What a jerk. - Tales from the Darkside (1983) Discussion

[–] legnadibrom 13 years ago

i know, i didn't particularly like the theme of that episode,
the people who can't pay their bills are morally worse than the people paid to call and collect IMHO

http://www.last.fm/music/Disuse

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[–] inan1210 13 years ago

I know, this ep makes it sound like all people who can't pay the bills are just poor victims of circumstance, when everyone knows that is often not the case.

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[–] stewie-3 13 years ago

Yeah, I didn't like that ep much at all. The bill collector lady wasn't an evil person, just jaded and cynical from her own experiences. A death sentence (terminal brain cancer) hardly seemed an appropriate punishment, especially from a so-called angel.

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[–] MonteCarloMan 13 years ago

You guys are forgetting it is a tale from the DARKSIDE...

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[–] Brynn434 13 years ago

I hated that episode. The bill collector was just doing her job. It's not like she set out to ruin people. She had a job to do.

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[–] doctorwily 13 years ago

I have to disagree. First of all this is the Darkside, where some tragic things can happen to people who don't deserve it at all ( take "Miss May Dusa" for example, with it's tragic characters in love). But having said that, I think the woman was a huge bi*ch. You could tell straight from the beginning of the episode that she enjoyed toying with people's emotions. Like when she said "Shame, shame" mocking the situation the person was going through and when she told the little girl that her Mommy was in big trouble. She could care less about the financial hell all those people were going through. She got her kicks by making them suffer even more.

I really dig this episode. We always wonder what it would be like to live in someone else's shoes... even for a couple of minutes. This woman found out... for the worse. Karma can be a fierce thing. The hispanic woman asked Michael for justice. That's what he dished out. He even said he was sorry while he did it. God is the ultimate judge. What he says goes.

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[–] laeyisoracle 13 years ago

I think a good deal of the responses above reflect modern society's views on money and how they've changed. Back in the day, they'd often show some greedy landlord, collector or someone else of power, putting down the underdogs, and when they finally got their just deserts, even if it, by realistic views, might be a little too much, people would say, "Well, what goes around comes around!". Now, the common response is, "She was just doing her job!". It's just like in the movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Gordon Gecko's preaching "Greed is good!", now, is given a standing ovation, while back in the 80s, other than the obvious sleazes, most people were disgusted with it. It's the change of society's thinking. Who knows, perhaps, in the future, people will also be able to justify drug lords killing for money, kidnappings and murder for hire. Hey, they all just need to make a living! Sex slaves... pimps need to eat too! They are just doing their jobs! ^_^

That aside, yes, this IS Tales from the Darkside, where these horrific situations tend to be unfair to the 100th degree. In "Answer Me", that actress just wanted some peaceful sleep, but the damn phone next door wouldn't stop ringing. She goes to investigate it and the possessed thing strangles her to death. Did that gullible woman who put her faith into that Horus X machine(I think that's what it was called) deserve her fate? Or, howabout that girl in Inside the Closet? The kid in Cutty Black Sow? Most of the characters in Tales from the Darkside are given the raw end of the deal. That's what makes it horror! The best horror is when you have "bad things happening to good people". I think that's where a lot of modern horror movies get steered wrong. They do the "bad things happening to bad people". You know, they'd write a bunch of unlikable douchebag characters and super ultra bitches that were written solely to make the audience hate them, and then they get killed in various elaborate ways.

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[–] egyptianwarrior127 12 years ago

How is it "What goes around, comes around"? See, I'm baffled by this response. If you take someone's services (lights, water, place to live), you're expected to follow through on that responsibility and pay your bills. If you can't pay, you shouldn't be using those services.

I'm not saying it to be heartless. I'm terrified at the thought of being one paycheck away from being homeless. But - What should the bill collector have done? What CAN she do? Her job is to make sure people pay - and judging from how detached she was in her calls, she was handling a LOT of people who came up with every excuse to not pay, or they avoided her calls altogether.

I understand they tugged on heartstrings by using an old lady with health problems who was unable to pay her bills and most likely had no family to fall back on - which is why you'd never catch me getting a job as a bill collector.

And I think you made a huge leap from a situation about being responsible with money and bills to a situation about criminals and sex. Totally unrelated.

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[–] worldofbong 12 years ago

More than just doing her job it was the way she did it. She gave no leniency, and often made intimidating threats that even she admitted were overstated and false, merely to frighten people.

She was looking out only for herself, and so driven to succeed that she didn't care who she had to step on to get there.

..or at least I think so lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-JphygYybU

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[–] worldofbong 12 years ago

I think a good deal of the responses above reflect modern society's views on money and how they've changed. Back in the day, they'd often show some greedy landlord, collector or someone else of power, putting down the underdogs, and when they finally got their just deserts, even if it, by realistic views, might be a little too much, people would say, "Well, what goes around comes around!". Now, the common response is, "She was just doing her job!". It's just like in the movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Gordon Gecko's preaching "Greed is good!", now, is given a standing ovation, while back in the 80s, other than the obvious sleazes, most people were disgusted with it. It's the change of society's thinking. Who knows, perhaps, in the future, people will also be able to justify drug lords killing for money, kidnappings and murder for hire. Hey, they all just need to make a living! Sex slaves... pimps need to eat too! They are just doing their jobs!

