Season 3, while a distant second to Season 1 in quality, is the most consistent season of AYAOTD. The beginning of the season introduces Tucker as a new member of the Midnight Society after the departure of David. Tucker would be the only member to return in Seasons 6 and 7, and is surprisingly one of the best story tellers of the group. Season 3 also contains many of the series' more notable guest stars.
27. "The Midnight Ride" *** - A teen moves to the famous town of Sleepy Hollow and as part of a dare, and to impress a girl, he heads into the woods on Halloween to retrieve the pumpkin head of the Headless Horseman and encounters the ghost of Ichabod Crane and the Horseman himself.
28. "Apartment 214" ** - A girl and her mother move into an apartment next door to a lonely old woman. Once the girl begins making friends her own age, she breaks a promise that she made to the old woman and holy shit, watch the fuck out ...
29. "Watcher's Woods" *** - Two girls who disdain each other are paired up as hiking partners at summer camp, get lost in the woods and encounter three witches.
30. "The Phone Police" ***** - Two friends with no lives spend all their time making prank calls, and one of their sisters invents a story about the Phone Police who find prank callers and make them disappear forever. In disbelief, the boys continue in their sin only to find out the Phone Police do exist. This episode may get lost in translation with today's generation of kids, as making anonymous phone calls is nigh impossible these days. Legend has it that Weird Al Yankovic's "Phony Calls," a parody of TLC's "Waterfalls," was inspired by this episode.
31. "The Dollmaker" *** - A girl discovers that her friend who disappeared may be trapped inside of a dollhouse.
32. "The Bookish Babysitter" **** - Ricky is a couch potato whose single mother must go out for the evening, probably to turn tricks on the avenue, and leaves him with an eccentric (and strangely attractive) babysitter who insists that she can get Ricky to read a book. Ricky's ADD handicap prevents him from finishing any of the books he begins, but little does he know that by leaving the stories unfinished he's opened up the worlds of the books and a witch, ghost and armored knight puruse and try to kill him.
33. "The Carved Stone" *** - A girl desperate for friends purchases a stone from Sardo's magic shop and travels back in time.
34. "The Guardian's Curse" *** - A sister and brother (played by Danny Cooksey from "Salute Your Shorts" ) are the children of a single father trying to balance work and raising a family. When their father, an historian at a museum, finally finds time to take them skiing, the sarcophagus of a legendary Egyptian queen is brought into the museum, further postponing their vacation and putting them in the way of an ancient curse ...
35. "The Curious Camera" **** - Eddie Kaye Thomas (who would later become most famous for fucking Stiffler's mom) stars as a geeky high schooler who is given a cursed camera by a jaded photographer. The curious thing about this camera is that doom comes to anyone it takes a picture of.
36. "The Dream Girl" **** - A young man who works at a bowling alley with his sister discovers a school ring and begins having dreams about a beautiful girl only to find out the girl of his dreams is actually a ghost. While the twist in this one becomes pretty obvious about halfway through, the acting, especially at the end, is phenomenal. How this episode didn't get an Emmy is beyond me. Not gonna lie, this one actually made me cry.
37. "The Quicksilver" **** - Two brothers move into a house haunted by two ghosts; one a restless evil spirit; the other that of a girl who died trying to get rid of the evil spirit. Tatyana Ali (Ashley Banks from "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air") plays both the benevolent ghost and her living sister.
38. "The Crimson Clown" **** - An older brother threatens his manipulative younger brother with a story about a clown that reaps karma on those who do wrong. While only a story to the older brother, the younger brother encounters a nightmarish experience. Like "Tale of Laughing in the Dark," this one is not for coulrophobics.
39. "The Dangerous Soup" **** - A hardened teen and a restaurant hostess (played by Neve Campbell) discover the sinister secret of head chef Dr. Vink's addictive and expensive soup.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Are You Afraid of the Dark? - Retrospective Review - Season 2
Of the first five seasons, Season 2 is the most disappointing overall. That's not to say it doesn't contain good episodes, but most of the episodes lack the daringness many in Season 1 had. Many of Season 2's episodes have a happy ending that comes too easily, whereas the best episodes end with a hint that whatever "evil" still lurks. The season begins well, takes the series to many of its lowest points, and finally recovers in the final episode.
