Eerie, Indiana

Eerie, Indiana
The Complete Series DVD cover
Format	Mystery, Horror, Science fiction
Created by	José Rivera Karl Schaefer
Starring	Omri Katz Justin Shenkarow Mary-Margaret Humes Francis Guinan Julie Condra Jason Marsden (episodes 13+)
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	19 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	John Cosgrove Terry Dunn Meurer
Running time	24 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	September 15, 1991 – April 12, 1992
Chronology
Followed by	Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension

Eerie, Indiana is an American television series that aired on NBC from 1991 to 1992 and then on syndication on Fox from 1997 to 1998. The series was created by José Rivera and Karl Schaefer, with Joe Dante serving as creative consultant.

Premise

The show revolves around Marshall Teller, a young boy whose family moves to the desolate town of Eerie, Indiana, population of 16,661. While moving into his new home, he meets Simon Holmes, one of the few normal people in Eerie. Together, they are faced with bizarre scenarios, which include discovering a sinister group of intelligent dogs that are planning on taking over the world, and meeting a tornado hunter who is reminiscent of Captain Ahab. They also confront numerous urban legends such as Bigfoot and a still-living Elvis Presley. Although the show was host to a plethora of jokes, it also featured a serious X-Files-like tone. After thirteen episodes, one of which did not air during the network run, the series was retooled with Jason Marsden's "Dash X" added to the cast, and Archie Hahn's Mr. Radford is revealed to be an imposter, with John Astin revealed to be the "actual" Mr. Radford. The final episode was a tongue-in-cheek, fourth wall breaking sequence of events depicting Dash X's attempts to take over as star of the show.

In 1998, a spin off series was produced, Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension. The series was filmed in Canada, and focused on another, younger boy while still following the concept of the original show. The spin off was short-lived, and only lasted one season. The first episode of the latter show, "Switching Channels", features a crossover between the two shows via a TV set.

Characters

• Marshall Teller, played by Omri Katz, is the protagonist of the series. With the help of his sidekick and best friend, Simon Holmes, he manages to unravel the many mysteries that plague Eerie, Indiana. Though occasionally arrogant, Marshall is also intelligent, resourceful and quick-thinking, qualities that come in handy during his investigations. He is sometimes torn between hanging out with Simon and following his burgeoning instincts about girls. Marshall constantly compares Eerie to where he grew up in New Jersey, which is the epitome of 'normal' in his mind.

• Simon Holmes, played by Justin Shenkarow, is Marshall’s best friend. Due to the constant arguing between Simon’s parents, he chooses to spend most of his free time hanging out with Marshall. Prior to Marshall's arrival, Simon was a lonely child, as most of his peers in Eerie shun him. Similar to Marshall, Simon believes that something is afoul in Eerie. In the episode "America's Scariest Home Video", it is revealed that Simon has a younger brother, Harley Schwarzenegger Holmes, who was never mentioned before and never appears again.

• Edgar Teller, played by Francis Guinan, is Marshall's father. Edgar works at "Things Incorporated", a product testing company, for a living. According to Marshall, it was Edgar's idea to leave New Jersey, and move to Eerie. During the course of the series, it is revealed that Edgar interned at the Smithsonian Institution before entering the University of Syracuse to do his undergraduate work in archeology. He later received a scholarship from NASA to attend M.I.T., where he worked on his thesis, "Matter: What is it Exactly?". As Edgar is a scientist, many fans believe that his name was a subtle nod towards Edward Teller, an American nuclear physicist who helped develop the Hydrogen Bomb.

• Marilyn Teller, played by Mary-Margaret Humes, is Marshall's mother. Marilyn operates her own party planning business at the Eerie Mall. Ironically, as shown in "Foreverware", Marilyn is not an organised person. In "Who's Who", she is briefly adopted as a mother by Sara Bob, who is trying to create a perfect family.

