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The Frog of Ultimate Doom sat despondently atop a wilting lily pad, it's great green shoulders slumped in abject despair.

"I should never have come here," it said.

Weatherman Wally, who was at heart a kind and compassionate man, felt bad for the frog but could not bring himself to disagree.

"It's all gone wrong," said the frog. "I was going to come here, mess with you all a little, ruin a couple of festivals, and then leave."

"The weather doesn't work like that here," Wally explained, as gently as he could. "There are literal gods here."

The frog sighed.

Ongoing Verse: Weather

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Ongoing Verse: The Powers That Be

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Eerie, Indiana/Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street

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In the vast expanse of human experience, there most likely existed several things better-tasting than reheated slices of yesterday's pizza. Certainly there existed things with more nutritional value, some of which sat even now in the very same refrigerator that held a rapidly diminishing quantity of Mister Zip's Saturday Night Special Stuffed Crust.

Still, in this moment Syndi was unable to name a single one of them. The night was over, dawn was just peeking over the humped and turreted back of City Hall, and they had all survived. The microwave beeped, and the Ladies, tired but victorious, drew closer.

Ongoing Verse: The Powers That Be

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Ongoing Verse: Teller Family History

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Eerie, Indiana/Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street

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I tell people the show is a cross between "Eerie, Indiana," "Are You Afraid of the Dark," "The Sandlot," and maybe a little of "Even Stevens."

The hot spell had finally broken, and the cooling rain pounded down on parched earth and baking asphalt.

Marshall pushed open the old-fashioned sash windows, feeling the soft give of rotting wood under a lumpy coating of thick white gloss. The air was full of the smell of wet pavement and the susurration of falling water and he leaned out, breathing deep as heavy droplets quickly soaked his skin and hair.

"Looks like Wally managed to catch that frog after all," said Simon, who was performing much the same ritual at the other window. "Or get him a date, anyway."

Ongoing Verse: Microwave

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Ongoing Verse: Weather

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Dear Weird Welch Studnets:

Do yourselves a favor and go watch “Eerie, Indiana” on Amazon Prime.

Thank me later.@AnnaPinson5 @LilBiskuit @literallysarahb @haileysboyer @raysellx: Better than “Just Add Magic.”
— Daniel Webster (@pastorwebby) May 22, 2020

That’s a bold statement sir but I will check it out
— Allie Foust (@LilBiskuit) May 22, 2020

Ok. Maybe “better” was too strong.

But I had to come out swinging to get you all to realize the seriousness of the matter.
— Daniel Webster (@pastorwebby) May 22, 2020

If I watch this y'all gotta watch Gortimer Gibbon
— Anna Pinson (@AnnaPinson5) May 22, 2020

Deal.
— Daniel Webster (@pastorwebby) May 22, 2020

I would so love for this show to come back but I feel the studio would need a lot of convincing. A good way to go about it might be to create a pitch video that gives the studios the idea of what a modern Eerie Indiana would look like and the kind of stories that will be told. I think a good example of a similar show working in modern times was the Amazon series Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street. That lasted three seasons and concluded. That show did a lot of things that Eerie did so I personally think a reboot would be very successful if handed right.

There was an evil frog living in the crawl space under his house.

Wally knew this, because for the last few days it had been taunting him. Wet webbed footprints appeared across his weather map, and now Sergeant Knight and a very green-faced Officer Derek were out on Lake Eerie looking for the Shadow Over Innsmouth. Milk left on his doorstep would be curdled by a single scorching ray of sunlight hours before dawn. Errant, unseasonable breezes scattered his papers and laundry alike.

And now, all the chocolate in town was melting, and the Mayor would want to know why.

Ongoing Verse: Weather

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Eerie, Indiana/Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street

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Ongoing Verse: The Powers That Be

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Gortimer Gibbons’ Life On Normal Street

Amazon’s best original children’s show has a similar feel to the 1990s classic Eerie, Indiana. Gortimer doesn’t always have an easy family life, but he and his friends find magic — and mysteries — on Normal Street. Three series

Was on the hunt for some weird 90's nostalgia (it turned out to be an episode of Eerie, Indiana), and ended up browsing the IMDB pages of the Goosebumps TV series and Are You Afraid of the Dark.

