Welcome back to all of you fans of fiendish film and TV! Those howls you hear from the creatures of the night need be no cause for alarm, you are safe down here with us in the Retroist vault! Us? Yeah, that’s the one and only Doug McCoy behind the concession stand and you can see the esteemed Daniel XII manning the projector! Tonight we have the eighth episode from the first season of Tales From The Darkside entitled ‘Word Processor of the Gods’. Based on the short story by Stephen King that originally appeared in a 1983 Playboy magazine, back then it was entitled ‘The Word Processor’ but King included it in his 1985 short story collection Skeleton Crew.
The story concerns Richard Hagstrom (John Davison), a struggling writer who seems to be unhappy with how his life turned out in regards to his overbearing Wife (Karen Shallo) and his indolent Son (Patrick Piccininni). When we meet him in the beginning of the episode he is getting some help by his late brother’s neighbor Tom Nordhoff (Bill Cain) with moving boxes not only belonging to his brother but his Nephew as well. We learn that Richard’s brother was an alcoholic and drove his van while intoxicated off the side of a cliff to his death…with his Wife (Miranda Beeson) and Son (Jon Matthews) along for the ride. Before his tragic death, Richard’s Nephew who we learn was something of a genius when it came to electronic equipment had pieced together a makeshift word processor…a very special writing tool for his Uncle.
So come and join us this evening as we step into a world that is just as real but NOT as brightly lit…a Darkside.
http://youtu.be/Vtwyg0xzE-E
[Via] Norm Evans
A thank you as always to the late great Sean Hartter for the awesome header you see up top. Make sure to follow the link to see why Sean’s art captivated so many people.
VicSage
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2 thoughts on “Saturday Frights: Tales From The Darkside – “Word Processor Of The Gods” (1984)”
That was a good episode and a great series. I had forgotten about that particular one until I started watching it. One of the Tales From the Dark Side that stands out in my memory is the one where the family’s grandfather dies but is so stubborn he refuses to believe he’s dead and keeps on rotting away in their house and being cantankerous – remember that one? I won’t mention the ending in case you never saw it!
MadPlanet, my friend…I think you just picked next week’s Saturday Frights! :)