Happy Days: "Haunted"

Premiered October 29, 1974.

"Everyone knows about old Magnolia Simpson.  Ever since she lost her head, anyone who goes in there gets THEIR head chopped off too!"
 -Joanie Cunningham

The kids decorate Arnold's for Halloween

It's Halloween in 1950s Milwaukee.  Ralph Malph (Donny Most) has a plan for his Halloween party.  He wants to hold it in "the old Simpson House," an abandoned house that many believe is haunted by the headless ghost of Magnolia Simpson.  Ralph figures "chicks think it's haunted, they get scared, they need comforting."  Ralph tells Richie (Ron Howard) and Potsie (Anson Williams) not to tell anyone their plan.

Ralph tells Richie & Potsie that his Halloween party will take place in a "haunted" house.

He especially doesn't want a local gang called the Demons to know about the party.  The Demons' leader Bag Zombrowski (Neil J. Schwartz) has a history of crashing parties.

Arnold's carhop Marsha (Beatrice Colen) tells Bag she has no time for him & his gang, the Demons.

Ralph asks Richie to check on the house before the party, to make sure it looks appropriately scary and dusty.

Richie & Joanie check out the Simpson house.

Richie and his sister Joanie (Erin Moran) stop by the house to inspect it.  Joanie believes the house is haunted and doesn't want to go inside.  She says everyone who enters gets their head chopped off, adding that four people disappeared inside the house last year.   Richie scoffs, but upon entering the house, he opens the closet and sees something that scares him.  Richie freaks out (much to Joanie's amusement) and runs away.

Howard & Richie get scared while watching a horror movie.

Richie tells his father Howard that he saw a "headless body."  Howard says his "mind must have been playing tricks" and that these stories have been around since he was a kid. Richie's father says he needs to look at things logically, but adds he "wouldn't be caught dead" at the Simpson house.

Fonzie bristles when he hears Richie mention the Simpson house.

At Arnold's the next day, Richie seeks advice from Fonzie (Henry Winkler) about his spooky experience.  The Fonz tells him he must face his fears to get over them.

Gloria & Richie nervously walk through the Simpson house.

On Halloween night, Richie and his girlfriend Gloria (Linda Purl) set out for the Simpson house.  They're both a bit edgy, but Richie refuses to give in to his fears.  Richie and Gloria walk through the house, trying their best not to be afraid.  They see a coffin in front of them...it starts opening from the inside!

  But it turns out to be a Halloween gag from Ralph!
 

Potsie and the rest of their friends emerge and the party begins.  It appears that Richie's has conquered his fears...but the Simpson house has some more Halloween surprises for Richie and his friends...

Potsie, Ralph & Richie encounter...Magnolia Simpson?!

J.A. Morris says:
This episode is good, not great, but it's grown on me after multiple viewings.

Fonzie draws glasses on a skull decoration.

It gets the spookiness of Halloween right.  Director Garry Marshall and Cinematographer Richard A. Kelley do a nice job creating the atmosphere of a horror movie.  It's got a lot more jump cuts than the average episode. 

When I was a kid, every town I lived in had a "Simpson House", allegedly haunted by ghosts. Even hardcore skeptics like myself can get creeped out by such houses, so I can identify with Richie here.  It seemed like every year, some kid would talk about breaking into the local "haunted" house on Halloween, but they always chickened out.

Ralph shows off his "Alfred Hitchcock" costume!

I watched Happy Days religiously when I was a kid, but I can't say I remember watching "Haunted" before I "discovered" it a couple years ago.  I thought Ralph's "Alfred Hitchcock" costume was a nice touch.

Potsie bobs for apples; Ralph asks "Weren't you the main course at my last Hawaiian luau?"

There aren't a lot of big laughs in "Haunted", but it's still an entertaining Halloween episode. Erin Moran gets the funniest lines here as Joanie, relentlessly mocking Richie for being afraid of ghosts.  At one point, Joanie says that Richie looks like "Bela Lugosi sucked all the blood out of you!"

Fonzie and Cloris dressed up as "Lone Ranger & Tonto".

"Haunted" is also interesting because it was made before Happy Days became the show most of us remember.  Fonzie has a fairly small role here, this was before "The Fonz" broke out and became a national sensation.  But Henry Winkler still makes an impression in the two scenes where he's featured.

