thought, and Joe Gray really wasn't the thought either, although I've been compared to Joe Gray before because of musical theater and stuff.

But it was more just yeah, there was no definite person or you know, actor or a character that we were going for. It was just it was just what we the wardrobe, as you know, you put on wardrobe and it it creates. And I had a I definitely had a specific idea in mind that I wanted him to look like with the hair and and they actually went with that. As far as the pale skin, the red lips, it was yeah, So it was like not not defined by any other character. Just I'm certainly not suggesting it was an analog one that you were taking, because it is obvious that it's of a you know, I'm sure once you put that those clothes on, it slick the hair bag, you're like, well, what else are we doing?

This is the natural thing, right right right? But I mean it's funny the putting on the reds. I'm gonna have to go look at that guy. He's very he's in a tux. He's in a tux with pale skin.

Right now, I got it. I gotta check it out. I have to put a video together. We'll do a mash up anyway. Okay, so you worked with John Harrison.

Now this is his first directing of anything, really, and he looms large in the in the Tails from the dark Side universe and the George Romero universe. So what was your experience like with working with him? It was awesome, I mean it was. It was definitely. He was he saw the genesis of the Devil as far as what we wanted to do with it, and so he was totally I had gone in with the Devil with a bit of a different slant on it, and his whole's say, let's make him a little more adrogynists, Let's make him a little bit you know, you don't know which way he's swinging sexually, because he probably swings both ways.

And so it was like that was his his his idea, and it was brilliant, I thought, I thought, yeah, absolutely, So he had a lot to say about that. That's excellent. Yeah. Now, okay, let's if you don't mind moving on to the most grizzly, goddamned half hour of television. Look, I was very young when this was on and it fun.

Let me qualify that at the time, I was a gore hound. I was a Romero fan. I loved all of the most splatter things, the Nightmare and Elm Streets, your Freddie's, You're a Jason's, You're Michael Myers. Nevertheless, unprepared for the human puppeteering going to be coming on on television and the greatest of faces. Oh my god.

He and that guy, the guy who played them, I can't think of his name right now, but who was the puppet? He was? He was something, he was something awesome, you know, had the majority of the dialogue. And yeah, it was gruesome. It was gruesome.

I believe that Derek Lafren was his name. Yeah, so good, so good. And it was not an easy situation for him. It's as far as the hookup and all of that situation. And so it was, you know, once again, a gangster.

I was playing a gangster, very much like the gangster I played in the play. And the TJ was TJ playing playing the big Boss. You said he directed this? Is that? Is that he's not.

He's not credited as the as the director he started, so I'm not sure. No, he didn't direct it. Another guy directed the name of David O'Dell. That's right, David O'Dell, who was Yeah, absolutely, David O'Dell directed, And I think he's done a few things too. I think he did Supergirl or something like that.

You Supergirl who wrote the Dark Crystal. Oh yeah, so there you go some good stuff. No, and he was a sweet guy too, But that was that was a and TJ just played you know, the boss that wanted to be boss. But you know, you see TJ in that and if you just make him a nicer version of that, that is TJ gest But like, how excited were you that you didn't have to be the makeup in this one? My god, you got to be you got to float around and just be the kind of character actor in this one.

Yeah, this was well. And you know I'm having a little side flame with the boss's girlfriend too, so that was sort of fun. And yes, playing that character was it was a good time. It was you know, as an actor, I when I look at that, I thought, oh, maybe I could have been a little funnier here, but it was. It just was such a fun used to do and working with and Cameron the girl, she was very sweet and TJ.

And it was just a good just one of those things. These anthologies, you know, they were they were I worked the Twilight Zone, these two they were going. Yeah, speaking of anthologies, Okay, look, you've been in some of the best as far as I'm concerned toes of the Dark Side, the Twilight Zoned. Your episode there's that series got problematic in the third season. It was not great.

But can I just say, as far as modern anthologies go, the most modern interpretation of an anthology horror series is American Horror Story. And let me just say, sir, that you managed to be in the one scene that is actually horrific in like twelve seasons of American Horror Story. I watch every season of that show waiting to be horrified. That's the scene you're that's a great season, hotel, but your scene and what's going on, and it is just hard. It is It is an awesome scene.

