Episodes airing on March 15 starting at 11am on Comet TV
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Poison Pen is definitely one of the most unintentionally hilarious episodes ever, fight me.
Seriously, look at Micki in this picture & imagine how anyone could possibly clock her as a dude.
Sis didn’t even get Dude lessons or anything, they just strapped down the girls & threw her in there. Then, the bonkers monastery with the Great Value Pondy monk & deliciously evil villain with his “Pre-meditating” line sends me into orbit. Oh, my sides! For why was there the ever convenient glory hole for Pondy to spy on Micki in the shower? Why are Ryan & Micki so comfy as to sleep in their undies as they share a single room?
Like??? They had just inherited the store, lol. This is *only* the 2nd episode, and they’re already parading around each other in underthings, lol. Also, Micki’s impeccable girly French manicure perpetually takes me out in the scene where she finds the cursed pen in the villain’s office. They really did the very least to make her a convincing boy monk named ‘Simon’.
The kicker is the end of the ep when Micki exclaims how great it is to be a girl again & I’m like ??? Yo, you never, ever stopped, & scream-die laughing.
Jesum crow, this show really is just the greatest thing ever.
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Taking a second to show some appreciation for that most awesome of Wiccan Pimps
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Reflecting - Chapter Two
Reflecting - Chapter Two
The fire escape, already slippery from the heavy rain, was made even more treacherous due to the darkness of the night. There were only a couple of lights shining in the alley behind the building and neither was strong enough to illuminate much. Without much choice, Garth climbed out the window from his loft on the sixth floor and began to work his way down the cold, wet, metal escape route.
He had only managed to make it to the fifth floor landing when he heard a noise above. The man who had lied to him, who had tricked him, was now climbing out the same window he had left moments earlier. He had hit the man, but not with any skill and obviously without enough strength to knock him out.
“Hey! Stop!” the man called down to him.
Garth ignored him and headed down to the fourth floor landing. If he could make it to the alley, he could get to his bike and get away from here, away from this man, away from this city. Anywhere was better than here. The events of the past week had shown Garth a side of himself he hated. He had become the type of person he despised. No, he had gone past that and become something evil.
Just as he hit the fourth floor he heard another sound, this time from below. A woman was shouting now, saying something he couldn’t make out with the rain falling and his heart pounding. He stopped, unsure of what to do, where to go. He looked up and saw the man getting closer.
“Stop!” Garth yelled up at him. “Leave me alone!”
The man ignored him and continued to climb down. He was so close now. Garth grabbed the railing and headed down toward the third floor. Another noise caused him to stop on the wet stairs.
A car pulled into the alley, it’s headlights blinding him briefly. He looked down toward the woman below and saw her waving at the car. He heard a noise from above, the man was getting close now. Garth climbed down the few remaining stairs to the third floor landing and stopped once more. He was drenched, the rain coming down as relentlessly as his pursuer from above.
The car stopped below and a figure got out of the driver’s side and joined the woman standing below the fire escape. He was trapped between them and the man who was only half a story above him now, so close Garth could see his eyes.
“Johnny, be careful!” the woman yelled up to them.
The man she called Johnny had paused on the stairs, only a few feet away from where Garth stood. They froze, eyes locked on each other, both unsure of how to proceed.
Johnny spoke first. “Give me the brush, Garth. This needs to end tonight.”
Garth’s hand instinctively went to his coat pocket. He had the brush there, safe, and he had no intention of ever parting with it. “Go away!” he shouted. “This has nothing to do with you. This is mine, and you have no right to take it from me!”
Johnny descended another step as he held up his hands. “Hey, Garth, I understand the power you feel with it. Believe me, I do. But this can’t go on, there can’t be any more deaths.” He descended another step.
Garth backed away from him, his hand still in his pocket, gripping the paint brush tightly. “You don’t understand! This makes me someone. Finally, I am someone important! Respected!” he shouted, loud enough to be heard over the pouring rain.
The man stepped down another stair. He still held his hands up in mock surrender. “I know you feel that way, man.” he said, his voice annoyingly calm given their situation. “But come on, those people didn’t have to die just to make you feel important.”
