Eerie, Indiana
Eerie, Indiana
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| Eerie Indiana | |
|---|---|
 The Complete Series DVD cover | |
| Genre | Horror Mystery Science fiction Supernatural |
| Created by | José Rivera Karl Schaefer |
| Starring | Omri Katz Justin Shenkarow Mary-Margaret Humes Francis Guinan Julie Condra Jason Marsden |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 19 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | John Cosgrove Terry Dunn Meurer |
| Cinematography | John Hora (pilot only) Jonathan West |
| Editors | Alan Baumgarten Terry Blythe Tom Meshelski Jon Poll |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Production companies | Unreality, Inc. Cosgrove/Meurer Productions Hearst Entertainment |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 15, 1991 – April 12, 1992 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension |
Eerie Indiana is an American horror science fiction television series that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1991, to April 12, 1992. The series was created by José Rivera and Karl Schaefer, with Joe Dante serving as creative consultant.
A total of nineteen episodes were produced. The final episode aired for the first time in 1993, when the series was syndicated on The Disney Channel. The show was rerun on The Disney Channel from October 7, 1993[1] to late March 1996.[2][3] In 1997, the show generated a new fan base, when Fox's children's programming block Fox Kids aired the series on Saturday mornings from January to September, gaining something of a cult following despite its short run. The renewed popularity of the series encouraged Fox to produce a spin-off Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension, lasting only one season in 1998.
Plot[edit]
The series revolves around Marshall Teller, a teenager whose family moves to the desolate town of Eerie, Indiana, population of 16,661. While moving into his new home, he meets Simon Holmes, one of the few normal people in Eerie. Together, they are faced with bizarre scenarios, which include discovering a sinister group of intelligent dogs that are planning on taking over the world, and meeting a tornado hunter who is reminiscent of Captain Ahab. They also confront numerous urban legends such as Bigfoot and a still-living Elvis Presley. Although the show was host to a plethora of jokes, it also featured a serious tone.
After thirteen episodes, one of which did not air during the network run, the series was retooled with Jason Marsden's "Dash X" added to the cast and Archie Hahn's Mr. Radford is revealed to be an imposter, with John Astin revealed to be the "actual" Mr. Radford. The final produced episode was a tongue-in-cheek, fourth wall breaking sequence of events depicting Dash X's attempts to take over as star of the show.
Characters[edit]
Main[edit]
- Marshall Teller, played by Omri Katz, is the protagonist of the series. With the help of his sidekick and best friend, Simon Holmes, he manages to unravel the many mysteries that plague Eerie, Indiana. Before moving to Eerie, Indiana, he and his family once lived in a large city, which he preferred. Though occasionally arrogant, Marshall is also intelligent, resourceful and quick-thinking, qualities that come in handy during his investigations. He is sometimes torn between hanging out with Simon and following his burgeoning instincts about girls. Marshall constantly compares Eerie to where he grew up in New Jersey, which is the epitome of 'normal' in his mind. He is a fan of the New York Giants.
- Simon Holmes, played by Justin Shenkarow, is Marshall's nine-year-old best friend. Due to the constant arguing between Simon's parents, he chooses to spend most of his free time hanging out with Marshall. Prior to Marshall's arrival, Simon was a lonely child, as most of his peers in Eerie shun him. Similar to Marshall, Simon believes that something is afoul in Eerie. In the episode "America's Scariest Home Video", it is revealed that Simon has a younger brother, Harley Schwarzenegger Holmes, who only appeared in that episode.
- Edgar Teller, played by Francis Guinan, is Marshall's father. Edgar works at "Things Incorporated", a product testing company, for a living. According to Marshall, it was Edgar's idea to leave New Jersey, and move to Eerie. During the course of the series, it is revealed that Edgar interned at the Smithsonian Institution before entering the University of Syracuse to do his undergraduate work in archaeology. He later received a scholarship from NASA to attend M.I.T., where he worked on his thesis, "Matter: What is it Exactly?". As Edgar is a scientist, many fans believe that his name was a subtle nod towards Edward Teller, an American nuclear physicist who helped develop the hydrogen bomb.
- Marilyn Teller, played by Mary-Margaret Humes, is Marshall's mother. Marilyn operates her own party planning business at the Eerie Mall. Ironically, as shown in "Forever Ware", Marilyn is not an organised person. In episode "Who's Who", she is briefly adopted as a mother by Sara Bob, who is trying to create a perfect family.
- Syndi Marie Priscilla Teller, played by Julie Condra, is Marshall's older sister. At the time in which Marshall introduces Syndi to the audience, she is practicing for her drivers license test. Marshall often ridicules his sister for the awkward spelling of her name. Syndi aims to be a reporter and spends time with the Eerie police and fire department to gain experience. "The Loyal Order of Corn" is the only episode where Syndi does not appear.