Do they make anything like these shows for kids now? "Scary," but PG rated at most?
— Daddy Doggo 🌻🛡 (@HarleighDog) July 13, 2019

There’s one on Netflix called Creeped Out. I watched it with the kids. It kinda has the feel of a kid’s Black Mirror, but reminds me a lot of the old Goosebumps episodes.
— Quotation Marks is GISHing (@QuotationMarkBB) July 13, 2019

There's a cartoon either Netflix or Prime called The Hollow, Prime has a live-action series called Gortimer Gibson's Life on Normal Street which is Eerie if it has been given a chance to do proper character arcs and season-long plots, and Disney has Gravity Falls
— eerieindianadw (@eerieindianalj1) July 14, 2019

I’m very proud of our show-Gortimer and they need to know that it was written and performed for all ages to enjoy. At least half of the millions of fans are adults. The truth is: if YOU like a series, then it is good for you. Thanks for your fandom. https://t.co/l5Sg8Xioiq
— Sloane Morgan Siegel (@sloanesiegel) May 26, 2019

mid forties, myself and my wife really enjoyed the show, reminded us of shows from like Eerie Indiana & Round the Twist, an excellent show with an excellent cast, you all did a fantastic job, great writing, great cast... and a more satisfying conclusion than Game of Thrones!
— ⚡ Toby Ford ⚡ (@TobyFord) May 27, 2019

Eerie Indiana is the reason I love shows like this. This is the first show I watched and loved. This first aired when I was a baby but my brother told me how one week this wasn't on and I wouldn't stop crying.

Then I remember it re-airing in the late 1990s early 2000s on Saturdays. I remembered in particular the episode where Marshall turns back his clock one hour and ends up going missing.

Then when I was older YouTube emerged and I found the show and watched all the episodes. Of course not realising it was this show until that episode. This show featured a young Tobey Maguire in one episode. -

Even as an adult I really just love this series. There is one episode that is so beautifully brilliant. Heart on a Chain. Like this episode was just wow. This type of storytelling in a kids show didn't happen again until Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street. That's another great show that was obviously influenced by Eerie Indiana.

Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street was clearly influenced by #TheTwilightZone. When I moved back into my office for season two, I hung Rod Serling's picture over my desk (along with another huge influence, Ray Bradbury). They kept watch over Gortimer to the finale. pic.twitter.com/3B9fFTz2wn
— David Anaxagoras (@davidanaxagoras) April 3, 2019

But no Eerie, Indiana?
— Trace Conger (@TraceConger) April 3, 2019

These two writers are huge in my life, not just for Gortimer but for everything. Eerie, Indiana was an undeniable influence. We used to joke that we belonged to a genre of three: Gortimer, Eerie, and Pete and Pete.
— David Anaxagoras (@davidanaxagoras) April 3, 2019

They need to.go back to playing some imports. Didn't this channel have the Serious...series from.the UK. I remember shows like Serious Amazon. The channel also had.Gortimer Gibbons from Amazon and that was a great show. Reminded me of Eerie Indiana.
— WinfieldFWatson (@f_winfield) December 14, 2018

Next year is my year, guys. Calling it now.
— David Anaxagoras (@davidanaxagoras) December 1, 2018

Let’s work together in 2019! I’m putting it on my goals list!
— Justin Shenkarow (@justinshenkarow) December 1, 2018

I hope 2019 is ready for us!
— David Anaxagoras (@davidanaxagoras) December 1, 2018

Wow, thank you David! Gortimer, Ranger and Mel had such an amazing bond and friendship, they did everything together, and I wanted to see them succeed, and you’re right, Marshall and Simon had that same connection! Looking forward to working with you soon, I’m a huge fan! https://t.co/mQnShWtYCB
— Justin Shenkarow (@justinshenkarow) November 29, 2018

Wow, what an honor! I loved being apart of Eerie, playing Simon was definitely a highlight of my childhood! Your fabulous show reminded me of Eerie with your compelling characters, fun storylines and wonderful morals in each episode! I would love the opportunity to work with you! https://t.co/XgSNIDY4k8
— Justin Shenkarow (@justinshenkarow) November 29, 2018

