While certainly not without its originality in regards to *sainthood*, this episode of Tales from the Darkside once again goes the comedic route and has mixed results. I think the show was always at its best when trying to chill the bones, but it didn't want to be shoehorned into one specific area. I just kind of find myself during episodes like this one not particularly caring because it tries too hard. Anyway, suburban housewife, Valeria (Kaiulani Lee), realizes that the glow that emits all around her is a form of sainthood by God! It is a detriment to her mayoral candidate husband, Julian (Steve Vinovich) and baton-twirling daughter, Charlotte (character actress Jane Adams; this is bizarre seeing her in geeky glasses and pig tails!). So the only solution they can think of is to commit sins against the ten commandments
including the attempt to seduce a priest! The sheer lunacy of the plot will probably assure a cult following, but it is desperate in its humor more times than not. Not a bullseye, in my opinion, but there's this wicked joy underlying the plot, regarding the disruption of the family unit when hoping to achieve specific purposes and how God throws a monkey wrench in their harmony. The "sin can be so tedious and boring" line is a keeper. I can see why this might gain a few fans, but I look to this series to show the darkside of everyday life, using the supernatural as a device to go in all sorts of directions, and "Deliver Us from Goodness", while so opportunistic in its desire to question how being marked for sainthood can lead to turmoil in the ongoing family unit and their quest to succeed in personal achievement, just once again gets too marred in silliness. Mary Louise Wilson arrives late in the episode as a "clairvoyant" (charlatan?), and Valeria is seeking her advice at how to be rid of the glow
getting the mom/wife to realize that she forgoes her own personal triumphs in favor of supporting her husband and daughter's, perhaps Valeria will use the sainthood as a means to score success for herself, in turn using the pride of the gift to get rid of it. I just think that fans of the Twilight Zone type anthologies hope for something that leaves a powerful mark, and episodes like this one doesn't do Tales from the Darkside any favors.
8 Reviews
weak
shellytwade3 February 2022
You will probably forget about this episode 10 minutes after you see it (actually you may hope to forget it while you're watching it). It's just another weird, boring episode that's becoming par for this series as a whole. Where was Romero during the creative meetings for this series? Did he not care? I can't picture him enjoying these things either.
One of the series worst due to it's lame script.
blanbrn17 August 2008
"Deliver Us from Goodness" was an episode of "TFTD" that simply seemed out of place and it just didn't fit due to it's lame and odd uneven script. As really no feel or chills of creep or fright could be found with this light hearted tale. It's theme centers around a Southern family as a woman Mrs. Cantrell(Kaiulani Lee)wants to get her life and her family's image just right for the town so that her husband can be elected mayor of the town. Suddenly she develops a light and glow to try and please people only sometimes she tries to hard and this simply just gives off a bad vibe. Then upon meeting a saint Mrs. Cantrell obtains heavenly power of good it's like all of her sins and bad choices have been forgotten. Really overall a bad episode that just didn't seem to fit the series as the script was just so lame it didn't have any realness to it and the acting and filming seemed cheap and second rate.
Not much good to say about this one.
poolandrews25 April 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Tales from the Darkside: Deliver Us from Goodness starts as Valeria Cantrell (Kaiulani Lee) realises that God sees her as a saint & has blessed her with the power to make miracles happen as well as glow like a light-bulb at inappropriate moments. However being a saint isn't as much fun as it sounds & Valeria decides the only way to stop being a saint is to sin & break the ten commandment's...
Episode 10 from season 3 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during November 1986, directed by Warner Shook one has to say that Deliver Us from Goodness is pretty poor & I can't really think to say anything positive about it. The script by Jule Selbo is some strange light hearted fantasy that really doesn't make any sense & I am unsure as to who it was meant to appeal to. The story is weak, it's rather dull, not that much happens, it's more of a comedy than a sinister horror or thriller & it's not an episode I would ever want to see again. Even at a short twenty minute duration it seemed to last forever & I found myself pretty bored with it. I didn't like it & it's as simple & straight forward as that really.
Again shot on only two sets with a minimum cast of actors there isn't anything overly memorable about Deliver Us from Goodness apart from the rubbish storyline. The title is obviously a play on the phrase deliver us from evil. The acting is alright.
Deliver Us from Goodness is a silly light hearted comedic tale that I really don't know who would enjoy, anyone looking for any sort of horror or sinister supernatural elements should look elsewhere.
Episode 10 from season 3 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during November 1986, directed by Warner Shook one has to say that Deliver Us from Goodness is pretty poor & I can't really think to say anything positive about it. The script by Jule Selbo is some strange light hearted fantasy that really doesn't make any sense & I am unsure as to who it was meant to appeal to. The story is weak, it's rather dull, not that much happens, it's more of a comedy than a sinister horror or thriller & it's not an episode I would ever want to see again. Even at a short twenty minute duration it seemed to last forever & I found myself pretty bored with it. I didn't like it & it's as simple & straight forward as that really.
Again shot on only two sets with a minimum cast of actors there isn't anything overly memorable about Deliver Us from Goodness apart from the rubbish storyline. The title is obviously a play on the phrase deliver us from evil. The acting is alright.
Deliver Us from Goodness is a silly light hearted comedic tale that I really don't know who would enjoy, anyone looking for any sort of horror or sinister supernatural elements should look elsewhere.
The worst yet?