Before Johnny could take another step, Garth pulled the brush out of his pocket and held it forward, brandishing it as if it were a knife. “Stop! Don’t come any closer!” he shouted. “Not another step!”
“Johnny!” the woman shouted from below.
Johnny held a hand out over the side of the railing, a gesture to calm the woman, let her know he had the situation under control. “It’s okay. You’re just upset. Right, Garth? No one needs to get hurt, not anymore.” He stepped down closer and they were almost level now.
Just then, Garth heard a noise from below, but nearer than the woman on the street. A figure was coming out of the window on the second floor and Garth realized it must have been the man from the car. He was really trapped now, with Johnny above him and this other man right below.
“Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Garth shouted into the night. “I deserve this. I deserve to be happy, to be someone. So long I was just laughed at, called a hack, a nobody. But then this…” He looked at the brush he still held out before him. “This made me somebody! Just by getting rid of some of those rich, self-righteous snobs, I could then create real art, with my own hand!”
The man from below had begun to ascend the stairs and spoke now, with an older voice. “It’s not your hand that artwork is coming from, Garth. That paint brush is cursed. Your paintings are only there because of the price you paid with the blood of innocents.”
Garth laughed at this, loud and hard. He looked away from Johnny to where the old man was. “Innocents? Are you joking? They killed the spirits of so many good, talented people, just to make a quick buck on their precious art. And they didn’t care for any of it. It was all just for show! They were no innocents!”
“But they didn’t deserve to die, Garth. No one does.” the man from below said. “You can end this tonight, if you just hand over the brush.”
“Never!” Garth shouted, and he turned towards where the old man’s was. Lighting flashed in the sky, lighting up the entire alley.
Johnny took this moment to finish his descent and jumped at Garth, grabbing the arm that held the brush. The two men struggled, their feet slipping on the wet, metal landing. The old man came up now, but didn’t get too close, afraid to be struck with the innocent-looking, but deadly paint brush.
“Jack, grab the brush!” Johnny shouted, trying to shake it free from Garth’s hand.
Panicked, Garth yanked his hand away from Jack, pulling Johnny with him. Too close to the railing, which was wet and slippery from the storm, Garth bent over backward and fell. Johnny held tight to Garth’s arm and almost went over the railing as well, but was grabbed by Jack.
Garth swung now in the air, only Johnny’s grasp on his arm holding him. He looked down to the alley below, and saw the woman illuminated by the headlights of the car. Her hair was dark red, matted down wet. She looked up at him in terror.
“Let go of the brush so I can pull you up!” Johnny shouted, trying to gain a better grip on Garth’s arm. “Come on man, let it go!”
Garth looked up at him and smiled. “Never!” he said, and tried to reach up with his free hand to grab hold of the brush. But as he tried to switch the brush from one hand to the other, it fell, down into the alley. “No!” he cried, and struggled against the hand holding him.
It was too much for Johnny. With the man’s struggling and the rain, his hand slipped and Garth fell, following his beloved brush to the ground below.
Johnny and Jack quickly made their way down the fire escape and joined the woman on street level. She was looking at where Garth had landed, half obscured by a green metal dumpster.
“Is he okay, Micki?” Johnny asked her. “He didn’t really fall too far.”
Micki looked up at the pair of them and they could see the answer in her eyes. She shook her head to confirm it.
Jack sighed and stood still, but Johnny walked around her to see for himself. On the wet pavement, his body at a strange angle, lay the man he struggled with moments before. His neck was at an even worse angle than his body, and his eyes were wide open, looking up, but seeing nothing.
Johnny turned away and rejoined his friends. “Why didn’t he just give it up. He didn’t have to die, too.” He kicked the dumpster with his foot, hardly making a sound.
“We did what we could, Johnny.” Jack said, then added “Let’s look for the brush.”
Micki held it up in her hand. “Already found it, right when he dropped it. Come on, let’s get out of this rain and get back to the store.”
As they headed towards the car, Jack looked back and, shaking his head said, “Nothing more we can do for him. We can stop and call 9-1-1, anonymously.”