You're blowing my mind right now, Justin! I wrote Gortimer because there weren't any shows like Eerie Indiana on TV anymore. There weren't any friendships like Simon and Mars. I wish I had you on the show :( You'll be at the top of my list from now on!
— David Anaxagoras (@davidanaxagoras) November 29, 2018

Well I'm a huge Eerie Indiana fan, so it was a direct influence on Gortimer! https://t.co/PWuyUUiVV3
— David Anaxagoras (@davidanaxagoras) November 29, 2018

Ooo Eerie Indiana. I miss that show.
— Kelly Holland (@KellyHolland13) November 29, 2018

Fantastic show! Huge Gortimer fan, and you’re right, it harkens back to Eerie Indiana! https://t.co/HgikGp4Q2h
— Justin Shenkarow (@justinshenkarow) November 28, 2018

#GortimerGibbons is the #Firefly of kid shows. I’m so sad that there are so few seasons when they did such a great job addressing real issues kids face. Also, it brought me back to my childhood favorite, Eerie Indiana. Why do good shows end so soon? #Nonsequitur
— Lauren Parker (@LParker_PsyS) November 28, 2018

In my opinion these are the three best live action kids shows ever and I highly recommend them. In saying that Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street has very heavy themes for a kid's show and actually took me by surprise a few times because it didn't fall into the tropes of other kids shows. Lots of people haven't seen these shows and I find that extremely depressing.

It is indeed. I still don’t know how I feel about it tbh 🤷🏻‍♀️ It’s a puzzler. Eva and I just finished Gortimer Gibbons’ Life on Normal Street on @PrimeVideo_JP & we’re bereft. Think Eerie, Indiana but more whimsical. Unless you’re too young to remember the former?!
— Kati Reeve (@whatkatidoes) July 25, 2018

Eerie, Indiana? It was like The Twilight Zone meets X Files but for kids. It was ace! GGLONS is a bit surreal, faintly magical, very funny and also wonderfully bittersweet. Eva and I loved watching it together. It is a kid’s show technically but don’t let that stop you!
— Kati Reeve (@whatkatidoes) July 25, 2018

It's unique but you can do what I do when I really like a thing - check out the things that informed and influenced it. TV/FILM: Adv. of Pete and Pete, Eerie Indiana, Sandlot, Stand by Me, ET. LIT: Dandelion Wine.
— David Anaxagoras (@davidanaxagoras) June 10, 2018

1930's bookmobile pic.twitter.com/xjSkdGYt34
BookLovers (@BookChat_) June 9, 2018

I bet there are so many Tobey Maguire faces trapped between the pages of those books.

As far as original content goes, Amazon Video has struggled to keep up with Netflix’s vast library of game-changing shows. They’ve also fallen behind Hulu in terms of awards recognition, what with The Handmaid’s Tale dominating the Emmys. Nevertheless, Amazon has still left its mark on the streaming scene with shows like Mozart in the Jungle, The Man in the High Castle, and of course Transparent. Interestingly enough, though, some of their best material isn’t exclusively aimed at adults, but at family audiences.

Over the past several years, television has brought us a plethora of brilliant shows primarily aimed at kids, including Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and Gravity Falls. Of course one thing those three shows have in common is that they’re all animated. Meanwhile, live-action kids shows generally comes off as lazy and uninspired. That’s not the case with Amazon, which has delivered a slew of inventive, engaging live-action programs for families, from Just Add Magic to The Kicks. The best of the best would have to be a lost treasure called Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street.

When I say “best of the best,” I don’t just mean the best Amazon kids show. I mean the best original show on Amazon Video period. If I had to name my personal favorite steaming service shows overall, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street would be right up there with Stranger Things and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Yet, whenever I recommend this gem to people, I always get the same questions: “How come I’ve never heard of that show?” “What’s it about?” “Why is it so special?”

I can’t give a definitive answer to first question, although the marketing might be the most obvious reason why the show didn’t find a larger audience. As for what it’s about, the series naturally revolves around Gortimer and his friends as they have various adventures on Normal Street. Just as Regular Show is anything but regular, Normal Street is anything but normal. As for why it’s so special, where do I begin?

