CHiPs - "Trick or Trick"

CHiPs

"Trick or Trick"
CHiPs - Season 2, Episode 6
Original Airdate: October 21, 1978

Trick or Trick

It's Halloween, and Ponch and Jon are on patrol in the suburbs, looking to keep the trick-or-treating kiddies safe on the streets.  During the night the duo hunt down a liquor store robbing ghost, search for a runaway boy, nab a candy-snatcher, and explore a haunted house.  Kind of amusing, but maybe somewhat less "action-packed" than a typical episode of CHiPs, but it could be fun to watch if you need a dose of 1970s Halloween nostalgia.

"Put your hands where we can see them, and step away from the candy!"

Ponch Walks Under a Ladder

Grossman's Jack-O'-Lantern

Ponch Breaks a Mirror

Officer Jack

Pumpkin Problems

Ghost Makeup

I totally wore that same Batman costume for Halloween in the 1970s!  Heck, I had that kid's haircut, too!

Haunted Patrol

"Pink elephants!"

'70s Costumes in All Their Glory

Ponch and Jon Explore a Haunted House

Ghost Robber

Run-DMC - It;s Tricky

Beavis and Butt-Head - "Bungholio: Lord of the Harvest"

Beavis and Butt-Head

"Bungholio: Lord of the Harvest"
Beavis and Butt-Head - Season 6 Episode 1
Originally aired Halloween Night, October 31, 1995

Bungholio: Lord of the Harvest

"Bungholio: Lord of the Harvest" was the Beavis and Butt-Head Halloween Special that aired on Halloween night in 1995.  It starts out like a normal Beavis and Butt-Head episode, with the boys sitting at home watching TV.  Eventually, trick-or-treaters coming to their door alert them to the fact that it is Halloween.  The boys decide to throw together some quick costumes so they can go out trick-or-treating and score some candy.  Beavis puts underwear on his head and says he is a "nad."  Butt-Head pours hot cheese sauce over his head and says he is "nachos."

"Trick or Treat!"

What follows is some typical Beavis and Butt-Head comedy as the boys travel door-to-door and interact humorously with the people in their neighborhood, including regular characters like Mr. Van Dreissen, the hippie high school teacher, and old man Tom Anderson.  But things take a dark turn into horror when Beavis ingests so much candy that the sugar rush transforms him into his alter ego "Cornholoio,"  and his insane meanderings lead to a series of violent incidents culminating in his own death.

Beavis is Unwilling to Share the Candy

I remember watching this when it originally aired and being very impressed by the dark turn it took towards the end, perfectly setting the mood for Halloween horror.

Cornholio Wanders Through a Graveyard

Highland Texas Chainsaw Massacre

 Music videos featured in his episode:

• Alice Cooper - Teenage Frankenstein
• Paul Broucek - Hollywood Halloween
• King Diamond - The Family Ghost

Paul Broucek - Hollywood Halloween (Commentary by Beavis and Butt-Head)


See the other music videos featured in this episode, plus more screencaps after the break...

Galactica 1980 - "The Night the Cylons Landed"

Galactica 1980

"The Night the Cylons Landed"
Galactica 1980 - Season 1, Episodes 7 and 8
Originally aired April 13 and 20, 1980

The Night the Cylons Landed

The Cylons crash land on Earth on Halloween, and it's up to Ponch and Jon... err, Troy and Dillon, to save the Earth from invasion, with help from special guest star Wolfman Jack!

"Hey kiddies!  Don't blow your stack, I'm Wolfman Jack!  Now pass me some crack and stand the hell back!  Awooo!!!"

I really hated the show Galactica 1980 when it originally aired when I was a kid, but I thought it might be fun to go back and watch the Halloween episode as part of the Countdown to Halloween.  I was wrong.  This show was boring and painful to watch.  The original Battlestar Galactica was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid, but it's sequel/spin-off/continuation (whatever you want to call it) is so terrible.

The Cylons Crash a Halloween Party

A quick history.  The original series Battlestar Galactica was cancelled after one season.  The show was a ratings success and very popular, but it was also extremely expensive to produce (I think it was the most expensive TV series ever made at that point in time).  Producer Glen Larson had some ideas on how to cut costs and do the show on a somewhat smaller budget for season 2, but ABC decided it was still too expensive to produce and canceled the show in April of 1979.

However, ABC had a change of heart later in the year, mostly due to massive outcry from the fans, and approached Glen Larson about reviving the series at a much lower budget.  But at this point, the sets had been torn down, and the cast had been let out of their contracts, and at a much smaller budget they had no way of rebuilding them and re-signing everyone.  They went through a few ideas about how to bring the show back.  Originally it was going to be set 5 years later than the original series (which would help to explain the loss of many of the original cast and sets), and morph into a time travel series on planet Earth, with Baltar traveling in time into Earth's past, altering history, and Starbuck and Apollo following him into the past to correct it.  But Dirk Benedict (Starbuck) had already signed on for another acting role and was unavailable, and Richard Hatch (Apollo) supposedly wasn't a fan of the script.  So then they decided to set it 30 years past the original, and have a now grown-up Boxey (Apollo's adopted son on the original series), now known as Captain Troy, as the new lead with a new character, Lieutenant Dillon, filling the Starbuck role.

