Stay Tuned
1992 · 87 min · Director: Peter Hyams
Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)
The Knables are having marriage problems: Roy is a lousy plumbing supplies salesman by day and couch potato by night, and his wife, Helen, is a successful senior product manager for a vitamin company. Roy watches too much TV every night and Helen just cannot stand it. Then one night, Helen offers Roy a night to save their relationship: a romantic getaway without phones, their children, and especially no TV. Unfortunately, when Roy's hooked on the big screen, there's no going back. This frustrates and angers her and Helen decides to smash the family console with one of Roy's trophies as a wake-up call to reality. A heartbroken-to-disoriented Roy then hears the doorbell and finds out that it's a mysterious salesman named Spike who offers him the "ultimate getaway" from all the hate, frustration, and failures: a new remote controller and a new state-of-the-art satellite TV. Roy accepts the new TV by signing a free trial contract not knowing that he just sold his soul to the devil himself. But later, Helen is both not impressed and steamed. After a fight outside, the "dish" activates. Roy and Helen try as hard as possible to escape, but it was too late for the force of gravity from the dish sucks them into the "Cable Television World of Hell" - all six hundred and sixty-six channels worth. Now they must survive through every episode of shows such as the game show "You Can't Win", the U.W.W.F. (Underworld Wrestling Federation) match, "Northern Overexposure", "Driving Over Miss Daisy" and a cartoon sequence called "RoboCat", "Autopsies of the Rich and Famous", "Duane's Underworld", "HTV", and "Off With His Head", all within 24 hours. If successful, they will return back to home, but if they fail, the devil keeps their souls forever. After they survived one day without harm, Roy gets sent back home while Spike hold Helen hostage. Now with the help of their children, Daryl, a communication whiz, and Diane, a fashion freak, Roy must re-enter the underworld of Hell Vision TV and save his wife, while keeping a distance from Spike. It is then that Roy will learn the hard way that there's more things in life than only a television. Like commitment. (Formerly written by Christopher Howell)
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Emotional fingerprint
Stay Tuned (1992) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Humor 35%, Excitement 25%, Anxiety 18%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure
- Humor35%
- Excitement25%
- Anxiety18%
- Love12%
- Relief10%
AI estimate · no viewer votes yet
How we measure
AI estimate
Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.
Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.
Why it feels this way
The strongest emotional signals are Humor, Excitement, Anxiety. Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure. AI estimate.
Is it worth watching?
Consider this title if you are looking for Humor, Excitement and Anxiety. Its IMDb rating of 6.3/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 66/100.
How did it make you feel?
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Pick up to three · 0/3
Emotional journey
- Humor
- Tension
- Relief
Not enough subtitle evidence
No dominant emotion
Dominant emotion: Humor
Dominant emotion: Tension
Dominant emotion: Relief
Dominant emotion
| % | Approximate minute | Dominant emotion | Overall intensity | Humor | Tension | Relief |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 % | ≈ 2′ | Humor | 42 % | 38 % | 18 % | 0 % |
| 7.5 % | ≈ 7′ | Humor | 46 % | 41 % | 23 % | 0 % |
| 12.5 % | ≈ 11′ | Humor | 54 % | 40 % | 36 % | 0 % |
| 17.5 % | ≈ 15′ | Tension | 60 % | 43 % | 46 % | 0 % |
| 22.5 % | ≈ 20′ | Humor | 64 % | 52 % | 50 % | 0 % |
| 27.5 % | ≈ 24′ | Humor | 65 % | 58 % | 55 % | 9 % |
| 32.5 % | ≈ 28′ | Humor | 63 % | 55 % | 55 % | 20 % |
| 37.5 % | ≈ 33′ | Humor | 59 % | 50 % | 53 % | 15 % |
| 42.5 % | ≈ 37′ | Humor | 60 % | 51 % | 55 % | 6 % |
| 47.5 % | ≈ 41′ | Humor | 64 % | 59 % | 56 % | 10 % |
| 52.5 % | ≈ 46′ | Humor | 64 % | 63 % | 53 % | 14 % |
| 57.5 % | ≈ 50′ | Humor | 61 % | 56 % | 51 % | 8 % |
| 62.5 % | ≈ 54′ | Tension | 61 % | 51 % | 51 % | 4 % |
| 67.5 % | ≈ 59′ | Humor | 66 % | 55 % | 55 % | 9 % |
| 72.5 % | ≈ 63′ | Tension | 71 % | 54 % | 63 % | 26 % |
| 77.5 % | ≈ 67′ | Relief | 74 % | 51 % | 65 % | 35 % |
| 82.5 % | ≈ 72′ | Tension | 77 % | 53 % | 70 % | 18 % |
| 87.5 % | ≈ 76′ | Tension | 80 % | 50 % | 64 % | 25 % |
| 92.5 % | ≈ 80′ | Relief | 80 % | 47 % | 45 % | 57 % |
| 97.5 % | ≈ 85′ | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence |
Rags to riches
Rags to riches: The emotional tone rises from negative to positive.
Riches to rags: The emotional tone falls from positive to negative.
Man in a hole: The tone falls, then recovers.
Icarus: The tone rises, then falls.
Cinderella: The tone rises, falls, then rises again.
Oedipus: The tone falls, rises, then falls again.
AI reading of the film’s English subtitles (dialogue and sound cues) — not viewer votes. How we measure ↗
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Premise onlyAfterward Reveal viewer responses · may contain spoilers
Viewer responses about feelings after the title ended, separate from feelings while watching. No AI estimates.
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Feeling details appear after at least 3 viewers respond, to protect privacy.
Cast
Darryl Knable
Mrs. Seidenbaum
Another Buyer
Skeletal Worker
Newscaster
Game Show Announcer
Ring Announcer
Mr. Gorgon
Mrs. Gorgon
Details
- Directed by
- Peter Hyams
- Written by
- Tom S. Parker, Jim Jennewein, Richard Siegel
- Type
- Movies
- Released
- 1992
- Runtime
- 87 min
- Country
- United States
- Ratings
- Feels mostly
- Humor
- Data updated
Where to watch
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Feels similar
More like this →Emotion overlap shows mood similarity, not a prediction of enjoyment.





