Tales from the Darkside (TV Series) The Unhappy Medium (1986) User Reviews

OK episode.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 13 April 2008]

Tales from the Darkside: The Unhappy Medium starts at the reading of the will of the late preacher Farley Bright (Peter Miller), having recorded it himself on videotape his sister Caroline (Connie Stevens) her daughter & Farley's niece Jenny (Carolyn Ann Clark) & Farley's former assistant Jonathan (Richard Kuhlman) put the videotape in the player & switch it on. On the tape Farley points out why none of them deserve anything, then suddenly Farley's ghost possesses Jenny & says he is stuck between heaven & hell...

All the two's episode 22 from season 2 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during May 1986, directed by Dusty Nelson this is a Tales from the Darkside with a moral message at heart. The script by Edithe Swensen for the majority of the short twenty minute duration focuses on the three bickering protagonists as they all try to belittle each other in order to pretty much get what they want & justify it. Occasionally it lapses into horror territory as Farley possesses Jenny but otherwise it's a simple story of comeuppance & just deserts only it's not done in an overly satisfying way with a ending which is neither here nor there really. I couldn't tell what the script was aiming for, was a dark comedy? A horror? A straight moralistic tale? A ghost story? In the end it's a bit of an unbalanced mix, it's still watchable though & at least it's short.

Here the Tales from the Darkside production team managed to confine the entire episode to just one single location which they are very good at, basically it all takes place in Farley's office. There's not much horror content in The Unhappy Medium which is a disappointment after the three great episodes previously. The acting is fine.

The Unhappy Medium is alright if you want to pass twenty odd minutes, while it's not as horror based as I like at least it's not as light hearted as many episode of Tales from the Darkside.

Didn't work for me

[shellytwade · 4/10 · 28 January 2022]

Another poor episode. I don't feel it insults my intelligence or anything too egregious but at the same time it's long way off from some of the great episodes of this series. If you're watching the episodes in chronological order, you might be thinking of just stopping at this point.

Predictable ghost story

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 12 June 2015]

There's a TV evangelist who's the founder of the popular Church of a Better Tomorrow, which has built up a substantial following, leaving the evangelist a rich man. The evangelist dies and in the run-up to his funeral, his relatives are left fighting over his fortune.

What follows will surprise nobody, as this is an entirely predictable episode of TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE and one without merit. We see a trio of greedy and unscrupulous characters finding themselves variously possessed and haunted by the spirit of the dead guy, and the setting is one of those old dark houses beloved of horror flicks since the 1930s. It's all a rather cheap and cheerful affair, and one without much in the way of merit.

Con-Artist Family

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 25 April 2022]

When the founder and leader of the Church of the Bright Tomorrow Farley Bright dies, his greedy sister Caroline Bright and his protégé Jonathan Reed look for his will in his house. His niece Jenny has exposed him as a fake-medium and does not have any ambition in his money or real estate. Out of the blue, Farley uses Jenny to communicate with Caroline and neither heaven nor hell accepts him. What will happen next?

"The Unhappy Medium" is a funny episode of "Tales from the Darkside". Farley Bright does not seem to be a con-artist in the end. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "The Unhappy Medium"

I love this episode!!

[TOMNEL · 10/10 · 2 August 2006]

With Connie Stevens.

For some reason this episode always appealed to me. The idea of it is just really interesting. Old man Farley has died, and after his funeral, a fake medium (Stevens), Farkey's niece and nephew all find that Farley is undead. He's using his niece Jenny as his mouthpiece and the house is stuck between Heaven and Hell. Connie Stevens gives a wonderful guest appearance as the greedy and uncaring widow, and everyone else does an excellent job too. In my top 5 episodes! Can be found on TFTD volume 6.

My rating: Perfect episode. 23 mins. TV PG V

Crafty episode

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 7 February 2014]

Crooked TV evangelist Farley Bright (marvelously played with rip-snorting aplomb by Peter Miller) dies, so the three people closest to him get together for the reading of his will only to discover that he's left them nothing. However, Bright promises in a recorded message that he shall return from the great beyond. Director Dusty Nelson maintains a swift pace throughout and does an expert job of creating a sly whimsical tone. Edithe Swensen's clever script offers a strong central message about reaping what you sow as well as takes several stinging jabs at religious hypocrisy and basic human vice. The rat-a-tat-tat heated arguments between the three main characters provide plenty of invigorating spark and wickedly funny humor. Moreover, it's acted with zest by an enthusiastic cast: Connie Stevens easily dominates the proceedings with her vibrant portrayal of Farley's greedy sister Caroline Bright, with fine support from Carolyn Ann Clark as feisty liberal Jenny and Rich Kuhlman as Farley's slimy assistant Jonathan Reed. A spot-on amusing and enjoyable episode.