- Dash X, played by Jason Marsden, is a character shrouded in mystery. First introduced in the episode "The Hole in the Head Gang", Dash claims that he woke up in "Weirdsville" without any knowledge to how he got there. Dash has no memory of parents, hometown, past or his real name. Since Dash has no home, he is forced to live on the streets and eat out of Dumpsters. Dash is commonly referred to as "The Kid with the Grey Hair". People would later go on to call him the "Sneaky Kid with the Hair" and "The Kid with No Name". On some occasions, Dash would help Marshall and Simon solve some of Eerie's mysteries, most notably by helping them infiltrate the Loyal Order of Corn cult. Dash X gave himself his name in the episode "The Loyal Order of the Corn", as a reference to the mysterious '-' and '+' markings on his hands which were shared by the extraterrestrial leader of the cult. Dash X wonders if the cult leader, played by Ray Walston is his father, but the leader ruefully and cryptically remarks, "If only it were that simple," before returning to his homeworld.
Recurring[edit]
- Mr. Radford (the imposter – revealed as Fred Suggs) – (Archie Hahn)
- Mr. Radford (the real one) – (John Astin)
- Winifred Swanson and Mother – (Belinda Balaski)
- Sergeant Knight – (Harry Goaz)
- Mayor Winston Chisel – (Gregory Itzin)
- The Anchorman – (Doug Llewelyn)
- Elvis Presley – (Steven Peri)
- Bertram Wilson – (Nathan Schultz) (Dan Stanton – adult)
- Ernest Wilson – (Nicholas Schultz) (Don Stanton – adult)
- Harley Schwarzenegger Holmes – (Christian and Joseph Cousins)
- Lodgepoole – (Henry Gibson)
Production[edit]
Writing[edit]
Each episode was strewn with in-jokes and references to old films, particularly horror films:
- In the episode "Heart on a Chain", a scene begins with a shot of spider web before panning right to action taking place. Whilst looking at the spider web, one can faintly hear a high-pitched voice crying "Help me! Help me!", a sly reference to the 1958 version of The Fly. Also in this episode, Marshall's creepy English teacher is called Miss Annabel Lee, a reference to the morbid Edgar Allan Poe poem of the same name. Right at the end of the episode, the Grim Reaper is seen in the background.
- In the episode "Mr. Chaney", Marshall meets a werewolf that, while in human form, goes by the name of "Mr. Chaney", a nod to Lon Chaney, Jr. who played the title role in the 1941 version of The Wolf Man. In this same episode, there is a reference to the 1981 film The Howling, a film about werewolves directed by Joe Dante, himself an occasional director of the show. There is also a mention of David Lynch's TV show Twin Peaks with Marshall exclaiming at one point 'It's you!' and the Grey Haired Kid, holding a log with which he just hit Mr. Chaney, replying 'Well, it ain't the Log Lady.'
- In the episode "Just Say No Fun", the name of the school is B. F. Skinner Middle School in reference to the eponymous psychologist.
- In the episode "America's Scariest Home Video", an actor from a classic mummy movie is transported into the Teller home. The actor's name is Boris Von Orloff, a reference to Boris Karloff, who played the title role in the 1932 film, The Mummy.
- In the episode "The Retainer", the orthodontist's name is Dr. Eukanuba, a reference to the dog food brand and the episode's plot about evil dogs.
- In the episode "No Brain, No Pain", a leather clad woman with sunglasses utters, "I'll be back", before hastily leaving Marshall and his friends. Her appearance and quote reminisces Arnold Schwarzenegger's role as The Terminator. She was also referred to as "Mrs. Terminator" by one of the boys. Incidentally Simon's little brother's middle name is "Schwarzenegger". Additionally, an instrumental variation of the song "My Sharona" is played during portions of the episode, while the song is referenced several times. Marshall's family eats at the Dragon of the Black Pool Chinese restaurant, a direct reference to the film Big Trouble in Little China.
- In the episode "Reality Takes a Holiday" Marshall says, "I don't have a dog named Toto. But, if I did, right about now I'd be telling him – Toto, I don't think we're in Indiana any more", a reference to The Wizard of Oz. Later in the episode, Dash X says, "he's the kind of guy who actually believes that there's no place like home".
- In the first episode, "Forever Ware'" Marshall says, "Dad's job is one of the reasons we moved here, because, statistically speaking, Eerie's the most normal place in the entire country". This is a reference to the Middletown studies which served as a sociological case study of Muncie, Indiana in the 1920s and 1930s. Several references are also made to the popular children's show Sesame Street. For example, the two twin boys are named Bertram and Ernest, or Bert and Ernie for short.
Episodes[edit]
A total of nineteen episodes of Eerie, Indiana were produced before the show's cancellation. The episode "The Broken Record" was the only episode which did not air before the show's retooling and was omitted during the show's initial run on NBC. The episode aired for the first time on television when the series was syndicated on The Disney Channel in 1993.