Like the main character’s name, the series is quirky and utterly unique. As fantastic as Gortimer’s life is, there’s also a layer of brutal reality that sneaks up on the audience. Many episodes start out like a daydream: lighthearted, whimsical, fun. While some stories build up to a happy ending, others force us to accept the challenging fact that life doesn’t always work out the way we want. There’s a certain point in our childhoods where anything seems possible and another point where we realize that there’s not going to be an easy solution to everything. Somewhere in between these two points, you get Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street.

David Anaxagoras’ creation is often compared to Eerie, Indiana and The Adventures of Pete and Pete. To me, the show that it has the most in common with is The Twilight Zone. While Gortimer isn’t an anthology series, its colorful world makes leeway for countless scenarios. While The Twilight Zone is often remembered for aliens and pig-nosed people, each episode had something meaningful to say about humanity. Something similar can be said about Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, which encompasses both the magic of childhood and the raw honesty of childhood.

Beyond that, it’s hard to talk about why the show is so special without zooming in on some key storylines. So here are the Top 10 Episodes! Keep in mind that there will be a few spoilers ahead, so maybe just stop reading this article and go watch the show:
10.Gortimer, Mel, Ranger, Catherine and the Student Identity Crisis

As strong as the writing and directing was, this show never would’ve succeeded without its gifted young cats. This episode allows everyone a chance to play against type, as a student ID card machine creates a fiasco right out of Freaky Friday. The body swap setup not only amounts to some great comedy, but also some strong character development that makes everyone feel more fleshed out by the end.
9.Ranger and the Legend of Pendragon’s Gavel

Although Mel is clearly the most qualified candidate for student council president, everyone begins to aimlessly follow Ranger, whose victory appears to be tied to a strange gavel. Gortimer and the gang come across a variety of mystical trinkets throughout the series and the gavel has one of the most legendary backstories, making for one of the show’s most humorous and creative outings.
8.Gortimer and the Surprise Signature

After finding a signature on his cast from someone named Abigail, Gortimer sets out to put a face to the name. This episode not only delivers an engaging mystery, but also marks the beginning of a legitimately cute romance. While Gortimer and Abigail might not live happily every after, their ongoing relationship over the show’s course truly captures the sensation of first love.
7.Gortimer and the Mystical Mind Eraser

When Gortimer is lead to believe that Mel has a crush on him, he decides to acquire a mind-erasing pencil to salvage their friendship. However, he has a change of heart after meeting the pencil’s owner (Luke Matheny, also the episode’s writer), who has erased so many bad memories that he can barley function in the world. Much like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, this episode wisely demonstrates why some of the most painful memories are also the most important.
6.The Mystery of the Blood Moon Eclipse

In honor of the blood moon eclipse, Mel invites the gang over for a slumber party to swap scary stories. When an eerie presence emerges, though, the sleepover becomes a ghost story in itself. This episode will keep you guessing from start to finish, complete with a chilling buildup and a clever payoff.
5.The Mystery of the Marlow Mansion

Like the previous episode, this episode sucks the audience in with its wonderful sense of mystery and doesn’t let us down with its final destination. At a whodunit party, Gortimer’s friends are taken over by the personas of their characters. The only way to restore everyone back to normal is to narrow down the suspects and find the culprit behind a robbery. Think Clue Jr., but with an inspired twist.
4.Gortimer vs. the Relentless Rainbow of Joy

For much of the first season, Gortimer’s dad is only mentioned in passing. This episode provides a deeper look at their relationship and the results will resonate with any child that’s been effected by divorce. Although he loves his children, Gortimer’s father has an important, demanding job that requires him to be away. When a rainbow hits Normal Streets, however, he’s motivated quit his job and spend more time with his family. While this seems like a dream come true, Gortimer soon comes to learn that sometimes we need to sacrifice our happiness for the greater good. The lesson at the end of this rainbow might be bittersweet, but it’s one every young adult should take to heart.
3.Gortimer, Ranger and Mel vs. the Endless Night

There are some moments we want to last forever. When Gortimer, Ranger, and Mel wish for their camping trip to never end, they find themselves in a perpetual state of childhood innocence. The longer they stay in this time loop, though, they begin to realize that life isn’t about standing still. It’s about moving forward, even if we’re afraid of what’s to come.

