Top 6 All-Time Favorite Halloween TV Episodes-#3

Welcome back my friends as I count down my all-time favorite Halloween sitcom episodes. Today I am picking an episode from a series which you would expect to do good Halloween episodes. And this series rarely disappointed. While most of their Halloween episodes were good one in particular rises above the rest, for me anyway. Today my #3 favorite episode comes from:

“Good Will Haunting”













This episode first aired on October 30, 1998




Plot Synopsis-Sabrina gets a scary doll that comes to life and terrorizes her and her friends. Meanwhile, Hilda and Zelda attend their Aunt Beulah’s Halloween party at an insane asylum.



Best Line:”Listen, I shouldn’t tell you this but it may be our only chance for survival. That doll has magical powers. It’s out to get all of us! RUN! HIDE! SAVE YOURSELVES!!!”



Standout Character:Salem, mostly  just for the clever way he introduced the episode and set the tone from the get go.



Nitpick of the episode:The tag has the episode starting over like it was a time loop or something. This is stupid. And I try to ignore the fact that Zelda and Hilda are chickens one moment and back to normal the next. This is Sabrina after all.



Syndication Edit:Not sure really



Final Thoughts:I was really impressed with this episode when I first saw it. Not that this series didn’t do really cool Halloween shows. The year before had featured 10,000 Maniacs and a river of candy corn. The problem with that episode was that it tried to hard to also be a character episode, Sabrina throwing her first party was the plot.  And in fact the episodes that come after this one don’t quite compare (including a zombie attack and a haunted train ride). So what makes this episode so special?

First thing I should mention right away is that all the party guests were former cast members from Laugh In. Laugh In was a sketch show on NBC way before my time, and I got the hunch that I would have hated it from what I’ve seen. But it featured some big names who went on to become huge stars such as Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin. This episode featured several Laugh In actors including Gary Owens and of course Jo Anne Worley who is always fun to see. When I was a kid watching game shows she seemed to show up ALL  THE TIME. And who doesn’t know Ruth Buzzi?

So aside from that, what is it about this episode I love? It’s a lot of fun! Yeah there isn’t really anything much here story wise. It’s mostly Sabrina, Hilda and Zelda running from monsters (or crazy people) which in the end all turns out to be just a prank. All the standard monsters are here from Frankenstein to a Wolf man and the episode does a good job of being creepy while maintaining the show’s ordinary humor.

The Molly Dolly is very creepy. Not sure who voices her but the actress did a fantastic job sounding menacing and sweet at the same time. For the record it was Tara Strong who has done TONS of voice over work including Avatar, MLP, and Raven in Teen Titans (which? ALL!). Seriously scroll through her IMDB page, wow! She started out just as I was done with cartoon which explains why i am not as familiar with her.

And Sabrina’s fight with the doll was pretty cool. Of course Salem turns out to be a coward, what else is new? But the effects and action all worked. Yeah the stuff with the chickens having their brains swapt with Hilda and Zelda was lame. So lame the episode itself acted like it never happened. And what was it about old movies that they thought electricity could swap people’s brains?

But one of the best parts of the episode was hearing “The Monster Mash” during all the running around. Something about that song here just elevates this one into a really cool Halloween episode.



Grade:B+, this episode is just a lot of fun





Honorable Mention:Boy Meets World.
Since I know people are going to be expecting it I may as well mention the episode which was a horror movie spoof. Actually no spoof because it was played surprisingly straight. I didn’t see it until a few years ago on YouTube. It’s very well done, and even scary, but I do not love it as much as some fans do. Especially when you know it’s all going to be a dream in the end. But for this list it’s not officially a Halloween episode (it first aired in Feb! Just because it’s scary doesn’t mean it is a Halloween episode. Though if you enjoy it on Halloween then more power to you) so is disqualified. It’s still real good with great horror homages (Jennifer Love Hewitt? Wow). But for me I prefer The Facts of Life horror episode over this.

There was another episode that is an actual Halloween show with Candace Cameron as a witch but the episode gets a little to campy and goofy with way to much Eric for my taste. Though the end did feature a cute cameo by Sabrina herself.





I’ll be back with my #2 choice soon my friends.