Tommy Berke is a friend of Dr. Magrew who makes and ships him specially commissioned puppets for his show. Magrew lies to his daughter Jane Magrew and forces her to drive many miles to pick up a mermaid puppet from Tommy that isn't there so he can experiment on Robert "Tank" Winsley. Jane talks to him on the phone but she realizes her father lied to her due to Tommy's confusion. Tommy talks with a heavy southern accent.