2.Mel vs. the Future

This show was never afraid to tackle heavy issues, but it came as a complete shock when Mel found out that her mother died. In the same vein of The Bridge to Terabithia, Mel vs. the Future is a haunting and authentic depiction of how children respond to death. That might sound odd, seeing how the episode also incorporates time travel into the mix. Even with the element of sci-fi, however, Mel’s emotional journey couldn’t be more relatable, as she endures the five stages of grief. Devastating, poignant, and not condescending in the least, it’s an episode that hits the audience hard and leaves you reaching for the tissue box.

1.Gortimer vs. The End

With Gortimer’s last day on Normal Street looming, the trio that started it all decides to put their most treasured mementos in a time capsule, leading to several fun callbacks. The time capsule comes to represent everything Gortimer has to let go of in order to move on. As difficult as this proves for Gortimer and his friends, they ultimately discover that the memories they made will last forever. Even then, however, saying goodbye is never easy and this episode epitomizes why. Just as Gortimer isn’t ready to bid Normal Street farewell, neither is the audience. As Gortimer rides off to his new life, we’re reminded why this shows deserved to last so much longer than two seasons. At the same time, though, at least we can take comfort in the fact that the series didn’t overstay its welcome and ended on just the right note.

PSA: Eerie Indiana is now streaming on Amazon Prime

For anyone who was a big fan of the show back in the day, it's now on Amazon Prime. For anyone who doesn't know what the show is about, it was a short lived series back in the early 90's about a normal family who moves to a town where lots of weird and terrifying things happen. It's more of a kid's show, but it's got some really fun stories and episodes and some fun homages to classic horror.

Enjoy!

mgbroda: Great! I always remember the twins who sleep in the plastics tubs. Need to watch this again.

williamhgacy: Oh damn I completely forgot about that, ill have to watch it today.

I don't remember what they look like, but I remember being totally creeped out by them.

Drainout: IIRC they're the same twins that were in Gremlins 2 and Good Morning Vietnam

rabidassbaboon: That's really the only thing I remember from the series. I think I may have just watched that one episode and then never caught it again, even though I enjoyed it. It was a lot harder to keep up on tv shows in the days before dvr.

dssonic: If you like Eerie, Indiana check out the recent-ish Amazon original series "Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street" - it has a similar tone and is incredible.

RagnaBrock: I’m sold on the name alone.

Geek_reformed: I did love "Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street".

The similar tone to Eerie was what drew me to it, but it is less sinister. Reminded me a little more of a Australian 90s kid show called "Going Round the Twist".

GIJabroni: Didn't Joe Dante do the first episode?

flatbroke412: He did. Iirc he did a few others also

kylelonious: He plays himself in an episode later in the season.

Katekate78: Damn, we just tried, but apparently Amazon Prime Canada does not have it. Lame.

lumpiestprincess: Dang, I got really excited for a second.

Ahhuatl: That one where the kid hears dogs talking thanks to his braces and then they eat him was fucked.

FauxbiddenWe're Werewolves, not Swear-Wolves: yup!

OnceUponASlime: Good call I loved that show as a kid.

Thelonepantalones: One of my favorites!

ParanoidAndroid3000: I used to really enjoy this back in the day, thanks for the memory rejog. Nothing makes me feel old like realising something I watched regularly as a child is now quite old.

DoofusTinyRick: YES!!!!!

Redhawk6262: Wow what a way to start the new year off right. I think I recall a Tupperware episode. Hopefully not confusing it with 'Are you afraid of the dark?'

sonofawitch1983: Yes! It's the Foreverware episode!

ranranbolly: Now if only we could get an HD release of Big Wolf on Campus...

Lamster79: Did they make more than one series? Always seem to remember it ending on a cliffhanger which was never resolved.

ranranbolly: Yes. There was a spin-off called 'Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension'. Not really as good as the first, but it had its own Fox Family style charm.

