History Recap / CreepshowS1E5TheFinger

* AdultFear: The scene where Bob goes missing and Clark spends the whole day frantically searching for him, which the man himself lampshades:
-->'''Clark''': Ever had your child kidnapped? No? Ever look out into the yard to see that your favorite pet isn't there all of the sudden? This was a lot like that!

* AmbiguousSituation: Was Bob real? And did he really kill Clark's enemies? Or was he the result of Clark's deranged mind blacking out while Clark himself murdered his enemies? It's kept deliberately ambiguous, as it may seem like the latter in the final minutes of the episode, but the sound of Bob's chittering at the window raises further questions.

* BeatStillMyHeart: Bob murdered Samantha by tearing her heart out.
* BittersweetEnding: Clark's enemies are gone from his life, but Clark is accused of killing them all himself and sent to the loony bin. Of course, with Bob around, that isn't likely to be true for much longer.

* CallBack: Clark drinks Harrow's Light, a light version of Harrow's Supreme from [[Recap/CreepshowS1E6GrayMatter Gray Matter]]. Bob also watches the same soap opera that Richie watches in that episode. And of course, much like that episode, beer once again leads to the creation of a horrific monster.

-->'''Clark:''' The last thing I expected that night was to get the finger. For real. It was verification that the whole world was flipping me off.
* EvilDebtCollector: In Clark's mind, the woman who calls him and reminds him to pay up certainly is one. When we finally get a good look at her, she smugly plays that annoying recording telling him to pay up with a little smile on her face.
* ForeShadowing:

* GradualRegeneration: The finger that grows into Bob does so over the length of about 3 days.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Clark mentions that he's often struggling to make money in his "career" in web design. When his apparent boss Bluserno calls him for a job that involves making blogs for some "digitally-challenged" clients, he angrily refuses to degrade himself by doing "donkey work", even if it pays.

* LoserProtagonist: Divorced? No family? Low on cash? Dead-end job that barely pays? Living in borderline squalor in a trash-filled house? Treated by nearly every person he comes across as a piece of dogshit on their shoe? Yeah, Clark checks off all those boxes. It would be easy for people to feel sorry for him, if he wasn't a spoiled, AxCrazy brat.

* {{Manchild}}: Clark is implied to be one, always looking for an easy way out of work, even when he's borderline destitute, and always looking for someone to blame his problems on instead of taking initiative to fix them.
* MonsterRoommate: Bob acts more like a roomie to Clark than a pet, such as screeching at him to move out of the way of the [=TVs=].

* SelfServingMemory: Very likely implied with Clark, who blames the world for his suffering when he's really just a lazy, spoiled brat.

** The debt collector has a [[Film/OfficeSpace red stapler]] on her desk.

* WorldOfJerkass: Every person who isn't Clark or the detectives is an utter asshole. The trucker who runs Clark over and flips him off when he calls him out, the debt collector who plays that irritating automated message to her clients with a smile on her face, Clark's ex-wife, who up and divorced him for not wanting to fulfill her petty demands, and her criminal/druggie children, who stole his car and offered to give him a blowjob in exchange for his silence, respectively.

----

* AmbiguousSituation: Was Bob real? And did he kill Clark's enemies? Or was he the result of Clark's deranged mind blacking out while Clark himself murdered his enemies? It's kept deliberately ambiguous, as it may seem like the latter in the final minutes of the episode, but the sound of Bob's chittering at the window raises further questions.

* BittersweetEnding: Clark's enemies are gone from his life, but Clark is accused of killing them all himself and sent to the loony bin. Of course, with Bob around, that isn't likely to be true for much longer.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Clark mentions that he's often struggling to make money in his "career" in web design. When his apparent boss calls him for a job that involves making blogs for some "digitally-challenged" clients, he angrily refuses to degrade himself by doing "donkey work", regardless if it pays.

--> '''Clark''': Don't you wish you can make them suffer? Suffer the way they made ''you'' suffer?

* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: The entire episode is hinted to be this, especially after TheReveal shows that Clark has been narrating to us while locked in a padded cell.

* TrashOfTheTitans: Clark's house is littered with junk; old take-out containers, empty bottles, dusty toys, crusty laundry, and unopened mail, among other things. It also helps because of his fascination with collecting trash he finds on the ground during his walks.

