THE HAUNTING OF TAYLOR HOUSE

Home Improvement

Season 2 (1992)

In the 90s Home Improvement gave Roseanne a run for the title of Best Overall Halloween Episodes (though in my not-so-humble opinion Roseanne managed to hang on to her Queen of Halloween crown).  Home Improvement’s first Halloween offering is a prime example of how to do a holiday episode right.  Namely: lots and lots of awesome Halloween decorations in the background!

Ignore the carrot woman and take in all that Halloween swag!

The plot is pretty basic and just an excuse to show off the glorious aforementioned décor (the stupid characters kept blocking my view!).  Oldest son Brad is throwing a Halloween party and the Taylor parents have gone full tilt in decorating the house, costuming (after a tried and true “costume store mix-up” Jill ends up in giant carrot costume) and turning the basement into “Catacombs of Terror.”  Brad and his girlfriend Jennifer agreed to dress as Raggedy Ann and Andy but then she shows up with a date and dressed as a biker chick.  Tim advises his son on how to woo her back and then the family comes together to scare the snot out of her snotty date.

Raggedy Brad v. Preteen Biker Gang

This episode has some nice 90s nostalgia casting.  Jennifer’s ne’er-do-well date is played by a young Boy Meets World’s Ryder Strong (along with Jonathan Taylor Thomas, decked out as a pirate in this episode, that’s two prepubescent heartthrobs for the price of one!). Jessica Wesson, who plays Jennifer, also played the bitchy girl in the Casper movie for added 90s Halloween interconnectivity points.  And man, she does her job well.  Jennifer is such a bitch in this episode, with her weird biker outfit and pouting!  Indeed the real theme of the episode seems to be kids acting like assholes, between Jennifer, Ryder Strong’s annoying character and a kid dressed as an atom who continually insults Jill.

This bitch.

But now that the pesky plot is out of the way we can focus on what makes this episode great: the decorations!  The Taylors/set designers truly outdid themselves in terms of party décor.  There is a severed head in the microwave, a “Black Cat Crossing” sign on the oven, a "Pumpkin Loading Zone" sign above the fireplace, several inflatable skeletons, and pumpkins and paper cutouts galore.  I like that it all looks like stuff you could actually buy at your local drugstore.  The party food they prepare is also worth noting: green punch, grape “eyeballs” in custard “puss” and at one point Jill is worried that her “monkey skulls” have burnt.  We never get a good look at exactly what they are (they sort of resemble cinnamon buns) but I bet they were delicious.

My favorite part of the episode?  A little motorized witch-on-broom thing that at one point spins wildly in a circle.  I feel like every family has at least one signature witch decoration they haul out every Halloween (ours was originally a paper cutout and then we eventually upgraded to a light-up plastic one that cackled madly).  The little spinning witch steals the show!  She appears at the left, hovering above the counter in the picture below.

Flying Motorized Witch looks on as Tim stirs the pus.

Recurring Themes: This episode is brimming with familiar tropes.  First there is the Homemade Haunted House in which our characters transform and then tour part of their house, usually the basement.  There is the aforementioned classic Costume Store Mix-Up plus there’s a Head-On-A-Plate (in this case Al).  Finally we have one of the weirder yet persistent themes, that of the Rag Doll Costume.

Halloween Quotient: The plot isn’t the strongest but it’s more than made up for in Halloween goodies, earning a solid 4.

See It, Skip It, Own It?

This episode will definitely get you in the Halloween mood.  It’s worth owning on DVD for annual viewings.  Home Improvement is currently in reruns but this episode is also up on YouTube, though I would recommend watching a higher quality version so you can catch all of that Halloween décor in the background!