NotMeanttoKnow: YMMV, but this show scared me way more than Are You Afraid of the Dark? since the framing device still put the narrator in the stories.

hamsterchump: Does anyone know if this is also true of Amazon Prime in the UK?

SolomonKull: I used to love this show as a kid. I'll never buy Amazon Prime, but it's nice to know that it's out there somewhere, and people can view it in 2018.

If you're under 30 and don't remember this show, or didn't have the opportunity to watch it, just let me tell you that it was incredibly thought provoking to my young mind. Very few shows made me think like this one did. It's not that the stories are deep and complex, it's just that this was basically a kid's version of X-Files meets Twilight Zone meets Outer Limits, or at least it touches upon some of the same tropes as those shows.

prodigyrun: How come you'll never buy Amazon Prime?

gredgex: yes! i have the series on DVD but its nice being able to just pop it on streaming. amazing show.

lunacyfoundme: Womp bomp a doo domp

loritree: I give it two fingers up

CreepyCalico: Thanks for the info! I'm going to check this out later (:

UltimaGabe: whelp, brb in about twelve hours

chain_reactions: Thank you for this! I was obsessed with this show when I was a kid. I still love that opening.

justjokingnotreally: HELL YES!

bobnifty76: Awesome

ChoiceD: This show was cool. Don't know why it only lasted one season.

RagnaBrock: It was short lived but I would be so pumped when I could catch a rerun. It seemed like it never aired in the same time slot twice.

LimitedDarjeeling: I can’t seem to find an episode of this show that I remember seeing as a kid. I have vague memories of a kid on a skateboard being in an accident and then at the very end of the episode, when there’s “closure” the angel statue on his grave “cries” a tear...any ideas?

SweetPrismStop it! You're ignorant!: I forgot the name, but a new girl moves to town and all the boys get a crush on her. They don't know yet that she's In need of a heart transplant. In an attempt to impress her, the main boy on the show's best friend hops on his skateboard and gets hit. I won't delve too much more into the angel though because it's kind of a spoiler.

MonstertruckWifeswap: Heart On A Chain. The girl in question went on to become a legendary scream queen, Danielle Harris.

down_bi_the_river: Omg! I loved this show! All the talks about rebooting 'tales from the crypt' , 'the twilight zone' , and 'are you afraid of the dark' made me question why this show got no love from anybody. Glad to see it is at least streaming

cdm85: Does it have subtitles? I have the dvd set but no captions on it so I’ve been having a hard time understanding the dialect. Subtitles would help immensely (haven’t renewed my prime subscription yet).

Geek_reformed: The the best episode is the one when Marshall sets his watch backwards for daylight savings (which Eerie doesn't honour) and gets trapped out of time.

Personally I thought it was a fantastic show that had some great horror elements to it. I wish they'd bring it back!

EmmettRotts: I absolutely loved the show, kind of like The Twilight Zone for kids, minus the reoccurring characters. Sad they took it off of Netflix. Oh, and Supernatural totally copied the last episode in "The French Mistake".

horva1kr: Loved this show when I was younger. A few years ago it was available on one of the streaming services...I can’t remember which one but I definitely remember watching it again!

MizardOfOz: yeah it was on Netflix! I loved watching the series through again. The Werewolf episode was awesome.

dssonic: Good show - they did a second season (with different actors) much later called "Eerie Indiana - the Other Dimension". If you are looking for something modern in this same style, watch "Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street" on Amazon Prime - it is fantastic.

Ebuloz: I loved Eerie Indiana, maybe the show was a little ahead of its time.

johnnydakota: I remember the one with the ATM that gave Simon free money. And the tupperware family. I rewatched the show a while back but those are the only ones that come to mind. Good stuff.

Lardawgg: Tupperware family always gets me.

hellfish11I'll SWALLOW YOUR SOOOOUL!!!: It was one of those shows like Picket Fences that showed up after Twin Peaks hit. Twin Peaks really changed the landscape of TV more than people give it credit for.

ranranbolly: Great show. Pretty dark for a kids series (the dog episode ending? Wow.) It holds up pretty well, too, which you can’t really say for a lot of shows.