• Syndi Marie Priscilla Teller, played by Julie Condra, is Marshall's older sister. At the time in which Marshall introduces Syndi to the audience, she is practicing for her Drivers Ed. Test. Marshall often ridicules his sister for the awkward spelling of her name. Syndi aims to be a reporter and spends time with the Eerie police and fire department to gain experience.

• Dash X, played by Jason Marsden, is a character shrouded in mystery. First introduced in the episode "The Hole in the Head Gang", Dash claims that he woke up in "Weirdsville" without any knowledge to how he got there. Dash has no memory of parents, hometown, past or his real name. Since Dash has no home, he is forced to live on the streets and eat out of Dumpsters. Dash is commonly referred to as "The Kid with the Grey Hair". People would later go on to call him the "Sneaky Kid with the Hair" and "The Kid with No Name". On some occasions, Dash would help Marshall and Simon solve some of Eerie's mysteries, most notably by helping them infiltrate the Loyal Order of Corn cult. Dash X gave himself his name in the episode "The Loyal Order of the Corn", as a reference to the mysterious '-' and '+' markings on his hands which were shared by the extraterrestrial leader of the cult. Dash X may believe that the cult leader, played by Ray Walston may be his father, but he returns to his homeworld without revealing whether or not he is.

Other characters

• Mr. Radford (later revealed to be Fred Suggs) - (Archie Hahn)
• Mr. Radford (the real one) - (John Astin)
• Winifred Swanson and Mother - (Belinda Balaski)
• Sergeant Knight - (Harry Goaz)
• Mayor Winston Chisel - (Gregory Itzin)
• The Anchorman - (Doug Llewelyn)
• Elvis Presley - (Steven Peri)
• Bertram Wilson - (Nathan Schultz)
• Ernest Wilson - (Nicholas Schultz)
• Harley Schwarzenegger Holmes - (Christian and Joseph Cousins)
• Trip McConnell - (Tobey Maguire)
• Lodgepoole - (Henry Gibson)

Episodes

A total of 19 episodes of Eerie, Indiana were produced before the show's cancellation. The episode "The Broken Record" was the only episode which did not air before the show's retooling and was omitted during the series' initial run, but was later added when it was syndicated on Disney Channel. The show's producers planned to make an episode entitled "The Jolly Rogers", which featured a group of pirates in search for buried treasure in the Teller house.^[1]

