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?!

NIGHTMARE ON CARRIE'S STREET

Two of a Kind

Season 1 (1998)

I should hate Two of a Kind.  Despite my hankering for campy sitcoms I am somehow not a fan of Full House and the wealth and success of the Olsen twins is baffling and angry-making.  They were cloying as children and now design ridiculously expensive handbags, essentially still famous just for being twins, which is the worst kind of famous.  And yet I really like Two of a Kind, a short-lived late 90s TGIF sitcom starring the Olsen twins.

What’s the appeal?  The premise of Two of a Kind is essentially an updated The Nanny and the Professor.  Or more accurately, exactly the same premise.  The two Olsens (their main personality traits being that they are twins, as in every Olsen twins project ever) have a widowed professor dad who hires a spunky nanny and sparks fly between the two (the professor and the nanny, not the twins).  Not much really ever happened save two terrific holiday episodes.  I think the appeal lies in the two likable adult leads.  Christopher Sieber, the actor who plays the dad, is out and proud in real life which proposes an interesting theory as to why the Professor never hooks up with nanny Carrie.

 

I can't think of a witty caption but hey, check out that Mickey Mouse Jack o'Lantern logo in the corner!

The first of the two aforementioned terrific holiday episodes is this Halloween outing.  The girls want to go to Carrie’s Halloween bash but their dad forbids them from attending a college party.  While out trick-or-treating the girls swap costumes with two boys and sneak off to the party, which is AWESOME.  Their dad discovers the deception and pretends to be arrested in order to traumatize them.  Then they have to pick up garbage.  Fin.

The awesomeness of the episode is in Carrie’s party, one of those super-elaborate affairs that a poor college student would never manage to pull together in real life.  Unless you’re Kate Gosselin getting a free pass at Party City, the amount of rubber severed heads and life-size monster statues seen here would cost a pretty penny.  There is also some definite gayness going on.  The faux cop who handles the fake arrest is drawn back to the party to perform the YMCA along with an Indian chief and construction worker.  And Carrie’s Cleopatra costume keeps getting confused for Cher.  Subtly queer stuff for TGIF!

Bonus: the episode ends with some cute outtakes of the actors scaring each other on set.

Recurring Themes: The two boys dress in the girls’ costumes, leading to some Gender Confusion.  Carrie wears the ever-popular Cleopatra Costume.  Plus we get a Head-On-A-Plate (not technically on a plate but it’s the same concept).

Halloween Quotient: 5

See It, Skip It, Own It?

Worth owning, if only it was available on DVD!  So you’ll have to settle for watching a low-quality version on YouTube, but you’ll be so filled with Halloween spirit you won’t mind.

HALLOWEEN

The Cosby Show

Season 2 (1985)

Cliff Huxtable (sans sweater) and a jack o'lantern suffering from small face syndrome

On Thursday nights my dad always had soccer practice (he still plays in an over 50s league—be impressed!) so we had Mom & Kids night.  This involved some sort of fun food for dinner (my favorites were Macho Nachos and Kraft Mac & Cheese) and watching The Cosby Show.  It’s family friendly fare that I don’t have a particularly strong affinity for as an adult (though I still adore spinoff A Different World).  It’s a mellow show, too mellow at times for my tastes, where not all that much ever happens.  But there are some definite holiday gems and this Halloween episode is one of them.

The Huxtables host a party for tween (before tween was a thing) daughter Vanessa.  Mom Claire is as cool and calm as ever, decked out as Tina Turner.  Cliff, who ends up costumed in a witch hat, clown pants and exclamation point t-shirt, takes Rudy and her friends trick-or-treating.  And Vanessa plays the age-old game of crushing on a guy from afar, using friends to ferry messages back and forth across the party.  She eventually drops a tray of glasses, the episode’s biggest moment (which gives you a sense of how understated this show is) but later overcomes her embarrassment with the help of her parents.

Tina Turner, a Zulu princess and a girl whose parents refused to buy her a proper costumer so she was forced to improvise

Again, the charm of this episode isn’t in the almost non-existent story but in the likeable characters, gentle humor and tender moments. Unlike the Taylor’s, the Huxtables keep it simple and classy in terms of their Halloween party décor, relying on some fun crepe paper garlands, spiders, baskets of apples and Indian corn (all of which adorned my own house growing up).  Everything, from the characters to the situations to the decorations, feels realistic and familiar, inspiring lots of warm, tingly feelings of nostalgia.  It’s all capped off when Claire and Cliff slow dance with Rudy squeezed in-between them.

Say it with me now:  Awwwww….

Recurring Themes: Elder daughter Denise shows up at one point in a Cleopatra Costume.

Halloween Quotient: 4

See It, Skip It, Own It?

Worth repeat viewings so add this episode to your Own list!

GOSSELINS, GOBLINS & GHOULS

Kate Plus 8 (2010)

I am an unapologetic fan of Jon & Kate Plus 8 and to a lesser degree Kate Gosselin herself, despite her many glaring flaws.  She’s a type of bitchy that I can appreciate and that makes for good TV.  Even I must admit, however, that past the first few seasons the show degenerated into a fame-whoring mess, going from a realistic look at parents navigating the challenges of having eight young kids to a shrill single mom posturing for the cameras.  Unfortunately this episode falls into the latter half, as it was part of a series of specials that came post-divorce.

Kate has replaced Jon with a plastic pumpkin head.  Upgrade?!

Kate is living in the manse, sporting the extensions, manicured nails and fake tan that mark her post-fame transformation.  Any sense of reality is lost as she stops to sign autographs while shopping and when it comes time to decorate the basement she’s helped solely by the camera crew in lieu of a husband, family or friends.  A fair amount of the episode is taken up with non-holiday related things like the return of the family dog.  It gets dull fast; so dull that halfway through Nick elected to go do the dishes rather than watch the rest of the episode.  Now that’s dull!  Despite these flaws, however, there is some Halloween goodness to be found. 

First Kate lives out one of my fantasies by going on a Party City shopping spree, randomly stuffing three carts full of Halloween decorations in order to create a haunted basement for her kids.  Clearly Party City is footing the bill; indeed you get the sense that throughout this episode Kate doesn’t actually pay for anything, whether it’s pumpkins, dog treats or hay rides.  Still it’s fun to watch her navigate the aisles and later return with the kids to pick out costumes amid the usual last-minute costume mob.

Other Halloween highlights include a trip to the pumpkin patch, a game of toilet paper mummy wrapping, a hayride, pumpkin carving and a trick-or-treating finale.  Cara forgoes a costume and goes as “Cara Gosselin” which violates every tenet of Halloween decorum that I value.  She is forever disqualified from Halloween! 

The kids and their costumes.  And Cara.

All of the above scenes are enjoyable but cracks constantly appear to remind the viewer that this family is living anything but an ordinary life.  While on the aforementioned hayride, in one of the episode’s more surreal moments, Kate recalls the very first episode of the show, in which the family also went to a pumpkin patch.  She asks the kids if they remember and they respond by saying that of course they do because it’s all on the tapes. They’ve traded actual memories for taped episodes of their own show. 

Now that’s scary!

This post brought to you by the good people at Party City.

Recurring Themes: Alexis wears the ever-popular Cleopatra Costume while Kate designs a basement Homemade Haunted House for the kids.

Halloween Quotient: It would be a 4 if not for the bloated running time and non-Halloween stuff crammed in, so this rates a 3.

See It, Skip It, Own It?

This episode is up on Netflix so see it if you have the time and can tolerate this tainted version of Kate Gosselin.  Otherwise you can skip it in favor of the superior Season 1 episode “Ten Little Pumpkins.”