‘Tales from the Darkside’ Retro Recap: ‘The Impressionist’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

It is definitely safe to say that when a brand-new television show is renewed for a second season, a grand sense of comfort washes over those involved with the series, and the fans that helped it get there. For now, the fans can enjoy more of what they love to begin with and hopefully help it grow via word of mouth, and for the folks behind the scenes… it means they get to continue to work and continue to create. Which is what any artist wants really… to keep going and keep pushing themselves and that can lead to some interesting surprises in year two of that particular television show.  
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Because now that there is job security for the people involved… they can push the envelope and try new things. A move that sometimes brings forth utter brilliance, as they push the story to new heights and challenge the actors like never before. Or it can lead to some ugly results, if things are pushed too far and the show begins to not resemble what people loved in the first place. Or in the case of today’s Retro Recap, the push to try something new, and experiment with the story and see where that takes both the story and viewer, can lead to some supremely Avant Garde results. The kind that are neither terrible or stellar, just off the wall and different, as was the case with the season two premiere of Tales from the Darkside.

For ‘The Impressionist’ is a story… that is indeed experimental in nature. For this is a tale of ‘terror’ that introduces us to a hyper talented impressionist named Spiffy Remo who is at quite the crossroads in his life. Because he is on the downslope of his career, despite still being able to nail impressions in an uncanny and convincing manner and all he is hoping for is one last shot to do something special with his skill set before the sun sets on his career, and that moment it would seem… has finally arrived. For the Federal Government contacts Spiffy to ask him to help with first contact with an alien species, represented by a being named Hoffgosh. And if Spiffy can figure out how to communicate and act just like the being now locked away at a secret facility, he will achieve wonders, the kind that will lead to the betterment of mankind.  

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Which is a story that is very much filled to the brim with different concepts for an anthology horror series. Simply because, we have aliens in this story. Which of course, can be quite horrific, just look at the Alien franchise. But here, Hoffgosh is nothing more than a misunderstood traveler who has a lot to say. But no one can quite understand him because… alien language, and well, that means this is an episode that is mostly devoid of scares. Sure, there’s a jump scare moment since we don’t know Hoffgosh’s loyalties and motivations until later in the episode, but that’s it, that’s… the one. Which means this is just a science fiction tale plopped into a horror series as part of an effort to experiment with what this series could do and what’s wild, is that while that sounds super weird and super terrible, it isn’t.
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In fact, this is an oddly compelling story that keeps you locked to the screen because it features a lot of humanity and a lot of musings on life, really. Because this is a story that dives deep into the minutiae of the concept of legacy. Since there are a lot of moments that ponder deeply upon how badly we want to be remembered for our talents and how we also want our skills and gifts to contribute to the betterment of mankind. Which is compelling to find here, as is, the deeper messaging regarding the importance of being open to communication with others that speak a different language than us, so we can find our common ground and grow together.

All of which makes for a Darkside episode that really doesn’t fit in with the rest of the series, and that is likely why this episode isn’t top of mind amongst the fans. But it is part of the series, and it is a bold change of pace tale, one that is enjoyable to watch and features some solid acting. Since Chuck McCann is wondrous as Spiffy and well, that’s really all there is to say about this tale, and we do indeed need to be ready to reflect upon more episodes like this. Because this wasn’t the last time that series would lean into different genres and unique ideas and it will be interesting to revisit every last one of them, to see if they have held up as well as this unique vignette. Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight. 

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