User Reviews

Divine would only star in two more movies after this episode of Tales from the Darkside, departing from her female persona to portray a loyal servant of a Himalayan Asian colony, Ambassador Chia Fung, looking for the next lama to be their god. Followed along by Madame Wu (Cathy Lipinski), Chia is sure the son of Mr. and Mrs. Strand (Re-Animator's David Gale and the enabling mother character is portrayed by Kathleen Doyle), Seymour (JD Roth, perfectly nerdy, smarmy, and obnoxiously needling) is the god they are looking for. Could there be a mix up?

The unlikelihood of the plot is what is supposed to be its charm, and I think that will be a deciding factor in whether or not "Seymourlama" appeals to you or not. I did find it rather Fu Man Chu in its depictions of Buddhist type people, but Divine proves he/she could tone it down and play the material without resorting to the usual theatrics. Gale, on the other hand, just animates his face for all its worth; in particular, when his father is angered and provoked by his prick, knitting son. Gale's reactions are gold when Seymour demands his servant, Wu, to eat a Willie Mayes card and plots to bury all his father's prize baseball cards in the Lama's volcano. Chia's calm, peaceful, tranquil tone only shifts when Seymour's orders are potentially disavowed or he's threatened by anyone (in this episode, the father); out comes the sword when that happens! The phone call and the mix-up did make me smile and Seymour facing the music as disgruntled parents approach him concluded the episode satisfactorily. But the family really doesn't get along that well, and their tension could get on some viewers' nerves.

This will probably work best as a curio for Divine fans; not sure the plot or characters will grab the Darkside fans looking for chills or something thought-provoking. The fourth season was *really* all over place in terms of content.

Tales from the Darkside: Seymourlama starts late one cold snowy night as Henry (David Gale) & Ellen Strand (Kathleen Doyle) & their teenage son Seymour (J.D. Roth) are inside their house when there's a knock on the door. The Strand's are confronted by two representatives of a small Tibeten country, Chia Fung (Divine) & Madame Woo who tell Seymour that he is the new Lama & ruler of their country. Seymour quickly learns to love the idea as he is waited upon hand & foot but the whole things seems far too good to be true...

Episode 8 from season 4 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during November 1987 & is the second snow covered episode in a row, directed by Bruce Dolin this is one of those bizarre & seemingly pointless little twenty odd minute episodes that almost defies rational description. The script by Harvey Jacobs & Donald Wollner has a few catchy lines of dialogue & the basic premise is mildly amusing but when all said & done there's nothing here that's going to last in ones memory & it really is rather hard to categorise. I mean I am not really sure who Seymourlama would appeal to, it's not horror, it's not really flat out comedy, it's not a thriller & there's no proper drama in it either. It's just an odd mix of ideas & a very strange story that doesn't make a whole lot of sense but does pass twenty odd minutes harmlessly enough. Also how gullible would someone have to be to believe that their son is the new ruler of an entire country with no more proof other than that two complete strangers in weird clothes saying so.

Like most Tales from the Darkside episodes Seymourlama is set in one single location, the Strand's front room. As usual it's well made as far it goes but there's no real ambition here & there's nothing here anyone couldn't do at home with a camcorder to be honest. The acting is alright, drag artist Divine is better know for her/his dog poo eating antics in John Water's cult film Pink Flamingos (1972) while genre fans will probably recognise David Gale from the brilliant Re-Animator (1985).

Seymourlama has a few amusing moments & the story is probably unique but when all said & done it's nothing overly amazing & it really doesn't have much point.

This was not the usual scary or ironic shows that TfDS usually did, but instead its a comedy that I found pretty funny. The basic plot is a mother, father, and their teenage son Seymour who live together, and the father and Seymour do not get along. One night an Asian man (Divine) and his female assistant come to house telling Seymour he is the new Dahli Lama of a country called Lo Poa, which Divine says is definitely different from Tibet. Seymour will now be complete ruler of this country and he starts to order his parents around and basically behaves like a tyrant. Then Divine finds out something... I liked this episode. It was nice to see Divine out of drag, although he's still in a lot of make-up. Just the way he acts is funny and this one is worth seeing.

The home of Henry Strand (a lively performance by David Gale) and his wife Ellen (sweetly played by Kathleen Doyle) receives a visit from two exotic Himalayan strangers on a cold bitter night. They want the Strand's son Seymour (a deliciously obnoxious portrayal by J.D. Roth) to replace their recently deceased Llama.

Director Bruce Dolin relates the offbeat and enjoyable story at a quick pace, does a nice job of crafting a freezing wintry atmosphere, and derives plenty of laughs from the hysterical sense of engaging goofball humor. The quirky script by Harvey Jacobs and David Wollner boasts a novel premise and lots of snappy dialogue. Divine has a field day in a rare role as a man as the flamboyant Ambassador Chia Fung while Cathy Lipinski cuts a suitably sultry figure as the alluring Madame Wu. The cute twist at the end is a hoot. Good silly fun.