If there’s a downside to living in a golden age of television, it’s that not every show can make it into the Emmy race. Still, there were several shows this past year that easily should’ve been frontrunners in various categories, but for some reason accumulated little to no recognition. Since the Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies were this past weekend and the Primetime Emmys are this upcoming Sunday, now seems as good a time as any to look over five shows that deserved a lot more love from the Television Academy.

4. A Series of Unfortunate Events

This masterful adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s darkly humorous books was perhaps the year’s most inventive comedy series. Yet, Barry Sonnenfeld’s stunning direction and Neil Patrick Harris’ pitch perfect performance as the villainous Count Olaf went overlooked. Given the show’s incredible production values, you’d think that A Series of Unfortunate Events would’ve at least cleaned up in the tech categories. While James Newton Howard’s fanciful musical score got a deserved nomination, the show’s gothic production design, costumes, makeup, and visual effects all went unnoticed. How unfortunate.

3. Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street

Whenever I bring up Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, people always ask the same question: “What’s that?” Seeing how the show flew under the radar, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Emmy voters never recognized this hidden gem. That being said, creator David Anaxagoras truly delivered a tour de force of children’s programing, mixing elements of Eerie, Indiana, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, and the immortal works of Roald Dahl. Behind all the whimsical setups and quirky humor, this was a surprisingly deep coming-of-age story, dealing with divorce, death, and growing up without ever talking down to kids. It might be too late to give Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street an Emmy, but you can still check it out on Amazon Video.

Recommended: mother!, what was that all about?

Bookmobile pin by Andrew J Brozyna of RatherKeen.com. Tie-dye jacket from... some jumble sale, probably.

Gortimer Gibbon’s Life On Normal Street

The title is a bit of a mouthful, but this Amazon Studios production has found a niche within the teen market, and has echoes of one of the great TV shows… Eerie, Indiana. All three seasons are available now.

About 15 years ago, an independent bookseller in Texas went to battle against the specter of mega-bookstore invasion. His weapon of choice was something a purveyor of books knew best: a word. And the word was weird.

KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD was coined by the librarian Red Wassenich while on the phone with a local radio station. But the phrase was adopted when Steve Bercu, owner of the Austin, Texas, bookstore Book People, needed a slogan to rally objection to a planned Borders store a few blocks away. Bercu convinced John Kunz, the owner of nearby Waterloo Records, to join the keep-it-local cause. They printed 5,000 bumper stickers urging citizens to KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD and flanked the message with their business logos. The stickers flew off the shelves. And the Borders bookstore was never built in downtown Austin.

“WEIRD resonated really well here,” said Bercu. “The point was to support local businesses. Everyone got it immediately.” Today, Bercu estimates that he’s given away more than 300,000 stickers. Indeed, the success of KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD inspired independent business communities from Oregon to California and beyond. Why has weird spread so far?

Terry Currier, the owner of Portland, Oregon’s Music Millennium store, was a frequent visitor to Austin and a longtime friend of Kunz’s. As he worried about the future of his city, the weird war in Austin struck a chord. “I wanted some kind of campaign to champion local businesses,” said Currier. “Portland has always been an entrepreneur’s town with a lot of open-minded and creative people.”

He started off with 1,000 KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD bumper stickers and ran a newspaper ad with a simple image of the sticker—no business logo, no explanatory message. “Then the thing just kept growing and growing, to the point where news commentators used the motto and it showed up in the papers and pictures,” he said. Now it’s entrenched in the local culture and immortalized in Portlandia.

Seven hundred plus miles to the south—and just a little left—Bookshop Santa Cruz owner Neal Coonerty printed KEEP SANTA CRUZ WEIRD stickers after meeting Bercu at a booksellers’ conference. “We don’t want to become just another gentrified suburb of Silicon Valley,” said Coonerty. “The main street of our downtown is more than just an exchange of goods, it’s where the community expresses itself with street artists, political tabling, and one-of-a-kind parades. We want to make sure it stays that way.”

Not everyone wants to be weird, though. Santa Cruz city supervisor Ryan Coonerty, Neal’s son, says he regularly hears complaints that promoting weird is akin to encouraging criminal or antisocial activity. Some local business owners prefer to be known as “safe and sane.”