Evan was was was a joy and I mean as pure evil as you could possibly get, and just the whole how they shot it. I mean I think it was brand that did the It was the director on that, and I mean he had every angle possible to get it. And so this is just the the eeriness, the atmosphere of the whole thing of leading up, you know, and it was just, yeah, it was creepy. I'm really I love that that little piece in there. Yeah, thank you, you're great.

But it's, like I said, seeing someone in that sort of situation always just it's like Miller's crossing me, you know, like that. It's very very disturbing to watch, and you're great at it. So oh, thanks so much. And now that Miller's crossing one of my all time favorite movies, just brilliant. Chants to see the short film I did with Ari Astro.

I've seen what I could see on the on your demo reel. Well, okay, because that's a fun that's a fun piece. That was the last short film that Ari did before he did Hereditary, right, and you can find that on YouTube. That's a fun piece. I'm proud of that.

Pieces one here that listeners check all of mister Fisher' stuff and you're not going to be disappointed. The man has gone toe to toe with Indiana Jones for God's sake, that's right, baby. How fun was that? Unbelievably fun? Yeah?

Yeah, And spent quite a bit of time in Montana. But that's it was all worth it for just that that one scene with with with Harrison Ford and who's a wonderful man, a sweet, sweet guy, and just being just playing cowboys and asshole ranchers. You know, it was. It was fun. I was working across across the table from him.

Very very special. Remember playing areadykee cowboys. I've noticed here you're always sort of you know, you're not the rough and tumble guy out there. You're more of a bowler hat fella back in onst world as well, like my god man, you know what, you're the rarest of creatures, mister Fisher, you're the working actor and you're working great stuff. Man bo is afraid he's in Ba's afraid listeners afraid.

Well, that's thankful to say Levee. I already asking me in Sye Levee, is this you know, Birthday Boys staff man, and it basically the say la Vie character, like the genesis of the Chester Crummings is basically Birthday Boys stab man. So thank you Ari for putting me in there. Two weeks in Montreal. A lot of fun working with Woking.

Yeah, you know, you think about the people I've worked with and it's pretty amazing. Staggering, it's a good word for it. Yeah. So I've been very very fortunate, and I am I am, I am the epitome of the juryman actor, and it's been it's been very good to me. And I've never had to deal with any of the heartache of being bigger than I should have ever been.

But it's been, it's been, it's been blessed. I've been very very lucky. Yeah, lucky only gets you so far. Man, You're no slouch. You're always interesting and always fun to watch.

So definitely here on these two episodes of Toes from the Dark Side, like you're right there, right at the right of the ground floor, and right at your own ground floor, it would seem well, Man, that's very sweet. Thank you. I'm happy. I'm happy that you've seen it. I'm happy that you've looked at my work.

But my work means a lot to me in the sense that I love acting. I've loved acting since I'm in my I started in twenty two, I started professionally in Dublin, Ireland, and I've been doing it ever since. So it's it's thrilling that you've seen my stuff and that you like my stuff. I'm very flattered. Thank you.

Well, we're big fans, will be we'll be shouting you out and linking you to things and such. Well, you know, we'll do all of the well, I'll do all the cross promotion. Do you have anything coming up you want to mention or Eric? I did a movie called Isaac. I don't know where it's where it's at right now.

Is sort of a Chinese American co production, and I play basically the head of a country that's trying to get rid of AI because AI is taking over and I'm not too happy about it. But this one should be interesting. I don't know. It's beautiful to look at, whether it's whether it ever comes out, it's one of those situations. I don't know.

That's where we are these days, unfortunately. But it's called right now, it's called Isaac, and it's a fun nasty character again, so fantastic. We'll keep an eye for Isaac. Oh. One last thing, Parks and Rec.

Well, yeah, Parks and Rec saved basically not saved my life, but my wife and I were standing on parks and Rec. Oh, and this was at leaner times, acting wise, and so you worked that every year that it was on, and probably the most fun I've ever had on set, funniest people I've ever been around in my life. I can only imagine it's one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, and can only imagine just being adjacent to it. Well, and plus, I mean, you know, as a standing you're you're right there every second of the day, You're in rehearsals, you're you're watching the tapes, and truly, truly, I mean, the funniest stuff in that show never got shown. It was just it was just these guys riften and and all of them so brilliant, so sweet, so kind, and good friends were made.

So I I'm very, very very proud of being part of that show. It was a lot of funny. And I got to work it with my wife, so that was that's amazing, you know, and five minutes from home, so I would go, we'd go to work. I come home, want my dog go back to work at me. So it was it was a lot of fun, the perfect job.

