Seriously one of the most frightening episodes of any daytime TV media I've ever seen, and on a children's show that aired in their after school slot. This was was almost Lovecraftian or King like compared to the usual RL Stine affair. It also hit the nail on the formula that made Chuckie and The Good Son so visceral.
The fact that the episode features all marquee Disney channel actors I remember added this element of making it hard to see them the same way in their own teen comedy shows afterwards. I can still hear Buddy's voice to this day "Hi, I'm Buddy, I like to play. Will you be my friend?" Or whatever 2 decades later. The ending was handled in a way that I think codifies its affect as a truly terrifying piece of media.
Salute to you RL Stine, salute to you Cole & Dylan Sprouse, and salute to you Shia LeBouf; for despite these three being responsible for some of the most safe and derivative media of our times, let this stand in history as a time when all 4 of them went absolutely harder than they needed to.
10 Stars. For what it was, this didn't need to go this hard. What the hell.
The fact that the episode features all marquee Disney channel actors I remember added this element of making it hard to see them the same way in their own teen comedy shows afterwards. I can still hear Buddy's voice to this day "Hi, I'm Buddy, I like to play. Will you be my friend?" Or whatever 2 decades later. The ending was handled in a way that I think codifies its affect as a truly terrifying piece of media.
Salute to you RL Stine, salute to you Cole & Dylan Sprouse, and salute to you Shia LeBouf; for despite these three being responsible for some of the most safe and derivative media of our times, let this stand in history as a time when all 4 of them went absolutely harder than they needed to.
10 Stars. For what it was, this didn't need to go this hard. What the hell.
