TROPE TRACKER: RAG DOLL, TINA TURNER & CLEOPATRA COSTUMES

One of the things I love about obsessively watching and re-watching holiday-themed TV episodes is that patterns start to emerge. Rather than fault it as a lack of creativity on the part of sitcom writers, I find these tropes oddly reassuring, as if all sitcoms take place in a shared universe and are linked by their similarities. Obviously most Halloween-themed episodes feature characters in costume. Sometimes the episode is merely a showcase for elaborate or clever costumes and sometimes the costumes are a mere afterthought to the storyline. Witches, pirates and vampires abound, but over the years I’ve noticed a few costumes that tend to crop up over and over again.

The first of these, which I've written a bit before in previous posts, is the Rag Doll Costume. We all know Raggedy Ann and Andy, whether from the original dolls or their various animated TV incarnations. They even have their own Halloween special, The Pumpkin Who Wouldn’t Smile. But despite her place in pop culture, Raggedy Ann can hardly be called part of the zeitgeist. She belongs to an earlier generation and yet she makes for a surprisingly popular costume choice in TV sitcoms (whether the costume is meant to be Raggedy Ann specifically or just a generic rag doll is open to debate).

The character of Ann Perkins wears a Rag Doll Costume in the first Halloween-themed Parks and Recreation episode. Ann is hosting a rather lame Halloween party and her choice of costume is obviously intended to echo the dorkiness of the event (plus the whole Ann Perkins = Raggedy Ann thing). Usually the Rag Doll Costume is used in this way, as an example of a lame or embarrassing costume choice.

The grandmother dresses as a rag doll in an episode of Family Matters, but she is the rare exception where the costume doesn’t have a negative connotation. For that we can turn to episodes of both Home Improvement and The Big Bang Theory. In both of these shows the Rag Doll Costume is part of a couple’s costume gone wrong. In Home Improvement Brad’s girlfriend convinces him to dress as Raggedy Andy to her Raggedy Ann, only to show up at the party in a totally different outfit, leaving him trapped in the lame ensemble.

 In a Halloween episode of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon and his girlfriend argue over their choice of couple costume, resulting in a weird compromise of a Raggedy Andy-C3P0 hybrid:

Another costume that pops up a lot, but specifically on sitcoms with predominantly African-American casts, is that of Tina Turner. The African-American sitcom saw its zenith in the 1990s, which helps explain why Tina Turner was a popular choice (as opposed to now, when her place in pop culture has faded a bit). The Tina Turner costume also gives its wearer the opportunity to do their best Tina Turner impression, which makes for some memorable moments.

Those characters who don the Tina Turner attire include Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show (and yes, I feel icky even mentioning The Cosby Show these days):

(Side Note: when researching images for this post the first one to pop up was actually from my own blog, which tickled me to no end.)

The character of Gina (center in the photo below) on the show Martin is played by actress Tisha Campbell, who is also an accomplished singer. She makes for an especially good Tina Turner impersonator, seen below in the center:

And finally we’re back to Family Matters once again, with Tina this time filled by the character of Laura, seen here with Urkel as Superman:

But Rag Dolls and Tina Turners pale in comparison to the prevelance of another costume: Cleopatra.  Cleopatra costumes abound in sitcoms from across the decades.  So far I’ve identified 7 different episode/shows that featured a character dressed like Cleopatra for Halloween, including Caroline in the City, Full House, Living Single and Two of a Kind. Denise dresses as Cleopatra in the aforementioned episode of The Cosby Show that also features Claire dressed as Tina Turner: 

The Cleopatra costume has even crossed over to reality TV, as one of the Gosselin girls chooses it as her costume on a Halloween episode of Kate Plus 8.

The most impressive of all of these Cleopatras comes, not surprisingly, from the sitcom Roseanne.  Roseanne is known for its Halloween episodes, and its portrayal of a Cleopatra costume takes the cake.  It’s worn by minor character Vonda Green at a lodge Halloween party in the excellent episode “Trick Me Up, Trick Me Down.”  Besides just being a really great costume with an especially colorful and sparkly headdress, what puts this particular version over the top is the rubber snake dangling from the bodice:

That concludes our look at some of the most popular Halloween costumes in TV Land. As I continue to watch and keep track I’m sure I’ll discover more. Little Bo Beep is fast becoming a contender…

GALENTINE'S DAY

Parks and Recreation 
Season 2 (2010)

Just yesterday I read that Parks and Recreation has been renewed for a seventh season.  I have very mixed feelings about this; in the show’s early years I prayed it wouldn't get cancelled but as it’s been limping its way through the current Season 6 I was somewhat hoping for a mercy killing.  This early Valentine’s Day episode demonstrates everything that was right with the show for its first 4 seasons, as well as a making glaringly obvious everything that’s wrong with it now.

We begin with Leslie Knope’s Galentine’s celebration, an annual gathering of female friends for breakfast held on February 13th.  Leslie has prepared gift bags for everyone with extremely thoughtful, handmade gifts, including portrait mosaics made from the crushed bottles of their favorite beverages.  Leslie’s manic attention to detail and obsession with perfect gift-giving is only one of many reasons why I love her!  Part of the tradition includes Leslie’s mom telling the story of her youthful lost love, a boy named Frank that she met on vacation. Frank saved her from drowning but then they were forbidden from seeing each other.

