Every Haunting Hour Ever #65: Toy Train

Season: 3

Episode: 25

Original Airdate: December 14, 2013 

Director: James Head

Writer(s): Craig S. Phillips and Harold Hayes Jr.

Well guys I'm almost there. Just one more episode left after this one and I'll be done with season three! 

While cleaning out the attic with his father, Logan finds a scale model toy train set that brings to life an old train and a switchman who died because of a mistake Logan's father made years ago.

One of the things I liked about the episode was Logan's father. While he is distant throughout the episode, he actually has an understandable reason as to why he's like this. You see, when he was a kid, a switchman came and saved his life but died in the process. Because of this, he feels guilty about the incident and claims responsibility for killing the switchman. Towards the end of the episode, the switchman's ghost confronts him. He wants Logan's father to forgive himself, as the switchman died saving him, and in his guilt, he buried the switchman figure. Logan's father replaces the figure, and the switch man saves Logan by switching the train track. Personally, I think he's a far more likable character than Dr. Douchebag (Jason's father) from Bad Egg. I think the main reason for this is because he seems to have quite a bit of depth to his character and I felt like this made it easier for me to sympathize with him. 

Another thing I liked about the episode was Henry. Now you could argue that he makes the twist a bit more predictable and that he didn't really need to be there. However, I didn't really mind this character all that much because he does have a few cute moments and his interactions with Logan were actually enjoyable. Not only that but the actor they got to play him did a great job. It's a bit hard for me to explain but basically, the actor makes this character feel authentic in the sense that he seems to act like a real little kid as opposed to a one liner spewing machine like Michelle from Full House. 

Overall, despite its flaws, Toy Train is a much better episode than Bad Egg. It may not be as big of a tearjerker as The Perfect Brother but I still think it's worth checking out.

Overall Grade: A-

Every Haunting Hour Ever #64: Bad Egg

Season: 3

Episode: 24

Original Airdate: December 7, 2013 

Director: Neill Fearnley

Writer(s): Erik Patterson, Jessica Scott 

So recently, Adam West had passed away. This was the guy who put Batman on the map with the 1960's Batman TV series. He was also famous for his role as the mayor in Family Guy and his role as Catman from The Fairly Odd Parents. One of the characters I distinctly remember him playing was The Galloping Gazelle in the Goosebumps TV episode titled "Attack of The Mutant". Also, I only have two more episodes of this season left to review. 

An irresponsible boy named Jason is only one screw-up away from being shipped off to military school as per his strict father and must prove himself responsible when assigned to care for an egg as part of a school project. Trouble is, the eggs donated to the school are rejects from a biochemistry lab harboring an ostrich-like monster that is not fit to live among humans, and now Jason must keep his father from knowing about his latest mistake while keeping the monster away from two government agents posing as pest control workers who want the monster back.

One of the things I liked about the episode was Jason. While he does start off as a bit of a goofball by making jokes about the egg assignment, he starts to take it more seriously and even forms a strong bond with the creature that was inside of the egg, which kind of tugged at my heart strings a bit. 

The other thing I liked about the episode was the creature named Timmy. Throughout the episode, you only see brief glimpses of it until the very end of the episode and when you actually get a good look at the monster, its design has a great balance between cute and ugly. Not only that but its has a bit of a personality that shares some traits with Jason's personality such as having a hatred for Jason's father, as evidenced by the scene where he drops a paint can on his head. 

Unfortunately, one of the major problems I have with this episode is Jason's father, who I will be referring to as Dr. Douchebag from this point forward. So if you couldn't tell already, my problem with this character is that he's way too unlikable. I understand that he's a strict father but Dr. Douchebag seems to flat out hate his son and treats him as if he were a mistake. Hell, even when Jason tries to take the assignment seriously, he doesn't seem to praise his son for it and instead says something along the lines of, "Wow, looks like you haven't screwed things up for once," in a cold yet aggressive manner. To add insult to injury, when Jason tries to admit that he screwed up by telling him that he broke the egg, Dr. Douchebag just ignores that and tells his son that he's going to military school. 

Based on this description, Dr. Douchebag seems to be an abusive parent, which might've worked and made a bit more sense like in My Robot, if he were intended to be a villain. But as far as I can tell, he's not because the actual villains of the episode are two government agents posing as pest control workers trying to get the monster back. What's funny about this is that the villains are portrayed more sympathetically than Dr. Douchebag because all they want to do is catch a potentially dangerous creature and keep it out of human society in order to prevent someone from getting hurt. Sure, they can be creepy when going about it at times, but from what I saw, they weren't being abusive towards any one and their struggle is played out like a more subdued version of a Roadrunner cartoon. Screenwriting 101: If a character who isn't intended to be a villain is more villainous than the actual villains, you dun fucked up.

Overall, Bad Egg is an episode that I feel really bad for because it has likable main characters such as Jason and Timmy, yet has an extremely unlikable character like Dr. Douchebag that really drags down the quality of the episode for me. If Dr. Douchebag was made more likeable or taken out of the episode altogether, I think this would've been an extremely solid episode. But as is, it's not horrible but it's not as great as it could've been. 

Overall Grade: C

Every Haunting Hour Ever #63: My Robot

Season: 3

Episode: 23

Original Airdate: November 30, 2013 

Director: James Head 

Writer(s): Melody Fox

So from what I understand, I'm halfway through the home stretch of season three, as I only have three more episodes of this season to review. And heeeeere's another one! 

Phillip is a science nerd with a secret: he has a robot that he ordered online and programmed himself, and it originally did anything Phillip asked, but the robot gradually overpowers Phillip's programming and is now doing what is "best" for Phillip, forcing him to do things like exercise and eat tasteless nutrient food. Phillip couldn't return the robot to the factory and the robot has actually scared his parents away, so he begs for his friend Tim's help in destroying it. They trick the two school bullies into helping, and while they do shut down the robot. 

One of the things I liked about this episode was Phillip, specifically the direction they take with his character. At first, he seems like the most stereotypical nerd possible (minus a Steve Urkel esque voice). However, as the episode progresses, there are implications that Phillip might've forcibly become this way due to the robot's overbearing nature. This add an interesting layer to Phillip's character as it not only shows how abusive the robot can be but it also makes the robot itself seem more intimidating. 

Another thing I liked was the robot. While its design and voice are a bit campy, it doesn't do much to take away from how horrifying it actually is. Most of what makes it horrifying is that it's so overbearing, that it seems like it's abusing Phillip. To make matters worse, Phillip had virtually no way to get rid of this thing and for a long time, he was basically left alone with it. The factory it came from wouldn't take it back and his actual parents had been scared away by it. To me, this robot is a symbol of overbearing parenting and the episode really does its best to show the consequences that this style of parenting can have on a child. 

Much like Coat Rack Cowboy, the one thing I'm split on is the ending. Without giving too much away, Phillip betrays Tim when the robot gets reset. On the one hand, the ending goes in a direction that I was not at all anticipating, which I really appreciate. On the other hand, it puts a dent in Phillip's likability and seems unfair to Tim as he stood up for Phillip against some stock bullies (who get their comeuppance via the robot) and helped him with his robot problem.

Overall, My Robot was a very enjoyable episode that took a couple of unexpected and interesting turns. Although it can be a bit campy at times, it still does a great job of dishing out the horror.

Overall Grade: A