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It's Meteor Watch Day today, so get your blankets and your binoculars and camp out in the back yard to spy on the Space Thing and that one really inappropriately grabby Bigfoot... sorry, Claude.
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It's Tuesday, so today you get a choice between two prompts. Pick one, combine both, pit them against each other - on Tuesday, you choose!

This week, your options are:

ALgernon the Invincible versus Professor Nigel Zircon
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It's Tuesday, so today you get a choice between two prompts. Pick one, combine both, pit them against each other - on Tuesday, you choose!

This week, your options are:

Doctor Eukanuba versus Professor Nigel Zircon
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[personal profile] froodle
It's Meteor Watch Day today, so get your blankets and your binoculars and camp out in the back yard to spy on the Space Thing and that one really inappropriately grabby Bigfoot... sorry, Claude.
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Talk about global conspiracy! After many long and arduous minutes of research, I have uncovered evidence leading me to believe that Chris Carter's 'The X-Files'-- which debuted in 1993-- is a poorly disguised copy of José Rivera and Karl Schaefer's 1991 series 'Eerie, Indiana'! Don't believe me? You will: check out this Evidence List for the grim details. For those few of you who fail to realize the signifigance of the below developments-- although I can't imagine who wouldn't-- I have taken the liberty of including a Rip-Off Rating on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being 'Holy Corn! Trust No One-- especially TV show producers!' and a 1 being, well, 'Believe the Lie' a.k.a 'Talitha, you pulled that out of your #%$!' Anyway, folks, the truth is out there-- but its roots are in Eerie....

THE EVIDENCE LIST
'Have these earthlings no shame?'

THE BASIC PLOT

EERIE: Paranormal investigator Marshall Teller teams up with younger, red-headed partner Simon Holmes to expose the supernatural activity of Eerie, Indiana.
X-FILES: Paranormal investigator Fox Mulder teams up with younger, red-headed partner Dana Scully to expose the supernatural activity of the world.
RIP-OFF FACTOR: "You can't suppress the truth.. the people have a right to know! Roswell! Roswell!!" Is it any more obvious?! Rating: 10

THE VILLIAN

EERIE: A mysterious, gray haired man in black (Dash X) with no name continually tries to ruin Marshall and Simon's investigations-- as well as attempt to kill them.
X-FILES:A mysterious, gray haired man in black (Cigarette Smoking Man) with no name continually tries to ruin Mulder and Scully's investigations-- as well as attempt to kill them
RIP-OFF FACTOR: "Burn it!" "Bye-bye, slick!" Took off half a point for lack of nicotine on Dash's part, but then again, CSM didn't start until his twenties... Rating: 9.5

THE EVIDENCE FACTOR

EERIE: Marshall keeps his evidence of the paranormal filed, tagged and hidden in the Secret Spot.
X-FILES: Mulder keeps his evidence of the paranormal filed, tagged and hidden in his FBI office.
RIP-OFF FACTOR: "The truth is in the X-Files, Scully." "Where's the Secret Spot?" Eh, close enough! Rating: 9

THE WRITER FACTOR

EERIE: In one episode, Marshall encounters a strange writer named José Schaefer.
X-FILES: In one episode, Mulder encounters a strange writer named José Chung.
RIP OFF FACTOR: Holy Corn! Two strange writers named José with non-Hispanic last names? Puh-lease!...Rating:10

THE PARANORMAL IMPOSTER FACTOR

EERIE: Marshall and Simon must debunk Professor Zircon, who claims to be an expert on the 'parabelievable.'
X-FILES: Mulder and Scully must debunk the Stupendous Yappi, an expert on psychic ability and UFOs.
RIP-OFF FACTOR: As Zircon lacked both a TV show and those cool eyebrows, this one only gets a rating of 7

THE CHOICE ATTIRE OF OUR HEROS

EERIE: One of Marshall's favorite items of clothing is his sweatshirt baring the logo of a New York Sports team-- the Giants.
X-FILES: One of Mulder's favorite items of clothing is his T-shirt baring the logo of a New York sports team-- the Knicks.
RIP-OFF FACTOR: "This is mega-voodo-eerie-weirdness, Simon." As both character don't live anywhere near New York, this gets a 9 However, I doubt we'll be seeing Simon in a Donna Karan suit anytime soon-- at least, I hope not...