After they were in the car and on their way, Micki looked down at the brush in her hand. “Let’s just get this home and locked up in the vault. One more item recovered. One more step closer to this nightmare being behind us.”
“Will it?” Johnny said from the backseat. “Will this nightmare ever end?”
As always, the question remained unanswered, and they drove home.
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New Feature
Going to post a new feature here. Once a week, I will post a chapter of a fan fic I wrote for the 2008 NaNoWriMo event, a story I called Reflecting.
Having been unhappy with Ryan’s departure and the lack of a proper finale for “Friday the 13th: The Series”, as well as similar sentiments about the CBS late 80s “Beauty and the Beast” ending and the loss of Catherine on that show, I came up with an idea to fix all the problems that annoyed me.
This is fan fic, remember. Just my way of giving characters I liked proper, happy endings. I hope you will enjoy it. But I’m just happy sharing it, regardless. For this week, here is the prologue.
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Reflecting - Prologue
Friday the 13th: The Series
Lewis Vendredi made a deal with the devil to sell cursed antiques. But he broke the pact, and it cost him his soul. His niece Micki, and her cousin Ryan inherited the store… and with it, the curse. With their friend Jack Marshak, they vowed to get everything back.
Their mission was never easy, they sacrificed much and suffered often. Yet they grew - as people, as friends, as a family. They were resolute, determined to remove this horror from the world.
But an encounter with an evil man and his attempt to raise the Antichrist nearly destroyed Ryan’s soul. Instead, he was transformed back into a child, his memories gone. Sending Ryan away for his own safety, Micki and Jack continue their mission with their friends, Johnny and Rashid.
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Beauty and the Beast
Vincent: This is where the wealthy and the powerful rule. It is her world, a world apart from mine. Her name is Catherine. From the moment I saw her, she captured my heart with her beauty, her warmth, and her courage. I knew then, as I know now, she would change my life forever.
Catherine: He comes from a secret place, far below the city streets, hiding his face from strangers, safe from hate and harm. He brought me there to save my life; and now wherever I go, he is with me in spirit. For we have a bond stronger than friendship or love…and although we cannot be together, we will never, ever be apart.
Such was the story begun of two souls with all the odds against them. Yet they persevered and overcome everything to fall in love. Fate intervened, however, in the form of an evil man named Gabriel. He did what nothing else could - separated Catherine and Vincent, perhaps forever. Vincent avenged her death and saved their son, but was left without his true and only love, believing her dead and gone, his heart shattered.
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A year has passed since Ryan’s departure and Catherine’s death. Yet their stories are not over, for the lives of all concerned are about to cross in a story of love and hate, life and death, resolutions and second chances for a happily ever after.
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Next Week: Chapter One
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The Charnel Pit
Episode Recap #72: The Charnel Pit
Original Airdate: May 26, 1990
Starring:
Louise Robey as Micki Foster
Steve Monarque as Johnny Ventura (as Steven Monarque)
Chris Wiggins as Jack Marshak
Guest cast:
Neil Munro as Marquis de Sade
Vlasta Vrana as Webster Eby
Cynthia Preston as Stephanie (as Cyndy Preston)
Paul Coeur as Latour (as Paul Jolicoeur)
Genevieve Langlois as Catherine
Andrew Jackson as General Lafayette
Christa Daniel as Larissa
Gerard Parkes as Harold Lafontaine
Nancy Cser as Countessa Demille
Robert Nicholson as Innkeeper
Louise Kidney as Peasant Girl
Gabriel Burrafato as Bill (uncredited)
Written by Jim Henshaw
Directed by Armand Mastroianni
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Open on Professor Eby lecturing a small class on the Marquis de Sade, with whom he seems to have an affinity. One student, Larissa, has issue with this, due to de Sade’s sadism and perversion. She also mentions that the city is currently dealing with a serial killer, even a class member has died. Neither convinces the other of their viewpoint. One student, Stephanie, approaches Eby after class to let him know she appreciates his teachings.
