Directed by Roland Mesa (the man who made Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation) and written by Rob Ross, this is all about Nelson DeMears (Tate Donovan), a computer programmer whose ideas are taken by Jack (John Caponera), a supposed pal who uses them to get ahead. But Nelson doesn’t need a horrible friend like Jack when he has had an imaginary one for years, Eddie (Peter Dobson). Eddie always wants him to stand up for himself, but when he learns that Nelson has fallen for a therapist named Jane (Michelle Burke), he worries that he’s about to be erased from his friend’s life.

“Oh, hello boils and ghouls. It’s me, your favorite creep from the deep, Shock Cousteau. You’re just in time. I’m about to dive into tonight’s tale. Care to join me? (in his normal voice) Good, then strap on a couple of scare tanks and prepare yourselves for a cold, wet hack-sploration of my favorite kind of marine life: croakers. (chuckles; he fires the harpoon, which hits someone offscreen and makes them scream in agony) Oops. It concerns a couple of boo-som buddies who’re about to put their relationship to rest. I call it: “Operation Friendship.””

By the end, Eddie shows that sometimes, what’s best for Nelson is for him to take over and do things his way. If he has to throw his best friend out a window to do that, why not?

This is based on “Operation Friendship” from Tales from the Crypt #41. That story was written by Otto Binder and drawn by Jack Davis. It’s very different from what ended up on the show, as it’s about a scientist who cuts out most of his friend’s brain to keep it in a vat and hang out with him while the 25% is thrown into his body. His wife never notices.