User Reviews

Tales from the Darkside: Fear of Floating is set in a US Army recruitment office manned by Master Sergeant Buzz Caldwell (Leon Russom) & Corporal Marcia Smith (Anne Lange). A man named Arnold Barker (Sherman Howard) walks into the office seeking help, Arnold has the unique ability to float & ask's for protection against the circus owners who are trying to exploit him in an act called 'The Human Balloon'. However Arnold is know as a bit of a liar...

Episode 23 from season 2 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during May 1986, directed by John Lewis this is yet another oddball story that almost defies description. The script by Donald Wollner is maybe perhaps best described & thought as of a modern take on the Pinocchio fairytale although instead of the main character's nose growing longer when he lies he floats, eventually to his death in a rather grim ending which is out of keeping with the general light hearted fantasy tone of the episode up to that point. This episode is OK, I can't say I loved it but at only twenty minutes in length at least it's short, it's got a bit of imagination about it & the mean spirited twist at the end works well. I also couldn't help smile to myself whenever anyone referred to Arnold as a 'floater', I just kept getting images of unflushed toilets...

Like a few Tales from the Darkside episodes Fear of Floating takes place entirely within a single location on a single set, the production team were incredibly good at setting stories in a single location & pulling the actual episodes off. The acting is alright, fans of the excellent Day of the Dead (1985) should note that Howard who plays Arnold here played the zombie Bub in Romero's zombie masterpiece while Yeardley Smith is better known to millions as the voice of Lisa Simpson in the hit telly show The Simpsons has small role.

Fear of Floating is another strange little Tales from the Darkside episode, the ending is pretty good but the rest isn't so hot.

With any anthology series, you have your good episodes and bad ones. Then there are those strange tales that are simply loony tunes. Built from start to finish as a silly exercise, "Fear of Floating" is all about people out for getting what they want…but no one seems to by the end. Arnold Barker (Sherman Howard, all expressive and animated) is running from what we are told is a circus! Two army recruiters, Marcia Smith (Anne Lange) and her boss, Buzz (Leon Russom), stuck in some sunbaked Podunk town where they have went a long stretch without any signees, finally believe they might have found their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: Arnold, a "floater". For some reason, Arnold is unable to remain grounded unless he wears "lead shoes". Buzz sees Arnold's "condition" as a means to escape his current place in the military as does Marcia. Both, having endured the sweltering confinement and tedium of their current position in the army, see Arnold's recruitment as a way out. But Pa and Betty Ann Cooper (John Ridge and consummate scene-stealer, Yeardley Smith (of Maximum Overdrive & Legend of Billie Jean, fame)) come a calling, wanting Arnold to return home with them and be a husband and father he supposedly intended to be. So you have this battle over Arnold as both sides demand him while he tries to just get out of responsibilities based solely on his own mistakes. Yeardley is so tiny, vulnerable, and innocuous (quite the available patsy for Arnold to finagle into the sack), the portly hillbilly Ridge (toting shotgun) all demanding and aggressively asserting (that Arnold return to the family whether he wants to or not), Marcia supportive and encouraging (she doesn't want the situation to end badly, and her desire to leave this area is well established), and Buzz rightfully enthusiastic and hopeful (due to Arnold signing the recruitment papers to join the army): all have a reason to want Arnold to "join their fold". That Arnold may actually relieve himself of the floating "disability" by telling the truth could be his light at the end of the tunnel. However, Arnold is indeed a conniving, manipulating snake unable, it seems, to get his act together so the end result: Buzz has just a momentary buzz until yet another lie sends Arnold heading upward, getting quite a bit of blood spattered on him. The ceiling fan is an important prop in this one. This is totally designed as an absurd comedy where a small cast circles around a prize, with that prize being unworthy of their attention. Sherman (known as Bud in Day of the Dead (1985)) has plenty of fun as this corrupt rube with no intentions on ever being honorable (as Marcia finds out all too well). The setting is really convincing as a dead end for those who enter the army expecting great things, receiving a sentence of boredom and disappointment as a result. The three principals are all in with their lively performances; Buzz and Marcia's predicament is especially expressed in their desperation, haphazard hair and disheveled attire, and the recruitment building's disconcerting sense of hopelessness. It is pretty clear you don't want to wind up there.

Compulsive liar Arnold Barker (nicely played to the slippery hilt by Sherman Howard) seeks refuge at an army recruitment center. It turns out that Arnold suffers from an unusual condition that causes him to float like a balloon whenever he tells a lie. Director John Lewis, working from an offbeat and inspired script by Donald Wollner, relates the funny oddball story at a snappy pace and milks a sizable number of laughs from the amusing sense of quirky humor. The loopy premise keeps one interested throughout before eventually culminating in a hilariously nasty (and gory) surprise ending. Moreover, it's acted with zest by an enthusiastic cast: Anne Lange as the sweet Cpl. Marcia Smith, Leon Russom as the eager Sgt. Buzz Caldwell, Yeardley Smith as the pregnant Betty Ann Cooper, and John Ridge as Betty Ann's angry dad. A real hoot.