Check out the intro entry before you begin to get an idea on how I plan to cover these shows.
R.L. Stine is a name many readers should be familiar with. You've all read or at the very least heard of Goosebumps. I had some books in my possession years ago (though I never read any of it.), and I'm sure at least most of you heard of the TV series from the 90s. I weirdly remember the first episode I ever saw from that show (Hairiest Adventure), I didn't get the context of it and the sad thing is that it's revealed at the end. If you remember The Hub, this was reran there and I caught more episodes there.
Anyway, Goosebumps was Stine's foray into 90s television while The Haunting Hour was a foray into the early-2010s. Must've been a slow day back in the early-2000s, or was it?
The Nightmare Room
The Nightmare Room is a bit of an anomaly, not because it's terrible, more on that later, but because of where it came from, who was involved (for the most part) and where it wound up. The Nightmare Room aired on Kids' WB in 2001 through 2002. How's that an anomaly? This was the only live action show to air on a block dedicated to cartoons. Guess anything really was possible back then when it came to television. The last place this show ever aired was Chiller (of all places) back in the late-2000s, and since I'm only now getting into cheap horror anthology shows, I missed out and hard.
When you get into the show, you'd be surprised to find who was involved, but not so much who they got. The series was created by R.L. Stine and based off a companion series of books published by . The show was produced by Tollin/Robbins Productions, a name you should all recognize, Smallville, many classic Nickelodeon shows, the fact that Robbins is now the president of Nickelodeon, along with his so-so resume of films, I'd say more, but I'd like most hoses to remain dead.
I bring Tollin/Robbins up because I think it's through their connections they got many of the stars included on here. The series was hosted by James Avery, masquerading as R.L. Stine. Guess they thought Stine wasn't scary enough to helm the show. Do I even need to talk about who Avery is? Narrator aside, who did they get into the show? Well, child stars from the period, though to be fair many of them still get by in some way.
They got Amanda Bynes and Drake Bell, regulars on The Amanda Show so that's expected. They got Shia LaBeouf, fresh from Even Stevens and... damn... been ages since I heard his name. Good. But it doesn't stop there, they got Brenda Song (London from Suite Life of Zack and Cody and the star of some shit Neftlix movie.), Junior from My Wife and Kids, Gracie from The Nanny, one of the guys from that Nick show Brothers Garcia, Reese from Malcolm in the Middle, Kaley Cuoco from The Big Bang Theory in an early role, even Robert Englund, arguably in a better place than a certain other series.
I've seen six episodes out of a thirteen episode season. What stood out to me the most? What was the weakest?
What I liked.
Tangled Web. This is the one that had Reese in it. The story centers on a pathological liar named Josh who after lying about missing homework, is told by a substitute that he is believed. The kicker is that now every lie Josh tells comes true. He's so slow on the uptake he doesn't take advantage of this and suffers almost instantly. But by the end, after we expect him to die for his sins, it turns out this was just a story to another student, told by Josh as a teacher, and all he got out of it was a scar from a hot door knob.
Aside from the novelty of seeing Reese outside of Malcom in the Middle, the episode was a bit light. It felt like they were mostly struggling to keep it going, some scenes going quicker than expected, others going on for too long. But there is a bright side to this, everything checks out, nothing was left untouched and I guess Josh wasn't rotten enough to deserve death, so that was a nice twist at the end.
My Name is Evil. Deals with a boy who is told by a fortune teller that he is evil. A series of events plague him and he believes it's coming true. I expected a Carrie-like twist, but as it turns out, it was all a set up (and another popular antagonist type thing.) who had powers which she intended to use to frame the boy in order to... I dunno, make him lonely for the rest of the school year? This may sound like a major strike against it, but I still like the episode. What helps is that it has good characters, I can buy the awkward bromance between the boy and his friends, it's satisfying to see the antagonist get it at the end, and in a weird twist, the boy had evil powers all along. It did have some cool practical effects, highlights being the second trip to the fortune teller's tent as well as the track scene where someone sinks into the sand. My Name is Evil works for its set ups, characterization and effects.
What I Didn't Like
Scareful What You Wish For. The one with Shia Le Merde. Essentially, Shia is stalked by a doll that was magically brought to life. The doll goes after his friends (non fatal of course.), all culminating in the doll turning him into one. This episode reeks of missed opportunity. They could've easily made it into a psychological thriller. Shia is looking forward to growing up, but deep down he doesn't and he uses the doll as an excuse for sociopathic behavior. The episode felt empty as a result.
Not for nothing, but while an episode in another show didn't follow this principal, it does a better twist.
Don't Forget Me. Lazy title aside. This stars Amanda Bynes. My issue with this? Bynes can't do horror. I'm sorry, but she's not cut out for anything beyond teen drama or comedy. She's about as wooden as those actors in that god awful Sharon Tate movie (be grateful I'm not giving you the title), or maybe just very awkward. The story seems interesting, but it once again ditches a good opportunity by getting resolved and rushing to the end. The basement has a rift that causes kids to be forgotten, and if this were good, it would be gradual and end on a grim note, or a repeat of the start. But no, all ends happily and then they repeat the start.
Summary
Best Episode: My Name is Evil
Worst Episode: Don't Forget Me
Best aspects: Making good use of unexpected actors, surprisingly held up better than most shows of the 2000s, decent practical effects, good twists in most episodes.
Worst aspects: Missed opportunities for many episodes that would've made them far more interesting, bad acting is hard to ignore for most of the characters.
Overall
From a writing standpoint, some episodes leave much to be desired, but hey, I guess they have enough to keep your interest. For all these episodes, I managed to watch them in full. I can't say the scariest thing about this show is that it aired on a block dedicated to cartoons.
Episodes I've seen