14. "The Final Wish" *** - A thirteen-year-old girl, who finds it hard to let go of the fairy tales from her childhood, encounters the Sandman (played by Bobcat Goldthwait) and is granted her wish for a fairy tale life away from her family that tries daily to force her to grow up. Of course all wishes come with a price ...
15. "The Midnight Madness" **** - A teenage boy and girl work at a failing one-screen movie theater, but the theater gets a chance to stay in business when Dr. Vink (this time a retired filmmaker) insists that the theater show his old films instead of contemporary blockbusters. However, the teens take objection to Dr. Vink's business model when Nosferatu crosses over from the big screen into the real world ...
16. "Locker 22" * - The new girl at a high school is given the locker of a girl who died in an accident at the school in the 1960s. She soon discovers that her locker is a door back into the 1960s and becomes surrounded by hippies and a younger version of the school's principal.
17. "The Thirteenth Floor" ***** - A brother and sister use the thirteenth floor of their urban apartment building as a playground until a mysterious trio in unisex jumpsuits rents out the floor and entices the children to enter their newly built laboratory by promising them free toys.
The campy, surreal set designs, the mysterious trio and the truly horrifying ending make this one not only the best episode of the worst season, but one of the best of the series.
18. "The Dream Machine" ** - A young creative writer discovers a typewriter that causes whatever he writes with it to come true.
19. "The Dark Dragon" ** - Basically a reworking of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." A geeky teen with braces on his legs buys an elixir from recurring shop owner Sardo in hopes of getting a date with a popular girl. He explains the mysterious transformation into a James Dean-esque hunk by claiming to be his cousin rather than himself. However, when not taking the elixir, the "dark dragon" within him begins to reveal itself outwardly.
20. "The Frozen Ghost" * - Melissa Joan Hart of "Clarissa Explains It All" stars as a babysitter who, along with the boy in her care, encounters the ghost of a boy who froze to death trying to steal cookies from the cookie jar. This is not only the worst episode of the season, but the worst episode of the entire series. As a matter of fact, I didn't even re-watch it because I remembered how bad I thought it was as an eight or nine-year-old who lived to watch AYAOTD.
21. "The Whispering Walls" * - A babysistter and her care are returning from a trip to an amusement park when the car breaks down in front of the home of an evil villain trying to steal their souls. A lot of mystery leading to a disappointing resolution.
22. "The Full Moon" **** - Two pre-teen pet detectives become suspicious that their new neighbor is a werewolf. Things are further complicated when one of their mothers begins dating the new neighbor. This episode is full of homages to the 1987 vampire hit The Lost Boys and the films of John Waters.
23. "The Shiny Red Bicycle" ** - A teen is haunted by the memory of his best friend who died when he failed to save him from falling into a raging river. But when the friend's ghost begins appearing, the teen has trouble convincing his callous parents that the apparitions are real. This one had potential, but the cheesy acting and cliche resolution kept it from reaching that potential.
24. "The Magician's Assistant" ** - A boy living with his widowed mother takes on a job as ... you guessed it ... a magician's assistant. Things go awry when he steals Shandoo's wand and uses it ...
25. "The Hatching" *** - A brother and sister are left at a strict boarding school by their busy traveling parents and discover that the school's headmaster and headmistress are reptilian humanoids enslaving the students into caring for their eggs and intend to use them as food for their young once the eggs hatch.
26. "Old Man Corcoran" **** - Two African-American brothers (literal brothers) move out of a rough area into a quiet suburban neighborhood. However, many of the neighborhood kids are reluctant to accept them. The kids give them an ultimatum to be accepted: they must play a game of hide-and-seek in the graveyard haunted by Old Man Corcoran ...
What makes this episode stand out to me is the social commentary about racism. While the issue is not explicitly dealt with, all but one of the neighborhood kids (who are white) continually tell the two black boys that they don't want them around. I could write an entire essay about the racial undertones of this episode, and I may do so someday.
