I can't believe I forgot to post this after my episode Recaps. Whoops.
It's been so long, I've nearly forgotten what part of the house I shouldn't go into.
...It's the bathroom, right? Pretty sure it's the bathroom.
Plot/Themes
I think the best Goosebumps books and episodes are the ones that blend
classic horror elements with real-life childhood anxieties.
Well... to a certain degree. Moving from one neighborhood to another is a
real-life thing that kids can worry about, but the Goosebumps franchise
has definitely driven that particular plot point into the ground. To
the point where it's not effective after the first few times you
encounter it.
This episode takes a mad scientist/evil clone plot and blends it with an
altogether-unused childhood fear: Parents acting strange.
When you're a kid, you never quite understand why your parents treat you
the why they do.
Why they make you eat gross vegetables despite the
fact that you hate veggies?
Why you have to dress up nice to go visit
relatives?
And even as you grow up a bit and learn some of these things,
you neverreally know your parents' motivations. That strange trip that
you didn't know you were taking until just now... are you going to the
toy store or the dentist? Do they want you to go outside to "get some
fresh air," or do they just want to watch their show on TV instead of
Spongebob? Why can't Sam spend the night again? "Because I said so" is not a comforting answer!
So here, R.L. Stine puts us in those shoes and provides an evil plant
clone in the position of the parent, meaning that not only are his
motivations unknowable, they're definitely evil.
The idea that your parent doesn't have your best interests at heart and
may even want to kill you... that is a scary thought for kids. And I
think that's why both the book and episode hold up so well compared to
some of the other ones.
I mean, Dr. Brewer's evil clone cooks vaguely botanical gunk for his
kids? That's a pretty clever riff on the old parenting standby of "Eat
your vegetables." And the clone's repeated demands of "Stay out of the
basement" will speak volumes to any kid who was ever told not to go into
Daddy's office.
Characters
Margaret Brewer (Rebecca Henderson)
Margaret is a perfectly typical Goosebumps protagonist. She's a normal
kid who faces her fears and investigates some strange happenings. But
some of the details in the script, plus Miss Henderson's performance, ratchets
home her simultaneous love for and growing fear of her own father, which
lets the tension skyrocket when she's forced into a choice where she's
faced with two dads, one of which must be eliminated.
Casey Brewer (Blake McGrath)
Another entry in the "Little Brother" archetype, but not as annoying as
some examples, mostly because he's one of the protagonists. He exists
for a purpose beyond being annoying.
Mrs. Brewer (Lucy Peacock)
If this keeps up, I might end up adding "Clueless Mother" to my Review
checklist. Mrs. Brewer might not be as clueless as, say, Mrs. Mathews,
but she just laughs and smiles her way through the story. Or rather, the
beginning and the end of it. The beginning is understandable, since the
harrowing events of the story haven't happened yet, but I find it weird
that her children and husband tell her the story about an evil plant
clone who nearly replaced her entire family... and she cracks a joke
with a big ol' grin on her face.
I don't know, maybe she's traumatized on the inside or repressing the
paranoia she could easily be developing. Or maybe this is a kids' show
adaptation of a children's book and it needs to end on a relatively
happy note before the unavoidable R.L. Stine twist. I guess it depends
on whether you prefer an in-universe or out-of-universe explanation.
Monster of the Week: Dr. Brewer v2.0 (Judah Katz)
It's not exactly clear at what point Clone-Brewer takes over. He might
be the guy at the beginning of the episode, or he might have only first
appeared when he came up the stairs to eat some fertilizer. Signs point
to the latter, since his creepy stare at Margaret seems like he's seeing
her for the first time, among other behavioral differences.
I have to say, Judah Katz's performance as both a loving and
absent-minded father and the creepy clone replacing him is subtle enough
at first to make you wonder exactly what he's doing in the basement,
making the reveal in the second part that the character has been
replaced with an evil clone a solid twist. And "evil clone" twists are
hard to pull off, typically.
You know, now that I think about it, Dr. Brewer isn't exactly alone in
the Goosebumps franchise in his desire to artificially inflict his will
upon creation with a weapon of science. I should start keeping a running
counter of mad scientists in this show.
Visuals
Some good horror shots in this one, with the green gunk flowing out of
Dr. Brewer's arm to the surprisingly good split screen effects showing
two Dr. Brewers in the same place.
Music
While the "jungle" music might be overdoing it, the music knows when to
ratchet up the tension, despite a few oddly drunk-sounding musical
choices with the brass section.
Barking Dogs: 0
Boring Best Friend: 0
Although there was a "best friend" character in the original book, she was pretty obnoxious. Her presence is not missed.
Child Grabbing: 0
Unless you count the plant that grabbed Margaret and sampled her DNA.
...On second thought, let me change that to a 1.
Foliage POV Cam: No
Which is odd, consider that this is the episode with killer foliage.
Mad Scientist: Absolutely
If you count the plant clone, then we even have two. One who wants to
meddle in God's domain, and one who wants to replace God's domain with a
new Garden of Eden.
Murder
Protagonists' Murder Count: 1
Total Murder: 1 Sentient Plant
Red Paint: No
Werewolves: No
X-Files Shout-Out: No
Final Thoughts
A solid entry, mainly because of the strong performances from Judah Katz
complementing a solid adaptation of an ultimately solid book.
Next time, a monster returns, despite never having actually shown up in the first place. See you then!
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