That night, Eby has brought Stephanie to his home to talk more. She mentions having read books on de Sade by an Arno Eby, who the professor says was his father. He brings her upstairs to a locked room, which contains many devices used by de Sade, including a painting Eby says may have been painted by de Sade. Suddenly, he puts a blindfold over Stephanie’s eyes, then he kisses her, biting her lip. He holds her finger up to get blood on it, then holds it towards the painting, telling her to do all “he” asks of her. Once the blood smears on the painting, it fades away and is like an opening to another place. He pushes her through. She falls and the blindfold is pulled off by another man, the Marquis de Sade himself. She has gone through time, as well. Eby watches as the painting reappears on his side, closing the portal.
Cut to credits.
Johnny asks what Jack and Micki are looking for, and it seems a travel agent called about a bill Lewis owed, so they are hoping his records can help find more cursed antiques. Johnny mentions the bodies being found by the river, but Jack says the bodies aren’t from women reported missing. Johnny thinks that itself is strange. But they can connect any of them to cursed items.
In the past, de Sade has Stephanie tied up, telling her the pain he’s inflicting isn’t malicious. It is more to be seductive and introduce her to his world. He sends her upstairs with a lackey. Then he pulls out a scroll, and opens a door and takes a woman out. Another woman begs him to send a letter to her mistress. He locks her back inside. Then he takes the other woman to the painting. He puts the scroll in her hand and tosses her at the painting. She goes through it, into the present day, falling dead on Eby’s floor. He quickly snatches up the scroll from her hand, happy to have it.
Micki is reading a note in the files where Lewis had plane tickets paid for by an Arno Eby. Seems Eby flew Lewis all over the world. One note talks about a package sent to an address Jack recognizes as an art gallery owned by one Harold Lafontaine. Jack wants them to talk to Lafontaine, but Micki reminds him she has an appointment tomorrow with a Mrs. Hudson about another antique.
His aide Latour comes in to wake de Sade, telling him General Lafayette has arrived with urgent business. He is instructed to dispose of the deceased Stephanie in his bed. Lafayette tells de Sade another peasant woman was found dead on his estate. The Marquis said she must have been trespassing. Lafayette is not a fan of de Sade, wishing he was back in prison, but he leaves being civil.
Eby comes in to his office and is met with a student, Larissa. He is preoccupied with the scrolls from de Sade. Larissa says Stephanie didn’t come home last night and she saw them leave together. Eby claims ignorance, but she threatens going to the police. As she turns to leave, Eby knocks her out.
Micki goes to meet Mrs. Hudson and finds a note that the woman will return in 10 minutes. She waits in the doorway, and watches a car pull in to the home across the street. It’s Eby and he carries a huge, rolled up carpet into the house. Micki is more than suspicious. She rushes next door and slips inside. Eby has brought the carpet with Larissa inside upstairs and ties her up. Micki grabs a poker and looks around, also heading upstairs. She spies Eby with Larissa and before she can hit him he punches her and they struggle. He hurls her toward the painting and Micki is cut. She knocks Eby away from her, but as she stands with blood on her hand she touches the painting, which opens the portal and she falls through. Eby watches.
On the other side, in the past, Micki wakes up. A peasant girl has seen what happened and goes to examine the painting, but is pulled through screaming, as Micki watches. Micki touches the painting, too, but it is now solid. On the other side, Eby searches the dead peasant and finding no parchment, wonders what he did wrong. Micki looks around and finds the letter the woman had written to her mistress, the Duchess Darnay, with a date of 1790. She hears de Sade’s aide come down the stairs and avoids him, heading upstairs without him noticing.
Jack and Johnny meet with Lafontaine, who remembers Arno Eby, who has since died. He brought him paintings to evaluate, especially double-sided paintings, some with life on one side and death on the other. One specific painting, dating from the late 18th century, had pigments mixed with human blood. It was from the Bastille, apparently, with hyper-realistic images.
Micki has slipped into the room in an inn that the peasant woman talks about in the letter, having set up all of the Duchess’ clothing and wigs there for her imminent arrival. Micki opens the chests, finding clothes and items to disguise herself for the year she’s now trapped in.