Clark Wilson (Creator/DJQualls) is a man who hasn't been treated well by life. He's divorced, low on cash, stuck in a dead-end job in web design, and has quite the nihilistic outlook on life. He also has a passion for objects that have been lost, abandoned, or thrown away, much like he believes he has been. During one of his nightly walks, Clark finds something particularly odd: a severed, clawed finger on the side of the road. He takes the finger home, intending to look up what kind of animal it might belong to. He accidentally spills beer on the finger, and watches as the finger manages to somehow absorb the spilled liquid. He puts the finger in a butter dish and keeps it in the fridge so he can keep an eye on it.

Clark Wilson (Creator/DJQualls) is a man who is down on his luck. He's divorced, low on cash, stuck in a dead-end job in web design, and has quite a bitter outlook on life. He also has a passion for objects that have been lost or thrown away, much like he believes he has been. During one of his nightly walks, Clark finds something particularly odd: a severed, clawed finger on the side of the road. He takes the finger home, intending to look up what kind of animal it might belong to. He accidentally spills beer on the finger, and watches as the finger manages to somehow absorb the spilled liquid. He puts the finger in the fridge so he can keep an eye on it.

Over time, the finger begins to grow. It grows into a hand, then into an arm, then into an entire creature. Shortly after discovering the creature for the first time, a pair of detectives come to Clark's door. They mention that Clark's ex-wife, Samantha, had been brutally murdered earlier that day. Having seen a human heart on his workbench earlier, Clark realizes that the creature is what killed his ex-wife. After attracting Clark's attention but leaving him unharmed, Clark decides to name the creature "Bob" and keep it as a sort of pet.

As time passes, Bob becomes rather friendly towards Clark. It soon becomes apparent, however, that Bob might be ''too'' friendly towards his new master, as Clark discovers that Bob has been viciously murdering anyone who has wronged him, whether through mild annoyance or whether they have intentionally screwed him over, and bringing back various parts of their bodies as morbid presents. Bob ends up bringing Clark the testicles of a truck driver who nearly ran him over, the tongue of a debt collector who has continuously been harassing him, and the severed heads of his ungrateful step-children, Shannon and Ricky. All the while, Clark is forced to shove the parts down the garbage disposal, since he figures that if he gets rid of them in any other matter, Bob will just go right back out and "fetch" them.

Eventually, Clark is caught in the act and sent to a mental institution. Succumbing to insanity, Clark believes that Bob ''will'' come for him. Hearing Bob chittering outside the window of his cell, that may just be a possibility.

* AmbiguousSituation: Was Bob real? And did he kill Clark's enemies? Or was he the result of Clark's deranged mind blacking out while Clark himself murdered his enemies? It's kept deliberately ambiguous, since it may seem like the latter in the final minutes of the episode, but the sound of Bob's chittering at the window suggests otherwise.
* AssholeVictim: Nearly all of Clark's enemies are these, so it's fitting that Bob butchers them. There's the trucker who flips him the bird after nearly running him over, the debt collector who hounds him with her calls, and his ex-wife and step children, whose actions are mentioned below.

* ForeShadowing: At the beginning of the segment, Clark tells the audience that he knows full well that they're not going to believe his story. He's proven somewhat correct when it's revealed at the end that he's locked in a mental institution.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Clark mentions that he's struggling to make money in his "career" in web design. When his apparent boss calls him for a job that involves making blogs for some "digitally-challenged" clients, he angrily refuses to degrade himself by doing "donkey work", regardless if it pays.

* MythologyGag: ''[=DJSturbia=]'', the collection of short stories in which "The Finger" was first published, is seen next to Clark's monitor.
* NotHelpingYourCase: After going ape-shit on his phone when the debt collector calls him, Clark apologizes to the audience for acting so aggressive. He attempts to gain sympathy by arguing that "those anonymous people- who aren't even really ''people''" would drive just about anyone crazy. Of course, it what he says immediately afterwards that takes some of the sympathy away.

