As we continue through the journey of Goosebumps in its most meteoric of eras, the mid nineties, I would be remiss if I didn't cover the other medium that the franchise boomed in popularity in this era. That of course being the television series. At first I did plan to cover the show episode by episode, mining whatever cheesy gold could be mined, but instead realizing that the actual content in each review would just be a repeat of the individual books, I decided that much like my other blog "One Season Wonders" (which is getting new content soon, I swear), I'll cover each of the show's seasons in chunks. Why not at once? Because it'll be less taxing to do it all at one time, plus providing easier and more condensed thoughts. Plus, I got like what, six other show reviews in this format I have to do? So without further ado, let's get to talking about good ol' GBTV.
By 1995, Goosebumps had begun its peak in popularity in its initial run. The books were flying off the shelves, tons of merchandise was being made for it, and it had become the new hotness for kids. Which is crazy that a book series of all things would lead to such a massive franchise. With its success came the obvious decision to bring it to television. The show was developed and executive produced by Deborah Forte, the new president of Scholastic Media, with the series being produced by Canadian television company Protocol Entertainment (who would also adapt Animorphs to television) along with Vancouver effects company Gajdecki Visual Effects. Now, being Canadian, I saw the show air on two different channels in its initial run. YTV, the Canadian kids station and the most prolific channel it aired on, Fox Kids. Serving as Fox's answer to Nickelodeon's smash hit Are You Afraid of the Dark? (which also aired on YTV at this time).
The premise of Goosebumps was pretty straightforward. Adaptations of the books themselves. And for the most part, most of the series was represented. However, by the third season, it became more and more apparent that there were a lot of episodes that would be impossible to make into a live action episode, so they began to dive into the "Tales to Give You Goosebumps" series of books for later episodes. The show would run for four seasons, ending November 16th, 1998. The show would bounce around on other networks through reruns and now has a home on Netflix.
So, how is this going to work? I can't rightly just recap these all over again without sounding redundant, so I'm going to do it like this. I'll rate each episode on how faithful they were, while also pointing out any really cheesy effects from certain episodes. The rating system is as such:
PERFECT: The adaptation is 90-100% faithful to the book with only minor deviations and logical cut content.
HIGH: The adaptation is faithful to the book, but deviates to fix issues the original book has.
MEDIUM: The adaptation is somewhat faithful to the book, but deviates wildly.
LOW: The adaptation feels extremely different in comparison to what the book was.
But before we get in, let's cover the theme song, which was composed by Jack Lenz. While the intro is the perfect kind of cheesy 90s goodness, with R.L Stine in a trenchcoat and hat opening a briefcase that spreads evil across the world, turning things into really dated effects, it's the funky piano music that really sells it. It's memorable and it makes you think of Goosebumps with how the franchise is meant to be both scary and fun. It's a stark contrast from the scarier tones of Are You Afraid of the Dark's theme, that's for sure.
EPISODE 1: THE HAUNTED MASK
RATING: PERFECT
CHEESIEST EFFECT AWARD:
Like I said, it looks dated and kind of off, but still manages to get the point across.
EPISODE 2: THE CUCKOO CLOCK OF DOOM
RATING: PERFECT
Well, to be fair, it's not like this episode would be hard to do right. Cuckoo clock aside, this episode lacks anything so outlandish that it couldn't be done. Overall, it follows the book beat for beat with Michael as he keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin' back into the past. It's a perfectly palatable adaptation.
Also, points on the dad's amazingly bad hairpieces (mom doesn't get off easy either).
CHEESIEST EFFECT AWARD:
"Maybe a cuckoo clock isn't a great place to put a child's severed head in."
EPISODE 3: THE GIRL WHO CRIED MONSTER
RATING: PERFECT
EPISODE 4: WELCOME TO CAMP NIGHTMARE
RATING: HIGH
While this one flows about the same as the original book, and keeps the great twist, it deviates a lot, taking a way some of the characters, and some of the events in the mystery. Case in point, instead of Billy saving Larry during a canoeing trip, we get a scuffle where Larry instead just throws Billy into the water and runs off. Still, despite some deviations, it still represents one of the best books in the original 62. I would give cheesy effect award to Saber, but considering it was always meant to be a puppet, it works in its favor.