Well, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention you know that your participation and then and I know you worked there as a Joan Calametso stage manager there for a couple of They were kind to throw me a bon or two on that show. God bless you're part of Pawnee Forever. Thank you so much, mister Fisher. It was a fantastic talking to you. I hope we can do it again soon.

Well, I sure appreciate. Like I said, I'm very flattered and I was happy to do it. Our next episode is a pain killer. This is season one, episode three. It aired originally on October the fourteenth, nineteen eighty four.

This one was written by Haskell Bark. If that name sounds familiar, it's because we've tangled with mister Barkin back when we were living in the Twilight Zone. He wrote four segments of Twilight Zone eighty five Act Break Tooth or Consequences, and two for season three, one of which was one of the very few tolerable episodes from season three, theature of Edgar Witherspoon. The other one was Appointment on Route seventeen, which was just as terrible as everything else that year. He ends up writing four episodes of Tails from the dark Side.

But I did a little digging into some of his earlier work. He did nine episodes of Love Vote. You guys remember the cartoon The Galaxy goof Ups. Neither do I, but he wrote thirteen episodes of that. He did write sixteen episodes of jabber Ja though.

Oh very nice. There we go, and now he's writing for Horror. This one is directed by Armand Mastriani, who directs four episodes of the series. He'll go on to direct eight episodes of Friday the Thirteenth, the series which is basically a mini anthology series of its own, and two of that New Dark Shadows show. He also directed the feature film He Knows You're Alone With And I want to point out that the DP on this one is fresh out of film school, Ernest Dickerson, who not only was the DP for all of Spike Lee's best films, but is a hell of a filmmaker all on his own.

Chris, You and I talked about one of his films on Culture Cast with Iced Tea and Gary Busey, Surviving the Game. Oh No, that's right, Yes, Wow, what a great thing. Okay. This one stars Farley Granger, who's at Alfred Hitchcock alum from Rope and Strangers on a Train also Peggy Cast, but really It stars Lou Jacoby. This is the tale of a of a put upon husband who develops a back problem that may or may not be tied to directly to his wife, and the sudden appearance of a mysterious man who wants to help.

What's the think of this one? I had so much fun with this one again, because Lou, you're saying Jacoby. I would say Jacoby, but you know I'm gonna say Jacotoo. I'm okay. First instinct was Jacoby, and then for some reason, my mind at the last second said, no, fancify that, I'm just thinking from twin Peaks.

But yeah, I love that guy. He is so great. And then to see Harley Greenscher show up and I swear that they knew what they were doing when they cast Farley Granger. It's so strangers on a train. When it comes to oh you do me a little favor, I do you a little favor, chriss Cross and he is as creepy as guy was, and strangers on a train.

I really thought that it worked well. And yeah, I just had a fun time with this again. Half an hour and they used the time so well. This could have dragged. We could have gotten everything that we needed with in the first five minutes and then just been like, Okay, I get it.

But the way that they dole out the information I thought was very masterful and that it managed to keep my attention and keep me in suspense the entire time. Yeah, I enjoyed it. This is now the second time I've seen Lou Jacobe in six months, thanks to you, father Malone. Oh. He shows up in Amazon Women, right yeah, as the old man who just keeps wandering through the random TV spot right Murray right, yeah, I'm in the rock video come so great.

He kind of looks like the time to make the donuts guy for me, totally. My first impression of lu Jacobe is from Amazon Women on the Moon, So every time I look at him, he's just in boxer shorts and a wife beater was staggering around in television shows. That's what I thought when I was watching this, So it it's an interesting episode. It reminds me of the James Gregory yeah page oh yeah, where he's you know, reminded me of that. And this is again like the spouse seems a hag and they're making the life of the signific and other harder, and the way out is this deplorable choice that the person makes, not thinking it'll actually happen, but oh it does, and this is we get to see all of that here as opposed to just like the lead up to it with that episode.

So I thought it was pretty great. It's pretty obvious where it's going. Like the little kind of minor twist at the end of what actually what the machinations are that take place for these things to happen? Reminds me of that. I guess it's a Matheson short story The Box.

It's kind of like that in a way too, where it's like you make this decision, someone else dies and you get a million dollars. It has a twinge of that to it. I thought it was fun again, like Mike said, I'm gonna agree with you, Mike this. We're having a good time watching this show. What the fuck?

