Crazy as a Soup Sandwich
Encyclopedia
"Crazy as a Soup Sandwich" is the sixty-fourth episode (the twenty-ninth episode of the third season (1988–1989)) of the television series The Twilight Zone.
Nino, oddly enough, doesn't appear surprised and decides to help Arky. First, Nino wants to know how Arky found this demon. Arky claims a woman named Cassandra Fishbein who runs a beauty shop located the demon for him. When she refuses to help, Nino finds a way to persuade her and demands a meeting with Volkerps immediately. Cassandra calls on Volkerps, but he kills her then turns his eyes on Nino. Arky runs out of the shop with one of Nino's goons. They go back to the Toy and Import building and they think Nino's dead. But Nino shows up, dusting himself off and smoke coming off him. Apparently, Nino managed to get away but just barely. He sends his goons to get a hundred gallons of lead paint and cover every inch of the office, ten times over. Nino then leaves to presumably get something to help him defeat the demon.
Nino returns with a small stone box and waits for Volkerps to arrive around midnight. As midnight rolls around, a flash of light and Volkerps comes into the office. Nino tells Volkerps to cancel the contract with Arky and give him a million dollars, and he won't kick the crap out of him. Volkerps laughs at this but Nino has Arky and his secretary close the door. Then Nino pulls something out of the stone box and uses it to strike Volkerps with bolts of energy. It damages Volkerps and then Nino uses the bolts of energy to force Volkerps to be trapped in the stone box. Apparently, Nino had dealt with Volkerps' father and got him in the box too. Now, all Arky has to do is make a deal with Nino.
later appeared in Ellison's short story collection Slippage
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Opening narration
Plot
A petty con man named Arky Lochner fumbles and stumbles down a dark alley with some thing following him. A thing that appears as a colorful cloud that moves quickly on Arky. The cloud, a demon, in rather colorful language, claims Arky is a fool and shouldn't have tried to outwit him. Arky claims he still has two days before the demon has the right to do anything to him. In the demon's moment of indecision, Arky runs off and into a building housing Nino's Toys and Imports. He runs into the office of Mr. Nino Lancaster and begs Nino for help from the demon, even though he owes Nino a great deal of money. Arky tries to explain that the money he was loaned by Nino was to make a deal with a demon named Volkerps to pick horse winners in exchange for his soul. The only problem is the horses all either died as they crossed the finish line, packed full of dope, or other maladies that caused Arky to not win a cent despite the fact the horses won.Nino, oddly enough, doesn't appear surprised and decides to help Arky. First, Nino wants to know how Arky found this demon. Arky claims a woman named Cassandra Fishbein who runs a beauty shop located the demon for him. When she refuses to help, Nino finds a way to persuade her and demands a meeting with Volkerps immediately. Cassandra calls on Volkerps, but he kills her then turns his eyes on Nino. Arky runs out of the shop with one of Nino's goons. They go back to the Toy and Import building and they think Nino's dead. But Nino shows up, dusting himself off and smoke coming off him. Apparently, Nino managed to get away but just barely. He sends his goons to get a hundred gallons of lead paint and cover every inch of the office, ten times over. Nino then leaves to presumably get something to help him defeat the demon.
Nino returns with a small stone box and waits for Volkerps to arrive around midnight. As midnight rolls around, a flash of light and Volkerps comes into the office. Nino tells Volkerps to cancel the contract with Arky and give him a million dollars, and he won't kick the crap out of him. Volkerps laughs at this but Nino has Arky and his secretary close the door. Then Nino pulls something out of the stone box and uses it to strike Volkerps with bolts of energy. It damages Volkerps and then Nino uses the bolts of energy to force Volkerps to be trapped in the stone box. Apparently, Nino had dealt with Volkerps' father and got him in the box too. Now, all Arky has to do is make a deal with Nino.
Closing narration
Note
The teleplayTeleplay
A teleplay is a television play, a comedy or drama written or adapted for television. The term surfaced during the 1950s with wide usage to distinguish a television plays from stage plays for the theater and screenplays written for films...
later appeared in Ellison's short story collection Slippage
Slippage (book)
Slippage is a collection of short stories by author Harlan Ellison. In the introduction, Ellison introduces the concept of 'slippage', or the falling apart of one's life, as the underlying theme of the book...
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