The show's producers planned to make an episode entitled "The Jolly Rogers", which featured a group of pirates in search for buried treasure in the Teller house.[4]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Forever Ware" | Joe Dante | José Rivera & Karl Schaefer | September 15, 1991 | 1001 |
| Marshall's mother, Marilyn, attends a neighborhood party of Forever Ware, Tupperware style plastic containers that can keep anything fresh—and Marshall discovers that this extends to human life. | |||||
| 2 | "The Retainer" | Joe Dante | José Rivera & Karl Schaefer | September 22, 1991 | 1002 |
| Marshall's friend Steve dreads visiting the Eerie, Indiana orthodontist (Vincent Schiavelli) and is fitted for a retainer that gives him the power to read dogs' minds. | |||||
| 3 | "The ATM with the Heart of Gold" | Sam Pillsbury | Matt Dearborn | September 29, 1991 | 1003 |
| Simon, feeling left out with no friends but Marshall, comes across an ATM that gives him money to be more popular – which also causes Eerie, Indiana to sink into a financial depression. | |||||
| 4 | "The Losers" | Joe Dante | Story by : Gary Markowitz & Michael R. Perry Teleplay by : Gary Markowitz | October 6, 1991 | 1004 |
| Marshall and Simon investigate a string of disappearances when Marshall's dad loses his briefcase. | |||||
| 5 | "America's Scariest Home Video" | Sam Pillsbury | Karl Schaefer | October 20, 1991 | 1006 |
| Stuck having to baby-sit Simon's younger brother on Halloween, Marshall and Simon fool around with their video camera. However, Simon's bratty brother manages to trade places with a mummy while left unattended, then proceeds to literally "break the fourth wall" in the monster movie by wrecking the set and harassing the film crew. Simon and Marshall learn the mummy is actually a famous actor (Tony Jay) who is doomed to keep reshooting that mummy movie, and agrees to get Simon's little brother back to them in exchange for them getting him into a happier film. | |||||
| 6 | "Just Say No Fun" | Bryan Spicer | Michael R. Perry | October 27, 1991 | 1008 |
| Simon gets his eyes checked at the school nurse's office—and comes out with huge horn-rimmed glasses with the power to make its wearer boring and disinterested in fun. | |||||
| 7 | "Heart on a Chain" | Joe Dante | José Rivera | November 3, 1991 | 1007 |
| Marshall and a classmate, Devon (Cory Danziger) fall for the new girl, Melanie Monroe (Danielle Harris) who needs a heart transplant. When Devon dies in a gruesome accident, Melanie receives Devon's heart—and her personality changes almost overnight. Is Melanie acting out because she feels guilty over Devon's death or does Devon's spirit live on in his transplanted heart, which is now in Melanie's body? | |||||
| 8 | "The Dead Letter" | Tim Hunter | James L. Crite | November 10, 1991 | 1009 |
| Marshall finds an old letter in the basement of the library—and is haunted by a boy named Trip McConnell (Tobey Maguire) who won't leave until Marshall delivers the letter. | |||||
| 9 | "Who's Who" | Tim Hunter | Julia Poll | November 17, 1991 | 1011 |
| A young artist (Shanelle Workman) in a dysfunctional family of slovenly males begins to change her life for the better when she uses an Eerie brand pencil to draw her masterpieces—and ends up stealing Marshall's mother when she draws a picture of her and signs it. | |||||
| 10 | "The Lost Hour" | Bob Balaban | Vance DeGeneres | December 1, 1991 | 1010 |
| Marshall doesn't like the Indiana practice of ignoring daylight saving time, and sets his clock back an hour anyway. When he wakes up the next day, he finds himself all alone—save for a runaway teenage girl (Nikki Cox) and a group of garbage collectors who want the two of them dead. | |||||
| 11 | "Marshall's Theory of Believability" | Bob Balaban | Matt Dearborn | February 2, 1992 | 1012 |
| Nigel Zirchron (John Standing), a professor renowned as an authority on the supernatural, comes to Eerie to observe an extraterrestrial object he believes will land here. Marshall immediately sees an opportunity to blow the lid off the Eerie weirdness, but is the professor really all that he claims to be? | |||||
| 12 | "Tornado Days" | Ken Kwapis | Michael Cassutt | March 1, 1992 | 1013 |
| As the tornado "Old Bob" approaches Eerie, the citizens prepare for their annual tornado day picnic to appease him. But Marshall and Simon insist on staying home, and a tornado chasing meteorologist, Howard Raymer (Matt Frewer) gets deposited on the front lawn. Howard says he is a member of NOAA, and a prior mission in tracking Old Bob left several of his NOAA colleagues dead. Now Old Bob wants to kill Marshall in addition to Howard. | |||||
| 13 | "The Hole in the Head Gang"Michael Elkan | ||||