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: If what Clark says is true, his step-children are shown to have grown into some rather... questionable people. Specifically, his step-son Ricky became an aspiring criminal who stole and attempted to sell his car, and his step-daughter Shannon was a skanky meth-head who offered him oral sex to keep him quiet about her addiction, as well as the fact that her latest fiancée was in prison for murder.
* UnreliableNarrator: Clark, who tells the story entirely through his point of view. It's largely implied that everything he describes may not be as it seems, as the falling out he's had with his family and his experiences with all kinds of mooches and annoying people have taken a clear toll on his memories and his mental state.

* NotHelpingYourCase: After going ape-shit on his phone when the debt collector calls him, Clark apologizes to the audience for acting so aggressive. He attempts to gain sympathy by arguing that "those anonymous people- who aren't even really ''people''" would drive anyone else crazy as well. Of course, it what he says immediately afterwards that takes some of the sympathy away.

* AssholeVictim: Nearly all of Clark's enemies are these, so it's deserving that Bob butchers them. There's the trucker who flips him the bird after nearly running him over, the debt collector who hounds him with her calls, and his ex-wife and step children, whose actions are mentioned below.

* LazyBastard: As seen in a flashback, Clark would usually laze about on the couch instead of doing chores for his wife, implying that this is the reason she left him.

Clark Wilson (Creator/DJQualls) is a man who is down on his luck. He's divorced, low on cash, stuck in a dead-end job in web design, and has quite a bitter outlook on life. He also has a passion for objects that have been lost or thrown away, much like he believes he has been. During one of his nightly walks, Clark finds something particularly odd: a severed, clawed finger on the side of the road. He takes the finger home, intending to look up what kind of animal it might belong to. He accidentally spills beer on the finger, and watches as the finger absorbs the spilled beer. He puts the finger in the fridge so he can keep an eye on it. Over time, the finger begins to grow. It grows into a hand, then into an arm, then into an entire creature. Shortly after discovering the creature for the first time, a pair of detectives come to Clark's door. They mention that Clark's ex-wife, Samantha, had been brutally murdered earlier that day. Having seen a human heart on his workbench earlier, Clark realizes that the creature is what killed his ex-wife. After attracting Clark's attention but leaving him unharmed, Clark decides to name the creature "Bob" and keep it as a sort of pet. Bob becomes rather friendly towards Clark. It soon becomes apparent, however, that Bob might be ''too'' friendly towards his new master, as Clark discovers that Bob has been viciously murdering anyone who has wronged him, whether through mild annoyance or whether they have intentionally screwed him over, and bringing back various parts of their bodies as morbid presents. Bob ends up bringing Clark the testicles of a truck driver who nearly ran him over, the tongue of a debt collector who has continuously been calling him, and the severed heads of his ungrateful step-children, Shannon and Ricky. All the while, Clark is forced to shove the parts down the garbage disposal, since he figures that if he gets rid of them in any other matter, Bob will just go right back out and "fetch" them. Eventually, Clark is caught in the act and sent to a mental institution. Succumbing to insanity, Clark believes that Bob ''will'' come for him. Hearing Bob chittering outside the window of his cell, that may just be a possibility.

* AmbiguousSituation: Was Bob real? And did he kill Clark's enemies? Or was he the result of Clark's deranged mind blacking out while Clark himself murdered his enemies? It's kept deliberately ambiguous, since it may seem like the latter in the final minutes of the episode, but the sound of Bob's at the window chittering suggests otherwise.

* CallBack: Clark drinks Harrow's Light, a light version of Harrow's Supreme beer from [[Recap/CreepshowS1E6GrayMatter Gray Matter]]. Bob also watches the same soap opera that Richie watches in that episode. And of course, much like that episode, beer once again leads to the creation of a horrific monster.

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: If what Clark says is true, his step-children are shown to have grown into some rather... questionable people. Specifically, his step-son Ricky became an aspiring criminal who stole and attempted to sell his car, and his step-daughter Shannon was a skanky meth-head who offered him oral sex to keep him quiet about her addiction, as well as the fact that her latest fiancee was in prison for murder.

