CHICK OR TREAT

Super Fun Night

Season 1 (2013)

Even Rebel Wilson has mixed feelings about her show.

The new fall TV shows are already getting cancelled left and right, some after a mere two episodes.  I would suspect that Rebel Wilson’s new sitcom Super Fun Night is on the bubble, as they say.  I like Wilson (who doesn’t, really?) and though the initial premise of the show sounded cute I read a couple of scathing reviews that convinced me not to bother.  But you know me: willing to give anything a try if they put “Halloween” in the episode description.

Things started off badly, with two rapid-fire fat jokes made by Wilson about herself, which is exactly what the aforementioned scathing reviews highlighted about the show (namely its obsession with its star’s weight).  Luckily the fat jokes disappeared post-opening credits and the rest of the episode was rather enjoyable; amusing at times but it never quite came fully alive.

Our heroine, Kimmie, is hoping to catch the eye of her cute boss at her upcoming office Halloween party.  Being British and therefore clueless about the holiday he asks Kimmie for guidance and ends up suggesting they wear a couple’s costume (a chick outfit for her and a magnet for him).  Kimmie’s friends convince her that this qualifies the evening as a date but her hopes are crushed when he ends up hooking up with another (slimmer) co-worker dressed like a slutty robot.  Meanwhile Kimmie’s two nerdy girlfriends attend their even nerdier neighbors’ Halloween party.

 

Beware the Sexy Robot.  They'll get you every time.

It was weird hearing Rebel Wilson speak with an affected American accent—why couldn’t her character just be Australian, especially since the actor who plays her boss is British in the show?  For every slightly awkward or unfunny moment there was a brighter counterpart, however.  Kimmie’s co-worker’s dramatic entrance and dance number in her robot costume was impressive.  And Kimmie’s dorky friends, especially the rough-around-the-edges Marika (played by Lauren Ash) stole every scene they were in.  Marika suggests there is potential in this show if the writers can move away from fat jokes and hone in on clever character-based comedy instead.

The episode’s best moment was the closing credits, which was a black and white music video featuring the entire cast set to “The Monster Mash.”  I have no idea if every episode ends in a song (Wilson is known for her impressive set of pipes) or this was a special Halloween bonus but it made for an utterly charming ending.

On a final casting-related note, Kimmie’s British boss seemed vaguely familiar to me.  A little IMDBing later and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he played Jim in Muppet Treasure Island!  He of course has done other projects but none of those matter.  Once you’ve appeared alongside the Muppets everything else is just gravy.

Recurring Themes: The girls and their dorky neighbors engage in a Prank War. Plus thanks to this episode and the recently watched Beverly Hills, 90210 we’ve got ourselves a brand new trope: the Movement Impairing Mermaid Costume!

Halloween Quotient: 4

See It, Skip It, Own It?

Worth seeing, if only just for the “Monster Mash” and robot dance numbers.

CRAZY FOR YOU

Home Improvement

Season 3 (1993)

After the excellent "The Haunting of Taylor House" Home Improvement continued its tradition of top notch Halloween episodes with Season 3’s “Crazy for You.”  This episode relies on the Prank War trope, which I’ve never been all that keen on. Maybe it’s just because pranks and practical jokes were never part of my personal All Hallow’s oeuvre, but this type of storyline always feels better suited to April Fool’s Day than Halloween.  But the good far outweighs the bad here so let’s delve in!

Zombie Tim ponders his options.

After years of Halloween scares at the hands of husband Tim, Jill engineers the ultimate prank, convincing him that he has an obsessed fan named Rose.  With the help of her knockoff Rosie O’Donnell friend (it was the 90s; every female film and sitcom character had a friend who looked and acted like Rosie O’Donnell), Al and even neighbor Wilson, “Rose” sends Tim threatening notes and slowly ups his paranoia, culminating in a confrontation at another lavish Taylor family Halloween party. 

A red-veiled "Rose" creeps up on Tim

Once again my enjoyment of this episode is less for the story than for the awesome party scene.  The Home Improvement set decorators do not disappoint!  Some of the highlights include a giant minotaur, a dummy dressed like the homicidal wheelchair-bound grandfather from Texas Chainsaw Massacre and a decapitated head wine bucket.  There is also a cute Halloween doormat hung on the wall for decoration, which is a great idea. Really, I need to develop some sort of “I Spy” game for the backgrounds of these Home Improvement episodes; I could spend hours studying the decorations!

At one point in this episode Tim asks a phone operator the number for 9-1-1. Tim Allen does the exact same joke in The Santa Clause.  I love it when Halloween and Christmas overlap!

Ignore the Taylor boys (all dressed like Moe from the Three Stooges) and check out the fun witch towel and pot holder set instead!

Recurring Themes: Jill and Tim engage in a Prank War.

Halloween Quotient: While I’m not the biggest fan of the whole “prank war” subgenre there are plenty of Halloween goodies to enjoy, so this gets a 3.

See It, Skip It, Own It?

Definite fun for the Halloween season, so see it and enjoy!

THE NIGHT HE CAME HOME

Martin

Season 1 (1992)

It’s not easy sharing your name with the name of a sitcom.  There must be some sort of support group for us, the Maudes and Ellens and Martins of the world.  I was haunted by the theme song of this show for years.  My high school crush would sing it every time I entered a classroom (but I didn’t mind it so much when he did it—at least he was talking to me!).  But despite having its theme song thrust upon me I’ve always enjoyed Martin, a goofy 90s sitcom with some truly excellent holiday episodes.

Martin loves scaring his girlfriend Gina around Halloween but the tables are turned when, unbeknownst to him, Gina and his friends concoct a story about “Old Man Ackerman,” the cantankerous (and murdered) former tenant of his apartment.  When they gather at his apartment on Halloween they conduct a séance that quickly spirals out of control (thanks to their hidden friend who just happens to be a special effects wiz). 

Tommy is seemingly possessed and man, can this guy bulge his eyes and roll his tongue with the best of them!  Cole gets beat up by invisible “ghosts,” resulting in one of the episode’s funniest moments, in which Martin tries to fend off the invisible assailants.  Gina and Pam eventually disappear while cupboard doors slam open and shut, plates and a vase go flying and a skeleton dummy in the closet comes to life and attacks Martin.  All is revealed as an elaborate prank except when Martin and Gina are making out on the couch afterwards the REAL ghost of Old Man Ackerman shuffles by.

Perfection!  Everything about this episode is done right, from the heavy reliance on many tried-and-true Halloween sitcom tropes to the over the top antics of a terrified Martin Lawrence.  There are lots of black and orange candles and drugstore variety Halloween decorations.  And just in case you forget that this is a sitcom about African-American people in the 90s, Whoopi Goldberg, Rodney King and Chaka Khan are all referenced.

Here’s a bit of bonus Halloween trivia: Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold, the actresses who play Gina and Pam respectively, are both excellent singers and appeared together as two of the three chorus singers in the film musical Little Shop of Horrors.

There is one other Martin Halloween episode but just wait until Thanksgiving—that’s when things get REALLY good!

Recurring Themes: We’ve got ourselves a trope bonanza in this episode: a Dark & Stormy Blackout, Prank War, Haunting with a Logical Explanation, Séance and a Real Ghost Shows Up at the End!

Halloween Quotient: Our first 5 of the season!

See It, Skip It, Own It?

Own it and enjoy it year after year!  It’s up on YouTube or available for cheap on DVD.