Hey there all you Halloweeners.
I am Walter Banasiak and welcome back to October Top 5. So many of you have been asking about this series.
So just call me the mailman because I'm delivering in a big way, starting right now with a best episode breakdown.
"Are you afraid of the dark?", a question that has meant a lot to a legion of fans since the early 1990s.
This series aired a total of 7 seasons and 91 episodes the original run ended in
1996 after just five seasons, but was revised in 1999 for two more.
I did discuss it a bit in my video of the top 5 best 90s Nickelodeon shows and
make no mistake about it, Nick in the 90s would not have been as strong as it was without this show.
Upon rewatching, I was pleasantly surprised with how well Are You Afraid of the Dark held up.
It excelled in what it was good at, which
was being a scary show for kids while still being
interesting enough to hold the attention of teenagers and even some of their parents.
There are some legitimately great episodes of this Canadian produced anthology series. So let's take a look, eh?
Submitted for the approval of the Channel Awesome Society I call this countdown...
Fwoosh!
The Top 5 Best Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes.
Number 5
The Tale of Train Magic from season 4.
I'm gonna say this right off the bat.
This is a horrible title.They could have gone with numerous other ones that would have better
represented this story. If I were to make a top 5 worst
Are You Afraid of the Dark episode titles, this might make the list. However, the actual episode is one of the best.
Frank tells the tale of a boy named Tim who has recently lost his father a train conductor and is not dealing with it well.
He's obsessed with trains and wants to be just like his dad.
A veteran conductor appears to him on an old set of tracks near his house and the mysterious trainman
eventually gives Tim a special toy train car. The young boy soon finds out the horrifying details behind these peculiar happenings.
This definitely isn't the scariest episode in the series,
but it's just creepy enough with a very strong story. Not to say it isn't a little cheesy,
but I'm a sucker for an effective sympathetic character and Tim absolutely fits that description.
The kid just lost his dad and is trying to hang on to something from him.
Tim's father's friend, Cap, looks out for the young boy
and when that strange conductor starts showing up Cap explains who he might be.
Train crashed. A lot of folks died including the conductor.
Ray Lawson.
But I saw him. We dug his body out of the wreck. Still had the watch in his hand.
This episode has a concept that shows up in the series a few other times. That being the main character
getting sucked into a smaller version of an actual place. In this case, the toy train car transports Tim onto a ghost train.
I won't give the rest away, but it works great as a little ghost story.
There is something kind of eerie about old trains and abandoned tracks. This episode covered that well with some good character development.
Let's chug along at number four.
Number 4
The Tale of the Crimson Clown from season 3.
Scary clowns are very popular right now, so this episode fits right in.
Gary tells the tale of two brothers, Mike and Sam, who are out trying to get their mom a birthday present
Sam, the bratty younger brother, treats Mike like crap and steals the money his older brother was going to use to buy his mom's present
and buys a videogame for himself.
Mike tells Sam to stop misbehaving or the crimson clown will get him. What started out as a story to scare Sam turns out to
be a lot more real than the troublemaker ever thought. I grew up with Bozo, so I was never really scared of clowns,
but I remember being creeped out by Crimson. It's that laugh. It's freaking demented.
You rotten kid! Ahahahahaha!
They really play up how much of a little jerk Sam is, so when the Crimson clown haunts him later
you don't feel all that bad for him. However, it doesn't make it any less creepy.
Mike!
Help...
What the?
I can see this one freaking out little kids, and if you do have a fear of clowns, it's probably still a little scary.
Help!
No one will help you, Sam!
Nobody wants to!
That laugh though.
Number 3
The Tale of Station 109.1 from season 5.
Ryan Gosling and Gilbert Gottfried guest star in this episode, so it's definitely a star-studded installment.
Stig tells the tale of Chris Leary, a boy who has a fascination with death and the afterlife.
When his brother Jaime locks him in a hearse to scare this obsession out of him, Chris begins to hear a strange voice on the radio.
When he investigates the station he finds out it's for those who have passed away and missed crossing over to the other side.
He's mistaken for a dead person and must convince the clerk there that he's still among the living.
This is a really good concept, and the acting is pretty solid from everyone.
But the real reason that this episode is on the list is because of Gilbert Gottfried.
Do not knock on the window! What's the matter with you? You can't read?
Here! Knock window.
Do not on the.
Let's try it together, shall we? Do not knock on the window!
He's hilarious in this while maintaining a little touch of dread.
Boy, if I had a dime for every time somebody tried to weasel out of dead...
