Tales from the Darkside (TV Series) A New Lease on Life (1986) User Reviews

Glad I Was Flippin' The Channels Tonite...

[EVOL666 · 7/10 · 18 October 2006]

I haven't seen any episodes of TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE in seriously like 15 years. Was channel-surfing tonite and came across this episode. I remember loving this show as a kid - hopefully it'll start coming on more often...

This installment is about a guy that moves into an apartment complex called the St. George where the rent is super-cheap. Of course, like the saying goes, if something seems too good to be true it probably is...Anyway, the whacko landlord explains a bunch of weird rules (no microwaves, no pictures on the wall, and there's a trash-quota that has to be met - among other weird requests...) - but for the price, the new tenant can't beat it. Turns out the St. George has a life of it's own, and isn't real fond of the new tenant who isn't so good at following rules...

Not quite as "creepy" as some episodes and the few special-FX are pretty cheap, but A NEW LEASE ON LIFE is still entertaining and has a fun sinister side to it. I seriously hope that TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE starts coming on again regularly - makes me a bit nostalgic for the good 'ol days...7/10

Not a bad episode.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 13 April 2008]

Tales from the Darkside: A New Lease on Life starts as Archie Fenton (Robert Rothman) moves into the St. George's apartment block, at only $200 a month it's the cheapest room in town. Run by eccentric landlady Madame Angler (Marie Windsor) there are several rules tenants must follow including throwing all organic waste down a disposable chute, Archie quickly realises that the rent was so cheap for a reason & that St. George is alive & needs to be fed...

Episode 15 from season 2 this Tales from the Darkside story was directed by John Strysik & after a string of terrible light hearted fantasy themed episodes A New lease on Life could at least be classed a supernatural horror & therefore a step in the right direction. The script Harvey Jacobs & Michael McDowell moves along at a good pace, it only lasts for twenty odd minutes & at least it has horror elements behind it that try to frighten although you would have to be the kind of person who is frightened by their own shadow for A New Lease on Life to even slightly scare you. I also liked the ending too, none of this happy ever after sentimental stuff which is a relief. The whole idea of a living apartment block that needs to be fed & looked after is quite appealing & a novel concept which doesn't wear too thin too quickly.

Like most Tales from the Darkside episodes A New Lease on Life show's what you can do with only a couple of sets & minimal actor's if you have a decent idea. The acting is alright here but nothing special.

A New Lease on Life is at least a horror themed Tales from the Darkside episode which, for me, makes it better than the majority of season two.

Tales from the Darkside--A New Lease on Life

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 1 May 2013]

Now this one is just bizarre. An "apartment complex" (with an appetite) with cheap rent ($200 a month; too good to be true because it is) seems to be the ideal living arrangement for Archibald Fenton (Robert Rothman). He just can't hang pictures on the wall with hammered nails, must feed "organic garbage" in a particular "disposal unit", and isn't allowed a microwave (its rays for the disposable food, its radiation not good). He must rub a "wall console" in order for the lights to come on (no switch), and a neighbor's mental state seems to be worsening as her rental lease is not to be renewed. That neighbor is evicted one night (well, she was "disposed of"), and Archie is told it was just a dream. It was a harbinger of doom Archie wasn't quite susceptible to. Two "mechanics" often are at odds with Archie over his "misbehavior" (he hammers a nail into the wall for his mom's picture, and it spits it out and "bleeds" from the hole (the mechanics call it a wound they tend to as such, with peroxide!)), and the whole building tremors when Archie doesn't adhere to the rules of the St George (as handed down to him by Marie Windsor (of all people), with a dragon tattoo on her arm, and a dragon insignia that shows up on coats they wear and consoles in the apartment). You hear the damn apartment complex growl when Archie eats from a turkey leg meant for the disposal unit. When Archie becomes fed up after his apartment "has a temper tantrum hissy fit", he feeds broken plates, motor oil, and the like to the disposal unit, reaping "its wrath" as well as a scolding from Madame Angler (Windsor) and the mechanics. So Archie must appease the apartment for his many sins, with Angler and her men sorely disappointed because they felt "he belonged at the St George". This synopsis and the episode's presentation are so absurd and surreal it is hilarious, which was the intent. Windsor knows her character was fit for the strait-jacket, and Ben Frank and Robert Sutton have these disapproving expressions (Shame on you for your misdeeds!) towards Archie (right from the get-go) that fits the bonkers premise. It was a bit too silly for my tastes, but I imagine fans of black humor will get a kick out of it.

Not bad

[shellytwade · 7/10 · 26 January 2022]

Not amazing but definitely not bad either. These are the kind of second tier episodes you expect from an anthology series. Unfortunately though, most of TFTD's episodes fall to like an 8th or 9th tier and are truly horrible. So it makes you appreciate decent eps like this that much more.

The Building

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 7 April 2022]

Archie Fenton moves to the well located building St. George and the employees Al and Mac brings his few belongings to the apartment. Soon the super Madame Angler arrives and gives instructions to him. He should not drill the walls to hang pictures and he should dispose the organic trash in the disposal area every night. Soon he meets his next door neighbor Helen Tanner that advises him to leave the apartment asap, but Archie says that he would stay since the lease is only two hundred dollars. But soon he finds dark secrets about St. George.

"A New Lease on Life" is a reasonable episode of "Tales from the Darkside" after disappointing episodes. The poor tenant Archie Fenton finds late why his rental was so low. Good idea that could have been better explored. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A New Lease on Life"

Inspired weird episode

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 18 October 2013]

New tenant Archie Fenton (a fine performance by Robert Rothman) discovers that the amazingly cheap apartment he has just moved into harbors a sinister secret within its walls. Director John Strysik relates the fascinatingly bizarre premise at a steady pace and does a sound job of crafting an intriguing oddball atmosphere. The quirky script by Harvey Jacobs and Michael McDowell makes the most out of the outré plot, with a nice sense of dark humor and a real doozy of a hilariously sick punch line. The sturdy acting by the capable cast keeps everything humming: Marie Windsor delivers a marvelously lively and idiosyncratic portrayal as flaky land lady Madame Angler, Ben Frank and Robert Sutton lend delightfully offbeat support as a pair of testy maintenance men, and the attractive Patricia Pelham does well as sultry neighbor Helen Tanner. One of this show's most unusual half hours.

Every renter's nightmare...

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 5 June 2015]

A NEW LEASE ON LIFE is a relatively decent episode of TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE for a change. Okay, it's not perfect, with a good idea let down by some very indifferent execution and problems with a low budget, but compared to the worthless quirky and comedy episodes which preceded it, this is a masterpiece.

The storyline is a simple one in which the tenant of an apartment is confronted with the bizarre requests in his lease, such as not hanging pictures on the walls and the like. When he breaks them he comes face to face with an unpalatable truth that will have fans of the show enjoying themselves. Yes, this is quirky but it's quirky as it should be: an episode with a brain behind it instead of just time-wasting nonsense.