Ask JKM a Question #46: Favorite Halloween episodes?

A reader and frequent comment-writer, Randal, asks:

“In the midst of one of those rain-fueled DVD rerun marathons, I ran through a few discs of Supernatural and Millennium, each of which has one (or more) Halloween-themed episodes. Given how that glorious day is nearly upon us, I believe it's only proper to ask: what are your top Halloween television episodes.”

Randal, that’s a great and perfectly-timed question, and I thank you for asking it.

My favorite Halloween TV episode has to be Millennium’s “The Curse of Frank Black,” the second season entry by Glen Morgan and James Wong.  I love this story for its human dimension and its importance to the larger series continuity, but mainly as an exploration of Halloween, and the idea that Frank Black has become --thanks to teenagers in the neighborhood -- the stuff of urban legends and local fears.

The episode features a perfect symmetry in my opinion.  There are the flashback scenes of Frank as a child, trick-or-treating in the early 1950s and visiting the home of a troubled veteran (Dean Winters).  Frank and his buddies think that the “old man” is weird and scary, and tip-toe around his place.

Meanwhile, in the present, Frank finds himself in the familiar position of that long-dead veteran.  Now he is the one who is being whispered about by the young.

I have always felt this is a great commentary on how quickly life seems to pass one by.  One minute, you’re the kid afraid of that strange, inscrutable grown-up who lives down the street.  Then before you know it, you’re the grown-up the kids are talking about so suspiciously.  Life goes by in a flash.

“The Curse of Frank Black” features a lot of  terrific Halloween symbolism, from Frank’s fearsome jack-o-lantern to the black cat perched outside his bungalow, to the trick-or-treating ritual with his child, Jordan (Brittany Tiplady), who is dressed-up as Marge Simpson.

But I love how the episode suggests that every day in Frank's life is, essentially, Halloween.  Or at least it could be, if he allows it to happen.  After all, Frank sees monsters and demons lurking in the corner of his periphery and must, by sheer force of will, force himself not to notice them.  He must constantly avert his gaze.  

There’s something incredibly lonely and sad about this element of his life, and it reminds us that Frank’s gift of insight is indeed the character’s curse.  He sees evil’s presence even when he wants to be blind to it; even at the moments we all take for granted (like trick or treating with our kids.)

I also get a kick out of the way “The Curse of Frank Black” uses legends about Halloween.  The episode remembers that this is a night in which the spirits of the dead can return to visit the living.  Accordingly, a ghost issues Frank a dire warning about how dangerously anti-social he risks becoming if he doesn't change his ways. Other series have also also utilized this premise (“Hellowe’en” on Friday the 13^th: The Series, for instance), but none have done so better than Millennium's holiday themed show.  

I also admire this episode of Millennium because it’s nearly a one man show, with Lance Henriksen holding the screen alone for the better part of an hour and proving absolutely riveting.  I can think of a lot worse ways to spend Halloween than with his Frank Black character, or in the care of this particular actor.  

Another Halloween episode I also enjoy tremendously comes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  The second episode “Halloween” finds beloved characters transforming into their costumes, and so the story concerns identity, the very subject of Whedon’s later series, Dollhouse.  You can trick people with magic (or wipe their memories with technology, in the latter case), but in the end, people seem to always realize who they are supposed to be.  This also happens to be one very funny episode of Buffy.  I love for instance, the idea that vampires stay in on Halloween night because they don’t like the holiday.

Great question, my friend.  My appreciation, and Happy Halloween!