14. "The Final Wish" *** - A thirteen-year-old girl, who finds it hard to let go of the fairy tales from her childhood, encounters the Sandman (played by Bobcat Goldthwait) and is granted her wish for a fairy tale life away from her family that tries daily to force her to grow up. Of course all wishes come with a price ...
15. "The Midnight Madness" **** - A teenage boy and girl work at a failing one-screen movie theater, but the theater gets a chance to stay in business when Dr. Vink (this time a retired filmmaker) insists that the theater show his old films instead of contemporary blockbusters. However, the teens take objection to Dr. Vink's business model when Nosferatu crosses over from the big screen into the real world ...
16. "Locker 22" * - The new girl at a high school is given the locker of a girl who died in an accident at the school in the 1960s. She soon discovers that her locker is a door back into the 1960s and becomes surrounded by hippies and a younger version of the school's principal.
17. "The Thirteenth Floor" ***** - A brother and sister use the thirteenth floor of their urban apartment building as a playground until a mysterious trio in unisex jumpsuits rents out the floor and entices the children to enter their newly built laboratory by promising them free toys.
The campy, surreal set designs, the mysterious trio and the truly horrifying ending make this one not only the best episode of the worst season, but one of the best of the series.
18. "The Dream Machine" ** - A young creative writer discovers a typewriter that causes whatever he writes with it to come true.
19. "The Dark Dragon" ** - Basically a reworking of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." A geeky teen with braces on his legs buys an elixir from recurring shop owner Sardo in hopes of getting a date with a popular girl. He explains the mysterious transformation into a James Dean-esque hunk by claiming to be his cousin rather than himself. However, when not taking the elixir, the "dark dragon" within him begins to reveal itself outwardly.
20. "The Frozen Ghost" * - Melissa Joan Hart of "Clarissa Explains It All" stars as a babysitter who, along with the boy in her care, encounters the ghost of a boy who froze to death trying to steal cookies from the cookie jar. This is not only the worst episode of the season, but the worst episode of the entire series. As a matter of fact, I didn't even re-watch it because I remembered how bad I thought it was as an eight or nine-year-old who lived to watch AYAOTD.
21. "The Whispering Walls" * - A babysistter and her care are returning from a trip to an amusement park when the car breaks down in front of the home of an evil villain trying to steal their souls. A lot of mystery leading to a disappointing resolution.
22. "The Full Moon" **** - Two pre-teen pet detectives become suspicious that their new neighbor is a werewolf. Things are further complicated when one of their mothers begins dating the new neighbor. This episode is full of homages to the 1987 vampire hit The Lost Boys and the films of John Waters.
23. "The Shiny Red Bicycle" ** - A teen is haunted by the memory of his best friend who died when he failed to save him from falling into a raging river. But when the friend's ghost begins appearing, the teen has trouble convincing his callous parents that the apparitions are real. This one had potential, but the cheesy acting and cliche resolution kept it from reaching that potential.
24. "The Magician's Assistant" ** - A boy living with his widowed mother takes on a job as ... you guessed it ... a magician's assistant. Things go awry when he steals Shandoo's wand and uses it ...
25. "The Hatching" *** - A brother and sister are left at a strict boarding school by their busy traveling parents and discover that the school's headmaster and headmistress are reptilian humanoids enslaving the students into caring for their eggs and intend to use them as food for their young once the eggs hatch.
26. "Old Man Corcoran" **** - Two African-American brothers (literal brothers) move out of a rough area into a quiet suburban neighborhood. However, many of the neighborhood kids are reluctant to accept them. The kids give them an ultimatum to be accepted: they must play a game of hide-and-seek in the graveyard haunted by Old Man Corcoran ...
What makes this episode stand out to me is the social commentary about racism. While the issue is not explicitly dealt with, all but one of the neighborhood kids (who are white) continually tell the two black boys that they don't want them around. I could write an entire essay about the racial undertones of this episode, and I may do so someday.
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