Stay Tuned (2016) [Part 9]

Once Roy and Bradley escaped, Jack found himself flipping through channels trying to find them as Bella and Sophie looked on. For a moment, he found a channel with an overweight man onscreen, driving in a car.

MAN: Hey, everybody. I'm Manny Fiery, and we're rollin' out, lookin' for Hell's greatest Diners, Drive-Ins and Devils!

JACK: Nope.

Jack changed the channel.

ANNOUNCER: Tonight on Saturday Night Dead...

SOPHIE: Nada.

Back in the TV world, we find ourselves in 1940s Los Angeles. Everything was in black-and-white. We see Roy, but not Bradley, in some kind of office. His appearance had changed yet again. He was human once more, but his hair and clothing was different. His hair was combed, and he wore a bluish-grey suit with a patterned red necktie, and a pocket square in the left breast pocket of the jacket. He also wore a wristwatch on his left wrist. He took a moment to examine his surroundings. He spoke in his thoughts, as though he were a private eye detective talking about the details of an investigation.

ROY (internal monologue): Whoa, I'm in black-and-white.

Roy spotted a desk, and on that desk was a gun in a holster. He picked up the holster and examined it.

ROY (internal monologue): I see, I'm in an old movie. One of those noir films, and I'm a detective.

He tried to put on the holster, but couldn't figure it out.

ROY (internal monologue): I've watched a lot of these types of movies, I should know what to do. I should be like Bogart from the Maltese Falcon.

Eventually, he took the gun out of the holster and threw the holster aside. He messed around with the gun.

ROY (internal monologue): I'm on a case. Gotta find Helen and the kids...and Bradley. After I figure out how to use this.

Roy tried to put the gun away in his person, but he ended up dropping it on the floor, which fired at the desk.

Outside of his office, we see a large hotel building called Hotel Niagra. Inside one of the rooms of this hotel were Helen, Darryl, and Diane. Like Roy, they were back to being humans, but their hair and clothing had changed. Helen wore a silver evening gown with a see-through jacket and high heels, and her hair was let down, had a clip in it and was in a side parted wavy style. She also wore red lipstick; Darryl wore a white dress shirt with a black and white dotted necktie and a light purple waistcoat, all under a dark purple wool frock coat with a purple scarf on his shoulders. He also wore black trousers with a black belt and brown loafers. His hair was combed in a way that part of it hung over the right ear. Naturally, he retained his glasses; Diane wore a pink collared dress with a burgundy sash belt and a burgundy ascot tie under a dark pink blazer. She also wore white knee-high socks with black court shoes and completed the ensemble with white earrings. Her long hair had brushed pin curls.

DIANE: Where are we, Mom?

HELEN: Judging from the looks of things, it looks like we're in Los Angeles in the 1940s.

Diane was sitting on a bed. Darryl examined himself in a nearby mirror, checking out his new clothing. He pulled the tie out of his waistcoat before letting out a small disappointed sigh and put the tie back in. Helen walked up behind him.

HELEN: Something wrong, pumpkin?

DARRYL: This outfit. I kinda like it, but I don't like the tie.

HELEN: What's wrong with it?

DARRYL: It's not a bow tie.

HELEN (raising an eyebrow): Why would you want a bow tie?

DARRYL: Because bow ties are cool.

Diane rolled her eyes in annoyance.

DIANE (muttering): I think someone's been watching too much Doctor Who.

DARRYL: Mom, do you think Dad and Bradley made it out alive?

HELEN: I'm sure they have.

Helen began to bear a concerned look on her face. Finally, she guided Darryl over to the bed.

HELEN: Here, have a seat next to your sister. I need to tell you kids something. It's about your father.

Darryl sat on the bed next to Diane, while Helen rested in a nearby chair.

HELEN: All those things I've said about him: lazy, deadbeat, pathetic. I never wanted to say them. I never wanted to say anything bad about your father. But because he wasn't pulling his weight as a husband or a father, I had to work twice as hard to raise you kids. I had to be both mom and dad. Because someone had to. At first, it was no big deal, since I've always assumed that work and stress had taken its toll on him. But it got worse and worse. Sure, he was there physically, but his mind was somewhere else entirely, and I put up with it for too long. When I saw that new TV he got, it was the last straw for me. I had enough and I wanted to leave him. But I wasn't about to leave you two with him. So I decided to take you along, and we all know what that lead us into. If I were to divorce him, I would take you with me. Because I feel you kids deserve better.

Darryl and Diane both began to sniffle a little bit, almost as though they were about to cry. Helen noticed this and got up towards the kids hugged them.

