Paralysis Shriek reviews Eerie, Indiana episode, the Lost Hour

[froodle]

I've waited long enough, and meant to mention this before, but can we talk about the elephant in the room: This show's intro, complete with anti-theme theme song? It's ultra-bizarre, and in my limited television viewership, I would venture to call it one of the weirdest themes to any TV show ever made, kid or otherwise. At the same time, it somehow does perfectly capture the mood of the show: the music is not scary, just weird, and it borders more on the lighthearted side of things, while the visuals are humorous and appropriately quirky. I didn't dig it at first, but like everything else in this show, it managed to grow on me.

Anyway, many of “Eerie's" episodes don't put the characters in any real danger. However, “The Lost Hour” pits Marshall against some very creepy trashmen that toss anyone they find into their trash truck, thus compacting them to death. Thankfully, though, he finds a good Samaritan in the form of a milkman (What is it with milkmen, and milk trucks, in this show? They make appearances in several episodes to the point that it feels like some kind of inside joke.) who attempts to protect him.

And all this simply because Marshall refuses to accept that Indiana doesn't observe Daylight Savings Time (TRIVIA: the entire state did adopt it starting April, 2006, almost fifteen years after the end of this show's original run). After a little argument with his father, in which he attempts to talk his dad into letting he and Simon stay awake an hour later and fails, Marshall decides to take matters into his own hands, setting his clock back an hour anyway. Bad move. He awakes to find the town completely deserted, save for the aforementioned trashmen and milkman.

As it turns out, his little shenanigans disrupted the time-space continuum...everyone is still around, just an hour behind, in an alternate dimension. But as it turns out, he's not alone after all: There's another little girl named Janet (in another example of inspired casting, played by future semi-star Nikki Cox), who has been trapped in the alternate dimension for almost a year. If Marshall can't convince her to re-enter the real world by midnight that day, she will be trapped in that universe forever.

Janet, however, has already come to grips with the idea that she'll be resigned to the alternate dimension forever, and enjoys being able to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants, with no parental supervision. I guess having trashmen that are constantly trying to kill you is better than nagging relatives. Can Marshall change her mind before it's too late for both of them?

This is a pretty fascinating episode, with some tense moments (in the form of the trashmen, who can strike at any time), and a rather unique plot, at least for a kids show. It's also cool to see Nikki Cox in an early role, just a few years before she would play a reformed prostitute in the vastly underrated “Norm Show” (I don't know how I didn't notice; it was actually my wife that pointed her out). Overall, though, there's just nothing that really makes this episode stand out, and especially not above the more brilliant and poignant episodes that “Eerie” has to offer. It's good, but not great.

EPISODE RATING: 7/10