Yeah, it feels like it's been so long since I've actually had a lot of joy watching these horror anthologies, and I'm just like, I hope it doesn't end. This is so good. What's really funny is I think back to when we had you on Chronicles from the Crypt, Mike and it was an episode that is like one of the best episodes on the show. You really didn't like it, And now we're doing The Three of Us, a horror anthology show. Times have changed.

Yeah, I'm here for it. I really like this And I was reminded a little bit of the one that we just talked about recently, the what was it a new Man? The one with mel from Alice and just sorry Victate back that whole thing that I was complaining about with that episode, where was like, does the kid have an agreement with this guy? This one? Yeah, you were talking about the machinations, and it makes sense.

It's just again, this twisted guy would be satan doing all of these things in order to just get these people indebted to them and make people suffer. Like, that's pretty twisted. I like it, and he kind of gets off on it too. It makes it that much more sinister. Like you you can tell he's enjoying himself, which always makes it that much more repugnance.

That's but also that's what makes that scenery be chewed that much more toothsome because he's just such a bastard the whole time. Speaking of scenery, my recollection of this show is it being very cheaply produced, almost like BBC and its quality. But god damn if this one doesn't look great. It looks like a short film like that. Lots of use of shadow, like they don't shy away.

We're not getting any day for night Over here and Darkseide. I'll tell you that much Night Gallery back in New York this week, you can tell for this particular episode, I will say that his shrewish wife, who is obviously the cause of all his sorrow, is correct because computers are the future. That's true. Yeah, just go ahead and read that huge programming book. Good luck with that.

Should I bring the book so you can study while he's laid out on the phone, Jill, I'm all right. Oh. Also Castle Thunder getting a workout in both of these episodes. Holy lord, calm down there, guys. The return of our old friend I loved Farley Granger in this episode, Like when he shows when he shows up at first as his doctor and he says, how did this happen?

This is why? I was picking up a teaspoon and my back suddenly fell out, and he says nasty things tea spoons. It's like the most sinister reading ever of the most sort of innocuous line. Farley Granger is so creepy. Here these are the instructions for popping popcorn.

It's like that, It's like what. But that's the thing that makes this so much fun that again, like I felt was missing from Night Gallery. Like when I think of Night Gallery and I think of the Jack Albertson episode with Bobby Darren, he didn't he should have been more menacing the way Farley Granger is here, and Bobby Darren's just not picking up on it. But that also is because again it's just so self serious. It could never get out of its own way.

And then we're watching this and they're just like, hey, man, do your thing, Barley Granger, just go for it. And I think this show is already working better for me because everybody seems to understand the assignment a little bit more than the people did on Night Gallery, which is kind of a shame. But also at the same time, Romero taking over from Serling in the eighties kind of works for me. The people the voices that need to be heard in the eighties aren't necessarily Rod Sterling's, and Romero, who was working at the same time as Serling in the horror genre, but had picked up the ball like a ball that Serling had never been really interested in to begin with. He was always a fan of sort of fantasy, speculative stuff, stuff that allowed him to get away with the sort of moralizing he was interested in.

Romero isn't interested in moralizing at all. If you pick up something of social significance in his films or his TV series, great, but he wasn't really. He just wanted to scare you, and that's what we want as horror fans. Lujah. Kobe pretending to be well enough to go to work was one of the most heartbreaking scenes I've ever seen on television, just suffering through that and definitely was going was on his way to work, and that was awful.

Also awful, but really hilarious is how readily he agrees to murder his wife once he realizes that the pain will in fact just to immediately disappear, Like, okay, let's how we do this? Are you sure? Let's go ahead and do it? Pains one hell of a motivator, just as my boss, if you've had back pain, you know that this guy laying on the floor and making ostensibly a deal with the devil. It would seem to get his back pain to go away.

I'm not sure I would sell my spouse down the river to fix my back pain. But if my spouse were like this in a world that is fictional, I might be convinced to the way he is. It's back pain. Ain't no choke, folks, I'm sure any of us would. She's not helping her case.

No, her constant interaction in horrible nature. The funny thing is that the final twist of it is that it wasn't her, It was the devil all along. He's the one controlling that pain. He turns it on off like a switch, and his ready agreement to murder his wife ends up being just a horrible sentence for himself. The woman who shows up to apologize to him, missus Tracy, the elderly confessor, the woman who accidentally quote unquote hit his wife with her car, is fantastic.

