User Reviews

I've always enjoyed this episode, and since I'm seeing a lot of negative reviews here, I'd like to throw my two cents into the mix:

Vic Tayback's character Alan Coombs was not hallucinating Jerry, nor was he drunk during the beginning of the story.

You see, Alan was actually sober. He was doing well at work, and his familial relationships were on the mend. He was sane. Jerry was not actually his son. What happened here was that Alan was railroaded.

To me, the idea of the story seems to be to show what would happen if there existed a malevolent force, call it the devil, or evil, or whatnot, that preyed upon recovering alcoholics by gas-lighting them into questioning their sanity and by stealing away from them everything they hold most precious (in this case good job performance, a loving family, and a successful battle with maintaining sobriety).

And, after breaking the alcoholic down into a confused, upset mess, a bottle of liquor is presented to them, and being at their lowest point, they drink - ending up right back in alcoholic hell.

It seems that the Boss and Jerry are knowingly messing with his head, by certain sly looks that the viewer is purposefully shown throughout the episode. The fact that they begin the process all over again with a new guy at the end of the episode seems to confirm this - they know what they are up to, and they are enjoying it. They are agents of this force, if not the embodiment of the force themselves.

So, while the viewer mistrusts Alan's interpretation of events, given his past alcoholism, it is really Jerry and the Boss whom you must mistrust - they are lying to and messing with Alan the entire time, yet he's the only one that can see it.

I feel that the most ambiguous part of the story is the behavior of Alan's family - how could Jerry not be his son if both his wife and his actual son recognize him as such?

My answer is this: Alan's family has been stolen from him. Whatever evil force is attacking Alan has already altered his reality, and his wife and real son along with it. And the fact that Alan's family is blaming his odd (to them) behavior on a relapse serves to help ultimately drive him in that direction, which seems to be the point.

And so, the bottle in Jerry's room wasn't placed there by Alan - it was put there by the evil, to tempt him and to damn his soul to eternal torment (and also to make him complicit in his own destruction via his "choosing" to drink).

This story has always seemed like a satisfyingly sinister idea to me: imagine you are in recovery, you are actually doing things right, keeping straight, and feeling good, but there's this evil force that actually goes so far as to bend reality itself around you, with the sole purpose of driving you right back into your addiction, your depression, your loneliness, - all the while blaming yourself, questioning your OWN sanity - not realizing that you have been preyed upon in a completely supernatural and impossible way.

And lastly: yes, there is a nice layer of allegory here. It is conceivable that an addict in recovery might try to blame the heaven and earth of conspiracy when they happen to have a bad relapse, making excuses and crazy accusations, and becoming delusional. In fact, this is what we often accuse addicts of doing when it seems as if they aren't taking responsibility for their actions.

But, what if heaven and earth DID actually conspire against the addict? Who could actually believe them, including the addicts themselves (Alan is thoroughly confused and upset, but can't explain why, because everything that is happening to him is seemingly impossible)?

To me, this is the idea that this episode plays with, and is also why this episodes works for me. If I was trying to look at it as purely symbolic, with Jerry being the representation of alcoholism or whatever, it wouldn't work for me - it's when you trust Alan's sanity and take the entire story literally, at face value, that it makes a sinister sort of sense. Alan has been manipulated and doomed to suffer, for purely inexplicable reasons, despite the fact that he has actually done his best to change his life for the better. Cool idea, pretty dark and creepy.

If I saw this episode when I was a teenager, I have no memory of it. I've started watching through all of this because I have decided to write a Tales From the Darkside encyclopedia otherwise I may not have known that it ever existed.

So, Alan Coombs is offered a drink by his boss, which he refuses because he is a recovering alcoholic. First, I need to say that I am a psychologist and I have an issue with AA as a means of curing alcoholism. However, I think parts of AA's methods are reflected in this episode.

The first step in AA's program is to admit you are an alcoholic. We are left under the impression that Coombs has already done this and has recovered quite well. The problem is that Coombs has not stopped drinking. Coombs has an extremely strong case of denial.