HELEN: No, no, please don't cry. I'm really sorry for all those times I snapped at you.

DIANE (sniffling): I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you. Like I said, I should've listened to you about Chris.

HELEN: It's all right, sweetheart. Sometimes, we all have to learn things the hard way.

Helen let go of the kids and grabbed two nearby tissues and handed them to Darryl and Diane, who took them and wiped the tears off their faces.

HELEN: Okay, I guess since we're going to be here for a bit, we may as well get comfy. Is anybody still hungry? I remembered we haven't eaten anything yet.

The kids nodded yes.

HELEN: Well then, I'll call and see if we can get some room service.

Helen begin to approach a nearby rotary phone, but she was interrupted by a knock on the door, which spooked the kids.

DARRYL (whispering): Who's there?

HELEN (whispering, to Darryl): We'll find out. (calling out to the door) Roy? Bradley? Is that you?

Suddenly, the door forcefully swung open to reveal two large gangsters clad in tuxedos entering the room, startling the three Knables. Back in the control room, Spike was still angrily watching the JumboTron, which showed the Knables' long progress bar blinking rapidly, indicating that they are a few hours away from surviving.

SPIKE: So far, they've just gotten lucky!

PIERCE: Really?

Spike turned to see Pierce, who was standing right behind him. Spike slowly walked over to Pierce, not happy at all.

PIERCE: I may only be an intern here, but even I can see that you must have a lot of weight on your shoulders running this job. Perhaps you could take a vacation and let someone else deal with the hassle?

SPIKE (incredulous): "Someone else?" Like who? You?

PIERCE (surprised): Me? I am flattered that you considered me to take over. I will admit that's pretty big shoes to fill. But I could give it a shot, sir.

Back in the real world, Jack continued to channel surf.

ANNOUNCER: Red is the New Black. New episode tonight.

BELLA: Oh, for God's sake, we gotta find at least one of them!

Jack just began rapidly flipping through channels when something caught Bella's attention at Channel 173, but Jack skipped past it.

BELLA: No no! Go back to 173!

Jack returned to Channel 173. They saw Roy wearing a hat and trench coat standing outside on a rainy night in front of a newstand.

JACK: It's Mr. K!

SOPHIE: Okay, but where are the other Knables?

They saw the camera cut to the newspaper, which showed Helen, Darryl, and Diane on the front page, and had the headline "Classy family Vanishes," and written below it, "Last seen at Club Herbell."

JACK: Does that answer your question?

BELLA: So now, all that leaves is...Bradley.

Back in Los Angeles, Roy grabbed one of the papers and was in complete surprise of what was on it.

ROY (internal monologue): "Classy Family Vanishes. Last seen at Club Herbell." (speaking out loud) Helen. Darryl. Diane. (internal monologue) "Herbell." Why does that name sound familiar?  (eyes widen) Oh my God!

Roy stormed away to find the Club. Back in the real world, it was now night time, and Bella, Jack and Sophie were staring at the dish outside the window.

SOPHIE: I don't understand. Why would the Knables buy a satanic TV service?

BELLA: Only Mr. Knable bought it, Soph. He's the one who watches a lot of TV. But you do have a point. Why would he buy a TV service from the Devil?

JACK: Maybe he was so desperate for a new TV, some asshole in a suit came by and offered it to him. And Mr. K accepted it, not knowing what he got himself into.

BELLA: Doesn't sound too far-fetched. There's gotta be a way to help them.

JACK: Maybe we could just-

BELLA (interrupting): No, Jack. Calling them wouldn't work this time. They're in the 1940s. Cell phone towers doesn't exist in there. (suddenly smiling) But... (turns to Sophie) Sophie, come with me. Jack, you stay down here and watch the Knables.

We now see Bella in Darryl's room, tending to his old radio, while Sophie came in with Diane's stereo, and handed it to Bella, who began taking it apart.

SOPHIE: So what do we need this thing for?

BELLA: We need new parts for Darryl's machine. Probably short-circuited yesterday.

SOPHIE: How would you know how to work it?

BELLA: Darryl taught me one time.

Back in Los Angeles, we see a large building called "Club Herbell." Inside the building, there was a live band on the stage playing music, round tables with tableclothes were scattered around the place, and the club was populated by dozens of people, some of whom were dancing. Through the crowd were the two gangsters from earlier, with one hauling off Helen and the other hauling off Darryl and Diane, now respectively wearing a brown ascot cap and black mushroom hat with a dark pink hatband. Notably, Darryl was now wearing a black bow tie as opposed to the neck tie he wore earlier. They were taken to a nearby table with a large curved bench. Sitting in that bench was Barbara Herbell, now sporting a green strapless dress with a pearl necklace and an overcoat. The dress exposed a bit of her cleavage. Sitting next to her was her youngest son, Tommy, now wearing a white and blue sailor suit. The thugs shoved the three Knables into the bench.