They filmed the time-traveling pilot episode, but then ABC decided that a time-travel series would still be too expensive to film every week and decreed that all the future episodes had to take place on modern day Earth.  At this point the series would be like a cross between CHiPs and Knight Rider, with the two leads criss-crossing the country and getting into adventures on their sci-fi tech flying motorcycles. This was pretty far removed from the original concept of "Battlestar Galactica" but it still could have worked as a premise for a series.  But then ABC decided they wanted to air the show on Sundays at 7:00 PM, which they considered to be the "Children's Hour" of primetime.  They forced the producers to add children to the cast, which meant the two space heroes now had to care for a group of super-powered school kids known as "The Super-Scouts."  Further, ABC decreed there could be absolutely no violence on the series, even against robots, and all of the lead characters had to be clean-cut, wholesome, and morally upstanding.  This lead to a really wishy-washy series with no drama or excitement.  By making it so sanitized for the kiddies, they made it so no kid would want to watch it.  The first episode premiered to great ratings from an audience hungry for more Battlestar Galactica, but the ratings dropped every week as the audience saw what they were actually getting, and the show was cancelled after 10 episodes.

Dillon and Troy take the Super Scouts to the Movies

In this episode a Cylon ship crashes on Earth, and two Cylons survive the crash.  One is the typical robotic Cylon Centurion that we knew from the original series.  But the other is a new model of Cylon that can pass for a human being.  This idea would later be used on the 2000s Battlestar Galactica remake series.  On any other day, these two would cause a sensation being seen on the streets, but they had the good luck to crash land on Earth during Halloween, so everyone just thinks they are in costume.  They get picked up as hitchhikers by a pair of radio executives on the way to a Halloween party, where radio DJ Wolfman Jack will be in attendance.  The Cylons then plan to kidnap Wolfman Jack and force him to take them to his radio station, where they will use the radio to broadcast a message to the Cylon fleet in space alerting them to the location of Earth, which will then cause an invasion.

The Humanoid Cylon Shoots a Deathray out of his Hand and Kills the Microwave!

Wolfman Jack was one of Americas's most famous radio DJs during the 1970s and '80s.  I was certainly familiar with him as a kid, but I don't think I ever actually heard him on the radio.  It seemed like he was more famous for being famous back then, kind of like Paris Hilton or the Kardashians.  The two songs that Wolfman plays on the radio on this episode were a disco version of the old Buddy Holly song "That'll be the Day" and the theme song to the TV show "Bosom Buddies."  If that is an example of the sort of music he played, I can see why I never listened to him back in the day.

The Metaluna Mutant

There were a few minor bits of enjoyment I got from this episode.  There was a scene where Troy and Dillon take the Super Scouts to the movies to watch "The Day the Earth Stood Still," and don't understand special effects and costumes, and think the film shows real aliens and spacecraft.  That was fun for 30 seconds.

Planting the Seed for "Knight Rider" in Glen Larson's Brain

And there was an odd bit when the Cylons were picked up as hitchhikers.  Driving the car was actor William Daniels who went on to voice KITT on Knight Rider.  Knight Rider was also a Glen Larson production, and they reused the roving red Cylon "eye" and sound effect it made on KITT.  So when William Daniels was talking, but the with the Cylon in the back seat making the KITT sound effect, it made for a strange effect, like if you closed your eyes you could be watching some lost episode of Knight Rider, albeit one that didn't make any sense.  That was also fun for 30 seconds.

They seriously put a disclaimer on at the end.  Just in case someone watched this and thought the Earth was really getting invaded by Cylons.

So I had about one minute of enjoyment from this, and it was a two-part episode, so we're talking about 94 minutes of actual viewing time.  Even the Halloween setting wasn't enough to rescue this from the turd bin of TV history.

More screencaps after the break...

Knight Rider - "Halloween Knight"

"Halloween Knight"
Knight Rider - Season 3, Episode 5
Original Airdate: October 28, 1984

Halloween Knight

How much Halloween kookiness can be crammed into one episode about the adventures of a vigilante crime-fighter and his talking car?  So much your brain will hurt.


The episode begins with KITT's mechanic Bonnie stuck alone with a cold in her new apartment, as the other residents in the building have a loud Halloween party.

Bonnnie downs some night-time cold medicine, and then witnesses a gorilla murder a woman through her window before passing out!  The next day, everyone just assumes she was hallucinating, but Michael Knight believes her, so he and KITT begin an investigation to find out what really happened.

