User Reviews

I wanted to enjoy this one, but the plot just continued to get more desperate for laughs, with a corny conclusion that had me personally rolling my eyes. It isn't even really that clever, which I think is important in a comedy on a show meant to be thought provoking and often chilling. The leads work their asses off with all they had to make the material work…it wasn't for a lack of trying. I don't know: this just never works. David Groh is the human manifestation of an angel hoping to rescue the soul of a heart attack victim (Home Improvement's Earl Hindman) as he is in a dual with Satan *herself* (Jane Summerhays) in the form of a sexy seductress. Hindman is Harry, stuck with the honeymoon suite as he's in town for a class reunion. Groh portrays Harry's good friend, while Summerhays is the sister-in-law Harry always desired to shag. The two of them make a bet to determine who could get Harry to accompany them out of his room's door first, thus securing access to his eternal soul. It is a wacky plot played strictly for kicks and giggles. I wasn't trying to be a fuddy-duddy, but this was just the case where I felt the performers are stuck with inferior material, working as hard as they could to get it over as funny. Summerhays is a knockout, committed and damned sexy, almost using her looks and sensuality alone to capture Hindman's attention, while Groh is as appealing as he's ever been, trying to apply his charm and amiability to gain friendly advantage. Hindman is the dolt totally lost in a fog of confusion as both Groh and Summerhays duke it out through their supernatural powers (they can manipulate objects and situations in a contest of one-upmanship in the hopes of motivating his trip out the door or from leaving if it appears he's about to walk out). The romantic connection at the end though between Groh and Summerhays was a bit too cute for its own good. It is one of those episodes that uses its leads appeal to hopefully entertain its audience, but I think at this point in the season, fans are wanting something scary for a change. This gets bogged down in the corny instead of delivering chills and thrills.

Tales from the Darkside: Let the Games Begin is set in the Pocahontas Inn hotel where Harry Carson (Earl Hindman) has just attended a class reunion, he retires to the Anthony and Cleopatra themed suite where he suffers a fatal heart attack. Does Harry deserve to go to heaven or hell? Two representative's, one from heaven (David Groh) & one from hell (Jane Summerhays) decide to hold a competition to see where Harry ends up in his afterlife...

Episode 21 from season 3 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during May 1987, directed by John Lewis one has to say Let the Games Begin is a fairly quirky Tales from the Darkside episode that passes twenty odd minutes harmlessly enough but isn't anything to write home about. The script by Peter O'Keefe sees two members of the afterlife battle it out to get harry to join their side outdoing each other with their magical tricks, it's an OK story if a little forgettable. It works well enough & it's got a feel good twist ending which is a bit mushy but what the hell, it works well enough as I've said.

Like most Tales from the Darkside episodes Let the Games Begin is set in one single location, in this case a hotel room. This one isn't scary & doesn't even try to be, it's more of a feel good love story with a supernatural twist. The acting is alright & Summerhays is nice & easy on the eyes while Hindman went on to appear in 164 episodes of the sitcom Home Improvement (1991 - 1999).

Let the Games Begin is a reasonable way to pass twenty odd minutes, it's not brilliant but it's watchable & works well enough within itself.

An amusing comedic episode of "Tales From The Darkside" that, unlike some others, uses its low budget to its advantage by building it into its main premise: the object of two opposing characters (representing Heaven and Hell) is to stop each other from getting out of a single hotel room; the winner gets the soul of a recently deceased man. The other notable thing about "Let The Games Begin" is how sinuously sexy and devilishly seductive (no puns intended) Jane Summerhays is; I would willingly go to Hell for the chance to spend some time with her! She is also impressively flexible - it's not surprising to discover that she had been a Broadway dancer. On the whole, one of the more successful episodes of the show, perhaps because its ambitions were modest. *** out of 4.

An angel (a lively and engaging portrayal by David Groh) and a devil (vibrantly played with sexy aplomb by Jane Summerhays) battle each over who has exclusive dibs on the soul of sweet-natured schmoe Harry Carson (a solid and likable performance by Earl Hindman) after Carson dies of a heart attack. Director John Lewis, working from a witty script by Peter O'Keefe, relates the clever and amusing story at a quick pace and maintains a delightfully screwball tongue-in-cheek tone tone throughout. The infectiously wacky and energetic humor provides an extra uproarious kick, with the fierce competition between the angel and devil delivering a wealth of major laughs before culminating in a cute twist ending. The spirited acting really keeps things humming: The three leads all have a ball with their juicy roles while Willie Reale does well as an obsequious bellhop. A total hoot.