Marsha runs through a gauntlet of water balloons & Halloween pranks.

Characters Bag and Marsha were recurring characters in early seasons, but both disappeared by season 4.

This was the last season that the series was shot with a single camera, with a laugh track.  The first two seasons feel a lot like the film American Graffiti, one of the series' inspirations.  The famous Happy Days catch phrases "Sit on it!", "I still got it!" and "AAYYYY!" are notably absent from "Haunted".  These days, I find these earlier, quieter episodes more enjoyable.

Now we get to the not-so-good parts of "Haunted": The music.  In the original edit, this episode opens with Fats Domino's classic "I'm Walkin'".  Another scene prominently features "Bird Dog" by the Everly Brothers.  But currently, the only "official" release replaces these with generic music that sounds like it was recorded in the 80s or 90s.  It's very distracting, it took me out of "the moment" and sucks the fun out of several scenes. 

Fonzie shows the gang how he "bobs" for apples.

Here's some trivia about "Haunted" :
Two kids come to the Cunningham house to trick or treat, one dressed as a cowboy the other dressed as a princess.

They're played by Scott and Lori Marshall, the children of Happy Days creator, Garry Marshall.

And another of Marshall's kids, Kathleen Marshall, plays one of Joanie's friends, dressed as a witch:

Also, Linda Purl plays Richie's girlfriend Gloria here and in several other season 2 episodes.  Purl would later join the cast (in season 10) as another character, Fonzie's live-in girlfriend Ashley Pfister.

"Haunted" is a generally fun episode, but the music replacements cost it a jack o'lantern or two.  So for the 1st time in this blog's history, I'm giving a program two different ratings:
J.A. Morris' rating:
For the version that contains the original music:

3 jack o'lanterns.

For the version that contains the "new" music:

2 and a half jack o'lanterns

RigbyMel says:

This is a okay episode of Happy Days, but not one of the best.   The Halloween decorations and mild mayhem are enjoyable, but the episode feels a little bit flat to me.

A coffin buffet

As regards the music substitutions in this episode, I agree with J.A. Morris that this really detracts and distracts from the overall atmosphere -- the exact opposite of what good soundtrack music is supposed to do.

Happy Days is always worth watching, but "Haunted" is not on my list of required annual holiday viewing.

RigbyMel's rating:

 2 jack o'lanterns

Iron Man 3

(A note from J.A. Morris & RigbyMel: We don't normally post reviews of Christmas programming in October, but this was just released the other day on Blu-Ray.  Plus, those who haven't seen it can add it to their "things to watch this Christmas" list.)

Released May 3, 2013.
"Here's a little Holiday greeting I've been wanting to send to the Mandarin.  I just didn't know how to phrase it until now.
My name is Tony Stark and I'm not afraid of you.  I know you're a coward, so I decided...that you just died, pal.  I'm gonna come get the body.  There's no politics here, just good old fashioned revenge."
-Tony Stark

Stark tinkers in his lab.

It's Christmas time, but Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) isn't feeling very merry.  He's been unable to get past his near-death experience during the battle of New York (as seen  in The Avengers), and it's been depriving him of sleep.  He uses his sleepless nights to tinker with his Iron Man armor, constantly trying to improve it.  This has created tension in his relationship with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), who is now managing Stark's company.

The Mandarin issues a threat to the President after taking credit for bombing an Air Base.

At the same time, a terrorist known as the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) has taken credit for several bombings all over the world.  The President of the United States (William Sadler) declares war on the Mandarin and selects Stark's friend James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) to capture the terrorist.  Rhodey will hunt the down the Mandarin using Iron Patriot armor.

Rhodey becomes the Iron Patriot and pursues the Mandarin.

Complicating things further is the arrival of Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce).  Years earlier, he asked Stark to join his company Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM) and was rejected. AIM has developed something called Extremis, which allows people who've lost limbs to regenerate them.  Extremis' creator is a "biological coder" named Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall), who also has a history with Stark.  Unfortunately, Extremis has a side effect that drives its test subjects crazy and turns them into living bombs.

Aldrich Killian shows off Extremis to Pepper.

In one of the Mandarin's attacks, Tony's friend Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) is injured and slips into a coma.  Stark publicly challenges the Mandarin and even tells him his home address.  Predictably, this leads to an attack that destroys Stark's home.  He dons his Iron Man armor and manages to get Pepper to safety.  However, Stark is buried under rubble and presumed dead.    

