There is some interesting shots in this episode and very creepy ambiance. I still wouldn't list it as one of the top tier episodes, it'd be more around the middle. With that being said, you can't really fault it for a lot of things. It does it's job well and gives you a story that would probably work best stumbling onto in the middle of the night while you're trying to sleep. It could give you a good creepy feeling for sure.
8 Reviews
Beautiful, Original, Atmospheric, & Scary
Adam_venedam29 April 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This was a very interesting and entertaining episode I will say that its not really a scary episode in the way people think horror actually is, what happens to Jimmy in the end is truly scary when you think about what he went through, also, it does have a certain atmospheric beauty to it that I just loved, the dark scenes with Jimmy playing the Sax was just awesome The other person who reviewed this did not understand the ending as to why she turns into a dummy again, well I can see how the way the person edited it it could be a little hard to realize what happened, but its because she turned around and accidentally looked at her own eyes in the mirror which obviously turns her back, again he complained about how the episode doesn't really answer some of the questions as to why she was even a dummy to begin with, well sometimes they leave that to the viewer to figure out.
To be honest though this doesn't really seem like it belongs to a series like Tales From The Darkside but on another note, the ending is quite dark and pretty scary if you actually think about it, the guys blind and it would be truly horrifying to get shot and not hear the girl and just die alone on the floor a horrible death your mind just racing thinking where she went or if she shot him or why she shot him, that alone was scary.
Overall, this episode from the creepy weird beginning all the way to the end kept me interested and wanting to find out what happens to May Dusa, great episode
To be honest though this doesn't really seem like it belongs to a series like Tales From The Darkside but on another note, the ending is quite dark and pretty scary if you actually think about it, the guys blind and it would be truly horrifying to get shot and not hear the girl and just die alone on the floor a horrible death your mind just racing thinking where she went or if she shot him or why she shot him, that alone was scary.
Overall, this episode from the creepy weird beginning all the way to the end kept me interested and wanting to find out what happens to May Dusa, great episode
Very dull
Leofwine_draca17 June 2015
MISS MAY DUSA is one of the least interesting of all the TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE episode. It's a shame because the execution of the story is actually pretty decent with plenty of atmosphere building and effective music. Even good use is made of a saxophone. As a two-hander set in a single location it's an episode which makes the best use of its resources to boot.
A guy who makes a living playing the saxophone is holed up in a deserted subway station with a young woman who's harbouring a dark secret: she's responsible for a number of accidental deaths, and there's worse to come. It's an intriguing set-up, but MISS MAY DUSA goes nowhere and does nothing with that premise; the script is very dull. It's little surprise that neither actor went on to anything.
A guy who makes a living playing the saxophone is holed up in a deserted subway station with a young woman who's harbouring a dark secret: she's responsible for a number of accidental deaths, and there's worse to come. It's an intriguing set-up, but MISS MAY DUSA goes nowhere and does nothing with that premise; the script is very dull. It's little surprise that neither actor went on to anything.
Moody, touching, and above all quite different
Woodyanders3 October 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Jazz saxophonist Jimmy Jones (an excellent and engaging performance by Gary Majchrazak) meets the aloof and enigmatic Miss May Dusa (a fine and sympathetic portrayal by Sofia Landon Geier) in a New York City subway tunnel. Jimmy falls for May, but she's harboring a dark and deadly secret that threatens to curtail their budding romance. Writer/director Richard Blackburn does a masterful job of crafting a spooky, surreal, and mysterious atmosphere tinged with melancholy while sustaining a steady pace throughout. The snappy dialogue adds lots of spark. Moreover, the lonely plight of the offbeat main characters and their moving need to connect with others gives this one a substantial amount of poignancy and resonance. The downbeat ending packs a devastating punch. Robert Draper's stylish shadowy cinematography and the cool jazzy score further enhance the overall sterling quality of this uniquely haunting and exceptional episode.
I have no idea what this is meant to be.
poolandrews26 April 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Tales from the Darkside: Miss May Dusa starts late one night as a woman (Sofia Landon) meets a saxophonist named Jimmy James (Gary Majchrazak) in a subway. They start to talk to each other it turns out that she can't remember much about herself, not even her name. Together they come up with the name May Dusa which sounds familiar to her. They fall in love with each other but May has a secret that might get in the way...
