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…

HALLOWEEN 2013 RETROSPECTIVE

Halloween is so close I can taste it (tastes like candy corn and Jolly Ranchers) so now is a good time to look back and reflect on the season.  First things first: a huge, heartfelt thank you to all of you for reading, commenting, and liking the blog on Facebook.  It’s been tremendously fun and I’ve loved sharing it all with you.  Luckily we have lots more holidays coming up to enjoy together!

I’m thrilled that I beat last year’s record of 65 episodes watched.  It was close but I did it, having watched my 67^th episode last night.  And maybe I can cram one or two more in by midnight on Halloween!  We also survived our trip to Sleepy Hollow and finally made it to the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, which was amazeballs.  I read four Halloween books, watched a couple of Halloween movies and ate way too much candy.  Tis the season!

And now I will hand out some random, meaningless awards (hey, if the Academy can do it so can I):

Our number one trope of Halloween 2013 was the inexplicably popular Rag Doll Costume, which appeared in four different episodes.  Coming tied in second and  appearing in three episodes each were the ever-popular Cleopatra Costume, A Dark & Stormy Blackout and Haunting with a Logical Explanation.

Scariest Moment is a tie between Zeke the Plumber in every scene he appeared in along with the moment Greta turned from trick-or-treater to demon in “Hellowe’en.”  Honorable mention for the scene in which Louie and his daughters were menaced in Louie.

Worst Episode goes to The Big Bang Theory’s “The Holographic Excitation.”

Best New Show Discovery is Halloween Wars, with the junior award given to Doc McStuffins. 

Worst New Show Discovery goes to Quints by Surprise—but at least one Facebook poster said they loved the show.  Different strokes, folks!

Fictional Halloween Party I Most Wish I Was Invited To goes to the Taylor family’s two parties seen in Home Improvement, with an honorable mention for Carrie’s party in Two of a Kind.

Unnecessary Excessive Flatulence Dishonor is bestowed upon Jessie with a shout-out to the “fart attack” in Parks & Recreation.

And finally the Batshit Crazy award goes to Girlfriends for bringing us the poignant story of a woman’s nervous breakdown, her shopping cart, and a weirdly long church-set sobfest.

As for tomorrow’s post, I’ve saved the bestest for lastest—can you guess what it will be?!

DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

Family Matters

Season 6 (1998)

Family Matters is one of those shows that I normally find too stupid-silly to sit through, but the schmaltz factor pays off in several really excellent Christmas episodes.  The Halloween episodes unfortunately aren’t quite as good. 

The first scene of this Season 6 offering is excellent: the house is insanely decked out for Halloween and one by one the family members reveal their costumes.  Laura is dressed as Batman Returns-era Catwoman, forever rooting this in the 90s (in the best way possible).  When a thunderstorm and blackout instantly erupts the family’s trick-or-treating and party plans are scuttled.  Instead they (and Urkel, of course) play a game of “pass the ghost,” passing a flashlight around as they each tell part of “scary” story.

Unfortunately the story then takes up the rest of the episode.  It recasts the family as medieval vampires and Urkel as their unwitting houseguests/slayer.  It’s a lot of sight gags and distractingly cheap props: a vase falls on the ground with a tremendous breaking glass sound only to roll away, completely intact. The vampire story doesn’t even take place at Halloween so there’s nary a pumpkin in sight (but there is, for some reason, a bowl or oranges and a tray of croissants laid out on the banquet table).

The episode’s scariest moment is when Urkel discovers a chained-up Laura who says she’s completely helpless and he leers at the camera, creepily repeating “Completely helpless!”  Nothing says Halloween like implied rape.  Weirdly, the only picture I could find of this episode online is of Laura in chains.  Ick.

She is wise to fear the Urkel.

Let’s move past this episode quickly and hold out for the better “Dog Day Afternoon.”

Recurring Themes: The grandmother wears a Rag Doll Costume (what is it with TV writers and rag doll costumes?!). Plus we get a Dark & Stormy Blackout.

Halloween Quotient: A 3 for the first scene and a 1 for the rest of the episode.

See It, Skip It, Own It?

Due to the disappointing lack of actual Halloweeness, this is an easy skip.  Unless you’re really into overly long, goofy swordplay sequences, in which case this is the episode for you!

PINKEYE

South Park

Season 1 (1997)

Nick has a limited tolerance for holiday episodes so I sometimes try and bribe him into watching with me by letting him pick the episode (as long as it’s Halloween related).  His choices can be surprising and he had been campaigning to watch “Pinkeye” for a couple weeks.  I’ve never been a big South Park fun—sometimes I find the satire spot-on but usually the crude humor is too much for me.  That whole longish intro is my way of saying that I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed “Pinkeye.”

