Eerie, Indiana rewatch 2015: episode six, Just Say No Fun

[froodle]

I hope nobody's got an appointment with the optician coming up, because you might find yourselves freaking out when she asks you to read the little eye chart. Don your GM2020s, everyone... it's time to Just Say No Fun!

Comments

[deifire]

Adults never learn. I have just discovered that years later, a gym teacher will try something quite similar to this nefarious plot in the town of Piqua in the nearby state of Ohio. Things don't go so well for him, either.

The family that pranks together. I'm sad we didn't get to see any more Teller family prank wars, or how Syndi got revenge.

I still crack up at the name of "B.F. Skinner Junior High School." Do we ever find out what the Eerie elementary and high schools are named?

Also, does Simon go to junior high, despite being nine, or does the elementary school share Nurse Nancy?

In my headcanon of the future, Simon is that smart, and wound up really disappointing Edgar and Marilyn when he decided not to go to college, despite clearly having the test scores to do it.

[froodle]

I bet syndi is one of those people who escalates to like a crazy extent. superglue. nair. jump scares that have you screaming for a full minute in steadily rising octaves. it would be AMAZING.

I dont remember hearing about the high school or elementary school. I wonder if the show had continud whether wed have got themed educator names. also I want to know how kids in eerie get taught to read and write.

my take on it is that hes power smart and goes to jnr high. because... well, because hes totally smarter than everyone.

[froodle]

My God, look how young Omri is in the credits versus what he already looks like in this episode. Also, I love the side-eye he gives in the opening credits in that scene where he;s next to the Pop 16661 sign. Love a good bit of side-eye.

Nice to see the Teller house is as messy and disorganised in this episode as it was in Foreverware. Good bit of continuinty, show,

WHO EATS CEREAL ALREADY POURED INTO A BOWL BEFORE THEY SIT DOWN?! There's so clearly a prank going on, who falls for that?

Also, I love how in this show, if a character is at home, they actually dress for staying at home. Like in ATM with a Heart of Gold, Syndi's got those fluffy house socks on for chilling at home, and Marilyn's got a plaid shirt on for wearing around the house in this episode. IT kind of makes me realise how much I've gotten used to seeing people on TV being like, "Oh, just hanging out at home, in SKIN TIGHT CLOTHES AND FULL MAKEUP, no reason tho." Be better, TV.

Love the fact that the school is called BF Skinner Junior High,but uses shitty mind control instead of proper teachin techniques, and yes, my headcanon says Simon is blatently smart enough to be going there at 9 years old.

Ugh, every school bus route has at least one Dimsdale. It's so weird that he's shorter than Mars but he and Simon are clearly intimidated by this kid. Then again, aggro has a lot more of an intimidation facgtor than straight up height, so there's that.

I love Nurse Nancy's glasses. I actually would reallhy like a pair like that. Not on a chain tho. Also I hate those stupid knitted cardigans with no sleeves things. They really offend me.

The music and background sound effects in this episode are so creepy. And Nurse Nancy's ragey face when she sees Mars peeking in at Simon getting his eye exam, shudder!

Oh, hai there weird fake Radford! They kind of abandoned his different-disguise thing early on, huh? But then I guess his "real" identity is a disguise anyway, so maybe that was deliberate?

What's with that kid stroking the bristles of a giant toothbrush all lovingly? Weird, weird, weird.

Love that the Groucho glasses are called GM2020s. Every time I go to the opticians and they'e like, "You got 2020 vision," my brain adds the GM prefix to it.

JACKALOPE! Love me some jackalopes.

Oh my God Nancy's weird massive head in the eye test bit. Also I love how Mars mispronounces "hypnotised".

"Undercover is my life." I love Simon's random declarations like that. "I was born for this" is another one.

Yeah, come on, Edgar. Obeying the rules and getting good grades is fine, being required to "blend in" and "be like the other students" is a totally different thing. Watch your phrasing.

Also, I'm just saying, I really don't want a brain-washed, derped out lollipop lady. That just seems completely counter-productive.

Ugh, Nancy's whole thing where her demeanour changes the second the adults are out of the room is horrifying. I bet everyone has had at least one adult authority figure like that in their life when they were little.

I love how Mars just declares himself to be "cool and suave."

So, when Simon has his eye exam, Nancy tells him it won't hurt, but when it's Marshall's turn, "pain can be so instructive". Also, when Dimsdale had his eye exam, we heard him saying "ow, stop, I promise" through the wall. So, is it one of those things where it hurts the more you fight it, or is she just a creepy sadistic bitch who doesn't like kids who push back against her authority? The more I watch this episode, the more I think that teachers like her are a kind of universal experiance.

There's also something really horrible about the idea that she can hypnotise Simon, who is just crazy loyal and sweet, into giving up Mars's plans by saying a few key words. Like, friendship, family, loyalty, none of that factors into this woman's need to control a bunch of kids. Ugh. UGH. This episode has never been one of my favourites, because there's too much under the surface that makes me uncomfortable.

Still wearing one of those ugly knitted vests, just orange instead of grey now. I guess a sense of humor doesn;t help with fashion sense.