There has only ever been one Halloween-themed episode of television. It was during the fifth season of Boy Meets World. It was called “And Then There Was Shawn.” It starred Jennifer Love Hewitt. It is the greatest half-hour of one of the greatest shows of all time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUgsDSArDlY
I have no desire to talk about the episode where DJ Tanner played a witch.
“One of my favorite lines in that episode is when Will and Matt Lawrence were told by Rider that ‘it is the virgin who lives. The person engaged in sexual activity that is first to die.’ Eric says, ‘I’m dead.’ And Matt says, ‘I’m dead.’ And Rider says, ‘I’ll get as sick as you can get without actually dying. A giant laugh in the house.” (An oral history of the episode, should you care to read it.)
Excuse you, but I think it starred Jennifer Love Pfefferman.
PFEFFY.
I don’t trust that Jennifer Love Pfefferman as far as I can throw her.
MALLORY
THIS IS THE ARTICLE OF MY DREAMS
This episode scared the shit out of me when it first aired. I rewatched it a couple years ago, and it absolutely holds up, and actually made me laugh out loud a few times.
And now I get all the jokes!
Yesyesyesyes. All of this is truth, and perfect.
I learned to program our VCR in middle school SPECIFICALLY to record syndicated episodes of BMW. Even today, I keep the 5 most recent played on MTV2 on my DVR just in case I find the time to sit down and watch a few episodes. (I’m sure it has nothing to do with my celebri-crush on Danielle Fishel, and her perfect hair).
We’ll always remember he was this tall.
I know it’s dangerous to admit, but I can only remember exactly one moment of exactly one episode of Boy Meets World. However, this is that moment, and I think I picked a good one.
THERE’S LIKE FIFTY RETAINERS IN THERE!
Also, I cannot describe to you how my heart swelled to know there’s an oral history of the making of that episode.
I love how it’s just casually dropped in that Jacobs and McCracken “earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination for producing Robert Redford’s Quiz Show.” How wonderful is it that they were making this critically worshiped dramatic film while still putting together one of the better sitcoms of its day?
When I was younger and had shorter hair, people would call me “Boy Meets World”. I guess because Ben Savage is so much harder to remember?
Also, in case you were wondering, the second best Halloween episode of television of all time is clearly “Who Knocked Up Sweet Dee”.
If any other great Halloween episodes of television did exist, they would be from the show Community.
“Epidemiology” is amazing and I love it to death. ZOMBIES. ABBA. MYSTERY MEAT. TROY AND ABED IN “ALIEN” COSTUMES.
And “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps” is also great, but sadly less musical.
Yes, but “Horror Fiction” includes the first time that Abed/Troy hums “Daybreak”, which is easily the best musical running gag in the show.
DAYBREAK. That is so much fun. In general I just love the stuff they do with music in that show! I rewatch “Studies In Modern Movement” a lot because I love the karaoke musical montage so much. And of course “Regional Holiday Music” too!
That is high up my favorite Community moments. Just them in their own little world. And Troy’s dance.
I was just going to say! I can’t think of another live-action show so willing to indulge in such amazing, weird silliness.
Sulagna, let’s stand back to back together holding KNIVES.
Ha! The doctor in the banana costume: “I thought that maybe I was SPECIAL.”
NOBODY’S SPECIAL
Every once in a while I just start quietly singing “welcome to John Adams High, where you are gonna die” to myself.
This completes me.
I live for Halloween episodes of shows. Shows I don’t even watch or particularly like, I’ll watch their Halloween episodes. It’s always such a nutso production, I can’t help it.
What’d I watch the other day that had a Halloween component?.. Oh yeah, NCIS. I willingly watched NCIS because it opened with kids talking about their Halloween costumes.
Yes! Best Halloween episode! Best creepy janitor! Best thing to come out of Will Friedle dating Jennifer Love Hewitt! Best time Angela screeched for like, 20 full minutes!
Oh my God, Mallory, how did you know? This episode haunted me before the days of YouTube and Netflix because I couldn’t watch it again and analyze it mercilessly. I didn’t know it was online!
Bless you for this.
I’m ridiculously over-invested in this show. Like, I still maintain convoluted theories about how things would have ended better if Cory/Shawn and Angela/Topanga had gotten together.
Except… Buffy the Vampire Slayer; "Fear, Itself". Anya and the bunny costume! Giles in a sombrero with a chainsaw!
Giles: "Don't taunt the fear demon."
Xander: "Why? Can he hurt me? ?"
Giles: "No, it's just tacky."
One of my most prized possessions is an autographed headshot of Rider Strong torn from a Teen Beat magazine. My sister went to college with him and had a couple of classes with him and they were “hug friends” which, to me as a 7th grader, was the absolute most awesome thing I could imagine. I hounded her for months for dirt about him and finally for my birthday she got me the autograph and framed it and described the experience of asking him for it the most embarrassing moment of her life. It stayed on my wall for years.
Is a “hug friend” like a “cuddle buddy” or just someone with whom you are friendly enough to hug semi-regularly?
I’m pretttttty sure she meant friends who hug, but I was only in middle school so that’s what she told me at least!
I feel like…is it possible that they were make-out/hook-up buddies, but she didn’t tell you because you were in middle school? Because I would really, really like to know if I’ve even heard of a real human being who made out with Rider Strong once.
Oh man, now I’m going all mushy over Rider Strong and his floppy, floppy hair.
I cared to read the oral history. Thank you for sharing it.
The episode I always think about is, as it turns out, not a Halloween episode, but it’s the one where Cory keeps dreaming that he’s killing all his friends and one of his methods is to shove an umbrella down someone’s throat and open it.
That shot of Feeney falling over with the scissors in his back kept me up at night for years.