#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code
1	"Foreverware"	Joe Dante	José Rivera & Karl Schaefer	September 15, 1991	1001
Marshall's mother, Marilyn, takes a job selling Tupperware-style plastic containers called Forever Ware, that can keep anything fresh--including human life.
2	"The Retainer"	Joe Dante	José Rivera & Karl Schaefer	September 22, 1991	1002
Marshall dreads visiting the Eerie, Indiana orthodonist (Vincent Schiavelli), whose retainers carry the power to read dogs' minds.
3	"The ATM with the Heart of Gold"	Sam Pillsbury	Matt Dearborn	September 29, 1991	1003
Marshall's friend, Simon, befriends an ATM that gives Simon the townspeople's money.
4	"The Losers"	Joe Dante	Story by: Gary Markowitz & Michael R. Perry Teleplay by: Gary Markowitz	October 6, 1991	1004
Marshall and Simon investigate a string of disappearances when Marshall's dad loses his briefcase.
5	"America's Scariest Home Video"	Sam Pillsbury	Karl Schaefer	October 20, 1991	1006
Stuck having to baby-sit Simon's younger brother on Halloween, Marshall and Simon fool around with their video camera. Unfortunately they end up trapping him in a monster movie, while a mummy runs wild in their house.
6	"Just Say No Fun"	Bryan Spicer	Michael R. Perry	October 27, 1991	1008
Simon gets his eyes checked at the school nurse's office--and comes out a homework-loving zombie.
7	"Heart on a Chain"	Joe Dante	José Rivera	November 3, 1991	1007
Marshall and a classmate, Devon (Cory Danziger) fall for the new girl, Melanie (Danielle Harris) but when Devon dies, his heart gets transplanted into Melanie--which turns weird when she begins acting like him.
8	"The Dead Letter"	Tim Hunter	James L. Crite	November 10, 1991	1009
Marshall finds an old letter in the basement of the library--and is haunted by Trip McConnell (Tobey Maguire) who won't leave until Marshall delivers the letter.
9	"Who's Who"	Tim Hunter	Julia Poll	November 17, 1991	1011
A troubled young girl named Sara Bob (Shanelle Workman) with a penchant for drawing can suddenly change reality when she starts signing her pictures with an Eerie brand pencil.
10	"The Lost Hour"	Bob Balaban	Vance DeGeneres	December 1, 1991	1010
Marshall doesn't like the Indiana practice of ignoring daylight saving time, and sets his clock back an hour anyway. When he wakes up the next day, he finds a scared teenage girl (Nikki Cox) and a group of garbagemen who want the two of them dead. They both seek refuge from a mysterious milkman (Eric Christmas).
11	"Marshall's Theory of Believability"	Bob Balaban	Matt Dearborn	February 2, 1992	1012
Nigel Zirchron (John Standing), a professor renowned as an authority on the supernatural, comes to Eerie to observe an extraterrestrial object he believes will land here. Marshall immediately sees an opportunity to blow the lid off the Eerie weirdness, but is the professor really all that he claims to be?
12	"Tornado Days"	Ken Kwapis	Michael Cassutt	March 1, 1992	1013
As the tornado "Old Bob" approaches Eerie, the citizens prepare for their annual tornado day picnic to appease him. But Marshall and Simon insist on staying home, and as the tornado chasing meteorologist, Howard Raymer (Matt Frewer) left by Bob on his first pass-though, returns to challenge the tornado once more.
13	"The Hole in the Head Gang"	Joe Dante	Karl Schaefer	March 1, 1992	1014
Marshall and Simon investigate an old mill rumored to be haunted. It proves to be a hoax, set up by a mysterious young man who doesn't want anybody nosing around... or so it seems until they accidentally uncover a rusted gun, containing the ghost of Grungy Bill (Claude Akins) -- Eerie's worst bank robber. Note: Jason Marsden joins the cast as Dash X in the episode. This is also the first episode in which the episode titles are shown on screen.
14	"Mr. Chaney"	Mark Goldblatt	José Rivera	March 8, 1992	1015
Marshall is chosen to be the Eerie "Harvest King" and must go face the Eerie wolf in the forest. Trouble is, none of the previous harvest kings have ever returned! Stephen Root guest stars as Mr. Chaney.
15	"No Brain, No Pain"	Greg Beeman	Matt Dearborn	March 15, 1992	1016
Marshall and Simon help out a homeless man (Paul Sand) after witnessing him being attacked by a woman (Anita Morris) with a ray gun. It is difficult though, because all he does is mumble nonsense, and reassemble electrical appliances into bizarre contraptions.
16	"The Loyal Order of Corn"	Bryan Spicer	Michael Cassutt	March 22, 1992	1017
Marshall's father, Edgar joins a strange club called "The Loyal Order of Corn". Meanwhile, Dash X gets a job at the club and seeks answers about his past from the mysterious bartender (Ray Walston). Absent: Julie Condra as Syndi Teller
17	"Zombies in P.J.s"	Bob Balaban	Julia Poll	April 12, 1992	1018
Facing bankruptcy due to a possible audit, Radford welcomes a new partner - The Donald (René Auberjonois), who brainwashes the town into buying on credit.
18	"Reality Takes a Holiday"	Ken Kwapis	Vance DeGeneres	April 12, 1992	1019
In this self-referential episode, Marshall finds a screenplay in the mail and suddenly finds himself behind the scenes of Eerie, Indiana where his friends and family are the actors and actresses on the show and everyone refers to him as Omri Katz.
19	"The Broken Record"	Todd Holland	José Rivera	December 9, 1993	1005
Marshall's friend Todd is a shy nerd with a verbally abusive father (Tom Everett). Marshall then gives him a metal record that turns him into a rebellious headbanger after listening. Meanwhile, Edgar and Marilyn worry about Syndi taking part in a police ride-along. Note: This is the only episode that did not air on NBC, it aired for first time on Disney Channel. Also this episode was produced before Jason Marsden joined the cast.

