| “ | The future is now! Soon every American home will integrate their television, phone and computer. You'll be able to visit the Louvre on one channel, or watch female wrestling on another. You can do your shopping at home, or play Mortal Kombat with a friend in Vietnam. There's no end to the possibilities! | „ |
| ~ Chip Douglas |
Ernie 'Chip' Douglas a.k.a. The Cable Guy is the titular main antagonist of the 1996 dark comedy film, The Cable Guy.
He was portrayed by actor/comedian Jim Carrey, who also played The Mask, The Riddler, The Grinch and Count Olaf.
Biography
The Cable Guy was raised in a neglectful home by his mother who worked nights and told him to stay near 'Mr. Babysitter' which was what she called the TV. He never met his father. Later in his life he became a cable installer for an unknown cable company under various aliases from tv sitcoms, his most used one was Ernie 'Chip' Douglas which were the children's names from My Three Sons, other names included Larry Tate (bewitched), The Big Ragoo (lavern and Shirley) and Murray Slaughter (the Mary Tyler Moore show). The company fired him for stalking customers, but he remained undeterred and still used his profession and his knowledge as a cable guy to make 'friends'.
Meeting Steven
The friendship between Steven Kovacs (The movie's protagonist) and Chip began when he first installs his cable. He started off as a seemingly nice and enthusiastic guy who just wanted to make friends by taking Steven to the large Satellite dish where the company sends shows to peoples' televisions and accepting a bribe to install all the movie channels. He then takes extreme measures, to ensure their friendship like getting in a realistic medieval duel, giving Steven a illegal/stolen home entertainment system, beating Robin's blonde boyfriend within an inch of his life, and putting Steven in jail.
Chip despite being told by Steven that he doesn't want to be his friend crosses the line by kidnapping Steven's girlfriend Robin. When the film reaches it's climax he admits that he didn't really have a plan as such and he was just going from moment to moment. He apologises to Steven, he claims that he only wanted to be his friend but he screwed it up and that he never intended to go to such great lengths. When the police arrive Chip gets entranced by the police helicopter search light, he makes a speech about how his mother was never there for him and how he was practically raised by the TV, he even goes as far as to claim that he learned the facts of life from watching the facts of life. Chip throws himself off the platform that he, Steven and Robin are on by reasoning with Steven despite Steven's promises that he would be his pal if he climbed back up that somebody has to kill the babysitter (a reference to what his mum called the tv when she worked nights) and destroys the dish reciever, this gives everyone a blackout screen and freedom from the TV. He makes up with Steve and Robin, before the paramedics take him away just before he is flown away Steven asks what his real name was, to which he jokingly replied "Ricardo, Ricky Ricardo" (I Love Lucy reference). A paramedic tells him he'll be alright as they fly to the hospital and he addresses him as his 'buddy'. Chip asks him if he's really his buddy. He says yeah. Chip gives him a happy, but dark smile. Implying that the paramedic is gonna be the next victim..
It is never revealed what his true name was as he used various aliases from TV sitcoms so he was credited as Cable Guy.