THE EVIL ENEMY

EERIE: Marshall and Simon must battle an evil secret society-- the Loyal Order of Corn.
X-FILES: Mulder and Scully must battle an evil secret society-- the Syndicate.
RIP-OFF FACTOR: "They've been here a long time, Mr. Mulder" "We hail your fruitful cob!" Well, the Syndicate is lacking in a catchy tehem song, but there's always next season... Rating:7.5

THE HORIZONTALLY CHALLENGED BUREAUCRACY FACTOR

X-FILES: The deadly Syndicate is headed by the feared Fat Elder.
EERIE: The deadly Eerie government is headed by Elvis Presley, circa 1972.
RIP-OFF FACTOR:Oh man oh man oh man oh man! This is IT! Now we know where Elvis has been hiding since Eerie's cancellation-- obviously that lack of dental hygiene on the Fat Elder's part was to keep us off track...but they ain't foolin' no one! Rating: 10+
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It's Meteor Watch Day today, so get your blankets and your binoculars and camp out in the back yard to spy on the Space Thing and that one really inappropriately grabby Bigfoot... sorry, Claude.
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Here we have an episode that pits the believable (science) against the unbelievable (paranormal phenomenon), and the battle is waged between Edgar, Marshall's scientific father, and Professor Nigel Zirchon, a man who arrives in Eerie with his "Traveling Museum of the Parabelievable". Zirchon, you see, is not an actual professor, nor does he have any sort of scientific credentials, but he still purports that everything in his “museum” is real, including the crisp, clear pictures of UFO's, and evidence of “mythical” creatures.

I shouldn't have to explain how excited our little Marshall and Simon are about this visitor, as they are certain he will simply confirm what they have always known: that Eerie, Indiana is the center of weirdness for the entire world. And their excitement reaches a fever pitch when Professor Zirchon makes an unexpected announcement: he has spotted something mysterious entering the Earth's atmosphere. His contacts at NASA confirm it can't be a spaceship or a meteor, so that leaves only one explanation: a flying saucer! And best of all, it's going to land right in Eerie!

But Edgar is skeptical. And so are we, as viewers, because Zirchon seems to be hatching some sort of plan with his assistant, that involves faking the whole alien landing! For their parts, Marshall and Simon want to get some approval from Zirchon, and bring a mold of a Bigfoot...er...foot that they took months ago out of a neighbor's backyard. Unfortunately, by the time they get it there, in a suitcase, the entire mold has broken in to little pieces. Poor kids!

Compounding matters is the mayor, who claims Zirchon's large vehicle is parked on city property, and so he must move by sundown, or he will be hit with a citation. Marshall, always being the helpful little guy, suggests he move the large truck to the Teller's driveway...needless to say, Edgar is not enthused about having to share a house with someone whose ideals and beliefs go in direct contradiction to his own, which leads to much tension between the two.

In a slight twist—one of many “slight” twists—the assistant who goes and sets up the fake space debris panics when he has a run-in with an actual Bigfoot! The following flare that he shoots in a panic is mistaken by Marshall and Simon as the falling space debris, and so the two go about to find it, dragging Zirchon and the family in tow. What they find is a metal ball that becomes the talk of the entire town!

And here's where things start to veer off from the standard children's show, as they most often do on this show: Marshall and Simon, in complete belief of Zirchon and his findings, search for proof in his laboratory...only to find the blueprint for creating the space ball, thus proving all of it was a sham. Or was it?

This episode has more twists than the average, and has a lot to say about the power of belief and family, with Edgar caught between telling Marshall the truth, or allowing him to believe things that aren't true. Where does a parent's obligation end? On the one hand, having an active imagination is certainly a good thing for a child (or teenager, or adult) to have, but it can also be counterproductive if it's allowed to go unchecked, and this plot provides the perfect setup for such an exploration of themes.

I will say the final “twist” ending didn't really do much for me; it's a little too “standard” for my tastes, especially given the unpredictable directions the show frequently likes to go. When taking the entire episode into consideration, though, it's above average and entertaining enough, and a good entry into the series.

EPISODE RATING: 7/10
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[personal profile] froodle
It's Meteor Watch Day today, so get your blankets and your binoculars and camp out in the back yard to spy on the Space Thing and that one really inappropriately grabby Bigfoot... sorry, Claude.
froodle: (Default)
[personal profile] froodle
It's Meteor Watch Day today, so get your blankets and your binoculars and camp out in the back yard to spy on the Space Thing and that one really inappropriately grabby Bigfoot... sorry, Claude.
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[personal profile] froodle
As we all know, the most scientifically valid lines of research are conducted by middle aged men in enormous trailer trucks repurposed as museums. Stop on by to marvel as Professor Nigel Zircon unravels the mysteries of the world in Marshalls Theory of Believability.

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