Leofwine_draca17 June 2015
DELIVER US FROM GOODNESS is a contender for the worst ever episode of TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE. It's a gratuitously unfunny family comedy about a father, a mother, and a daughter who are struggling to be the ultimate in wholesomeness. The father has political aspirations, but things keep going wrong, so the mother decides to employ some magic to help them succeed.
Another 'wishes come true' episode which follows hot on the heels of the similarly-themed A SERPENT'S TOOTH, although that was nowhere near as bad as this is. DELIVER US FROM GOODNESS is terrible in every respect, with hysterical overacting and a very poor script. Every line crashes and burns and the attempted humour is merciless. I honestly can't credit how poor this show had become by this stage.
Another 'wishes come true' episode which follows hot on the heels of the similarly-themed A SERPENT'S TOOTH, although that was nowhere near as bad as this is. DELIVER US FROM GOODNESS is terrible in every respect, with hysterical overacting and a very poor script. Every line crashes and burns and the attempted humour is merciless. I honestly can't credit how poor this show had become by this stage.
Yet another stinker
SomebodyYouMightKnow18 April 2022
If you ever decide to watch this series, always keep an eye out for any involvement from Jule Selbo. I don't mean for this to come across as a personal attack, but everything she has contributed to Tales from the Darkside has made me cringe. Like other episodes that she wrote teleplays for, the humour in 'Deliver Us from Goodness' simply didn't do anything for me.
Much of it has to do with the awful dialogue. For example, what sort of priest would let slip to someone seeking their assistance that they are a 'whacko'? And what sort of person refers to the Buddha, as 'not a very attractive god'? How is this supposed to be funny?
This is paired with some over-the-top performances. Jane Adams in particular put a lot of effort into needlessly screaming. Screechy girls seems to be a motif in Jule Selbo's body of work throughout this series (see 'Grandma's Last Wish'). Perhaps the director was the one who elicited this to distract audiences from noticing the limited sets, effects and weak story.
Speaking of which, the plot itself seems like a slight variation of a tired concept used in previous episodes. Say a few words and it somehow leads to something materialising in reality. What this all comes down to is a few costume changes, spotlights being focused on the main character and a bucket of fried chicken falling from the ceiling (not as interesting as it sounds). I think the producers would have been very pleased with the costs associated with filming this one.
My advice: Skip any episodes written by Jule Selbo. Even if they were to be found outside of a horror anthology, they do more to annoy than entertain.
Much of it has to do with the awful dialogue. For example, what sort of priest would let slip to someone seeking their assistance that they are a 'whacko'? And what sort of person refers to the Buddha, as 'not a very attractive god'? How is this supposed to be funny?
This is paired with some over-the-top performances. Jane Adams in particular put a lot of effort into needlessly screaming. Screechy girls seems to be a motif in Jule Selbo's body of work throughout this series (see 'Grandma's Last Wish'). Perhaps the director was the one who elicited this to distract audiences from noticing the limited sets, effects and weak story.
Speaking of which, the plot itself seems like a slight variation of a tired concept used in previous episodes. Say a few words and it somehow leads to something materialising in reality. What this all comes down to is a few costume changes, spotlights being focused on the main character and a bucket of fried chicken falling from the ceiling (not as interesting as it sounds). I think the producers would have been very pleased with the costs associated with filming this one.
My advice: Skip any episodes written by Jule Selbo. Even if they were to be found outside of a horror anthology, they do more to annoy than entertain.
One of the best of the series
ronnybailey15 February 2007
Valeria Cantrell has a bit of a problem. Apparently, she is a saint. This comes with all the trimmings, including minor miracles and an occasional radiant glow when she speaks. Unfortunately, this is causing a few problems for her and her husband, who is running for mayor. Her glowing and unexpected miracles don't seem to be in keeping with the image of a prospective First Lady of their town.
After consulting with a local priest, she earnestly tries to change the situation by systematically breaking each of the ten commandments.
This episode of TFTD is a real change of pace for the series, because it's very funny. Poor Valeria is really a sweet lady and seeing all the ways she tries to solve this problem is a joy to watch.
Definitely check out this episode if you can. It's a shame this series is not available on DVD yet!
After consulting with a local priest, she earnestly tries to change the situation by systematically breaking each of the ten commandments.
This episode of TFTD is a real change of pace for the series, because it's very funny. Poor Valeria is really a sweet lady and seeing all the ways she tries to solve this problem is a joy to watch.
Definitely check out this episode if you can. It's a shame this series is not available on DVD yet!
Amusing comic episode
Woodyanders12 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
The saintly behavior of the ridiculously virtuous Valeria Cantrell (a winningly sweet and spunky performance by Kaiulani Lee) threatens the mayoral campaign of her husband Julian (a nicely smarmy portrayal by Steve Vinovich). So Valeria decides to break all of the ten commandments in order to improve her husband's chances of being elected into public office. Director Warner Shook, working from a witty script by June Selbo, relates the hilariously goofy story at a snappy pace and milks the wacky humor for all it's worth. Goody-goody two shoes Valeria's fumbling attempts at being wicked are positively gut-busting; she even tries to seduce a young priest (amiable Albert Macklin) at one point. This episode further benefits from spirited acting from the entire cast, with especially lively contributions from Mary Louise Wilson as Valeria's helpful gal pal Ruth and Jane Adams as gawky daughter Charlotte. Boasting several inspired touches (Valeria literally glows due to her saintliness and a bucket of fried chicken actually drops from the sky!), this one overall sizes up as a real hoot and a half.
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