Critical reception

Eerie, Indiana was well-received by critics when it first debuted on television. Entertainment Weekly gave it a "B" rating and Ken Tucker wrote, "You watch Eerie for the small-screen spectacle of it all — to see the way, in the show's first few weeks, feature-film directors like Joe Dante (Gremlins) and Tim Hunter (River's Edge) oversaw episodes that summoned up an atmosphere of absurdist suburban dread.^[2] In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, Miles Beller wrote, "Scripted by Karl Schaefer and José Rivera with smart, sharp insights; slyly directed by feature film helmsman Joe Dante; and given edgy life by the show's winning cast, Eerie, Indiana shapes up as one of the fall season's standouts, a newcomer that has the fresh, bracing look of Edward Scissorhands and scores as a clever, wry presentation well worth watching."^[3] In his review for the Orange County Register, Ray Richmond wrote, "It's the kind of knowingly hip series with equally strong appeal for both kids and adults, the kind that preteens will watch and discuss."^[4] USA Today described the show as "Stephen King by way of The Simpsons", and Matt Roush wrote, "Eerie recalls Edward Scissorhands and even - heaven help it - David Lynch in its garish nightmare-comedy depiction of the lurid and silly horrors that lurk beneath suburban conformity."^[5] In his review for the Washington Times, David Klinghoffer wrote, "Everything about the pilot exceeds the normal minimal expectations of TV. Mr. Dante directs as if he were making a movie, and a good one. In a departure from usual TV operating procedures, he sometimes actually has more than one thing going on on screen at the same time!"^[6]

DVD release

On October 12, 2004, Alpha Video released Eerie, Indiana: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. The 5-disc boxset features all nineteen episodes of the original series, including an episode that never aired on NBC.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
Eerie, Indiana: The Complete Series	19	October 12, 2004

In-show references

Each episode was strewn with in-jokes and references to old films, particularly horror films.

• In the episode "Heart on a Chain", a scene begins with a shot of spider web before panning right to action taking place. Whilst looking at the spider web, one can faintly hear a high-pitched voice crying "Help me! Help me!", a sly reference to the 1958 version of The Fly. Also in this episode, Marshall's creepy English teacher is called Miss Annabel Lee, a reference to the morbid Edgar Allan Poe poem of the same name. Right at the end of the episode, the Grim Reaper is seen in the background.

• In the episode "Mr. Chaney", Marshall meets a werewolf that, while in human form, goes by the name of "Mr. Chaney", a nod to Lon Chaney, Jr. who played the title role in the 1941 version of The Wolf Man. In this same episode, there is a reference to the 1981 film The Howling, a film about werewolves directed by Joe Dante, himself an occasional director of the show. There is also a mention of David Lynch's TV show Twin Peaks with Marshall exclaiming at one point 'It's you!' and the Grey Haired Kid, holding a log with which he just hit Mr. Chaney, replying 'Well, it ain't the Log Lady.'

• In the episode "Just Say No Fun", the name of the school is B. F. Skinner Middle School in reference to the eponymous psychologist.

• In the episode "America's Scariest Home Video", an actor from a classic mummy movie is transported into the Teller home. The actor's name is Boris Von Orloff, a reference to Boris Karloff, who played the title role in the 1932 film, The Mummy.

• In the episode "The Retainer", the orthodontist's name is Dr. Eukanuba, a reference to dog food, and the episode's plot about evil dogs.

