These are tough times for fans of
Friday the 13. It’s been a decade since the last film with
only a video game, some toys, and some silly blu ray release
shenanigans to barely tide us over. The key factor holding back
further adventures of Jason Voorhees is a bonkers lawsuit that could
potentially alter screenwriting law depending on how things play out
and is now starting to leech out and effect franchise products like
toys which may begin to dry up within the coming year. At this point
the best we can do is dig into the deeper cuts of the franchise.
Comics and novels are one thing of course but with most being out of
print it’s easy for them to get costly. There is one branch of the
franchise that people often forget however. One that may not always
scratch that killer summer camp itch but can still provide a ton of
fun and be gotten for rock bottom prices. I'm talking about the
barely connected, but still worthwhile, Friday the 13th
The Series.
Originally conceived as something
totally separate until producers figured it wiser to attach a popular
name Friday the 13th the Series is a
supernatural case of the week show with a trio of heroes tracking
down demonically cursed antiques. The items in question belonged to
Lewis, a man who sold them in service to the devil. It falls to an
old acquaintance of his named Jack Marshak along with Lewis's nephew,
Ryan and niece, Micki to set things right. Also the latter two are
only cousins by marriage which resulted in one of the strangest will
they wont they relationships on TV. While the show never crosses over
with the events at Crystal Lake there were a number of directors,
writers, producers, and actors who bounced between both arenas. Not
only was it often entertaining but proved to be quite popular in its
day and provided another vital stepping stone for television series
like The X-Files or Supernatural in the years
following.
During its original airing I was aware
of the show but far too young to get away with watching it, plus I
hadn’t even been properly introduced to the films at the time. Over
the following decades I would catch tiny bits of it on the likes of
Chiller yet rarely heard anyone write much detailing the series
overall. Even today most quickie articles about best episodes lean
heavily on the first season which I can tell you right now is not
accurate and implies that many folks probably drop out before
finishing the entire series. For me I bought the complete DVD set
nearly two years ago and have been moving through it at first in
random bursts before recently settling on a nice two episodes every
Friday pace. Currently I’m near the end of season two which is much
more solid than its predecessor, though that doesn't take away from
the highlights of season one. That's what lead to this article. I
thought it was time to bring the show to light every so often,
especially during upcoming Fridays of a certain date. Today I thought
we’d take a look at which episodes from season one stood out as
particularity interesting. Note you may one day see some of these
expanded upon in greater detail one day.
Honorable mentions: Root of All
Evil, Inheritance, Shadow Boxer.
Vanity's Mirror
I'd debated including this one as
there are a number of silly elements that drag it down, yet for all
of those issues it still stands out as a memorable and fun piece of
television that quickly sums up the ups and downs of this series,
making it a great introductory installment.
The storyline for this one concerns a
miserable teenage girl who is, quite frankly, ugly inside and out.
Boys pick on her constantly and she lives in her perky, attractive
sisters shadow. That is until the day she finds a makeup compact with
a mirror that causes any man caught in its reflection to fall
obsessively in love until she has to kill them. At first she uses
this to get back at her tormentors but soon sets her sights on the
sisters hunky boyfriend.
What makes this one work is a strange
combination of idiotic aspects like people struggling to avoid light
reflected from a tiny mirror alongside more serious elements of
teenage jealousy and isolation. The whole adventure takes a
considerable toll on everyone involved and was successful enough to
garner a lesser squeal episode in season two. Not the absolute
strongest installment but a solid way to sample the show.
Hellowe’en
More than any other entry on this list
this holiday episode veers more towards silly fun than brooding
horror. Let's be honest though. If you're the type who's interested
in a show like this, which is likely what brought you here in the
first place, you're probably open to the idea of a fun Halloween
adventure involving magic and tiny evil women.
It's Halloween night and our core trio
are having a party to relax and get to know the neighborhood a little
better. Everything's going great and looks like a party store
commercial until Uncle Lewis comes back from the pit of hell with a
few schemes up his sleeve. He wants to return to the living world via
an amulet that allows his spirit to posses a body. It all comes down
to a mystical showdown between good and evil in a mortuary while a
little demon lady chases our heroes around almost Scooby-Doo
style.
