Darkroom (TV Series) Stay Tuned, We'll Be Right Back (1981) User Reviews

Good second half!

[b_kite · 7/10 · 27 October 2016]

"Stay Tuned, We'll Be Right Back" tells the tale of a father Charlie (Lawrence Pressman) who discovers an old crystal radio which sends him WWII u-boat signals from 1942, a u-boat his father was killed on, he tries to change the outcome of history, and save his father. It works but with dire consequences.

It runs short at only 18 minutes, but, the story moves fast and the twist is highly enjoyable. Both episodes are entertaining along with Coburns narration. This one along with "Closed Circuit" aired together to form an hour show. Overall, the first episode has been highly enjoyable.

Very Weak Follow-Up

[chrstphrtully · 3/10 · 27 November 2018]

Following "Closed Circuit," "Stay Tuned..." is a pretty serious letdown.

Ham radio enthusiast Charlie Miller (Pressman) is delighted when his set begins picking up the shows and commercials from his youth; but when he begins picking up German naval Morse code messages about targeting the troop launch in which his late father was lost, Charlie has to decide whether to take the steps to preemptively save him.

Simon Muntner's script takes very well-worn material and does little or nothing with it. While the story relies upon "the butterfly effect" for its ending, it does little or nothing to lend any weight to that ending; the story line had been used repeatedly even as of 1981, but the failure to set any kind of stakes for the consequence really deprives it of its punch. Indeed, the failure to give any kind of underlying tension to Charlie's decision (you pretty much know what he's going to do from the get-go), or to lay any groundwork for why things work out the way they do after that decision, leaves the viewer with the feeling that the ending has been more or less slapped on.

Lawrence Pressman is usually a pretty good character actor, and he gives an earnest performance here, but the script gives him nothing to really play against, as we know what he's going to do from the moment he first figures out the intercepted messages. As a result, there's no internal conflict within his character, nor is there any real pushback from his wife (Joanna Miles is a wonderful actress, but she's really given absolutely nothing to work with). As such, "Stay Tuned..." will pretty much wish you hadn't.