Episode 12 from season 3 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during January 1987, written & directed by Richard Blackburn I really don't see what sort of enjoyment is meant to be gained from watching something as offbeat & seemingly pointless as Miss May Dusa. It almost feels like someone came up with the title Miss May Dusa which is obviously a play on the name of Medusa from Greek mythology & thought to themselves 'aren't I clever?' & then decided to write a story around it. To me Miss May Dusa is a really pointless & forgettable twenty minutes. If you ever wanted to know what Medusa would do in modern day America, what if she wasn't evil & didn't like turning people to stone, what if she feel in love & what if she had selective memory loss then this episode may answer your questions. It's fairly poorly written though, there's no explanation why she starts the episode as a mannequin, there's no explanation as to why she claims to have no memory but knows that she has murdered, that she has turned people to stone, where she is from & the like & there's no explanation as to why she turns the burglar into a mannequin (why not stone as suggested?) & why she turns back into a mannequin at the end.
Like a lot of Tales from the Darkside episodes Miss May Dusa uses only two locations & three actors. The traditional image of the Medusa from legend with a head of snakes instead of hair is abandoned & she's merely an average looking woman. There episode isn't scary, the twist doesn't make much sense & as a whole the episode isn't that entertaining. The acting is alright but the IMDb should realise that both first & last names begin with capital letters so their cast list should read Jimmy James rather than Jimmy james.
Miss May Dusa is a pointless little Tales from the Darkside episode, it's not horror orientated & I really don't see what the production team were aiming for.
Episode 12 from season 3 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during January 1987, written & directed by Richard Blackburn I really don't see what sort of enjoyment is meant to be gained from watching something as offbeat & seemingly pointless as Miss May Dusa. It almost feels like someone came up with the title Miss May Dusa which is obviously a play on the name of Medusa from Greek mythology & thought to themselves 'aren't I clever?' & then decided to write a story around it. To me Miss May Dusa is a really pointless & forgettable twenty minutes. If you ever wanted to know what Medusa would do in modern day America, what if she wasn't evil & didn't like turning people to stone, what if she feel in love & what if she had selective memory loss then this episode may answer your questions. It's fairly poorly written though, there's no explanation why she starts the episode as a mannequin, there's no explanation as to why she claims to have no memory but knows that she has murdered, that she has turned people to stone, where she is from & the like & there's no explanation as to why she turns the burglar into a mannequin (why not stone as suggested?) & why she turns back into a mannequin at the end.
Like a lot of Tales from the Darkside episodes Miss May Dusa uses only two locations & three actors. The traditional image of the Medusa from legend with a head of snakes instead of hair is abandoned & she's merely an average looking woman. There episode isn't scary, the twist doesn't make much sense & as a whole the episode isn't that entertaining. The acting is alright but the IMDb should realise that both first & last names begin with capital letters so their cast list should read Jimmy James rather than Jimmy james.
Miss May Dusa is a pointless little Tales from the Darkside episode, it's not horror orientated & I really don't see what the production team were aiming for.
I absolutely love this episode my favorite of the whole series
purhrtd31 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I know a lot of people don't like it and I understand why the main thing I don't like about it is the sad ending like they could have did so much more with that episode It's like a lonely blind guy meets a girl in the middle of the night yeah under weird circumstances unexplainable ones with that but I don't understand why they had to make her go back to a mannequin and him get shot she could have got sunglasses somewhere else and forgot that place either way it's just sad how she goes back to a mannequin and that dude gets shot and believes he's dying alone and doesn't know the truth that's the only thing I don't like about this episode but other than that I love it I don't know what it is I love about the episode so much maybe it's the setup and a Subway lonely blind guy playing a saxophone meets a girl
Maybe it's because I have a soft spot for people that find love because I myself am lonely and intelligence seems to drag the loneliness even more but I don't know what it is about that episode exactly but I just love it I'm drawn to it I could watch it over and over again.
From what I gather though it does seem like the episode is a cheap knockoff of the mythical goddess Medusa. For one when the guy says it sounds like Medusa her facial expression it's like she knows either way looking into someone's eyes they turn to Stone see exact same thing with her except they turn into plastic but it's still basically the same thing only difference is plastic and Stone so I do think it's a cheap knockoff of the mythical goddess Medusa but still once again I absolutely love this episode how it's set up the dark scenes probably my favorite one of the whole series.
