Thursday, June 2, 2011

My So Called Life: Halloween

The obligatory Halloween episode. Every show has at least one. Maybe even a few if it's been on long enough, and today I'll let you know my thoughts on how MSCL handled it.

As soon as Angela changed into her costume, I got a weird feeling like I'd seen this episode before. Then it hit me. The whole vibe of this reminded me of a Buffy episode from Season Two - I Only Have Eyes For You. Sure, it didn't end with someone shooting Angela, but it still conjured up the same creepy feelings in me. It turns out that the original air date for "Halloween" was 1994 and that episode of Buffy didn't run until 1998, so maybe Joss Whedon was taking his cues from this show? Anyway, onto the rest of the story.

I also got a weird Buffy-like feeling when Patty visited the costume shop. It reminded me so much of the episode where Buffy and her friends all become their costumes (also titled "Halloween"). I was waiting for the shop owner to do some kind of transformation into Ethan Rayne. But unless the writers are Time Lords there's no way this was influenced by Buffy since it aired before Buffy even existed. In any case, Ethan does not appear, and Patty heads home with a Rapunzel costume for her, and a swashbuckling pirate for Graham. Both are so turned on by each other that they never even make it to the party at Sharon's house. I have to say this was a nice bit of comic relief in the midst of the scenes with Rayanne, Angela and Krakow.

Overall, a solid episode. Even though there wasn't a ton of Jordan/Angela screen time, I think I'm starting to get their relationship. If you can even call it that.

Best part of the episode: Danielle dressed as Angela. Her impression is spot on.

2 comments:

  1. This is one of my least fave episodes because I wanted more Jordan/Angela screen time! Plus it's weirdly paranormal for a contemporary show. Not the last time they go paranormal though in the span of 19 episodes.

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  2. Totally made me think of Buffy! And yeah, not one of my fave episodes.

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