Clark Wilson (Creator/DJQualls) is a man who is down on his luck. He's divorced, low on cash, stuck in a dead-end job in web design, and has quite a bitter outlook on life. He also has a passion for objects that have been lost or thrown away, much like he believes he has been. During one of his nightly walks, Clark finds something particularly odd: a severed, clawed finger on the side of the road. He takes the finger home, intending to look up what kind of animal it might belong to. He accidentally spills beer on the finger, and watches as the finger absorbs the spilled beer. He puts the finger in the fridge so he can keep an eye on it. Over time, the finger begins to grow. It grows into a hand, then into an arm, then into an entire creature. Shortly after discovering the creature for the first time, a pair of detectives come to Clark's door. They mention that Clark's ex-wife, Samantha, had been brutally murdered earlier that day. Having seen a human heart on his workbench earlier, Clark realizes that the creature is what killed his ex-wife. After attracting Clark's attention and leaving him unharmed, Clark decides to name the creature "Bob" and keep it as a sort of pet. Bob becomes rather friendly towards Clark. It soon becomes apparent, however, that Bob might be ''too'' friendly towards his new master, as Clark discovers that Bob has been viciously murdering anyone who has wronged him, whether through mild annoyance or whether they have intentionally screwed him over, and bringing back various parts of their bodies as morbid presents. Bob ends up bringing Clark the testicles of a truck driver who nearly ran him over, the tongue of a debt collector who has continuously been calling him, and the severed heads of his ungrateful step-children, Shannon and Ricky. All the while, Clark is forced to shove the parts down the garbage disposal, since he figures that if he gets rid of them in any other matter, Bob will just go right back out and "fetch" them. Eventually, Clark is caught in the act and sent to a mental institution. Succumbing to insanity, Clark believes that Bob ''will'' come for him. Hearing Bob chittering outside the window of his cell, that may just be a possibility.

* BittersweetEnding: Clark's enemies are gone from his life, but Clark is accused of killing them all himself and sent to a mental institution. Of course, with Bob around, that isn't likely to be true for much longer.
* CallBack: Clark drinks Harrow's Light, a light version of Harrow's Supreme beer from [[Recap/CreepshowS1E6GrayMatter Gray Matter]]. Bob also watches the same soap opera that Richie watches in that episode.

** The comic page that Clark wraps the finger in is a scene from future episode [[Recap/CreepshowS1E10NightOfThePaw Night Of The Paw]]. The monkey's paw itself is hidden among the pictures of animal paws Clark looks up to identify the finger.
* MythologyGag: ''DJSturbia'', the collection of short stories in which "The Finger" was first published, is seen next to Clark's monitor.

* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: If what Clark says is true, his step-children are shown to have grown into some rather... questionable people. Specifically, his step-son Ricky was an aspiring criminal stole and attempted to sell Clark's car, and his step-daughter Shannon was a promiscuous meth-head who offered him oral sex to keep him quiet about her addiction, as well as the fact that her latest lover was in prison for murder.

* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: The entire episode is hinted to be this, especially after TheReveal shows that Clark has been narrating to us after being locked in a padded cell.
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: If what Clark says is true, his step-children are shown to have grown into some rather... questionable people. Specifically, his step-son Ricky was an aspiring criminal stole and attempted to sell Clark's car, and his step-daughter Shannon was a meth-head who offered him oral sex to keep him quiet about her addiction, as well as the fact that her latest lover was in prison for murder.

Based on a short story of the same name written by Creator/DavidJSchow.

----

Clark Wilson (Creator/DJQualls) is a man who is down on his luck. He's divorced, low on cash, is stuck in a dead-end job in web design, and has quite a bitter outlook on life. He also has a passion for objects that have been lost or thrown away, much like he believes he has been. During one of his nightly walks, Clark finds something particularly odd: a severed, clawed finger on the side of the road. He takes the finger home, intending to look up what kind of animal it might belong to. He accidentally spills beer on the finger, and watches as the finger absorbs the spilled beer. He puts the finger in the fridge so he can keep an eye on it. Over time, the finger begins to grow. It grows into a hand, then into an arm, then into an entire creature. Shortly after discovering the creature for the first time, a pair of detectives come to Clark's door. They mention that Clark's ex-wife, Samantha, had been brutally murdered earlier that day. Having seen a human heart on his workbench earlier, Clark realizes that the creature is what killed his ex-wife. After attracting Clark's attention and leaving him unharmed, Clark decides to name the creature "Bob" and keep it as a sort of pet. Bob becomes rather friendly towards Clark. It soon becomes apparent, however, that Bob might be ''too'' friendly towards his new master, as Clark discovers that Bob has been viciously murdering anyone who has wronged him, whether through mild annoyance or whether they have intentionally screwed him over, and bringing back various parts of their bodies as morbid presents. Bob ends up bringing Clark the testicles of a truck driver who nearly ran him over, the tongue of a debt collector who has continuously been calling him, and the severed heads of his ungrateful step-children, Shannon and Ricky. All the while, Clark is forced to shove the parts down the garbage disposal, since he figures that if he gets rid of them in any other matter, Bob will just go right back out and "fetch" them. Eventually, Clark is caught in the act and sent to a mental institution. Succumbing to insanity, Clark believes that Bob ''will'' come for him. Hearing Bob chittering outside the window of his cell, that may just be a possibility.

