‘Tales from the Darkside’ Retro Recap: ‘All a Clone by the Telephone’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Something that is genuinely fascinating about our modern world, is how we view tough times and well, outright failure. For such matters aren’t seen as learning experiences or an opportunity to grow, they’re seen as moments in our lives that can make us weak. As though if we don’t double down and push through the tough times or turn a failure into a success, we are somehow nothing and well… we are finally coming to realize that looking at problems in our lives in this manner… is actually quite the toxic way to handle life when the going gets tough or when we don’t achieve our goals. Because our mental health and our self-worth suffers greatly, when we hold to that old and outdated notion.
​
Because it motivates us to beat ourselves up mentally and view ourselves as less than zero and that can lead to all kinds of trouble. Since it can motivate us to quit our dreams and walk away from everything we ever wanted or it can outright break us mentally and help us to lose ourselves to depression or anger and frustration, and well… the dangers that can come about from holding true to that old line of thinking is top of mind today, simply because it was put on display in great detail in the next episode of Tales from the Darkside. A feat that ‘All a Clone by the Telephone’ accomplishes, by plunging us into the life of a Hollywood screenwriter who is at a crisis point in his career.

For when we catch up with Leon, here, he’s been out of work for months. His agent isn’t getting him anything but obligatory interviews, the rent is due, and his relationship is strained because of the fact that he’s not working. And to complicate matters further, something strange is happening within his own home. For his brand-new answering machine is making calls in the middle of the night and is oddly enough… talking back to him. An act it says it can take part in because it has breached the barriers of the Multiverse and is taking control of his life because Leon can afford this vocal clone with a great opportunity, and now it will be up to Leon to decide if this is real or fantasy and whether or not he wants to put up with another strange wrinkle in his already chaotic life.

---

Which at first glance, is a story that appears to be grounded hard in real-world notions. Because multiverse theory is real now and popular in popular media and the reality that a universe exists where sentient machines rule the day… isn’t out of the question. But as the story continues along and the answering machine begins to do some genuinely off the cuff things to ‘torment’ Leon… it becomes clear that this isn’t a story grounded in the horrors of science, but the horrors of the mind. Because Leon is indeed failing miserably at his chosen career field, and regardless of how hard he works to find peace and happiness… he simply cannot obtain it and well… it is safe to say that outright breaks him and forces his mind to search for new avenues to create what he craves.
​
Where in this instance, the answering machine instead serves as an alter-ego, one that allows for him to escape the horrors of his life and do bold things that can bring him happiness. Since it is the ‘machine’ that proposes to Leon’s girlfriend, allowing for Leon to express what he really feels about her without owning it out of fear of rejection and of course… it gives him the break he needs, trapping him within a prison of his own mind. Where he is eternally a failure in his conscious, while his subconscious pulls wild strings to help him survive. Hammering home, the reality that giving in to failure and seeing it as the end all be all of who we are, can and will lead to disaster. But on a more positive note, Leon’s psychotic break and fate also helps to remind us of the importance of having a support network around us. One that can help us to see failure and tough times in an objective light… so we don’t let those moments consume us and break us.

If anything, this is… another pleasant season one surprise. Because that first viewing, really does make this episode appear to be nothing more than a quirky and twisted tale. One grounded in wild concepts. But clearly, this one was eager to be more, and it most certainly is. Since it is a fascinating examination of what failure and toxic thinking regarding failure can do for us and as an added bonus… this is another story that features some acting and horror legends. Since Harry Anderson plays Leon and of course, Harry would go on to acclaim and fame as Judge Harry Stone on Night Court, and he would return to horror as Richie Tozier in the 1990 iteration of It. And of course, you can’t go wrong with the fact that Dick Miller is in this story as Leon’s agent, because Dick is indeed a silver screen and horror legend and their performances here lend credence to the wonder of this tale, one that really does stay with you long after Leon’s fate comes to an end and well… what’s amazing… is that the series is just getting started when it comes to examinations of toxic notions in our world. Since the next tale explores the horrifying power of… toxic positivity. Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight.

---