The timeless story of a Rag Doll and a classroom full of Chewbaccas

It begins with the show’s trademarked “killing of Kenny,” only this time when he’s taken to the morgue some waylaid Worchester sauce gets mixed up in his embalming fluid and he’s revived as a zombie (you have to give this show major creative points for its sheer bizarreness).  As a zombie outbreak slowly spreads throughout the town, haplessly misdiagnosed as pinkeye, the kids are too caught up in their petty Halloween dramas and desire for candy to notice. 

Halloween is everywhere you turn in this episode, whether it’s Cartman’s mom decorating the front yard while singing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (while zombies attack a man behind her) or Chef transforming into Thriller-era Michael Jackson.  The jokes come fast and furious, from broad physical humor (Chef accidentally rips off on a non-zombified man’s arm) to the wildly politically incorrect (Cartman’s costume is first Hitler and then a Klu Klux Klan “ghost”).  Even the opening credits are “spookified,” with witches, skeletons, haunted houses and the list goes on and on.

Cuz this is Thriller...Thriller night...something something terror...Hold you tight

I couldn’t help but think of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown as I watched this (and trust me, I tried not to conflate the two in my mind).  The similar styles of animation and the characters’ dismay at their “tricks or treats” being ruined were undoubtedly purposeful—only one show reveled in youthful innocence and the other in sex, gore and some vomit thrown in at the end for good measure.

Recurring Themes: Stan’s Rag Doll Costume is a running joke throughout the episode.  Indeed the subplot is identical to the one in Home Improvement’s "The Haunting of Taylor House," in which the girlfriend convinces her boyfriend to dress as Raggedy Ann and Andy only to switch costumes at the last minute.

Halloween Quotient: Surprisingly satisfying, this ranks a 4.

See It, Skip It, Own It?

“Pinkeye” is goofy fun worth seeing and I would go so far as to say this should be one to own and add to your yearly rotation.

THE HOLOGRAPHIC EXCITATION

The Big Bang Theory

Season 6 (2012)

There are several ongoing culture wars that rage throughout our apartment.  Buffy versus Charmed.  Star Trek versus Everything.  And one of the newest and fiercest conflicts revolves around The Big Bang Theory.  Nick loves it.  I hate it, despite being a fanboy firmly in their target demographic.  Up until now I’d watched just one episode (a Christmas one—surprise!) and it was enough to turn me off the show for good.  Now that Nick is a devotee I’ve caught plenty of snippets and learned more about it.  I’m glad Mayim Bialik is getting work and it’s nice that Jim Parsons came out but I’m digging my heels in on this whole “hating The Big Bang Theory” thing.

Raggedy Ann & Raggedy C-3P0

I am always lured by the siren song of a holiday episode, however, and in watching “The Holographic Excitation” I was also offering an olive branch to Nick.  He probably now wishes I had just eaten some olives instead since the experience of watching this episode has only added to my list of reasons to actively dislike this show.

In this episode the gang of nerds are preparing for an upcoming Halloween party held at their local comic book shop.  Sheldon and his girlfriend, played by the aforementioned Mayim Bialik, can’t agree on a couple’s costume (he wants science; she wants romance).  Another character (I won’t dignify them with names) is obsessed with referencing his recent trip to space.  And finally, the main couple keep having sex every time the guy talks about science.  Really.

Nice try but not even the Smurfs can save this mess.

I made a few notes while watching this episode.  They were as follows: Sex, Sex Tape, Sex Robot, Hickeys, Porn.  Those were the punch lines of the jokes—and that was just the first half of the episode.  By the end we also get slut, sexy cop, the word Smurf used as a euphemism for vagina and a couple having sex in a bathroom.  A bathroom shaped like a TARDIS.  Because: nerds!  In other words this episode trades on the cheapest and sex-obsessed humor possible.  And don’t get me wrong, I’m no prude but I am frustrated by shows like this that I feel feed on people’s basest instincts.  It’s not just sex; I also take umbrage at the portrayal of nerds, smart versus dumb, women versus men.  To me this show is just a bundle of unfunny stereotypes smothered in jokes about guys building sex robots (one character tried to have sex with her but the cord didn’t stretch far enough.  Har de har har.).

Oh yeah, Buzz Aldrin has a cameo.  Science!

Now let me step off my soapbox and briefly touch on the Halloween elements, which were relatively scarce.  There was one funny scene about the naming of normal foods with “spooky” Halloween names (Night of the Living Garlic Bread, etc.).  And I liked one of the couples’ Smurf costumes.  But that was about the extent of it and certainly Halloween wasn’t the focus.  I think I established what the focus was.  Don’t make me type it again.

Sex Robots.

Happy?!

Recurring Themes: Don’t ask me why but TV writers freaking love Rag Doll Costumes.  In this case we get a Raggedy Ann and a Raggedy C-3P0 when Sheldon and his girlfriend “compromise” on a couples’ costume.

Halloween Quotient: 1

See It, Skip It, Own It?

If you read just one word of any of the above you can guess my feelings on this.  Let’s give it a skip and a “kill it with fire.”

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!