• In the episode "No Brain, No Pain", a leather clad woman with sunglasses utters, "I'll be back", before hastily leaving Marshall and his friends. Her appearance and quote reminisces Arnold Schwarzenegger's role as The Terminator. She was also referred to as "Mrs. Terminator" by one of the boys. Additionally, an instrumental variation of the song "My Sharona" is played during portions of the episode, while the song is referenced several times.

• In the episode "Reality Takes a Holiday" Marshall says, "I don't have a dog named Toto. But, if I did, right about now I'd be telling him - Toto, I don't think we're in Indiana any more", a reference to The Wizard of Oz. Later in the episode, Dash X says, "he's the kind of guy who actually believes that there's no place like home".

• In the first episode, "Foreverware'" Marshall says, "Dad's job is one of the reasons we moved here, because, statistically speaking, Eerie's the most normal place in the entire country". This is a reference to the Middletown studies which served as a sociological case study of Muncie, Indiana in the 1920s and '30s.

Book series

The Cover of The Dollhouse That Time Forgot

Following the show's "re-birth" on Fox during the latter half of the 1990s, authors Mike Ford, Sherry Shahan, Jeremy Roberts, John Peel, and Robert James wrote a number of in-universe paperback books relating to Eerie, Indiana. The books featured new stories, which helped expand the Eerie universe. Similar to the television series, the books focused on Marshall and Simon, as they continue to solve various perplexing phenomena in Eerie.

Titles in book series

1. Return to Foreverware (Mike Ford) (October 1997) ISBN 0-380-79774-7
2. Bureau of Lost (John Peel) (October 1997) ISBN 0-380-79775-5
3. The Eerie Triangle (Mike Ford) (October 1997) ISBN 0-380-79776-3
4. Simon and Marshall's Excellent Adventure (John Peel) (November 1997) ISBN 0-380-79777-1
5. Have Yourself an Eerie Little Christmas (Mike Ford) (December 1997) ISBN 0-380-79781-X
6. Fountain of Weird (Sherry Shahan) (January 1998) ISBN 0-380-79782-8
7. Attack of the Two-Ton Tomatoes (Mike Ford) (February 1998) ISBN 0-380-79783-6
8. Who Framed Alice Prophet? (Mike Ford) (March 1998) ISBN 0-380-79784-4
9. Bring Me a Dream (Robert James) (March 1998) ISBN 0-380-79785-2
10. Finger-Lickin' Strange (Jeremy Roberts) (May 1998) ISBN 0-380-79786-0
11. The Dollhouse That Time Forgot (Mike Ford) (June 1998) ISBN 0-380-79787-9
12. They Say (Mike Ford) (July 1998) ISBN 0-380-79788-7
13. Switching Channels (Mike Ford) (August 1998) ISBN 0-380-80103-5
14. The Incredible Shrinking Stanley (Robert James) (September 1998) ISBN 0-380-80104-3
15. Halloweird (Mike Ford) (October 1998) ISBN 0-380-80105-1
16. Eerie in the Mirror (by Robert James) (November 1998) ISBN 0-380-80106-X
17. We Wish You an Eerie Christmas (Robert James) (December 1998) ISBN 0-380-80107-8

See also

• Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension, sequel series

References

1. ^ Unproduced Eerie, Indiana episode, "The Jolly Rogers"
2. ^ Tucker, Ken (October 11, 1991). "Eerie, Indiana". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20272926,00.html. Retrieved February 8, 2011. 
3. ^ Beller, Miles (September 12, 1991). "Eerie, Indiana". The Hollywood Reporter. 
4. ^ Richmond, Ray (September 13, 1991). "Bizarre TV settles in Eerie, Indiana". Orange County Register. 
5. ^ Roush, Matt (September 13, 1991). "Eerie: Hip horror in the Hoosier state". USA Today. 
6. ^ Klinghoffer, David (September 15, 1991). "Eerie creators' enthusiasm shows". Washington Times. 

External links

• Eerie, Indiana at TV.com
• Eerie, Indiana at the Internet Movie Database