EPISODE 5: PHANTOM OF THE AUDITORIUM
RATING: PERFECT
Again, this is another book that doesn't require much effort to adapt correctly and the episode follows the same beats as the original. They do make for one far better deviation. They have a bigger role for the homeless man Emil as he is revealed to be the fake phantom who is getting Zeke blamed for everything. In the book, he's just a squatter who has no idea about any of this phantom legend. So, call it a case where the episode fixes the issues the book had. Not much for cheesy effects (save the top image), but as good as you'd expect.
EPISODE 6: PIANO LESSONS CAN BE MURDER
RATING: HIGH
Another one that does serve to be pretty faithful to the book, for the most part. It flows about the same until around the end where we get more of the motivations behind Mr. Toggle and the ghost. In the book, the ghost was one of Toggle's victims. In the episode, the ghost was Toggle's old piano teacher. Toggle was too lazy a student, so he kept taking the hands of others so he could make music with less of the effort. It's a twist I actually think benefits the book a bit better honestly. Add in a few minor things, and while it's not perfect, it's still as close as you'd hope for.
CHEESIEST EFFECT AWARD:
How it feels to chew 5 Gum.
EPISODE 7: RETURN OF THE MUMMY
RATING: LOW
And here's one of the more annoying aspects of GB TV. The show often chose to forego the original book and just do an episode on its sequel instead. The thing is, considering how similar this episode feels to the original Curse of the Mummy's Tomb book, it's weird to see them adapt the sequel instead. Outside of a few things like Khor Ru and Nila, the episode feels vastly different from the book as well. Things like the complete omission of Omar, and the twist being different with Gabe not being bitten by the scarab, but signs that his issues with the mummies are far from over. It's an okay episode on its own, but not one of the more faithful.
EPISODE 8: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUMMY II
RATING: PERFECT
Speaking of series within Goosebumps that never got a first book adaptation, Slappy was also a victim. Night of the Living Dummy II plays pretty straightforward to what the book did. There are some deviations, some cut scenes, and you could argue this Slappy model looks like it was intended to be Mr. Wood, but nothing in the episode does a disservice that the concept the book was going for. With Amy being constantly blamed for Slappy's actions, and Slappy being a lot more sinister than he was in the book itself. Speaking of which, I like this version of Slappy more in this episode because compared to the book, he feels more snarky and more evil. It's what I wanted from him in the actual books but never felt Stine truly delivered on. Overall, a really good episode that I feel does things a bit better than the book itself.
EPISODE 9: MY HAIRIEST ADVENTURE
RATING: HIGH
This episode is a fine enough adaptation, with a few notable omissions. The biggest being the entire battle of the bands subplot which isn't a factor at all in the episode, and with that Howie and the Shouters are completely removed. They shift a few things around and change a couple scenes, but nothing that takes away from the premise of the book. The twist is even the same with Larry's parents moving on and Dr. Murkin now trying to turn cats into humans. It's a goofy episode, but again, it's a book I kind of liked despite how goofy it was. And the episode does it just enough justice.
EPISODE 10: STAY OUT OF THE BASEMENT
RATING: PERFECT
Another hour long episode, Stay Out Of The Basement manages to hit every major story beat that the book contained. The plant food eating, the worms in the bed, the two dads twist. Everything is pretty much there. It almost rivals The Haunted Mask with how well put together it is with the original book. That being said, there are some omissions nonetheless. Diane is completely removed from the episode, Mr. Martinez is strangely changed to Dr. Marek, and Dr. Brewer calling Margaret "Princess" is more important here than it was in the book itself. The twist shifts things a bit though with multiple plants calling out to Margaret, but it still works to make the end twist effective. A great effort all around.