It would actually do me no good at all cuz I'm dead. Why do I need money for? What am I gonna
do? I'm dead. What am I gonna do, buy gum?
There are jokes in there that went over my head watching it for the first time as a kid, but our funny as hell now.
You can't come in here unless you're in the union!
I don't make mistakes, buddy-boy.
When I was alive I worked for the department of motor vehicles!
Gosling isn't the main kid in this one, but he's still enjoyable.
What a cheese head.
I'm...Daniel Carpenter.
*Scoffs* Sure you are, bud.
There's a sense of urgency for Chris to not be mistakenly thrown into the afterlife that kept me interested the entire time.
This is a really good episode.
Okay, one more.
All standing quietly one after the other. Why do you suppose that is?
It's a line! That's what it is! It's a line! Why don't you try waiting in the line!
You tell 'em, Iago!
Number 2
The Tale of The Midnight Madness from season 2.
I love this episode. The setting, the concept, Dr. Fink.
Vink! With a Vuh-vuh-vuh!
It's just great.
Frank tells the tale of an old-time theater called the Rialto. It's a landmark that shows classic films
but isn't making enough money to stay open.
Dr. Vink shows up to change all that. He gives the employees an old silent film
he made called Nosferatu: The Demon Vampire to show at the theater.
The movie is a massive hit and saves the cinema
but when the manager goes back on his word to show more of Vinc films, Nosferatu comes to life straight out of the movie screen.
Leaving the employees to deal with the vicious vampire.
The execution on this episode is pretty much perfect.
The idea of a movie character coming to life in the real world isn't an earth-shattering new idea, but it works flawlessly here.
I always thought Nosferatu was unnerving, so seeing a version of Count Orlok pop up here is pretty freaky.
I love that he doesn't make any sound since he came out of a silent movie and glides instead of walks. Great touches.
*Door creaks*
We also care about these protagonists. The male and female employees, Pete and Katie, are pretty good.
Pete especially is given some nice development in a very short amount of time.
When he went up against Nosferatu, I was rooting for him.
I have to mention Dr. Vink as well. He's a fan favorite and appeared in a few of Frank's stories.
This is my favorite appearance from him. I couldn't have written it better myself.
And believe me.
I've got many many more
that are far better than this one!
Can we see some of those? A sequel to this episode would be fantastic.
Like a lot of you, I grew up loving this show and there are so many more than just 5 great episodes
I really wanted to talk about, but at the very least I can list them here as honorable mentions.
And the number one best, are you afraid of the dark episode is?
The Tale of the Silver Sight parts 1 through 3 from season 7.
This is the ultimate story. We finally get to see the Midnight Society in a scary tale all their own.
When his grandfather unexpectedly dies Gary, the former leader of the Midnight Society,
returns to the group seeking their help. His grandfather left behind a true story for him that only he would believe.
It involves tracking down the former members of the original Midnight Society and
destroying an evil charm called the Silver Sight. The group splits up, looking for the original members
but don't anticipate what a dangerous path they're all on.
This little saga was absolutely worth bringing Gary back for. It's ultimately his story.
I'm Tucker's brother. I used to run these briefings.
It looks like you've changed things a little bit.
When I was here we...
Building the war of the Midnight Society itself was a great idea.
Having it basically be a family heirloom that Gary and Tucker are continuing the legacy of
provided even more background for us to care about with these characters. Love this by the way.
Haven't done this in a while.
Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society I call this story...
I will say these aren't perfect episodes for some reason they felt it necessary to make a few scenes a little too goofy.
The sewer sequences in part 2 almost killed the vibe.
What have we here?
Were you announced?
*Gasp*
The Silver Sight is a fun eerie and intriguing mystery that proved to be the series best.
It's a layered story and made me want to see the Midnight Society have their own scary adventures more often.
Looking back though the fact that this is the only one makes it that much more special.
Again, having Gary return and seeing him with Tucker one last time was just really cool as a longtime fan of the series.
After watching this and Goosebumps back-to-back, I feel like I have a pretty strong perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of both shows.
But which one is better? Go ahead and check out a new video on my personal channel, where I present my thoughts on this question.
I want to hear what you guys think. What is your favorite Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode?
What do you want me to cover next in the show? Leave a comment and let me know. To stay in touch, like my Facebook
page: facebook.com/awesomewalterb, and follow along on Twitter to take part in more polls
about what may be covered in the future. Come back next week as we
take a look at the top 5 worst episodes of this spine-tingling series.