While this is a very over the top
viewing experience it was actually an important step for the series
as a whole. This was the first episode to not deal exclusively with a
cursed object and brought uncle Lewis back as a recurring villain.
Forces of evil would also come into play in later episodes in the
forms of satanists, witches, And Lewis himself. Essentially this is
where the series decided it could be more than just evil dolls and
cursed statues. Plus it features all the costumes and decorations of
a proper Halloween special making it a perfect mood piece come
October.
Faith Healer
Coming from Legendary director David
Cronenberg you might imagine this episode to be a knockout that would
put everything else to shame. Oddly enough we find the director
plaything things rather straight though there are a few of his usual
touches to be found.
The main topic is, as you might
expect, a faith healer who is shamed and debunked by a man right in
the middle of a gathering of his flock. Retreating in shame and rage
he soon finds a white glove that allows him to absorb the sickness of
whomever he touches. Problem is the illness will build up inside his
body until he dies which means he must transfer it to another poor
soul who will die of a much worse version of whatever malady he
originally collected. In typical Cronenberg fashion this is visually
depicted by the glove becoming disgusting and flesh like as it
pulsates with disease.
Anyhow the faith healer is now a
public sensation thanks to his ability to actually cure people.
However few know of his side-project of murdering homeless folks with
a single touch. After the main characters get wind of this Jack seeks
out his old friend who originally debunked the healer for help in
recovering the glove. Things spiral out of hand however as this man
is now dying of a disease and has his own ideas for using the glove.
This one's a great deal more cold and
grim with a few nasty touches of body-horror to boot. What really
helps it score is how the drama between different groups plays out.
What would a man without faith do if someone suddenly had the
mystical means to provide aid, even if those means have terrifying
costs? What is the value and cost of life? Heady stuff but preformed
briskly enough to stay engaging and a definite must see novelty for
fans of the director.
Double Exposure
If I hadn't known any better I'd have
thought this episode had been directed by Cronenberg as well due to
the strange take on duality on display. This tale concerns a news
reporter whose career has been in the dumps until he starts receiving
on-air phone calls from a serial killer not unlike Dee Wallace in The
Howling. Unlike Dee this reporter knows the killer all too well,
because he is the killer, or rather it's his duplicate.
The antique in question is an old
camera that allows for the creation of short-lived murderous doubles
with a set amount of time for the original to destroy the photos and
duplicate in order to not be destroyed themselves. In the middle of
all this is Ryan and his newest girlfriend. He sees the reporter hack
someone to death, yet with the perfect alibi of being on a live news
broadcast the reporter lures the couple into his world.
There's some really crazy stuff going
on in this episode be it the birth of duplicates all the way down to
the bizarre wrap-up. It involves topics like how far we're willing to
go for what we want be that success or vengeance.
Scarecrow
Undoubtedly the crown jewel of season
one has got to be Scarecrow. At least that was a statement I'd
regularly encounter across the web but given how inaccurate some of
those lists could be I can be forgiven for doubting them. It's true
though, Scarecrow really is an outstanding episode and one of
the few pieces of scarecrow fiction actually worth your time.
A series of killings draws Micki and
Ryan out to the countryside in search of a scarecrow. Sounds simple
enough but when you add in the wacky locals, an orphaned kid, and
sudden emotional revelations about Ryan's past it all starts to pile
up.
Just about everything aspect of this
episode is solid, which is why I'd prefer it be a surprise for you
all out there. The setting and scenery are fantastic, the scarecrow
himself is a fun threat and his human master is even nuttier, plus
the character drama is another deeper direction for the show. Ryan's
messed-up family is brought up again near the end of the season so
the writers actually remembered what they'd set in motion. The ace in
the hole though is the setting and atmosphere. This is autumn
personified. Almost like the opening of Halloween 4 if it were
forty-odd minutes long.
And there we go, the best offerings
from season one of this fun and often overlooked series. We'll be
taking a look at season two next month on everyone's favorite Friday
but for now consider this the unofficial trumpet of seasonal
material. We're not moving all the way into spooky territory just yet
though as there's still a couple of Summer topics to wrap in the
coming weeks. Still wanted to give you all something of a preview as
to what's coming.
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