(Dis)Comfort TV #3: Five Classic Comfort TV Halloween Episodes

 

And now, after our detour last week into the bizarre world of the Paul Lynde Halloween Special, here are five more traditional Halloween shows to enhance your holiday celebration.

 “Halloween”

The Facts of Life

Was Edna’s Edibles inspired by Sweeney Todd? The Eastland girls begin to wonder if the ghost of the murderous Grisly Gertie has possessed Mrs. Garrett, especially after a kindly old man disappears from her kitchen. Did he become the secret ingredient in her famous Halloween bratwurst? Oh, if only they actually went there, and then used Edna’s hidden lust for homicide to explain the season one departures of Nancy, Sue Ann, Molly and Cindy. 

One of the trick-or-treating kids in this episode (the little girl dressed like Gretel from Hansel and Gretel) was played by Stefanie Ridel, who grew up to become a rock star in the band Wild Orchid, and later a television writer who penned three episodes of Hannah Montana.

“The One With the Halloween Party”

Friends

So much to like here – Monica as Catwoman confronting Phoebe, dressed as Supergirl; Lisa Kudrow reprising Phoebe’s vacuous sister, Ursula, and Ursula’s fiancé being played by Sean Penn, a reminder of just how prominent this series was in its heyday. And as with The Facts of Life we have yet another unexpected Hannah Montana connection – one of the trick-or-treaters here is played by Emily Osment.

A mid-episode discussion about which friends could beat up which other friends ends in an arm-wrestling match between Ross and Chandler, that will be familiar to anyone who has ever watched the series’ blooper reels. Note the very quick close-up of Chandler’s face – that’s the most they could salvage after several blown takes. 

“Twitch or Treat”

Bewitched

Halloween was a natural inspiration for Bewitched, which featured several holiday- themed episodes. This season 3 effort was my favorite thanks to the appearance of Uncle Arthur, who always brings out Samantha’s mischievous side. Watch how gleefully she participates in bamboozling her Councilman (summoned by Mrs. Kravitz, of course) before he can crash Endora’s Halloween party. 

Best moments: Arthur heckling Endora’s recitation of “Twas the Night Before Halloween,” and a cameo from baseball legend Willie Mays, who was outed as a warlock but still made the Hall of Fame.  

 “Halloween With the Addams Family”

The Addams Family

Every day is Halloween at the Addams residence, but the actual holiday always brings special surprises – in this case, two escaped bank robbers who take refuge in the Addams’ home until the coast is clear. After dodging the family lion and bobbing for live crabs, they realize they’d be safer in jail. Don Rickles plays one of the crooks.

What I love about the Addams family is how gracefully they treat every guest, regardless of the often-horrified reactions to their hospitality. Despite their eccentricities they remain one of the kindest and most open-minded families ever depicted on television. 

“The Gift of Life”

Wings

Wings remained consistently entertaining right through in its eighth and final season, and “The Gift of Life” is an underrated episode from an underrated series. When a medical courier leaves a cooler in the Nantucket airport, brothers Joe and Brian believe it contains a heart scheduled for transplant into a prominent politician. Actually, it contains an entirely different substance, to be used in the insemination of a horse. Best moment: The Hackett boys burst into a Boston hospital and announce, “Out of our way – what we have here belongs in a United States Senator!”

Friends: TV's Last Classic Sitcom

 There was a time when everyone watched Friends. Then a backlash began during the latter seasons, which often happens with any television series, or movie, or song that achieves a particularly substantial level of popularity. The remnants of that backlash have yet to subside. 

Today, when lists are made of the greatest sitcoms of all time, they include the usual titles from the 1950s through the 1980s, but among shows from the past 10-15 years it’s usually Seinfeld that is singled out, along with cult series like Arrested Development. Friends, it seems, has become a victim of its own mass-market appeal. Once the cool kids realized that everybody liked the show, they quickly moved on to something less mainstream.

But for me, Friends was the last true classic television situation comedy. That doesn't mean it was the last television comedy to achieve greatness, but it was the last to do so with the ubiquitous level of viewer enthusiasm that TV once took for granted. 

What’s more impressive is how Friends (1994-2004) reached this mass appeal in the cable era, when many homes suddenly had hundreds of channels to choose from. This was also when network television found itself in competition with shows like HBO’s Sex and the City, which enjoyed much broader latitude in content.

Seinfeld achieved this as well. But that series was too subversive to be considered an heir to situation comedies from generations past. Its objective was not to function within that format, but to undermine it with a cynical self-awareness. That it did so brilliantly cannot be denied. But as Seinfeld was more of an anti-sitcom, it belongs in a separate category. If you wished to create an unbroken chain of traditional television sitcoms that spans the history of the medium, the first link in that chain would be I Love Lucy, and the last link belongs to Friends.

Jennifer Aniston has made so many forgettable movies over the past decade, it’s easy to forget that she once earned an Emmy Award and comparisons to Lucille Ball for her portrayal of Rachel Green. Sure, her hairstyle was more famous than she was for awhile, but as the Ross-Rachel romance evolved she and David Schwimmer created characters viewers genuinely cared about. Similarly, Matthew Perry’s repeated and failed attempts at headlining another series have obscured the realization that he was once the funniest actor on television. 