De Sade comes from a hunt and his aide tells him about the missing servant girl and his worry about her telling the Duchess about all the Marquis has done, but he is not concerned.
Johnny and Jack wonder why Micki isn’t home, but aren’t over concerned. In the Manifest, Jack has found Arno Eby bought a writing box but nothing about the painting. Jack wonders what the painting could do, but then again wonders about Micki.
Larissa is tied up and thinks Eby killed the peasant woman on the floor. He scoffs, saying she just didn’t survive the journey, then tells her he sends his “teacher” women, and if they please him, the man sends him knowledge. He also tells her to become a friend with pain.
Micki has donned the Duchess’ clothes and wig, and a man arrives, surprised she has come. He then lets the Marquis inside, who begins to introduce himself to “the Duchess”, then demurs, saying his reputation must precede him. He also asks after her maid servant, but she says she hasn’t heard from her. The Marquis then invites her to his chateau. He offers pleasures none can resist. Micki can’t help but be intrigued.
Jack calls Mrs. Hudson and finds out Micki never showed up. Johnny says no one in the neighborhood has seen her, but the police found another body in the river.
General Lafayette brings a woman, the Countess de Ville, to the Marquis’ chateau via horse drawn carriage, and asks her to find out what de Sade knows about the dead peasant. At the door, de Sade introduces Duchess Darnay (Micki) to the Countess, who comments about the party being interesting since it is being given by the Marquis de Sade. Micki is concerned now, but doesn’t let on.
Partygoers dance, and Micki tries to blend in. The Countess tries to find out about the Duchess connection to the Marquis, then talks about the dead peasant girls. She apparently told de Sade what Lafayette asked her to do, thinking it all preposterous. Micki slips away to look around and is caught by de Sade. She pretends to be interested in his hobbies and he takes her to his secret dungeon with his devices meant to cause pain, as well as the painting, which he says he painted in prison. They talk about his appreciation for pleasure and pain. Micki asks what happens here, he he says whatever they wish. His aide Latour then appears, saying Lafayette has arrived and is sending the guests away. The Marquis goes to deal with this, and before Micki can check out the painting, Latour escorts her back upstairs.
Angry, de Sade confronts Lafayette, who says another body was found on the estate. The guests all flee, but the Marquis is insistent in his innocence. He heads back inside as Micki leaves with the guests.
Jack and Johnny don’t know what to do, but are glad the body found wasn’t Micki. Johnny talked to a cop and found out all the bodies found had never had any dental work done. Jack speculates the women could be from another time. The are sure the painting is involved, sending one woman back and a dead woman forward.
Eby has been abusing Larissa, who is crying and bruised.
Micki writes about her predicament using the Duchess’ writing case of supplies, in case something happens to her. As she writes, we see the Countess has rejoined the Marquis. They drink and indulge in intense painful acts. Micki writes about being intrigued by de Sade and his ideas about pain and pleasure, finishing with her own doubt in her knowledge. A knock on the door makes her quickly hide the letter in the writing box. At the door is the Marquis, who invites her back to his chateau. Micki smiles.
Jack tells Johnny that a pattern exists where women vanish the same day a different body is found by the river. Jack is worried that women can’t make the return journey alive. Johnny has brought the probate papers for Arno Eby’s estate. The find he left all to his son, who used to live in Toronto. Johnny also mentions that Eby wrote books on the Marquis de Sade. Jack is shocked.
In the past, Micki as the Duchess goes riding with de Sade. They both enjoy themselves. He asks how long she is staying in Paris, and she says it depends. She finds him fascinating, but she wonders how he feels when the admiration comes from an equal like her and not some peasant. The horse acts up and he goes to strike it, but she stops him. He says he can devise tests that can break her, and she says “Let’s see.”
Eby brings food to Larissa, who is sobbing and injured. Seems he is acting out his own version of what the Marquis has written on the poor woman.
Johnny has found that Eby moved many time since his father’s death, but moved to this town the same time the disappearances began. Jack wonders if he moved to the father’s old house and Johnny finds the address. They both jump up when the realize it is on the same street where Micki went to see Mrs. Hudson.
