Whoops-a-daisy!  I’ve managed to get well behind with Five Fandom Friday. When I finally got my butt into gear and sat down to check out the list of prompts, I noticed that there are no new ones past the 30th of October.  So while I wait for the next lot of prompts to be released, I’m going to backtrack to last week’s prompt and talk about my favourite Halloween episodes of television shows.  Ready?  Let’s do it.

1. Friends: The One with the Halloween Party

This Halloween special ranks at the top of my list for a single reason.  It’s not because of the guest appearance by Sean Penn (although that’s fabulous).  It’s not because it features a stand-off between Monica dressed as Catwoman and Phoebe dressed as Supergirl (although that’s amazing).  It’s because this is the episode that coined one of the most ridiculous costume ideas, which in turn inspired a post on this blog that to this day gets a crazy amount of visitors.  That costume?  Slutty Leatherface.  Thankyou, Joey Tribbiani for an apt commentary on the pressures on women to be sexy at Halloween.

 

 

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Halloween

Although Buffy had a range of fantastic Halloween specials, I enjoyed this one the most.  I adore the concept of all of the characters becoming their costumes.  Willow becomes a ghostly spectre of her former self (although dressed in a pretty provocative outfit that she covered with a sheet because she was too shy around Zander) and Zander turns into a tough-as-leather army commando (providing important training and knowledge that will stand him in good stead for the rest of the series).  The best part though is seeing the intensely capable Buffy turn into a simpering Victorian maiden for the whole episode.  It’s just such a departure from her usual character and makes for very entertaining viewing.

3. Freaks and Geeks: Tricks and Treats

The reason I adore this episode is that it’s the reason I fell head over heels for Mrs Weir from the Freaks and Geeks series.  Mrs Weir became one of my favourite characters, because I could relate to her anger at the state of the world and the way it had changed since she was a kid.  Who among us hasn’t felt a pang of sadness when we look at how things have altered since we were little?  In addition to that, this is the episode that highlights the beautiful relationship between Lindsay and her mother, which grew as the series progressed.  Also, it’s impossible to watch this episode without giggling at Bill’s Bionic Woman costume.

 

 

4.  American Horror Story (Coven): Fearful Pranks Ensue

While the whole lot of American Horror Story is blood-curdling, this episode takes the cake.  I’m a zombie fan, and Marie Laveau’s zombie minions are seriously creepy.  Rather than just a pack of mindless living corpses, Laveau’s zombies are more like undead puppets.  She owns something belonging to each of them, and can control them so that they carry out her wishes.  When she sets them upon the Miss Robichaux’s academy, it is a terrifying moment.  In addition to that, we also see the grisly background story for Spaulding, the mute butler, which I find chilling.

 

 

5. The Office: Costume Contest

As someone who adores Halloween parties and dressing in costume, I’m always a tiny bit peeved by that party pooper who tends to wear the lamest, laziest costume possible.  In The Office, that person is always Jim Halpert.  Jim seems to go to great lengths to avoid dressing up in costume, even when everyone else is done up in elaborate Halloween getups.  So it’s a great victory when his wife finally gets him to dress up in an actual costume.

 

What are your favourite Halloween TV specials?