"Darling, don't you monkey with the monkey!"

During the investigation:

• The theme music from Psycho is played on the soundtrack, but done in Knight Rider's signature 1980s synthesizer style!
• A dead body appears and dissapears in a bathtub!
• A witch threatens to put a hex on Michael unless he gives her KITT to use as her "Witchmobile!"
• A spectral floating demon head talks backwards!
• Michael visits a horror movie prop house and is nearly cut in half by an axe!
• A gorilla driving a car tries to run Michael over!
• Michael meets a sweaty, knife-wielding, Norman Bates wannabe with a collection of taxidermied animals and bugs!  Bonnie later goes on a date with him!
• Michael and Bonnie find a dead body in a house that is a dead ringer for the Bates Motel Psycho house!
• Michael gets into a sword fight at a costume party!
• Michael finally catches the murderer at a drive-in showing The Creature from the Black Lagoon!

Spectral Demon Head

The episode concludes with Michael and KITT solving the mystery and capturing the killer, who was using Hollywood special effects to trick Bonnie into thinking she was hallucinating.

But in a final twist, the show ends with Michael falling under the spell of the "Witchmobile" witch!  As Michael bends down to look at the food she has prepared in a crock pot, KITT uses his super powers to analyze what is in the pot, and is horrified by what it contains.  He begs Michael not to look in the pot, but the bewitched Michael smiles benignly and stares into the pot as the image freezes and the credits roll!  Spooktacular!

Coroner at the Psycho House

More screencaps after the break...

CHiPs - "Things That Go Creep in the Night"

CHiPs

 "Things That Go Creep in the Night"
CHiPs - Season 6, Episode 21
Original Airdate: April 10, 1983

Things That Go Creep in the Night

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, returns for her second episode of CHiPs as Ponch and Company try to solve the mystery of a frightened young woman (played by Kelly Preston in one of her earliest roles) with amnesia who is being stalked by a comic book sea-monster that has come to life!  This is a pretty wacky episode of CHiPs that is jam-packed full of tasty horror movie and comic book nonsense.

Elvira and Her Pet Tarantula

The episode begins with Anna, the frightened young woman mentioned above, screaming and running along the coastline, where she eventually runs into traffic and causes a traffic accident.  This being CHiPs, the accident involves multiple cars crashing into each other and flipping over.  Even better, one of the cars was hauling hot tar which spills out on to the road.  Now Anna lies unconscious on the road with hot tar edging ever closer to her!  And, to double the danger, gasoline is dripping from the wrecked cars, and if it comes into contact with the hot tar, it could explode.  Wait, did I say "could explode?"  This is CHiPs, of course it's going to explode!  Looks like it's time for Ponch to arrive on the scene and pick her up and run to safety just seconds before the explosion.  Afterwards, the CHiPs have only one clue to go on: a copy of a comic book cover that Anna had clutched in her hand.

Sea-Thing

The comic book in question is "Sea-Thing," which is a poorly drawn rip-off of Marvel's Man-Thing.  In particular, it looks to be ripped off from Man-Thing #1 from 1979, right down to the "frightful 1st issue" blurb.  For good measure, though, the artist threw in some logos on the top that were ripped off from DC Comics, so you get a nice double-whammy there.  To learn more about the comic book, Ponch goes to his favorite comic book shop.  Ponch's partner Bruce is surprised that Ponch has a favorite comic book shop, until they get inside and he discovers that Elvira works there.  Why is Elvira working in a comic book shop?  This is never really addressed.

The Old "Eye-Holes-In-A-Painting" Gag

They do make some attempts to turn it into an Elvira-friendly comic book shop, so there are red drapes and carpets, a weird throne for Elvira to sit in, a picture of Frankenstein's Monster on the wall, a tarantula running around on a spinner rack... there is even a customer in the store dressed like a werewolf.  But it mostly looks like they took a big stack of comic books and a bunch of random junk and threw it together on a soundstage to make it look vaguely comic-book-store-like, presumably by someone who's never actually been in one.  But still, it's got Elvira in it, and lots of comic books in the background that I remember reading in the 1980s, so I got a kick out of it, just the same.

The Sea-Thing Emerges from the Ocean

Next they stop at the home of the artist who wrote and drew the comic, Stanley Woods (probably named after Stan Lee and Wally Wood), played by celebrity impressionist Rich Little.  Stanley Woods is supposed to be a grade-A weirdo.  He lives in a castle on the coast, and is a comic book writer, artist, ventriloquist, musician, and magician.  He is evasive and creepy to Ponch and Bruce, and is constantly playing strange pranks on them in his house.  Ponch doesn't like being made fun of one bit, and immediately pegs Woods as his prime suspect.  What he suspects him of, however, is not clear.  So far the only "crime" that has occured is a traffic accident.  Plus, Ponch is a traffic cop, not a detective, he shouldn't be investigating crimes even when they do occur.  Of course, half the fun of watching CHiPs is to see how far astray the officers go from their actual Highway Patrol duties.