Stark's mansion falls into the Pacific Ocean.

In his attempt to escape, Stark crash-lands in Rose Hill Tennessee.  His Iron Man suit is severely damaged and drained of energy. 

He's powerless and freezing cold and things are looking bad for Iron Man.  But he meets a young boy named Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins) who turns out to be a budding technological genius. Stark doesn't like the idea of working with a kid, but realizes he has no choice.

Things heat up (literally AND figuratively) when Stark learns that Killian, who is somehow connected to the Mandarin,  has captured Pepper.  Iron Man enlists the aid of Iron Patriot in rescuing her.

But even if they are successful, the Mandarin has saved Christmas Day for his most explosive act of terror:he will blow up the President on live television.

Can Stark and Rhodey save Pepper and bring Killian and Mandarin to justice?

J.A. Morris says:
I'll admit up front that I grew up reading Marvel Comics and I've generally enjoyed the recent Marvel movies.  But I don't watch them uncritically (I wasn't crazy about the Fantastic Four & Spider-Man movies).  I didn't know Iron Man 3 was a "Christmas movie" until I saw it in the theater.  I'm guessing the May release date caused the studio to downplay the  movie's holiday aspects.

Stark listens to Christmas LPs in his workshop;Check out the 'Charlie Brown Christmas' soundtrack near the bottom left.

But Christmas trees, lights and songs show up throughout the movie.  Stark makes grenades out of Christmas ornaments.  Some of the soundtrack music even employs jingle bells. 

Happy expresses concern over Killian...while standing next to a Christmas tree!

And if that's not enough, the film opens with a New Year's Eve party (a flashback to a "Y2K"-Eve party, to be exact).

Tony Stark & Maya Hansen ring in the year 2000.

In addition to the Christmas stuff, Iron Man 3 contains one of the greatest action sequences I've ever seen. When Iron Man has to save passengers when their plane blows up, he plays a unique game of "Barrel Of Monkeys".  And unlike other "big, dumb,action flicks", this movie has a cast of very good actors.  Ben Kingsley is great in one of the showiest roles of his 40 year career (and that's saying something!).    

Stark tells a young fan:"I loved you in 'A Christmas Story' by the way."

And there's also plenty of humor to lighten things up between explosions.  Examples include some funny lines about Happy's Downton Abbey fandom, and one of Stark's "worker" robots wears a dunce cap:

If Iron Man 3 has any flaws, it's the many injuries that Stark DOESN'T suffer when he's out of his armor.  Stark survives a building blowing up & falling down on top of him, more than one fall of (what appears to be) at least 20 feet, and he doesn't seem to be hurt at all.  I know asking for "realism" in a superhero movie sounds silly, but you have to draw the line somewhere.

Stark & Rhodey fight on without their armor.

As others have said, the nice thing about Christmas movies/specials/episodes is that there's something for everyone.  Sentimental dramas, slasher movies, Rudolph, and now we have a great example of a Christmas movie built around a superhero.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 and a half Candy Canes

RigbyMel says:

This movie is part of a proud subgenre of Christmas themed action flicks like Lethal Weapon and Die Hard.  Interestingly enough, it was written and directed by Shane Black, who also wrote the screenplay for Lethal Weapon.  Iron Man 3 is a fun action movie in its own right and the Christmas themes filtered through a superhero lens add to the fun.   

Tony Stark's recent trauma prevents him from properly getting into the holiday spirit.  He acts selfishly and impulsively resulting in inappropriately over the top giant bunny gift giving to outright friend/girlfriend endangerment ... 

Pepper is surprised by an extremely large Christmas bunny in the driveway.

... to say nothing of endangerment of the general public at the hands of the Mandarin and Killian.  

Mandarin blows up the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Stark is made to pay the price for his selfishness -  losing his home, the functionality of his armor and finding himself in a bit of a fish-out-of-water situation with a Tiny Tim-esque moppet in Tennessee.  

Potato-gun-wielding moppet.

Stark must reconnect with others as human beings and use teamwork with his surrogate family to win the day against the bad guys.   Plus, as J.A. Morris has mentioned above, the Christmas ornament grenades would make MacGyver proud.