Micki is back in de Sade’s room of sadism, and he is unsure of why she is so brave. She keeps up her confidence in his presence, but is shocked when he shows her the body of the Countess. She backs off and his aide grabs her. He knows the servant never made it to the Duchess’ hotel room, so he pieced together that the woman went through the painting and Micki came forward through it. He says, like the charnel pit, life offers no escape but death. He has Micki tied up and takes down a whip.
Johnny and Jack break in to Eby’s home. He is upstairs preparing to abuse Larissa even more. Jack and Johnny head upstairs, but Eby hears the stairs creak and hides. Opening the door, Johnny goes to help Larissa, but Eby hits Jack, knocking him out.
Micki spits on the Marquis as he relishes in the pain he plans to inflict. He tears her dress open.
Eby uses the lash to strike at Johnny and makes him bleed. Johnny stumbles, touches the painting and it opens. Johnny sees de Sade about to strike a tied up Micki and goes through. The Marquis’ aide Latour grabs a sword but Johnny is able to knock it away. They struggle and Johnny pushes the man away, causing him to stumble into the painting, where he falls though, Latour stabbing Eby as he falls through. Jack has awoken in time to see this happen.
In the past, Johnny and de Sade fight with the swords. Johnny punches the Marquis, but he bounce back and the fight goes on. Micki struggles. Johnny grabs a chain and is able to knock the Marquis away enough to go and free Micki.
Jack has gotten blood from Eby on his hand and approaches the painting.
The Marquis lays on the ground and goes for his sword but Micki picks it up first. Suddenly, both Eby’s and Latour’s bodies come through the painting and fall dead on the floor. Johnny says Jack found a way and tells Micki to come and jumps through the painting. The Marquis taunts Micki, saying Johnny might have died going through. She holds the sword on him and he says she holds the power of life and death, daring her to kill him. She drops the sword and goes through the painting into Jack and Johnny’s waiting arms. The painting closes. They are all relieved.
Johnny and Jack are putting the painting in the vault when Micki comes down. She says she’s feeling better, and checked the hospital and Larissa is doing better, too. Micki spots the writing box on a shelf and recognizes it as the Duchess’. She opens it and finds her letter inside. Jack says Eby must have found the letter when he got his hands on it. Micki wonders if her letter ended being the cause for all the murders. Jack says no, that thoughts don’t cause pain, people do. If they are looking to create evil, they’ll find a way. He says they should close up the vault, and they do. One last time.
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My thoughts:
An awesome episode, such a great antique with an amazing power. Creative use of an item, too. A doorway to the past. Reminiscent of the civil war episode, in a way.
There are a few convenient plot devices, like Micki just happening to be across the street as Eby comes home, and both her and Johnny happening to touch the painting with blood on their hands. And, surprisingly, it is quite fair of the cursed item in the end, since it previously swapped a live person with a dead one, that when Jack sends through two dead people, it allows Johnny and Micki to go through and live.
Micki’s fascination with de Sade was quite unexpected. I’d like to think she was only playing him to get back to his dungeon, but she does seem genuinely intrigued. And it is all played quite adult and sexual. Makes me wonder if they knew as they went into this one that it was the end, so why not kick it up a notch or two?
Also makes me wonder if Jack’s line about the letter not being responsible for the evil actions Eby committed being a dig at those loud-mouths at the time ranting about horror television show like this one being responsible for young people committing dark acts. Seems spot on, to me, but maybe I am reading too much into it. Also wonder if it went over heads at the time.
Micki makes a good point though being concerned about the letter, but we have learned that the cursed items always find a way to get people to use them somehow. Why wouldn’t the painting have found some way to get Eby to use it, too?
They must have known this was the final episode when they filmed that final shot of them closing the vault all together.
And that is sad, always. The show had grown a lot by this point, the actors in such a good groove. It all ended so abruptly, and much too soon. I miss the show, the characters, heck, even the store. At least it went out with a good episode, even though we never got a true finale.
Next week: No more recaps, since this was the final episode. I started these weekly recaps back in September 2012 and thought it would take a little over a year to complete. Well, it took 11 years, with some big gaps in between, but it is finally finished.