BARBARA: Excellent work, boys.

Barbara noticed that one of the thugs was wearing Darryl's old necktie.

BARBARA: Any specific reason why you changed ties?

THUG #1: Well, boss, the dame would only come under two conditions: One, the kids got to go with her; And two, I had to give the boy my bow tie.

BARBARA: Very well. Be on your way.

The two thugs walked away from their boss. Barbara turned her attention to Helen.

BARBARA: Glad you could join me, Mrs. Knable.

HELEN: Didn't have much of a choice.

BARBARA: So, out of curiosity, why did you have one of my men give your son his bow tie?

HELEN: Because he looked at his outfit and was disappointed that he didn't get a bow tie. Don't ask me why, you wouldn't understand. Anyway, when I saw one of your men, I saw to it that the lack of bow tie would be taken care of.

BARBARA: Right.

DIANE (teasing Darryl): And I suppose he's gonna want a fez to go with it next.

HELEN (to Diane): Diane, stop it.

BARBARA: My daughter, Kelly, will be here shortly to drop off the drinks. And you'll be expecting plates of pasta from my oldest son, Junior, very shortly. (pointing at Tommy): This is my youngest son, Tommy. Would you mind introducing me to your kids?

HELEN: Right. (clears throat, points at Diane) That's Diane, my oldest child. (points at Darryl) And that's Darryl, my youngest.

BARBARA: How do ya both do?

HELEN: So, uh, Mrs. Herbell...

BARBARA: Please, call me Barbie.

HELEN: Barbie. Have you seen my husband by any chance?

BARBARA: Never seen him. Speaking of husbands, I lost my husband several hundred channels ago. He ended up being gunned down by some corrupt cops. I miss him, but I'm a grown woman. I don't need him anymore. Look at me, Mrs. Knable. In the real world, I was just a housewife, but here, I'm the Boss. Why would I ever wanna leave?

Just then, a tuxedo clad Robert, Jr. came over to the table with five plates on spaghetti on a platter. He put the plates down in front of the Knables, his mother and his little brother.

JUNIOR: Brought the goods, Mom.

BARBARA: Thank you, Junior.

Then Kelly came out wearing a waitress uniform carrying a wooden case filled with bottles of Coca-Cola, and placed them on the table.

KELLY: Here are the drinks, Mother.

BARBARA: Thank you, Kelly. (to Helen) I gave them jobs here. Their pay is much better than any allowance I ever gave them. (to her children) Why don't you kids stick around with us for a bit? To get to know our acquaintances, the Knables.

The children nodded and sat in the bench with their mother. Kelly sat right next to Darryl, who was in awe at her beauty, and suddenly grew nervous. Kelly took notice of Darryl.

KELLY: Oh, hello there. (extending her hand) I'm Kelly Herbell.

DARRYL (stammering, grabbing her hand): D-D-Darryl Knable.

As the two shook hands, Barbara turned to Helen and whispered.

BARBARA: Well, Mrs. Knable, I think your son has a crush on my daughter.

KELLY (to Darryl): Cool bow tie.

DARRYL (grinning sheepishly): T-thanks.

As the others began to chow down, Barbara pulled a remote out of her coat pocket and showed it to Helen.

BARBARA: Do you see this, Helen? I brought my remote in with me. If things get too crazy, all I have to do is press a button and bam, the kids and I are on another channel.

Suddenly, they heard a loud crash, which startled the Knables and the Herbells. Everyone else was taken aback by it so much that the music stopped and everyone stopped dancing to see where the noise was coming from. It was Bradley, who was now wearing a gray pullover hoodie over a white T-shirt and a bulletproof vest, all under a black WWII Kriegsmarine Captain leather jacket. He also wore jeans and his Converse sneakers, although the design had been changed to reflect the design of the era. He also retained his harness and his blades (one of which he held in his hand), and got new holsters for his guns. It should be noted that unlike the other Knables, whose hairstyles were changed to match the era they were in, Bradley's hairstyle was completely untouched.

A man came up to Bradley and pointed a finger at him.

MAN: You're not comin' in here!

Bradley, who by the way was not in a good mood, swung his machete blade at the man and sliced his carotid artery, causing him to bleed out profusely and fall over.

BRADLEY: Watch me!

The Knables and Herbells were watching Bradley make his way into the main area.