Oh my god, the perfect casting for that specific role. Perfect. Yeah, such a small role, but she really just knocks it out of the park, gives it away without giving anything away exactly if he really cared at that moment, he would have known exactly what was happening, but instead he's more interested in going out and picking up a Southwestern print shirt and a bolo tie. He's got a new Lisan lively to KOVI here when your wife was like that, Hey, you got to go out and start anew, start fresh once again. He's now a Brooklyn cowboy.

Can't last. Castle Thunder making a return as we finally figure out who Farley Granger has been this entire time. Castles underworking overtime and needn't have been there at all because Farley Granger's smile was enough to creep us the fuck out and send us home. He looked really good for his age in this episode. This was what thirty years after Rope?

Wasn't that forty eight or something? Yeah, I can't remember. When Rangers on the Train was what fifty six or I can't remember, but anyway, I thought that he looked great and just the mustache added a nice touch to him. I thought that was a nice, little devilish touch. Yeah, he was.

He's just so much fun and it makes me really appreciate just what fun he was having. My god, he's spry and just as energetic as anybody on screen. He's got that glint in his eye. Man. And this is great just that we've talked about two episodes with older actors in them where they are just having the time of their lives.

Yeah. Obviously Night Callery Rod was interested in that as well, like pulling people out of mothballs and getting them reinvigorated in some way. But something's going on here where everyone's really in on it. And they a lot of the people I think who ended up on Night Gallery you could tell felt they were slumming, whereas everyone here is just they're just actors, particularly the New York actors are just like, Okay, what am I doing this week? Cool?

Let's go p'fessionals. Yeah, and it's paying off in dividends because I think these episodes so far have been really good, like and I don't know if it's going to sustain throughout, but trending in the right direction so far. All right, And the next episode we're going to be talking about Tales from the Dark Side is season one episodes four and five. Those are the Odds and the Mooky and Pooky. Until then, where can people find you Christashire?

Hopefully not the same place you can find Mooky and Pooky Jesus. Those are the two freaks from Nothing but Trouble. Yeah, the Dan act Roy John Candy characters, Baby characters. Though I'm sure Father Malone actually knows the names of those characters and he would love to clue us in because we all know Father Lan is a huge dan ak Ruyd fan. I actually don't know the names of those characters.

Oh sorry, sorry, I'm still thinking about Mookie and Pooky one either Mookie or Kooky. I know it's Justine Bateman fighting in the battle against AI out there every day, man. Yeah. Yeah. You can find me at Weirdingwaymedia dot com, where I do all kinds of shows on my own and with Mike White doing some Barney Miller and Father Malone and Mike and I were doing this show.

So that's where you can find me doing all this stuff and EIGHTYCV Ladies, Feminine Critique, Fomentaries, all kinds of other great stuff Weirdingwaymedia dot Com. Go there now. My favorite weirding Way of Media show is Wake Up Heavy from mister Mark Begley, and he'll also be joining us as we talk about Chevy Chase films on the Chasing Chevy Podcast. Chasing Chevy Chase, I believe is the proper term, and that's coming out what Q two twenty twenty four. So if you work in the business world, you know what that means.

I recently realized that some of my coworkers were so young they didn't know Q one, Q two, Q three, Q four. So so they're younger than me, is what you're saying. I'm just like, that's really not that hard to figure out. Guys. At least they're not giving you shit for using the term.

Oh God, thank goodness. So yeah, all over at wirdowaymedia dot com, including some other stuff that I work on, like the projection booth and yeah, Chris and I also have a new show with Richard HadAM where we were talking about James Bond movies, which is available exclusively on our patreons. So come on over and join the fun. Why don't you? And how about you father them alone?

As for me, you can check out all of my nonsense over at Weirdingwaymedia dot com. You can hear Noisejunkies, the music podcast I co host with Mondo Header's Heather Drain and HP. You can also hear Knight Mister Walters the Taxi Podcast, which I also co host with HP. Speaking of HP, he wrote our theme song, so a big thanks to him. If you want to hear these episodes a week early and hear other exclusive content, or just support us in any way, please go to Patreon slash Father Malone.

Thank you all for joining us here at midnight viewing. Try to enjoy the daylight