Across the river from the weirdness in Portland, the locals have lobbied to KEEP VANCOUVER NORMAL. In the flatlands of West Texas there’s a call to KEEP ABILENE BORING. Just north of Austin, the Dell Computer headquarters wants to KEEP ROUND ROCK MILDLY UNUSUAL. On the other hand, in the home of two infamous shootouts, natives recognize their destiny is to KEEP WACO WACKO. And there’s a KEEP IT QUERQUE crusade in New Mexico.

Weird campaigns have spread to communities in more than a dozen states. What do they all have in common? The cities have fewer than 1 million people, but most are growing. Many are state capitals or county seats and most have a vibrant arts scene. They all seem to have a strong sense of what makes them unique, and a grassroots urge to stay that way.

That cities cast their lot with weird has an uncanny connection back to the word’s origin. The Old English wyrd has roots in the base wer (meaning “to become” or “to turn”) and was once connected to the idea of destiny. In Norse mythology, Wyrd (Urðr) is one of the three female fates who shape the lives of every child. But wyrd was going extinct when Shakespeare cast the Three Wyrd Sisters in the role of the fates who prophesied that Macbeth would murder Scotland’s king. To provide context for audiences unfamiliar with the word, the Bard created “double, double toil and trouble” sorts of activities for the sisters; that link to the supernatural followed wyrd thereafter.

Poets like Shelley and Keats reinterpreted weird to describe the odd or strange. And then weird went into hibernation through much of the 20th century, until popular culture revived it yet again. In the 1980s, the likes of “Weird Al” Yankovic and the movie Weird Science imbued the word with a quirkier, goofier meaning. Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman have tracked weirdness for 20 years, with published guides to weird attractions and a History Channel series called Weird U.S.

Despite its countercultural bona fides, weird has economic power. From indie booksellers to microbrews and real estate, leveraging quirkiness is good for business. Weird isn’t just a way of being, it’s an economic strategy, one that has the rough-hewn, indie-rock air of an anti-strategy. Marketing specialist Seth Godin promotes weirdness as a way to celebrate choice and push back against mass production and consumption in his book We Are All Weird. “The opportunity of our time is to support the weird, to sell to the weird and, if you wish, to become weird,” he writes.

Underneath it all, the affinity for weirdness harkens back to the oldest origins of wyrd, which conjured mastery over the fates. From booksellers in Austin to hippies in Portland to squares in Abilene, we all want to control our own destinies. Is that so weird?

Read about it on his blog

Read about it on David Anaxagoras' website

This aspiring screenwriter made sure his script was true to “what I felt as a kid becoming a teen becoming an adult.” Amazon customers thought his creation deserved to become a TV series.

In which he cites Eerie as a direct influence on his own work

The first episode of Gortimer Gibbons season 2 part 2 is now on Netflix (at least the UK one). Oh my God why is Stanley suddenly a grownass man?!

Looks like it's American prime only for the moment, and also this will be the final season, waaahhhh!

Written for the 3rd June challenge over at

fffc. The prompt was "in-laws", so I decided to write about to Eerie's sister city of Normal, Illinois, and it kind of ended up being a crossover with Gortimer Gibbons

( Read more... )

( Read more of the Weather series here )

Guys! There is an episode of Gortimer Gibbons where Ranger winds an antique pocket watch too tight and ends up time-shifted and out of sync with the rest of Normal Street. There is totally a contingent of the evil trash collectors working Normal Street.

I just started watching the episode of Gortimer Gibbons with Ranger's hamburger-bed. He totally has a pair of GM2020s dangling from a lamp on his chest of drawers. There is no way the Normal Street kids haven't tangled with Nurse Nancy or one of her ilk in the past.

Oh my glob you guys, get on Amazon Primeand watch Gortimer Gibbons: Life on Normal Street. It's totally Eerie-inspired; I'm only up to episode four and I've already seen an old lady being crushed on by a supernatural boy, a sentient and overly emotional robot, and a magic No. 2 pencil with otherworldly powers.

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froodle - Eerie Indiana Drabble: Protected Territory
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