But it was more than individual performances, or the fact that you could mix and match any combination of the series’ six leads and get something memorable. Friends is the last classic sitcom because it’s the last series to create moments that were widely discussed around office water coolers and in high school classrooms the next morning. You didn’t have to ask someone if they watched Friends last night – you knew they had, so you could go right to reviewing the particulars of the latest episode.

During ten years and more than 250 episodes, they gave us plenty to discuss – the trip to London, where Ross said Rachel’s name as he was marrying someone else; Phoebe’s songs at Central Perk; Monica and Ross dancing on Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve; the boys vs. the girls trivia challenge with apartments on the line; the Thanksgiving episodes; the incredibly poignant moment when Rachel discovers how long Ross has loved her, when they watch their high school prom video. 

These scenes now have a permanent residence in the sitcom pantheon, with Bob Hartley ordering Chinese food, Lucy and Viv installing a shower, and Mary Richards at the funeral of Chuckles the Clown.

Television no longer occupies the same central place in the leisure time of those 30 and younger that it did in generations past, so the chance of any series achieving Friends-level status is infinitesimal. Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother are all long-running, critically acclaimed shows. Do an informal survey and ask the next ten people you meet if they watch them. You’ll be lucky to get 3 “yes” responses. That’s the difference. 

Dancing With the (Classic TV) Stars

 While most of my TV viewing time is devoted to shows that aired their last episode anywhere from 30-60 years ago, I do make time for some current series. One of them is Dancing With the Stars.

I’ve been a fan since the first season and have never missed an episode. It’s a beautiful show to watch in HD, with the elegant ballroom set and colorful costumes. And host Tom Bergeron is the best in the business – he has perfect live TV instincts and knows exactly how much to add to a moment while always keeping the focus on the performers.

The celebrities are ostensibly the primary draw, to see if they take to the samba like seasoned pros or get dragged around the floor like a wet sack of potatoes. But like many fans I am drawn more to their professional partners, who represent the apex of the species, and would easily sail past the cutline if eugenics ever made a comeback.

Ultimately, I am a fan because dancing is a beautiful thing to watch, especially when it is done well. It is an art form that elevates the spirit.

Of course, long before Dancing With the Stars there were memorable dance moments on television, dating back to Arthur Murray’s Dance Party in the 1950s.

These are a few of my favorites:

Happy Days (“They Shoot Fonzies, Don’t They?”)

This is the dance marathon episode, where Fonzie partners with Joanie even though he’s exhausted from pushing his bike 12 miles. At the climax, the Fonz performs a Russian folk dance called the Kazatsky with an athletic, showstopping virtuosity that is completely unexpected from the character or from Henry Winkler. Who else was shocked at how good he was? Plus you also get Charlene Tilton as a snotty cheerleader, so this is a win-win all around. 

 I Love Lucy (“Lucy Does the Tango”)

In its final season, I Love Lucy was still capable of comedy greatness. The scene in which Lucy and Ricky dance the tango, while Lucy has dozens of eggs hidden under her shirt, generates the longest sustained laugh in the series’ history – longer than the chocolate factory assembly line, Vitametavegamin or the grape stomping in Italy. 

The Monkees (“Everywhere a Sheik, Sheik”)

This is my favorite Monkees scene. It’s an ideal showcase for Davy Jones’ English dance hall panache, and it comes off as both polished and silly at the same time. The girl, by the way, is Anita Mann, an Emmy-winning choreographer who has worked on everything from Sesame Street to Solid Gold. 

Star Trek: The Next Generation (“Data’s Day”)

Dr. Crusher teaches Data how to tap dance. While the scene is mostly played for laughs, it is obvious that both Brent Spiner and Gates McFadden know what they’re doing.

Taxi (“Fantasy Borough: Part 2”)

I was never a big Taxi fan, to be honest, but even if it never quite connected with my personal taste I can certainly recognize its outstanding writing and remarkable cast. The series’ second season concluded with a big Broadway number performed to “Lullaby of Broadway.” Maybe the dancing here isn’t so precise, except for Broadway vet Marilu Henner, but the scene wins you over on enthusiasm alone. You can’t watch this and not smile. 

The Honeymooners (“Young At Heart”)

Jackie Gleason was a big guy who was remarkably light on his feet. Along with the golf lesson (“Hellooooo, ball!”) Ed Norton teaching Ralph to dance “The Hucklebuck” certainly ranks among the best moments in the classic 39. 

Frasier (“Moon Dance”)

Niles’ unrequited love for Daphne had percolated for more than a season, before the duo danced a sizzling tango that brought his hidden feelings to the surface – and crushed them moments later. Still, Daphne in that devastating red dress was a sight to behold.

Friends (“The One With the Routine”)

Siblings Ross and Monica get on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, and introduce their “famous” brother-sister dance routine to a nationwide audience. It was a toss-up between this and Elaine’s dancing on Seinfeld for a best-of-the-worst dance moment. Friends rates the edge for the performance’s go-for-broke gusto, and for inspiring years of tributes at proms and weddings.