User Reviews

Tales from the Darkside: Snip, Snip starts as teacher Abe North (Bud Cort) is sure he will win the $10 million local lottery jackpot, he dabbles in a spot of black magic & his 'spirits' told him to pick the numbers 666 - 666 which he did & Abe is convinced he will win. As he listens to the draw the host reads out the winning numbers, they are 666 - 667 which surprises Abe & he is even more surprised when the winner is announced as a lowly hairdresser named Anne MacColl (Carol Kane) who lives in the flat directly above him. Abe decides to pay her a visit & try to destroy her ticket so there has to be a re-draw but Anne has other ideas...

Episode 14 from season 1 this Tales from the Darkside story originally aired in the US during February 1985, directed Terence Cahalan this was another largely forgettable supernatural based story. The script by Howard Smith & Tom Allen once again like most of the Tales from the Darkside episodes I've seen has a good central concept this time about a man using magic to fix a lottery result which most of us can probably relate to, I mean I'd imagine a lot of us have dreamt about winning 10 million on the lottery & what we would do with it, right? So straight away there's a certain hook to the story but it does nothing with it & has various dull & some might say, including me, predictable plot twists & a bland ending which to be honest doesn't make 100% sense. I really want to like these Tales from the Darkside episodes but the plots are so predictable, there's been no really surprising twist endings & they seem aimed squarely at kids as none of them contain any significant gore, bad language or nudity & it's not like the predictable & often dull stories make up for it so in that regard give me a Tales from the Crypt episode instead of this any day of the week.

This one looks fine & is well made like the series so far but the lack of proper significant horror elements hurt the show in my opinion, the lack of scares & gore is just something that bothers me. The acting here is alright by a huge cast of four.

Snip, Snip is another alright episode, it's watchable but totally forgettable & it's not something I'd ever want to see again, it's OK if you can catch it on telly for free & want to waste 20 odd minutes.

Down on his luck warlock Abe North (an excellent performance by Bud Cort) uses magic in an attempt to win ten million dollars in prize money from a televised lottery. However, after hairdresser Annie MacColl (the always delightful Carl Kane) wins said ten million instead, Abe decides to pay her a visit and engages in a battle of wits with her over the winning ticket. Director Terence Calahan, working from a witty script by Tom Allen and Howard Smith, relates the enjoyable story at a steady pace, ably milks the premise for an inspired line in offbeat humor, and builds quite a bit of tension as the plot reaches a genuinely startling conclusion. The super acting from the two ace leads keeps things humming: Cort nails the desperate sad sack nature of his pathetic loser character while Kane brings her trademark loopy charm to a lady who isn't nearly as sweet as she initially appears to be. A nifty show.

Directed by Terence Calahan - his only IMDB directorial credit - and written by Tom Allen (story consultant for this entire series and Monsters, which was dedicated to his memory) and Howard Smit, this episode is all about hairdresser Anne MacColl (Carol Kane!) fighting teacher Abe North (Bud Cort!) for a winning lottery ticket for the Jack-Pot-Arama.

Abe had used magic to use ticket 666.666.to win, even calling the dean of his school and offending him to the point that he can't ever get his job back. The problem? Well, the real winning ticket was number 666.667, owned by Anne. He tries to bully her with his magical powers without realizing that her bird isn't named Lou, it's truly Lucifer and that she has powers beyond what he can understand.

Oh well - another comedy episode of Tales from the Darkside. At least Kane and Cort are great at what they do. I prefer when the show is more in the horror genre, but what can you do? It's only twenty minutes and isn't poorly made.

This is another excellent episode from season 1. The story is about a witch and a warlock who plays the lottery. Abe is a warlock who is sick of his job and is so sure he is going to win tonight's lottery. He is so sure he calls his boss 1st and tells him off. He has his ticket all 6's. About 15 minutes later the drawing begins, the winning numbers are 6,6,6,6,6,7. He about S##t's is pants. He can't believe it, the winner comes up, Anne. Abe does everything to get his job back, but fails. So the only thing he can do is track Anne down and try to steal her ticket. She is a beautician who has her own place. When she discovers Abe in her place, she kind of freaks. He tries everything to steal that ticket, but she is always one step ahead of him. Abe doesn't realize she is just like him but better. She knew he would be coming for her and try to steal her ticket, so she is prepared. They have a kind of witches duel where she wins. The ending is a classic one. In her shop she has these mannequin heads, or are they? When her loyal customer comes in to get his hair trimmed, she has a new head, it's Abe's. A classic episode that comes with a little humor.