You'd be beaming too if you'd just received a portrait mosaic

The next day Leslie and the Parks & Rec crew prepare for the senior citizen Valentine’s Day dance.  Leslie’s boyfriend of the moment, lawyer Justin, hears the story from the day before and encourages Leslie to track down Frank and reunite him with her mom at the dance.  After tracking him down, they embark on a road trip to bring back Frank.

Meanwhile the rest of the crew is having romantic trials and travails of their own.  Tom is unsuccessfully attempting to woo his former green card wife.  Ann is having misgivings about her perfectly normal (and perfectly boring) relationship with Mark, despite his showering her with purposefully cliché Valentine’s Day gifts.  And April and Andy are engaged in a flirtation, even though she's involved with her bisexual boyfriend (and his tagalong boyfriend).  Leslie and Mark eventually find Frank (guest star John Larroquette), who acts increasingly odd and nervous, leading Leslie to question their plan.

Everything comes together (and falls apart at the dance).  April dumps her obnoxious hipster boyfriend after he can’t stop making fun of the senior citizens, and cloaking everything “in, like, fifteen layers of irony.”  Tom gets turned down, yet again.  Leslie tries to call off the reunion due to Frank’s bizarre behavior, but Justin eggs him on.  It’s predictably disastrous, with Frank proving himself a legit weirdo.  Ron and Leslie have a conversation in which Ron sagely identifies Justin as a “tourist,” someone who jumps into people’s lives, gathers stories, and doesn’t consider others’ feelings.  

Leslie & The Tourist

The characters of Parks and Recreation and the show itself always had a lot of heart and this shines through in this episode, such as a tender moment in which hard-shelled April tells an elderly couple how adorable they are.  I also love the subtle douchery of Justin (played by Justin Theroux) in this episode.  He’s a seemingly nice and interesting guy but is really a stealth asshole, and its this type of layered characterization that I’m afraid the show has lost in its later seasons.  The show has gotten broader and broader: Andy has gotten dumber and more obnoxious, Leslie even more manic, the characters less believable. 

The greatest cookie in the world!

The dance scenes in this episode are bursting with Valentine sweetness, and full of pink and red décor.  Leslie’s mom is seen nibbling one of those heart-shaped, red-sprinkled supermarket sugar cookies that I absolutely live for this time of year (I once scoured half of Manhattan looking for some).  Even the music, provided by Andy’s fictional band Mouse Rat, is lovely: classic love songs slightly tweaked and providing the perfect soundtrack to the heartbreaks and new loves that unfold over the course of the episode.

Valentine’s Day Quotient: 5

See It, Skip It, Own It?
The perfect episode to get you in a sweet and sentimental mood for the holiday—go watch it!  And the entire Season 2 is worth owning.

And here's one more mosaic for the road:

HALLOWEEN SURPRISE

Parks & Recreation

Season 5 (2012)

There are A LOT of story elements packed into this one half hour episode of Parks & Rec.  Only the first third (or less) is concerned with Halloween but overall this is a great episode, showcasing the show’s sharp writing and lovable characters.  It’s Halloween in Pawnee, Indiana .  Ron takes his new girlfriend (Xena!) and her two young daughters trick-or-treating but things fall apart when he enacts some misguided discipline.  Meanwhile the rest of the Parks & Rec crew are watching a Halloween night screening of Death Canoe IV, a delightful send-up of the many 80s summer camp slasher films.   

Awwwww...

Seeking to perk up Leslie’s spirits Ann (dressed as a gymnast) and Leslie (dressed as Rosie the Riveter—perfect!) attempt to scare Tom as he exits the bathroom and end up giving Jerry a heart attack instead.  A heart attack that involves severe flatulence, leading it to be termed a “fart attack.”  And it pains me to type that, both because I have a low tolerance for toilet humor and because it’s a low moment of crude comedy in an otherwise smart and sweet episode. 

There are about a billion other storylines that then play out through the rest of the episode, which picks up after Halloween night.  Leslie organizes a charity rummage sale on Jerry’s behalf; Tom starts his Rent-A-Swag business; Ron struggles to apologize to his girlfriend; Ben considers taking on a new job; Leslie is depressed and attempts to auction off a date with Ann; and ultimately one of the couples gets engaged.  It’s sort of exhausting but somehow all works, though the earlier Halloween elements are totally overwhelmed.

A very pastel Halloween

The episode ends with a very cute scene of Ron taking the two little girls for a trick-or-treat redo on November 8^th, bribing a neighbor into giving them vitamins and cookie dough.  True story: one October a couple of random kids rang our bell and yelled trick-or-treat about a week before Halloween.  Unlike the little girls in this episode of Parks & Rec our ersatz trick-or-treaters weren’t wearing costumes and when my puzzled mom asked why they were so early they just said they got tired of waiting for Halloween.  AND SHE GAVE THEM CANDY ANYWAY.  As a kid the injustice of just deciding to go trick-or-treating a week early sans costume and actually get away with it really burned me.  That way leads to madness and chaos: opening your Christmas presents on December 14^th.  Eating turkey on Easter.  Setting off fireworks on Valentine’s Day. 

Terrible.

Recurring Themes: Jerry’s “fart attack” counts as part of the Scared to Death trope, in which a character suffers death or physical ailment due to a (usually minor) scare.  And even though the trick-or-treating technically takes place after Halloween, I’m including a Ran Out of Candy as well.

Halloween Quotient: 2

See It, Skip It, Own It?

There are better Halloween episodes out there but in this case it’s hard to separate my love for the show from the just okay Halloween elements.  So I’ll say this is worth seeing.