Maybe it's because I have a soft spot for people that find love because I myself am lonely and intelligence seems to drag the loneliness even more but I don't know what it is about that episode exactly but I just love it I'm drawn to it I could watch it over and over again.
From what I gather though it does seem like the episode is a cheap knockoff of the mythical goddess Medusa. For one when the guy says it sounds like Medusa her facial expression it's like she knows either way looking into someone's eyes they turn to Stone see exact same thing with her except they turn into plastic but it's still basically the same thing only difference is plastic and Stone so I do think it's a cheap knockoff of the mythical goddess Medusa but still once again I absolutely love this episode how it's set up the dark scenes probably my favorite one of the whole series.
Not the best of anything about nothing going on.
briansmac-234834 March 2023
DULL is the word! All through the story, it keeps trying to build up to possibly some action is about to take place, but doesn't go anywhere or do anything! Much like the old Seinfeld episodes, Much ado about nothing at all. This episode was poorly directed and we don't really see any Tales from the Darkside spookiness anywhere with the characters or even the subway scenario. Just a BLAH conversation between two people and it doesn't get any better than that. You can probably get more accomplished by watching paint dry or water boil. Faith, Destiny, whatever. This show absolutely went nowhere!
Tales from the Darkside: Miss May Dusa
Scarecrow-8828 November 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Rather depressing ending kind of concludes the optimistic episode on a real downer. A thief breaks into a pawn shop, knocks over a mannequin, stands it back up, looks into *her* eyes and himself freezes into a mannequin
meanwhile, the female mannequin, in a fur coat, awakens and leaves the shop in a disorienting state! If anyone looks into her eyes, they "take her place". So this beautiful amnesiac finds her way into a subway platform where a blind sax musician hangs out on a bench working for a day's (and night's) pay. This musician, Jimmy (Gary Majchrazak), begins to chat up this amnesiac (played by Sofia Landon Geier, primarily linked to soap operas as actress and writer), hoping to ease her out of a gloomy state of mind. They fall in love. Because Jimmy is blind, if he looks into the eyes of the amnesiac (they decide on her a name, May Dusa (Medusa when put together)) he doesn't turn into a mannequin, so a comfort and peace bonds them. But when she accidentally scraps her sunglasses, at first believing because Jimmy didn't freeze her gaze no longer was a detriment to others, May will need to return to the pawn shop in order to find another pair
a mirror squelches the happy future for the couple.
The unfortunate doom that seems to follow May, and how Jimmy himself is doomed by default, leaves a rather tragic aftertaste once the credits of the executive producers come across the screen. May was given a chance to potentially live, but her condemned existence due to a gaze that halts the lives of others truly bookends the episode on a dark note. This mannequin given a lease on life after a time of utter darkness, only to have it taken away from the look into a mirror and a shot to the chest that has the loved one dying, reaching out his hand, and receiving no answer damn, director/writer Richard Blackburn (Lemora (1973)) sure does lead us up and down in this one. To me, Miss May Dusa is one of the best episodes of the series. Curious Blackburn did so little considering how talented he was in the limited work available from him.
While I do realize that some will perhaps not consider this anything more than another lengthy dialogue piece between two people on a singular set, I think just the tragic nature of it after seeing them fall in love and the supernatural reasoning for how this all takes place really does lend it some serious power.
The unfortunate doom that seems to follow May, and how Jimmy himself is doomed by default, leaves a rather tragic aftertaste once the credits of the executive producers come across the screen. May was given a chance to potentially live, but her condemned existence due to a gaze that halts the lives of others truly bookends the episode on a dark note. This mannequin given a lease on life after a time of utter darkness, only to have it taken away from the look into a mirror and a shot to the chest that has the loved one dying, reaching out his hand, and receiving no answer damn, director/writer Richard Blackburn (Lemora (1973)) sure does lead us up and down in this one. To me, Miss May Dusa is one of the best episodes of the series. Curious Blackburn did so little considering how talented he was in the limited work available from him.
While I do realize that some will perhaps not consider this anything more than another lengthy dialogue piece between two people on a singular set, I think just the tragic nature of it after seeing them fall in love and the supernatural reasoning for how this all takes place really does lend it some serious power.
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