This is Halloween 2017

This year, all of the favorites from my Halloween playlist have made their usual appearance. That means that our TV today has been boasting a continuous loop of classics like The Monkees, The Addams Family, and The Munsters, plus all of the newer shows (like Pushing Daisies) that are perfect for Halloween.

Part I: The Monkees and Halloween

One of the things I love most about Halloween is that it gives me occasion to revisit so many great TV shows and films, but The Monkees is, in particular, a fun rewatch.

The Monkees has upwards of four episodes that can all be reasonably called Halloween-themed, all of which are pretty well spread throughout the two seasons of the series. That means that you get a quick zoom-through of the show as well as a little Halloween spookiness to get you into the spirit! Win, win.

Here's how The Monkees fits into our Halloween festivities:

The first episode I start with is S1, E2, "Monkee See, Monkee Die," in which the boys make a trip to a haunted mansion after a mysterious millionaire dies and leaves them an inheritance. Mayhem ensues. This is nice because it's just about as early Monkees as you can get, so it gives you a good grounding for what to compare the other episodes to in tonality and structure (it may be Halloween, but I've never been one to miss an opportunity to compare and contrast TV episodes).

Usually, I go from there to S1, E18, "I Was a Teenage Monster", in which the boys get called to a different haunted mansion in order to teach an inventor's version of Frankenstein (played by Ted Cassidy, aka Lurch in The Addams Family) how to play rock and roll music. Mayhem ensues.

Peter Tork and "the monster" in The Monkees S1 E18, "I Was a Teenage Monster"

Finally, the last nonnegotiable Monkees episode on my Halloween playlist is S2, E18, "Monstrous Monkee Mash". This is one of those incredibly self-aware and cynical episodes that they only get away with when it's late in Season 2 and nearing cancellation. But, if I had to put a story to this ep, it's basically about the boys getting lured into a spooky mansion full of monsters and nearly being turned into monsters themselves.

A little bit of the "Monstrous Monkee Mash" episode, in true cynical Season 2 style.

Admittedly, there's a bit of whiplash jumping from the innocence of Season 1 and going this far into the anarchy of Season 2, but I think that's what I like about this rewatch. Every episode of The Monkees is on its own scale of chaos and there's just nothing more fun for a cinephile than stark contrast in a single text.

That's right! We really go nuts on Halloween.

Case in point? Every year, I come to the same conclusion: The Monkees is classic mayhem and a Halloween go-to.

Part II: Newbies and Discoveries

This has been a great year for discovering (and rediscovering) new Halloween movies for me.

I watched The Nightmare Before Christmas for the first time ever, and had my debut viewing of Hocus Pocus as well. (Every time I told anyone that The Little Vampire was my favorite movie, they'd always ask me if I'd seen Hocus Pocus, so that watch was a long time coming).

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

It also seemed like the right time to finally get around to watching Disney's bizarre Halloween adventure, The Adventures of Mr. Toad and Ichabod (1949). One part Mr. Toad, one part The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, this animated classic was quite a strange, but essential, movie to tick off the list.

The Adventures of Mr. Toad and Ichabod (1949)

All this discovery was influenced in no small part by our desire to get prepped for our first-ever visit to Disneyland at Halloween. Just as an athlete trains for marathon day, so did we prepare most meticulously for Halloween with Mickey. One of the major parts of that was to make sure we'd get the most out of our time in the parks by seeing all those Disney Halloween classics. And honestly, it paid off.

The Corpse Bride (2005)

As previously noted, there's also been a lot of Tim Burton rewatching going on in my house this month, including, but not limited to, Corpse Bride (2005), Batman (1989), Sleepy Hollow (1999), and Edward Scissorhands (1990). (Edward was even bumped up into my top 20 favorite movies of all time... result!).

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Plus, Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane is *flawless*.

Part III: Stranger Things and Stranger Things 2

Because I am a person, I therefore love Stranger Things and was absolutely eagerly awaiting the release of ST Season 2. I am (shamefully) only halfway through Season 2 at the moment, but we had to save something exciting for Halloween night, so we're planning to finish that monster later on this evening.

Also, I would just like to say, JONATHAN AND NANCY FOREVER <3

I do love that S2 has integrated Halloween so much into their episodes, as it seems a most festive move. Applause.

Part IV: The Addams Family

There's three parts to this recommendation. First, I'd just like to take this opportunity to thoroughly recommend not only all of the classic TV series of The Addams Family...

... but it would also be my pleasure to recommend the two wonderful feature films, The Addams Family (1991) and its sequel, The Addams Family Values (1993).

Enough said.

Part V: Bits and Bobs

Every year, I watch The Little Vampire. And every year, I wonder, "How many times have I seen this movie?" And every year, I remember that it doesn't matter, because it's great every time.

I also had occasion to rewatch E.T. in theaters last month, which has some really fun Halloween scenes as well and falls into that elusive category of both Halloween movie and year-round gem. (Another film in that category is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), which also has a pretty stellar Christmas scene as well. What the heck, it just does everything perfectly, that one).

So, what are you watching this Halloween? There's plenty of spooky fun to be had today! Have a lovely Halloween, fellow ghouls!

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