Yes, it's Denis Forest as yet another skeevy loser. "The Mephisto Ring" is a reimaging of "Tattoo" from the first season. Forest's character, Donald Wren, gets hold of a cursed World Series ring that kills anyone foolish enough to put it on. And then reveals to Donald what the winner of a match is so that he can bet on it and make a lot of money.
So it's a second-hand version of "Tattoo". Donald doesn't have to gamble directly and win, as much as bet on someone else to win. There's also an initially-confusing scene at the beginning where a man wins big and an unseen shooter kills him. Eventually we learn the man was Donald's father William, and William had and used the ring as well.
Because it's a Forest episode, he laughs manically when his second victims dies, and when Macklin dies as well. Prominently displaying his bad teeth and stringy hair. The death are pretty horrific and impressive: Forest's overacting just distracts from them. Forest is more effective when his third victim dies and Forest just watches and glares. And like the preceding "Scarlet Cinema", the user initiates things but he doesn't actually kill his victims. He just "sets them up", even if making people put on the ring comes across as a little goofy. If they're not dumb enough to put on the ring... they live.
But we also have to put up with Micki trying to seduce Donald to get the ring. Just like she did last year in "Shadow Boxer". She's really not very good at it: fortunately she looks like Robey. I suppose it was a thrill for Forest, which is probably why he kept showing up on the series: "Hey, Robey has to act like she's seducing me. I don't get that from Cameron Diaz in 'The Mask'!"
I like John LeMay's look when Mickey asks him if he can get Donald to go home with him. Did they have a conversation with Mrs. Wren off-screen that I missed, where she confirmed Donald was hetereosexual? Maybe Ryan is Donald's type.
The ring does have a certain gravitas, since it's the first item that Lewis sold. That helps to set it aside more than just "the cursed item of the week". It's not much, but it's something.
The rest of the episode is... okay. The tragedy is happening to the Wrens family, and the cousins (no Jack) are just onlookers for the most part. It turns out that Mrs. Wren is anti-gambling and believes the ring is evil, and killed her own husband years ago. She shoots her son Donald dead as well
If you like watching people suffer, "Mephisto" has that in spades. If it ain't Donald's victims dying horribly, it's Donald himself getting beaten up and a thumb chopped off. Forest does his typical "sweaty, laughing, and occasionally 'I revel in your pain'" performance that he often does and loses eventually in the third season's "My Life As a Dog".
Forest's Forest. The regulars aren't bad and are as good as they can be without Wiggins. James Purcell is okay as the mildly suave gangster Macklin. Doris Petrie is probably the "star" of the episode, even with the weird bruise makeup she has on the left side of her nose. She was more effective as the tough-as-nails doctor in first season's "Doctor Jack". Her Mrs. Wren here isn't bad, and it's another variation on "What a mother wouldn't do". But she's good at it, even if it doesn't require much from her in the way of performing skill.
So overall, "Mephisto" is an okay episode. It shows the wages of gambling, and it shows us another of the cousins' trips into the dark seedy underworld. It's not that dark and seedy, but it makes a change from the quiet horror they usually encounter. It feels very... familiar. Whether it's the aforementioned "Tattoo", or 'Tales from the Darkside''s "The Odds", or any number of 'Twilight Zone' episodes about sweaty little men who get in over their heads over gambling. But hey, you've got Forest's performance, the framework of a cursed antique, and the twist with Mrs. Wren, to spice things up.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
So it's a second-hand version of "Tattoo". Donald doesn't have to gamble directly and win, as much as bet on someone else to win. There's also an initially-confusing scene at the beginning where a man wins big and an unseen shooter kills him. Eventually we learn the man was Donald's father William, and William had and used the ring as well.
Because it's a Forest episode, he laughs manically when his second victims dies, and when Macklin dies as well. Prominently displaying his bad teeth and stringy hair. The death are pretty horrific and impressive: Forest's overacting just distracts from them. Forest is more effective when his third victim dies and Forest just watches and glares. And like the preceding "Scarlet Cinema", the user initiates things but he doesn't actually kill his victims. He just "sets them up", even if making people put on the ring comes across as a little goofy. If they're not dumb enough to put on the ring... they live.
But we also have to put up with Micki trying to seduce Donald to get the ring. Just like she did last year in "Shadow Boxer". She's really not very good at it: fortunately she looks like Robey. I suppose it was a thrill for Forest, which is probably why he kept showing up on the series: "Hey, Robey has to act like she's seducing me. I don't get that from Cameron Diaz in 'The Mask'!"
I like John LeMay's look when Mickey asks him if he can get Donald to go home with him. Did they have a conversation with Mrs. Wren off-screen that I missed, where she confirmed Donald was hetereosexual? Maybe Ryan is Donald's type.
The ring does have a certain gravitas, since it's the first item that Lewis sold. That helps to set it aside more than just "the cursed item of the week". It's not much, but it's something.
The rest of the episode is... okay. The tragedy is happening to the Wrens family, and the cousins (no Jack) are just onlookers for the most part. It turns out that Mrs. Wren is anti-gambling and believes the ring is evil, and killed her own husband years ago. She shoots her son Donald dead as well
If you like watching people suffer, "Mephisto" has that in spades. If it ain't Donald's victims dying horribly, it's Donald himself getting beaten up and a thumb chopped off. Forest does his typical "sweaty, laughing, and occasionally 'I revel in your pain'" performance that he often does and loses eventually in the third season's "My Life As a Dog".
Forest's Forest. The regulars aren't bad and are as good as they can be without Wiggins. James Purcell is okay as the mildly suave gangster Macklin. Doris Petrie is probably the "star" of the episode, even with the weird bruise makeup she has on the left side of her nose. She was more effective as the tough-as-nails doctor in first season's "Doctor Jack". Her Mrs. Wren here isn't bad, and it's another variation on "What a mother wouldn't do". But she's good at it, even if it doesn't require much from her in the way of performing skill.
So overall, "Mephisto" is an okay episode. It shows the wages of gambling, and it shows us another of the cousins' trips into the dark seedy underworld. It's not that dark and seedy, but it makes a change from the quiet horror they usually encounter. It feels very... familiar. Whether it's the aforementioned "Tattoo", or 'Tales from the Darkside''s "The Odds", or any number of 'Twilight Zone' episodes about sweaty little men who get in over their heads over gambling. But hey, you've got Forest's performance, the framework of a cursed antique, and the twist with Mrs. Wren, to spice things up.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?