* UnreliableNarrator: Clark, who tells the story entirely through his point of view. It's largely implied that everything he describes may not be as it seems, as the falling out he's had with his family and his experiences with all kinds of mooches and annoying people have taken a clear toll on his memories and his mental state.

* AmbiguousSituation: Was Bob real, and did he kill Clark's enemies? Or was he the result of Clark's deranged mind blacking out while Clark himself murdered his enemies? It's kept deliberately ambiguous, since it may seem like the latter in the final minutes of the episode, but the sound of Bob's at the window chittering suggests otherwise.

* UnreliableNarrator: Clark, who tells the story entirely through his point of view. It's implied that everything he describes may not be as it seems, as the falling out he's had with his family and his experiences with all kinds of mooches and annoying people have taken a toll on memories and his mental state.

* AmbiguousSituation: Did Bob really exist and kill Clark's enemies? Or was he a result of Clark's fragile mind blacking out while Clark himself murdered his enemies? It may seem like the latter in the final minutes of the episode, but the sound of his chittering suggests otherwise.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Clark does this throughout the whole story, including in the middle of whatever event he's describing.

* CallForward: The comic page that Clark wraps the finger in is a scene from future episode [[Recap/CreepshowS1E10NightOfThePaw Night Of The Paw]]. The monkey's paw itself is hidden among the pictures of animal paws Clark looks up to identify the finger.

* MythologyGag: ''DJSturbia'', a collection of short stories by the story's creator, David J. Schow, is seen next to Clark's monitor.

Clark Wilson (Creator/DJQualls) is a man who is down on his luck. He's divorced, low on cash, is stuck in a dead-end job in web design, and has quite a bitter outlook on life. He also has a passion for objects that have been lost or thrown away, much like he believes he has been. During one of his nightly walks, Clark finds something particularly odd: a severed, clawed finger on the side of the road. He takes the finger home, intending to look up what kind of animal it might belong to. He accidentally spills beer on the finger, and watches as the finger absorbs the spilled beer. He puts the finger in the fridge so he can keep an eye on it. Over time, the finger begins to grow. It grows into a hand, then into an arm, then into a entire creature. Shortly after discovering the creature for the first time, a pair of detectives come to Clark's door. They mention that Clark's ex-wife, Samantha, had been brutally murdered earlier that day. Having seen a human heart on his workbench earlier, Clark realizes that the creature is what killed his ex-wife. After attracting Clark's attention and leaving him unharmed, Clark decides to name the creature "Bob" and keep it as a sort of pet. Bob becomes rather friendly towards Clark. It soon becomes apparent, however, that Bob might be ''too'' friendly towards his new master, as Clark discovers that Bob has been viciously murdering anyone who has wronged him, whether through mild annoyance or whether they have intentionally screwed him over, and bringing back various parts of their bodies as morbid presents. Bob ends up bringing Clark the testicles of a truck driver who nearly ran him over, the tongue of a debt collector who has continuously been calling him, and the severed heads of his ungrateful step-children, Shannon and Ricky. All the while, Clark is forced to shove the parts down the garbage disposal, since he figures that if he gets rid of them in any other matter, Bob will just go right back out and "fetch" them. Eventually, Clark is caught in the act and sent to a mental institution. Succumbing to insanity, Clark believes that Bob ''will'' come for him. Hearing Bob chittering outside the window of his cell, that may just be a possibility.