Thank you, I was thinking the exact same thing. Odd how society has changed

..or at least I think so lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-JphygYybU

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[–] stewie-3 13 years ago

I just rewatched the episode a few minutes ago. I will admit that the debt collector lady was a lot more ruthless than I remembered. Still, the episode just doesn't work (IMHO) for the reasons the OP points out.

Yes, Darkside is a horror series. And, in a horror series, unfair things happen. The problem is, "Payment Overdue" is also intended as a morality play. Unfortunately, whatever point the story is trying to make is undone by the absurd notion of an angelic figure essentially carrying out a curse from beyond the grave. I'm reminded (somewhat) of the old TZ episode "What's in the Box?". The ultimate fate of the main character is so disproportionate to his actions that the episode comes off as silly and pointless.

Bad writing, bad execution.

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[–] MonteCarloMan 13 years ago

I thought it was a great example of putting oneself in another's shoes. The bill collector didn't listen to the spanish woman's plight, so it took an angel to show her just how bad her life was since the collector couldnt draw an illustration of her actual situation just talking with her "over the phone".

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[–] stewie-3 13 years ago

Well, I can see where you're coming from, MonteCarloMan. The ep didn't really work for me personally, but if you enjoyed it, that's cool too. Each to their own, and all that. :-)

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[–] wellesradio 13 years ago

"undone by the absurd notion of an angelic figure essentially carrying out a curse from beyond the grave."

Again, we are talking about an episode of Tales From the Darkside, right?\
The mix of the supernatural within the morality play isn't exactly a new concept. (Don Juan? Faust?) In fact, do you even know what a morality play is? Because by definition "morality play" nearly always involves the intervention of angels and demons within the plot.
So yes it is.

A tip: [*URL][/URL](remove the asterisk) for all your linking needs. spread the word Use this sig!

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[–] stewie-3 13 years ago

Oh goody. I figured it wouldn't be long before a head-up-the-backside type showed up to bless us all with his obviously superior understanding of things . It wouldn't be an IMDB board thread without one of you making an appearance.

The point, which seems to have cleared your nogin by a good meter and a half, is not whether the episode was a morality play, but whether it was a believable one. A demon/devil would have worked very well. Carrying out a curse and all. But as a "just" action by a supposed creature of light? I'm still not buying it.

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[–] tightjeansdude 11 years ago

She was ruthless and had no compassion. She may have been 'doing her job' but she lacked any humanity. I know, bill collectors are not supposed to be your 'friends', but still...

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[–] samgslp 13 years ago

First and foremost, it's Tales From the Darkside and the "taste of your own medicine" theme is pretty common.

But the (angel) character's name is Michael, probably alluding to Archangel, the leader of god's army who is often depicted as a holy warrior. Also, if my memory serves me correctly, in the episode they specifically mention that the woman who can't pay her bills is a devout Catholic and Michael is seen in Catholicism as a defender of the sick, with the ability to judge good vs. evil and fight for righteousness.

In many societies and religions, angels can be pretty bad-ass. And Michael was totally bad-ass.

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[–] kolchak-thenightstalker 12 years ago

i just wanted to add in here since something was mentioned by one of the posters about people who can't pay their bills aren't always victims of circumstance.

that may be true, but the woman who couldn't pay her bills wasn't doing it on purpose just to ignore her bills. if that was so, then the angel probably wouldn't have done what he did to the bill collector. the angel probably would have told the woman who was ignoring her bills on purpose that what she was doing was wrong and that she should pay her bills if she honestly can.

however, that wasn't the situation. plus, the bill collector was portrayed as uncaring and unsympathetic to someone's plight.

i think the bill collector was very cold hearted and as such was shown the same by the angel. perhaps it was an example of poetic justice. yes, it seemed cold hearted of the angel to give her brain cancer but wasn't she just as cold hearted to the person who was having difficulties paying her bills?

i'm not a big religious person, but i believe that we are supposed to show compassion and sympathy to others when others are down because we want God to show compassion and sympathy to us when we have to face Him and face judgement.

the bill collector was trying to act like she is God, in a manner of speaking, and God was not going to have any of that kind of behavior so He showed the bill collector who the real boss is.

at least that is how i look at it.

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[–] torpedoboy4 12 years ago

The collector was a snatch. She got what was coming to her.

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[–] thereseuphemiaabernathy 12 years ago

I agree with you. I don't see how most "people who can't pay the bills are morally worse than the people paid to call and collect." True, most of the latter are usually just doing their jobs, and some of the former AREN'T simply poor victims of circumstance--there are undoubtedly many that very wrongly attempt to take advantage of someone's sympathy. But the majority of the time, including this particular case...? This was meant as an example of hardhearted mercilessness first on the collector's part, and it was that. She was given quite an extreme taste of that sort of medicine, yes...but it WAS a "Tale From the Darkside," after all. I don't think that was exactly perfect justice--however, even perfect justice would sometimes seem terribly dark, due to the unimaginable acts people are capable of committing.
(It's also very ironic, since you mention religion, that the people who fancy themselves pious and devout are so often the ones that don't want to bother taking pity on all the poor and destitute people of the world. Jesus was all about living as one of them, caring for and sharing with them, serving others, showing compassion and empathy and helping one another out for the good of all.)

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