Rich Little Plays With His Organ

Part of the problem with the mystery here is that I think Rich Little's character is supposed to be much more menacing than he is... Little may have been a talented comedian, but he didn't really have any acting skills to play "dangerous" or "menacing," and instead just hams it up.  But the episode quickly reveals that Litte's character is guilty of something, as he starts wearing disguises amd adopting fake voices on the telephone as he tries to learn the location of the amnesiac girl.  And once he does find her, the "Sea-Thing" emerges from the ocean and attempts to carry her off before it is fought off by Ponch.

Pinball Werewolf

Eventually they learn that Anna's mother is the true creator of the Sea-Thing comic book.  Her mother is supposed to be dead, but the Highway Patrol has her grave exhumed, and they find a porcelain replica of her mother in the coffin instead of a corpse.  This eventually leads them back to the castle of Stanley Woods, where they believe Anna's mother is alive and being held captive, being forced to draw new issues of the comic for Woods.  The CHiPs attempt to arrest Woods, but he escapes in his hearse (?!) and leads the cops on a chase, that, of course, involves Ponch and Bruce making stuntman jumps in their motorcycles and ends with a car crash.  Ponch then chases Woods on foot across the beach, before Woods feet get tangled up in some ironically placed sea-weed.

Porcelain Corpse

On a side note, I mentioned in one of my earlier CHiPs reviews (Rock Devil Rock) how in season 6 Larry Wilcox had quit the show and his character Jon had been replaced by an equally bland blonde doofus named Hot Dog.  Towards the end of the season, I guess Hot Dog was just too boring, because they introduced a new character, Hot Dog's little brother Bruce, who replaces Hot Dog as Ponch's new partner.  Think of Bruce as the "Cousin Oliver" of CHiPs, a fresh young character designed to appeal to kids.  Poor Hot Dog was still on the show, though, but he was relegated to third wheel status, like they guy they would send off to get coffee and donuts while the "real" CHiPs did all the work.  In the scene towards the end where Ponch and Bruce do stuntman jumps on their motorcycles as they chase Rich Little's hearse, Hot Dog is with them, but he impotently comes to a halt when the other two do their jumps, like he is incapable of keeping up with them.  It almost makes me wonder if something was going on behind the scenes and the TV producers were deliberately trying to make actor Tom Reilly look bad.  It's gotta suck to start off the season being the co-star of a popular TV show, and the end the season just a step above being an extra.

Dr. Fakebeard

The episode concludes with Anna and her mother reunited in the police station with the CHiPs.  Then everyone make's fun of Officer Grossman for being fat, and they freeze frame on their smiling faces as they laugh at him and the end credits roll.  CHiPs.

Apparently the "spider web" from Elvira's previous episode of CHiPs (Rock Devil Rock) didn't cover up enough of her boobs.

More screencaps after the break...

The Addams Family - "Halloween - Addams Style"

The Addams Family

"Halloween - Addams Style"
The Addams Family - Season 2 Episode 7
Originally aired October 29, 1965

This is the second Halloween themed episode of The Addams family, following "Halloween With The Addams Family" from season 1.  In this episode, the family prepares for their annual Halloween festivities.  Gomez has Fester pose for him as he carves for a pumpkin in a gag that originally appeared in the first Halloween episode.  I suppose we can forgive them for the recycling and just assume that it's an Addams tradition that they do every year.  Morticia laments the fact that it's been eight years since they have had any trick-or-treaters, but the Addams Family are eternal optimists so they still prepare treats such as salamander sandwiches and porcupine-quill taffy for any lucky kiddies who come to their door.

Cutting Salamander Sandwiches With a Guillotine

Things take a downturn when Wednesday returns early from trick-or-treating in tears.  It seems that their neighbor across the street told her that there is no such thing as witches, and now her heart is broken.  In order to restore her faith in witches, the Addams Family holds a seance to contact their Aunt Singe, a witch who was burned at the stake in Salem.  Joining them for the seance is another member of the extended family: Cousin Cackle, a beared hermit who dresses in rags, lives in a cave, and only speaks with maniacal cackling laughter.

Lurch Introduces Cousin Cackle

The seance triggers a comedy of errors as Lurch pretends to be the ghostly voice of Aunt Singe to please Wednesday, and then inadvertently agrees to appear in person at the Addams Family residence that night.  Granny prowls the streets trying to find a witch to appear with no luck, but ultimately fate comes to their rescue as a woman costumed as a witch comes to their door on a Halloween scavenger hunt, and the family is convinced that it is their dearly departed Aunt Singe.

Aunt Singe?

More screencaps after the break...