"Tales from the Crypt" Retro Recap: "Strung Along"

Written by Scotty

One of the fears that we run into when getting older is no longer feeling relevant.  It does not matter what your career is or what path you have walked, there is no escaping this feeling as there is always someone out there that is younger and doing it better than you ever did.  I know it is hard to believe it, but it is true and we have to find a way to keep it from happening to us.  With every breath that is left in our bodies, we will fight to reclaim what is ours and there will be nothing to stop us, except time that is.

Joseph Renfield was the top puppeteer of his day and his show featuring his puppet Coco brought joy to children all over America.  But times have changed and Joe is having problems keeping busy around the house and since his show is long gone, he needs to find another hobby than just talking with himself when trying to construct a new doll.  Joe’s young wife Ellen is worried about her husband, since he does not seem to have the same life force as before and is begging him to get up and move around, but Joe is too tired to even care anymore, that is until get gets a letter asking him to do his Coco bit on a TV show.

Joe feels like he is a kid again and cannot contain his excitement.  Wanting to do something better than his old show with Coco, Joe has to find someone to help him with his new act.  Not knowing anybody since becoming a hermit when he retired, Joe has to rely on his wife to find someone suitable.  Ellen has someone in mind, but does not know if he will fit with her husband’s high standards.  When young David arrives at the house, Joe puts him through the ringer will all of his questions and finds out that the young man in into electronic puppets, not the old stringed ones that Joe has worked with all of his life.

With everything laid out on the table, Joe and David get to work and try to figure out their new concept.  While Ellen does not want anything taken from the original show that her husband did so many years ago, David is just trying to add some youth to it.  Having a blow up, Ellen leaves the house to go to her acting class, but the date does not seem right in Joe’s mind.  Finding out that her class dates have been changed for over a year, Joe fears for the worst that his lovely bride has been cheating on him.  Digging through her drawers, Joe finds a letter from her lover and has to look inside of himself to figure out what to do.  Coco is telling the old man that he should handle the situation with vengeance, but when he sees what one of his dolls is doing to his wife, Joe may never be the same again.

A tale of woo between Ellen and her new lover while poor Joe is just trying to get along at home. Not only wanting to be back on the small screen, Joe needs it to keep himself from getting lost in the basement and working on his dolls that may never see the light of day.  It is sad to see where he has ended up, but he is living the dream with a stunning young wife and a legacy that will never end.  Starring Donald O’Connor as Joseph Renfield, Patricia Charbonneau as Ellen and Zach Galligan as David.  As this episode plays out, it is entertaining to see how Joe changes his attitude and how much he wants to be the man of old, but knowing that David is just that much younger, leads to one unexpected ending.  Until next time kiddies, Stay Scared.

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