Throughout the entire episode, everything bad that happens to Coombs happens because of the boy Jerry. Coombs takes Jerry to the police station. Coombs other son is upset by Coombs' denial that Jerry is his son and he leaves. in Coombs' mind, the son left because of what is going on with Jerry. Coombs' family leaves him because of his drinking problem, but Coombs is convinced they left him because of he won't admit that Jerry is his son. He cannot and will not admit to himself that his family left him because he was drinking.

Jerry is Coombs' scapegoat. Alcoholics have a tendency to blame their behavior on things other than alcohol, all the time denying the fact that they are drinking. Coombs got arrested for public intoxication. An alcoholic will tell anyone who knows he was in jail that it was for something other than alcohol. Jerry is that reason for him. Jerry is a convenient symbol of his denial. The lies of alcoholics don't make sense to non drinkers, and Jerry doesn't make sense. They are interchangeable. Will a man who missed two days of work because he was drinking admit to anyone that is why he missed those days? No, he will make up a reason that makes sense to him but to no one else. An excuse that is almost as inexplicable as a son he has never seen.

I didn't get any of this right away, though. By reading the other interpretations, the episode finally made sense to me. I have to give it a good rating because more than anything else, it seems to get us to want to talk about it.

While I agree this isn't one of the better episodes (although with how many of them tried too hard to be silly perhaps it IS) I think people are looking way too hard for an obvious explanation. A big word to keep in mind while watching this episode is "denial". Also pay attention to how the wife references how many jobs her husband has had, how many cities they've moved from all related to his drinking. Meaning this is not the 1st time he's been "sober, I swear!". As to what is going on or "what" Jerry is, I guess it depends.

On one hand, perhaps as another commenter said, it is because Alan was drunk the whole episode & Jerry was a manifestation of his drinking & he's so out of it he thinks his wife & older son are playing games with him when in fact there is no Jerry & maybe the real conversations that took place were far different than what we see through Alan's perspective. Alcoholics tend to remember things differently. Take note of when his boss is getting on his case about how 2 days have gone by without Alan calling back a client where as Alan seemed unaware that much time had gone by. I think that's important because Jerry had only shown up 1 day prior & was unrelated to that particular aspect of the story, seems to indicate that Alan was already off the wagon before his boss ever approached him with the drink offer.

The theory I subscribe to however (although I still agree with the smaller points from the 1st theory) is that this town & specifically that real estate office is some sort of "final stage" for the hopeless alcoholic. It's where the "I'm gonna change!" alcoholics that never actually intend to take care of their problem end up. The fact that the boss offers both Alan, & his also a "recovering" alcoholic replacement drinks seems to make that clear, also that Jerry shows up to "oh & who might you be?" introduction again. Alan ends up there so that he can meet his end & his family can break free of him. As for what I hold over from the first theory, I'm thinking the family was never aware of Jerry at all & the dialogue & scenes we see are just Alan's perspective as a drunk in denial. Maybe even the house was ALWAYS empty & his family had already left him prior to arriving in the new town (why would Alan's wife call his boss's office phone?) & everything is just the disturbing world & imagination of a drunk about to meet his end.

This is certainly a story probably best suited for Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock who maybe would have made it a point to clear up the confusion of "What did I just see happen?", but I think they decided to leave it more up to the viewer's interpretation. Like I said, with so many over-the-top silly episodes for this series, this may not be one of the best but it certainly isn't one of the worst.

A vulnerable alcoholic named Alan (Vic Taybeck) has been sober for a year. He gets a visit by his son Jerry (Chris Herbert) but strangely enough. He doesn't seem to remember Jerry. He gets into a heated argument with his wife about it, while his wife insists Jerry is real. His wife gets fed up, and leaves Alan, because she feels he's started drinking again.