Clark Wilson (Creator/DJQualls) is a man who is down on his luck. He's divorced, low on cash, is stuck in a dead-end job in web design, and has quite a bitter outlook on life. He also has a passion for objects that have been lost or thrown away, much like he believes he has been. During one of his nightly walks, Clark finds something particularly odd: a severed, clawed finger on the side of the road. He takes the finger home, intending to look up what kind of animal it might belong to. He accidentally spills beer on the finger, and watches as the finger absorbs the spilled beer. He puts the finger in the fridge so he can keep an eye on it. Over time, the finger grows begins to grow. It grows into a hand, then into an arm, then into a entire creature. Shortly after discovering the creature for the first time, a pair of detectives come to Clark's door. They mention that Clark's ex-wife, Samantha, had been brutally murdered earlier that day. Having seen a human heart on his workbench earlier, Clark realizes that the creature is what killed his ex-wife. After attracting Clark's attention and leaving him unharmed, Clark decides to name the creature "Bob" and keep it as a sort of pet. Bob becomes rather friendly towards Clark. It soon becomes apparent, however, that Bob might be ''too'' friendly towards his new master, as Clark discovers that Bob has been viciously murdering anyone who has wronged him, whether through mild annoyance or whether they have intentionally screwed him over, and bringing back various parts of their bodies as morbid presents. Bob ends up bringing Clark the testicles of a truck driver who nearly ran him over, the tongue of a debt collector who has continuously been calling him, and the severed heads of his ungrateful step-children, Shannon and Ricky. All the while, Clark is forced to shove the parts down the garbage disposal, since he figures that if he gets rid of them in any other matter, Bob will just go right back out and "fetch" them. Eventually, Clark is caught in the act and sent to a mental institution. Succumbing to insanity, Clark believes that Bob ''will'' come for him. Hearing Bob chittering outside the window of his cell, that may just be a possibility.

* ShoutOut: A container of [[Film/TheStuff The Stuff]] is seen inside Clark's freezer.

Clark Wilson (Creator/DJQualls) is a man who is down on his luck. He's divorced, unemployed, low on cash, and has quite a bitter outlook on life. He also has a passion for objects that have been lost or thrown away. During one of his nightly walks, Clark finds something particularly odd: a shriveled finger. He takes the finger home, and looks up what kind of animal it might belong to. He accidentally spills beer on the finger, and watches as it absorbs it. He puts the finger in the fridge so he can keep an eye on it. Over time, the finger grows begins to grow. It grows into a hand, then into an arm, then into a entire creature. After discovering the fully developed creature for the first time, Clark names decides to name it Bob and keep it as a sort of pet. After a while, Bob becomes rather friendly towards Clark. But it soon becomes apparent that Bob might be ''too'' friendly towards his new master, as Clark discovers that Bob has started viciously murdering anyone who has wronged him, whether through mild annoyance or intentionally screwing him over, and bringing back various parts of their bodies as morbid presents.

Clark Wilson (Creator/DJQualls) is a man who is down on his luck. He's divorced, unemployed, low on cash, and has quite a bitter outlook on life. He also has a passion for objects that have been lost or thrown away. During one of his nightly walks, Clark finds something particularly odd: a shriveled finger. He takes the finger home, and looks up what kind of animal it might belong to. He accidentally spills beer on the finger, and watches as it absorbs it. He puts the finger in the fridge so he can keep an eye on it. Over time, the finger grows begins to grow. It grows into a hand, then into an arm, then into a entire creature. After discovering the fully developed creature for the first time, Clark names decides to name it Bob and keep it as a sort of pet. After a while, Bob becomes rather friendly towards Clark. But it soon becomes apparent that Bob might be ''too'' friendly towards his new master, as Clark discovers that Bob has started viciously murdering anyone who has wronged him, whether they have mildly annoyed him, or intentionally screwed him over, and bringing back various parts of their bodies as morbid presents.

A man (Creator/DJQualls) with a passion for found objects finds something particularly odd: a finger....and it's growing.

A man (Creator/DJQualis) with a passion for found objects finds something particularly odd: a finger....and it's growing.

A man with a passion for found objects finds something particularly odd: a finger....and it's growing.

A collector of "found objects" gets more than he bargained for when he picks a strange-looking finger up off the street and brings it home....