I have ideas for more content for the blog, so the love and celebration of the show will continue. Stay tuned!
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Friday the 13th: The Series - The Horror TV Shows We Miss | JoBlo Originals
Today we take a look back at Friday the 13th: The Series! When you mention the title of this show, people will obviously say, “The one with Jason?” It’s a easy mishap so to speak. Of course if you say Friday the 13th most minds will wonder there. However, there’s no series with Jason involved. The title was just clever gimmick to pique the interest of viewers who were familiar with the movie series. This could have went horribly wrong though. Remember when Halloween made a Halloween movie without Michael Myers? Yeah you do, and it’s rad. And so is this show!
SERIES SYNOPSIS:
Horror TV Shows We Miss takes nostalgic look back the genre series that marked us while growing up and that helped shape our love of horror today.
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Tiny Tarot Card - Thirteen of Antiques by Llyzabeth
Any fans of Friday the Thirteenth The Series out there? Check out this amazing tiny-tarot artwork by @llyzabeth
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30 years ago this episode aired, kicking of my - and many others - love affair with a fun little show.
Enjoy!
Friday the 13th: The Series S.1 Ep.1 HD The Inheritance
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We miss you Chris!
Thanks to those who joined in or followed along or just enjoyed the posts.
Happy 30th Friday the 13th: The Series!
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Tails I Live, Heads You Die
Each season was quite a bit different to the others in Friday the 13th. By this time, the Curious Goods crew were becoming used to their lot in retrieving cursed items that ‘Uncle’ Lewis Vendredi had sold, typically to either fellow servants of Satan or people completely unaware of the items’ curses.
Several of the episodes in season two dealt with Micki, Ryan, and Jack being forced to come to terms with the difficulty of their chosen lives, especially considering their successes at retrieving the cursed items marked them as targets by none other than the Devil and his minions. 'Tails I Live, Heads You Die’ really exemplifies this, with not only the main villains being a literally diabolical cult, but also with one of the main characters facing very real death.
Good
The whole episode is really one of the best: interesting item, great interaction between the characters, and a minimum of extraneous cast. It illustrates how Jack, Micki, and Ryan relate to each other, as well as how the constant battle to retrieve the cursed items wears on them. When Micki dies, albeit temporarily, it shows even deeper facets of Jack and Ryan and how difficult it is to face the reality that one of them has paid the ultimate price.
I’d also like to add that, despite an alarming and relatively recent trend to kill off main characters needlessly, this episode loses no impact at all by reviving Micki by the end. She is certainly not unscathed, and Jack and Ryan are also deeply affected by the occurrence. A character need only be put in serious danger or injured – or even perish temporarily, like Micki – not killed off, to have a real impact.
Friday the 13th was so often a show wherein many characters the audience are introduced to are destroyed by the cursed items. Most of the characters and the world were realistic and believable, and because of that it wasn’t always a happy world. But as far as the main characters were concerned, as an audience we could be generally certain that they would return to us every week, to keep fighting the good fight against sure evil.
However, this episode did seem to foreshadow the beginning of season three, wherein a real and persistent shake-up of the main group occurred.
Bad
It’s difficult to try and find something negative about this episode. I really do consider it one of the best of the series. If I had to choose something, it would be that such an interesting plot and strong villains could have been stretched to two episodes. Even though the coin would return in season three, the quite chilling and memorable villains would not return as they were here. Both seasons one and three had two-part stories, but season two had none; this would definitely have managed to make an engaging two-parter.
Best Part: A tie between Ryan and Jack reacting to losing Micki, and then later Micki restored to life.
Cursed Item: The Coin of Ziocles
After All
The first time I saw this episode, I was shocked. And every subsequent time, it still surprises me and unsettles me. Micki is my favourite character, and the one with whom I always identified, so this episode is really quite stunning. It’s also touching, seeing Ryan and Jack react to their loss, and genuinely clever how they manage to trick the villain into undoing the damage…more or less. It certainly raises plenty of questions with no easy answers.