This was a really bizarre episode, and I'm not quite sure what I fully thought of it. It's certainly well made, really well acted, with some terrific atmosphere, but the way everything happens confused the hell out of me. We are never given any inkling as to where this boy comes from. They try to add to the great atmosphere by making the boy an enigma, but to me it backfired. Yes. As others pointed out in their reviews, I am fully aware that the boy may be a symbolism of alcoholism, but it still didn't make any proper sense to me, and a proper conclusion would have been much better than the poorly done ambiguous ending we were stuck with. I didn't get the proper resolution I was looking for. Another problem was likable characters. We should have been able to feel for Vic Taybeck's predicament, but he comes across as an unlikable grouch. It's understandable, considering the circumstances, but he wasn't all that sympathetic, and he's our lead. He was much too cantankerous. This resembles a Twilight episode, but it doesn't have the flair or skill. It's never boring and it keeps your attention, but the ambiguous approach gets annoying quickly

5.7/10

Frank De Palma directed eight episodes of Tales from the Dark Side and one of its spiritual sibling Monsters. For a series that had some major directors - I mean, George Romero is right there - it was a brave move to pick his episode to start the show with.

The script is from Mark Durand, a writer for The Week In Baseball, from a short story by Barbara Owens.

This episode gets dark. Vic Tayback is a reformed alcoholic turned hard working real estate salesperson, someone who turns down a celebratory drink from his boss to make sure he keeps on the straight and narrow. Then, his son Jerry shows up to see his dad. The only problem is that he doesn't have a son.

Actually, he has two, with Petey at home with his wife Sharon. His angry dismissal of this reality he doesn't understand upsets his wife, who is sure he's back drinking. But what is Jerry? A demon? A sympton of his alcoholism? An actor hired so that his wife can get out of their marriage? Probably the first one, as when the protagonist is replaced with another office drone, his son Jerry arrives at the end of the Friday workday.

That's a bleak story to start with but welcome to Tales from the Dark Side. They didn't call it Cute Animals Dance All Day Long you know.

I love how this was written...

After reading some reviews it becomes apparent to me that many did not interpret the twist correctly. Alan Coombs is a recovering alcoholic who is visited at his office by a young boy named Jerry, who claims to be his son. Throughout the entire episode Coombs does not believe that the boy is his son and his family claims that he must have started drinking again. Coombs repeatedly states that he has not had a drink in a year, and that the boy is not his son.

The Key: Right before the boy shows up, the boss offers Coombs a drink. Coombs refuses since he is a recovering alcoholic, and the boss ends up finishing both whiskeys. The boss leaves, and the boy shows up.

My thought is that the boy is a manifestation of Coombs' drinking problem. Either he shared drinks with his boss or drank after the boss left, which was not shown in the episode.

The rest of the episode the viewer is left fending for Coombs, especially when his family thinks he has been drinking. They also cannot understand why he does not know Jerry is his son. The point is that Jerry is an illusion created in Coombs' mind throughout the episode.

After Coombs' family (his wife and real son) leaves him, he is now shown drinking and the twist is confirmed. Where did he find the booze? After going through Jerry's room, which is really his real son's room, he finds a bottle of booze right next to a bunch of tee-shirts marked "Jerry".

Jerry is the booze. The boy is even shown sleeping in his real son's bed earlier in the episode. However, his real son left to stay at a friends house that night. You constantly wonder why his family thinks he has been drinking when he was never shown to be drinking. The key is that he was drunk the whole episode, but in his mind he was only denying it.

The episode ends with another man in the office (Coombs was obviously fired). The same boss offers this man a drink and since this man is conveniently a recovering alcoholic, he refuses. Of course the episode ends with the boss downing his drinks and Jerry showing up.

The boss almost embodies the nature of the addiction. The need to drink or possibly just the influence to drink. Once that takes place Jerry (the booze) shows up knocking. The rest of the episode is just the drunk man trying to hide the fact that he has been drinking. Jerry is not his real son. I do not believe he is since Coombs clearly recognizes his other son. It is just set up in this fashion to draw the viewer's attention away from the real point of the episode. You want to know whether or not the boy is his son when the actual boy does not even exist (especially when it's only a two bedroom home).