I was never particularly a fan of Iron Man in the comics, as Stark says in this movie he's sort of "just a man in a can."   However, these movies and Robert Downey Jr.'s great performance in them have made me appreciate the character more.  If you like your Christmas movies with a side of explosions,  Iron Man 3 is ripe for holiday viewing (and newly available on Blu-Ray, DVD, streaming, etc). 

RigbyMel's rating:

3 and a half candy canes

The Adventures Of Batman: "The Great Scarecrow Scare"

First aired on November 9, 1968.

"Stuff this top cop in a closet, while I masquerade as the top cop masquerading as me!"
-The Scarecrow

It's Halloween, and Gotham City is holding its annual charity costume party.  Batman (Olan Soule), Robin (Casey Kasem) and Batgirl (Jane Webb) are in attendance.  They're surprised to see their enemy the Scarecrow at the party.

It turns out to be Commissioner Gordon (Ted Knight) in a "Scarecrow" Halloween costume.  He says the "costume service" delivered it by mistake.  Gordon is there to act as MC of a charity auction.

But when the commissioner steps away, he's attacked by the real Scarecrow (also voiced by Knight) and his minions!

The villain takes out the commissioner with eggs that are filled with knockout-gas.  With Gordon captive, Scarecrow will pose as Gordon...dressed as the Scarecrow.

Batgirl has followed her father and gets gassed as well.  Scarecrow takes her hostage.  Batman says they can track her down through a transmitter on her utility belt.

But the Scarecrow discovers the transmitter and decides to use it to set a trap for the heroes.  The Dynamic Duo will do everything they can to save Batgirl.  Will the combined talents of the three heroes be enough to stop the Scarecrow?

J.A. Morris says:
This is a short, slight cartoon, about 8 minutes long.  It's about one step above "limited" animation.  It sort of falls in the "so bad it's good" category. The Scarecrow is the perfect villain for a Halloween episode.  But hardcore DC Comics fans might be disappointed that this version of the Scarecrow (and his costume) is dumbed down for Saturday morning fare.  He doesn't have his fear gas and is basically just a thug in a scarecrow costume.  But his eggs that shoot knock-out gas are sort of humorous!

Scarecrow steals a painting at the charity auction.

The Adventures Of Batman is (rightly) overshadowed today by later Batman animated series, but it was the first Batman cartoon.  This series featured Olan Soule and Casey Kasem as Batman and Robin (respectively), they would go on to voice the characters for the next decade in various Super Friends series.

At the last second, Robin is saved from getting threshed.

Speaking of voice actors, both the cackling Scarecrow and Commissioner Gordon are voiced by none other than Ted Baxter himself, Ted Knight!  As good as they are, the voice actors are, unfortunately the best thing about "The Great Scarecrow Scare".  It's a credit to Knight's talent that I didn't recognize his voice until I looked up this series on imdb.

At least Mary & Lou never had to deal with the Scarecrow!

The "plot" here is weak.  We see Scarecrow steal a painting at the charity auction that's worth a lot of money...and then the painting is never mentioned again, it just turns into a "Save Batgirl" story.  Did Scarecrow sell the painting on the black market offscreen?

And why would Gordon think it's a good idea to attend a Halloween party dressed like a wanted criminal?  Isn't that asking for trouble, one way or another?  The costume service screwed up so he had no choice but to wear it?  I'm guessing a police commissioner would be smart enough to attend without a costume instead.

Scarecrow cracks a whip at Batman & Robin, a bound & gagged Batgirl looks on.

The worst thing about it is the portrayal of  Batgirl.  She gets easily captured, then accidentally gasses both herself and Batman, allowing Scarecrow to their re-capture them.  Batgirl is nothing but a victim and an idiot here.  Not a very positive message about a smart & powerful woman (remember, Batgirl is both a superhero AND a librarian!) to put in a kids' cartoon, even by the standards of the late 1960s.  On a positive note, she does use a tractor...

...to send an SOS to Batman!

But that's not enough to cancel out all the negatives.

This series can be found on several streaming video sites.  If you were a kid in the 60s or 70s, "The Great Scarecrow Scare" might be an enjoyable Halloween trip down memory lane, and it was fun to hear the voice actors again.  But without the nostalgia factor, there's not a lot to recommend here.

Batman throws a punch at Scarecrow's henchmen.

J.A. Morris' rating:

2 jack-o-lanterns