Life really stinks for struggling author, Junior Harmon (Magnum PI's Larry Manetti), with an editor who stiffed him of his $15,000 for a trashy article for a magazine, no food, and bills piling up. Desperate for any answers to his dilemma in getting work published, Junior hears a radio advertisement about achieving success easily in the literary field and meets the one responsible, Alex Kellaway (the gargantuan Charles Knapp, always shown stuffing his face with food in fine silver) for such lofty promises. Informing him that it is actually black magic that is responsible for all the success of those who are responsible for popular works and the wealth, prestige, and finer things in life that come with them, Junior is told by Alex that he must commit to animal sacrifices in order to reap such rewards. When he is fed up after his new girlfriend threatens to leave him because of the animals he must keep handy when called to make the next sacrifice (with a special dagger given to him by Alex, claiming the man who last used it won a Pulitzer!), Junior decides to leave Alex's employ, soon facing the wrath of the very magic that once provided whatever he wanted. In order to once again have those pleasantries the magic gave him, Junior must adhere to a particular sacrifice, proposed by a gleeful Alex who used voodoo to force him into this predicament. Setting up the author's dilemma, this episode of Tales from the Darkside really shows Junior in a bad way. The apartment looks in disarray, Junior looks sleep-deprived, sweaty, unnerved, unshaven, and hungry. When faced with bills coming in and no money to support what he needs (just necessities are denied him), such acts of desperation as slicing the throats of animals might be the only option available for such a burdened and broke writer.
Cleverly satirizing the capitalistic nature of even the written word and how editors are no different than producers for studios, "Printer's Devil" shows how authors like Junior, who seem committed to their craft, will buckle under the pressure and sell their soul when the going gets tough and no one is interested in what you have written in the form of a rough draft or a few chapters. Using the supernatural, in the form of magic in this episode, "Printer's Devil" shows how Alex is really in charge and once Junior aligns himself with this "agent" he's in a committed relationship that insists he abides by the sacrifices as ordered. Seeing a bear brought to his apartment by Alex's secretary is quite an absurd sight, and you can see why Junior might want to end his "contract" with the agent after an accumulation of animals starts to turn his place into a small zoo. The hinted final sacrifice at the end is black as pitch and perfect for how the episode was written (I think you can see that this is what Alex was heading towards with his client since each success demanded a bigger and bigger sacrifice until great financial glory required a significant act on Junior's part). Decently performed by its cast (especially Kellaway, wearing that Cheshire grin always and fully in control of his client's well being and welfare), but it's the story as it unfolds that makes this so suitable for Tales from the Darkside. The second season needed a shot in the arm every once in a while because of the excess comedy-horror episodes. This one is a good example of a delicate balance.
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