Who was the boy? Was he supposed to be a symbol of his alcoholism? I'm not sure. I'm not even convinced the writers know. A big step down from the last episode (which was directed by Romero)

Tales of the Darkside: The New Man starts as real estate agent Alan Coombs (Vic Tayback) is about to go home for the night when he has a visitor at the office, a young boy named Jerry (Chris Hebert) who claims to be his son. Alan says he isn't because he doesn't have a son named Jerry, once home his wife Sharon (Kelly Jean Peters) & his son Petey (Billy Jayne) both claim that Jerry is part of the family, Alan is confused & doesn't know what to do. Is Alan mistaken? Is Jerry lying? What about Sharon & Petey, I mean someone has to be telling the truth, right?

Episode 1 from season 1 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired during September 1984 in the US, the first of seven Tales from the Darkside episodes to be directed by Frank De Palma this is a disappointing follow up to the pilot show the fun if somewhat limited Trick or Treat. The script by Mark Durand is an odd thing, to me it simply doesn't make any sort of sense whatsoever & I freely admit that I don't get it. I usually love these short anthology show's & films but The New Man has really perplexed me, it's hard to explain but while it starts off intriguingly enough I just don't think it explains itself at all. Maybe the writers wanted to say something about alcoholism & maybe the actual script made sense but by making a program out of it & one that only lasts for 20 minutes perhaps the spirit & sense in the script was lost, that's the only reason I can think of for The New Man to make such little sense. This is a poor episode & I really hope there is better to come.

This is quite well made, it has decent sets & production values although it isn't going to win any awards. There's nothing scary here & I'd struggle to really call this an out-and-out horror tale. The acting is alright from a competent cast.

The New Man is a really strange tale that to me didn't make any sense, I'm still trying to work it out but I just can't. Disappointing & not something I could recommend or would want to watch again.

The New Man was the second episode in the series "Tales From The Darkside". This episode is about Alan Coombs, a recovering alcoholic working in the reality business. After refusing a drink of booze from his boss, a little boy named Jerry comes into Alan's office claiming that Alan is his dad. Alan knows he doesn't have a son called Jerry and after awhile of listening to Jerry insisting, he drags Jerry to the police station and goes home. At home, his son (Petey Coombs) and his wife (Sharon Coombs) are getting a celebration dinner ready. When they find out that Alan took Jerry away and didn't recognize him, they accuse him of drinking and leave the house empty except for the houseplants the next morning. Alan cries and freaks out, saying that Jerry doesn't exist and he finds a bottle of booze in Jerry's dresser drawer, which he drinks until he gets sick the next morning, slowly driving himself crazy. It never says whether or not anything happens to him afterwards.

This episode seemed to be missing facts. It never said who or what Jerry was (seeing as he isn't Alan's son) and it never said what happened to Alan after his family left him and he got drunk again. Also, his family left all their houseplants behind when the moved out, but they took everything else which made no sense.

Other than that, the episode was pretty good, but if I was recommending this show to somebody to watch I wouldn't recommend this one.

The life of recovering alcoholic Alan Coombs (an excellent performance by Vic Tayback) falls apart after mysterious little boy Jerry (winningly played with exuberant spunk by Chris Hebert) suddenly shows up claiming to be his son. Director Frank De Palma and writer Mark Durand use the offbeat premise as a novel, intriguing, and imaginative exploration of the terrible disease of alcoholism: Jerry clearly represents alcohol itself and the alcoholic's constant nagging temptation to fall off the wagon by going back to the bottle. Moreover, this episode poignantly illustrates the devastating effects of alcoholism on both the drinker and loved ones alike (the scenes with Alan telling his wife and teenage son that he hasn't started drinking again are downright painful to watch). Tayback dominates the proceedings with his exceptional acting as the tormented protagonist; he receives sound support from Kelly Jean Peters as Alan's fed-up long-suffering wife Sharon and Billy Jayne as his rebellious adolescent son Petey. A powerful and provocative show.