EPISODE 11: IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SINK!
RATING: MEDIUM
It starts pretty faithful to the book, and the end twist with the fanged potato is still there, but outside of that, the book wildly deviates by the middle. You don't get as much of the violence that the book provided. No hands being sliced by scissors or hands being broken in drawers. The Grool still comes off as a sinister little creep, but never to the malevolent level of the original. We also don't get the whole pointless sewer scene, or the scene with the bullies, or the scene with Kat nearly crashes her bike into traffic. We do however get a different climax with the kids having to get the Grool back from the school and the mayhem that ensues there. I don't mind some of the alterations, but this episode feels a lot more toothless in comparison to its much more brutal counterpart.
EPISODE 12: SAY CHEESE AND DIE!
RATING: MEDIUM
And the episode I feel is the biggest victim of a scalpel job for season one is this adaptation. Return of the Mummy feels different, but this episode has the most deviations despite sticking closer to the plot. The story, for the most part, follows the same beats of the original book itself, with Greg (Yes, played by Ryan Gosling), finding the camera and what results is many of the same pictures being taken. But this is a book where almost everything else is drastically altered. Michael is removed, or essentially merged into Bird. Speaking of which, Bird's baseball game is also gone. Shari's party scene is also removed and the picture of Shari disappearing is more randomly placed. The camera isn't a standard Polaroid camera, but now made to look like a goofy spaceship, and the most egregious change, when Spidey gets his picture taken, he gets sucked into the camera, and the end sees him being freed by the bullies, which never leads to anything since we never see Spidey again. I mean, I get it, you can't actually kill anyone on a kids show like this, but still. Regardless, it's a half hearted adaptation, but at least it's got a young Ryan Gosling.
CHEESIEST EFFECT AWARD:
"Quick! we need to recreate one of the creepiest and most vivid covers in this book series. Any suggestions?"
"MS Paint Skeletons?"
"Sure, that'll work."
EPISODE 13: A NIGHT IN TERROR TOWER
RATING: PERFECT
Another one hour episode, A Night in Terror Tower is one of the closest adaptations in the series. I really can't find much that's extremely different in comparison. All the major scenes of the book are represented. Even the scene with the old woman selling out Sue is there. I can appreciate this more for that. They do shift the ending with Morgdred actually helping out more than he did in the original climax of the book. And we get more of a twist ending with the high executioner returning to the present as well. Aside from some minor hiccups, it's as close to faithful as you would wish for.
EPISODE 14: THE WEREWOLF OF FEVER SWAMP
RATING: HIGH
And we wrap season one up with one more special that, for the most part, follows the book beat by beat. It's honestly another episode that does a better job at telling the story than the book did, with more treakle being cut, and more time with the Will Wolf being a threat. There is one part I always found to drive me up the wall though. Through the middle of the story, the dog that Grady finds (named Wolf in book, now Vandal in the episode. I guess they realized calling the dog Wolf is too on the nose), is blamed for the animal deaths around the house. In the episode, we get a big scene where Will in his full wolf form is clearly causing mayhem. And even though the attack is clearly being done by something bigger than a normal dog, and the fact that Vandal is clearly trying to ward it off, the mother still thinks it's the dog's fault and still thinks it should be killed. Like, come the hell on, you just want to kill a dog at this point. Who are you? R.L. Stine?
And that's season one of Goosebumps TV. Overall, despite many of the episodes deviating from the books, they still manage to do a great job with the material given. Now, it's still cheesy effects and bad Canadian acting (the show is rife with that low budget feel), but it still manages to hold its own as a fun kids horror series. More to be enjoyed for how corny it is than the horror it tried to present. Of the fourteen episodes presented, seven felt like perfect adaptations with little variation, with four still keeping the high bar, two being medium at best, and only one low dud. Overall, if you didn't read the books and watched the first season of Goosebumps, you got an experience close enough to the books themselves. Get used to that feeling, because with season two, it's all downhill from here.
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