BARBARA: Who is that?

HELEN (sighs): My middle child, Bradley.

The spectators looked on in horror as Bradley came walking down into the main floor before walking up to a standing Barbara.

BARBARA: Ah, you must be Bradford Knable.

BRADLEY (pointing his blade at Barbara): Don't! Call me! Bradford! Now what the hell did you do to my family?!

HELEN (walking up to Bradley): Bradley! Put that away! We're fine.

Bradley reluctantly put away his machete back in his harness and took notice of Helen's appearance.

BRADLEY (whistling, sporting an amused smirk): Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes? Dressed all fancy and stuff. But where are the others?

DARRYL: Right here.

Darryl and Diane walked up to Bradley.

BRADLEY: Guess that answers that question. Now all that leaves is the old man.

ROY: Hey, I'm not that old, Bradley!

Bradley turned to see Roy coming in down from the hallway and into the main floor.

ROY: Helen! Darryl! Diane!

HELEN: Roy?

DARRYL, DIANE (in unision): Dad?

BRADLEY: Well, well, looks like the gang's all here. What are you supposed to be anyway?

Roy pulled out a business card out of his pocket and presented it to his family and Barbara.

ROY: Roy Knable, Private Dick.

The other Knables sported dumbfounded looks at what he just said. After an awkward pause, Bradley merely shrugged.

BRADLEY: Well, beats being a public dick.

???: Hey, Herbell!

Suddenly, the Knables and Herbells turned their attention to a man dressed in a black tuxedo, hat, and cape.

GANGSTER: I'm takin' over yer business!

The gangster pulled out two tommy guns, causing everyone to scream in terror.

BRADLEY: Shit!

The Knables, Herbells, and club members all ran for cover as the gangster opened fire. The Knables cowered in behind a fallen table, and all but one of the Herbells covered behind the bench. Meanwhile, a few people shot up and fired back.

BRADLEY: It's a goddamn war zone!

Darryl noticed the Herbells and Kelly was not among them.

DARRYL: Where's Kelly.

Kelly was struggling to catch up and was shot by the gangster in the foot, much to the horror of Darryl and her family.

BARBARA: Kelly!!!

Darryl's look of fear turned to one of anger. He spotted an empty Coke bottle and grabbed it. He turn began to crawl away.

HELEN: Darryl, what are you doing?! Get back here! You're gonna get killed!

But Darryl wasn't listening. He steathily crawled around the club avoiding gun fire, still holding the glass botttle. He crawled up the stairs that the gangster was standing on the top of. The gangster was unaware of Darryl crawling around him. Once he got behind the gangster, Darryl got up and delivered a swift kick to his netherregions, causing him to halt firing and bent over.

CLUB PATRON: Hold your fire!

The others stopped their firing as Darryl knocked the gangster's hat off and smashed the bottle against the back of his head in complete rage. This knocked down the gangster to the ground and what ensued next was a complete no holds barred beatdown at the hands of Darryl. The Knables and Herbells looked on in shock as they watched Darryl mindlessly beat up the gangster.

ROY: Oh my God.

DIANE: I've never seen him like this before.

BRADLEY: He's been pushed to his breaking point.

HELEN: We gotta stop this. Bradley, follow me.

Helen and Bradley sprinted to the attacking Darryl, who by this point was throttling the gangster. Helen tried to pull Darryl off the gangster.

HELEN: Darryl, Darryl, stop! Stop! You're killing him!

Despite Helen's efforts, she couldn't get Darryl off, who was still strangling the gangster.

HELEN: Bradley, help me!

Bradley wrapped one of his arms around Darryl's right arm, while Helen got his left.

BRADLEY: Stop it, man! You're gonna kill him! What would Kelly think if you killed him?

The mention of Kelly's name caused Darryl to come back to his senses, and he took his hands off the gangster's throat, allowing Helen and Bradley to pull him off of the gangster. Helen turned him to face her and took notice of his despondent face, as he realized what he had done: he had nearly taken a life and began to express guilt and remorse to point where he was beginning to cry. Helen held the poor kid against her shoulder, wrapping her arms around him.

HELEN (speaking softly): No, no. Don't cry, honey. It's okay.

Once the sobbing subsided, Helen guided Darryl to the other Knables and the Herbells, who was treating Kelly's busted foot.

KELLY: I'm all right, Darryl.

BRADLEY: I think we better get outta here before anything else happens.

BARBARA (handing Roy her remote): Roy, here's my remote. I don't wanna be here anymore! Not if it's gonna hurt my kids.

Roy took the remote and pressed a button, taking the Knables and the Herbells out of Los Angeles.