"Tales from the Crypt" Retro Recap: "Deadline"

Written by Scotty

There are so many things that can make someone go astray and several people are not able to find their way back to their old selves after venturing off.  But for the lucky few that can find their way again, they attribute it to someone or something new coming into their lives.  Even with the people that have hit rock bottom, they still have hope that there will be something to lead them away from their vices and give them a fresh outlook on life.  Many people battle with this on a daily basis and even though it seems to be difficult, it is a fight that no one should ever give up on.

Charles McKenzie is a down on his luck reporter that has found that the only way he can survive is to find the bottom of the bottle every evening.  Not wanting to change his life, with the exception of getting a job, he is happy doing what he is doing, but there is something coming for him that will change his outlook on life.  An attractive woman ventures into his local watering hole and although he may not feel the best about himself, he still wants to get to know who she is.  Young Vicki is out on the hunt this evening, looking to find herself a new man to keep her from getting bored.

Charles is the lucky man and after waking up together, he finds out that Vicki is not looking for a long term relationship, just something fun.  She likes the excitement of meeting new people are trying new things and even though Charles can go along with the flow, there is something about this woman that has his juices flowing.  Wanting to get back into the beat writing game, Charles goes back to his old paper and begs to get his job back with the promise of quitting drinking, although his old boss does not believe him, Charles is given his job back with the guarantee that he will find an extremely raunchy murder story to cover.

Happy that he has his job back, Charles is not completely changed as he has to stop by his sister’s home to borrow rent money.  But going back to the bar, he tells everybody about his plan to stop drinking and the cash advance he got from the paper.  Vicki does not believe what has happened to her new friend, but even with the recent change in his life, she still does not want to commit to anything, but Charles does not truly understand.  Trying to get a juicy story, Charles calls up all of his old contacts, but nobody is able to give him a lead on any type of story.  Wanting a drink, he goes back to his favorite bar but the bartender refuses to serve him.  Sitting in an out of the way greasy spoon dinner, Charles listens to the owner Nikos complain about how bad life is.  Trying to ignore the conversation, Charles hears something happening in the back and when Nikos comes out, he cries that he has just killed his wife.  Charles jumps into action, since this is what he has been waiting for, but when he sees who the owner’s young wife is, something takes over in his mind and he makes sure that the story will be a juicy as possible.

A loving story with a violent ending, but is that not always the way?  I feel for poor Charles as he is trying to pick himself up and out of the gutter and his friends trying to help him in any way that they can and he keeps shooting himself in the foot. There is always a way to get back up after you fall, but at what costs are you willing to go to reach for that brass ring?  In Charles' case, he is willing to get back to the man he once was at any cost, no matter how much it hurts him, or the ones that he loves.  Starring Richard Jordan as Charles McKenzie, Marg Helgenberger as Vicki and Jon Polito as Nikos, this story puts you in the shoes of a man that is trying to get his life back and when everything starts to fall into place, it falls apart even harder.  Until next time kiddies, Stay Scared.

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