It’s that time of year again where your favourite TV programmes are showing their Halloween specials! There’s no better way to get into the spirit of the spooky holiday than cosying up on a sofa with something sweet to watch your favourite shows in honour of Halloween. Added bonus? They’re the perfect inspiration for finding a Halloween costume! Here are Her Campus Exeter’s top 5 Halloween themed TV episodes. (*SPOILERS ALERT*).
1. FRIENDS – The One With the Halloween Party (Season 8 Episode 6)
In the wise words of Joey Tribbiani: “Halloween is so stupid, dressing up and pretending to be someone you’re not.”
(To which Chandler replied: “You’re an actor.”)
In this episode, Monica and Chandler decide to host a costume party for Halloween. Monica gets Chandler a pink bunny suit (as his favourite childhood book was “The Velveteen Rabbit”), but Chandler hates it, believing he has the worst costume. However, Ross later shows up as “Spud-nik”, a costume combining the Russian satellite Sputnik and a potato- what a pun. Unfortunately for Ross, his costume also looks rather like “doody” meaning Chandler no longer has the worst costume. Rachel, channeling her maternal instincts, asks to be the one handing out candy which doesn’t go too well. Monica, dressed as Catwoman, asks Joey who would win in a fight between Catwoman and Supergirl (Phoebe’s costume), leading to a discussion about who would win in a fight: Ross or Chandler. Ross and Chandler hear them resulting in an arm-wrestling match to prove who the strongest is.
Episode Costume Round-up:
Ross as “Spudnik”
Joey as Chandler
Chandler as the Velveteen Rabbit (or rather a Pink Bunny)
Monica as Catwoman
Phoebe as Supergirl
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2. Modern Family – Open House of Horrors (Season 4 Episode 5)
After Claire’s crazy Halloween antics the year before (resulting in several terrified children and a man having a heart attack), the neighbours sign a petition to force Claire’s to tone her Halloween down and keep it “kid-friendly” (she can’t even carve a pumpkin, the petition was very specific). Although Claire’s Halloween decorations end up resembling a scene out of Willy Wonka, the neighbours chose to avoid the Dunphy house. Phil has an idea to hold an open house on Halloween night and after telling Claire she’s not scary, she goes out of her way to scare him. Meanwhile Cam and Mitch throw a Halloween party to celebrate Cam losing weight, while dealing with Lily questions about her real mother who she believes is a princess. Gloria’s pregnancy hormones kick in making her a little more hot tempered than usual…
An episode loaded with epic Modern Family quotes, a total Halloween must watch!
Episode Costume Round-up:
Cam & Mitch’s friends dressed as an egg donor and a sugar daddy
The teenager dressed as a “lemon” (or rather a guy that just happens to be wearing a yellow shirt)
Claire as Little Bo Peep
Gloria as an alien
Cam & Mitch as Bull and Matador
Manny as Gene Kelly
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3. Glee – The Rocky Horror Glee Show (Season 2 Episode 6)
To quote Sue Sylvester: “Halloween is fast approaching, the day where parents encourage little boys to dress like little girls and little girls to dress like whores and go door to door browbeating hardworking Americans into giving them free food”.
In this episode Glee does The Rocky Horror Picture Show! Will decides to put on The Rocky Horror Picture Show to impress Emma. However this leads to all sorts of problems and shenanigans as the play is all levels of inappropriate for a high school production. This episode features brilliant songs as well as costumes; it is really very difficult not to jump up at the end and join in with the Time Warp. After this episode why not watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show as well? Personally, I had never seen the film before Glee, but after this episode, a definite must-watch!
Episode Costume Round-up:
Becky as Sue Sylvester
Brittany said she was going to dress up as ‘a peanut allergy’ for Halloween
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4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Halloween (Season 2 Episode 6)
In Sunnydale, Halloween (contrary to what you might think) is traditionally a quiet night for undead activity. However, this Halloween is anything but quiet. In this episode, in an interesting twist, Buffy and the Scooby gang, as well as the majority of Sunnydale get turned into their costumes. Buffy, dressed as a beautiful 18th century maiden (hoping to impress Angel) is rendered helpless as she turns into a fainting, screaming damsel in distress, with no memory of being the Slayer. Willow dressed as a ghost turns into a real ghost and Xander a soldier who finally lives out his fantasy of protecting Buffy (a rather sexy soldier might I add). To make matters worse, Spike decides to take advantage of a helpless Buffy to try and kill the Slayer. The twist of the characters turning into their costumes makes a very entertaining episode and you get to see a glimpse of how Buffy might have reacted to demons if she had never become the Slayer. As demons and vampire are rather Halloweeny, why not have a Buffy marathon!
Episode Costume Round-up:
Willow as a ghost
Xander as a soldier
Buffy as an 18th century girl
Cordelia as a cat/leopard
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5. New Girl – Keaton (Season 3 Episode 6)
The latest New Girl episode, and what a wonderful episode it was. In this episode Jess calls an everybody-but-Schmidt meeting in the empty loft across the hall (the one Nick claims is haunted) to see what they can do to get Schmidt out of his Elizabeth/Cece break-up funk. However Schmidt goes too far when he punches through the pumpkin Winston is carving (cue classic Winston song) and so Winston suggests an old idea. Over to Nick for some amazing storytelling: ever since Schmidt was 7, every time he had a problem he got a letter/email from Michael Keaton (The Batman), what Schmidt doesn’t know is that Schimdt’s mom, and later Nick are behind this. Nick refuses to intervene he only told Jess the story “because it’s a great story and I’m a teller of stories.” However, as always Jess intervenes and of course all sorts of hilarious New Girl shenanigans ensue! If you want some more New Girl Halloween, why not watch last year’s episode as well (Season 2 Episode 6)?
Episode Round-up:
Nick as Paper Mountain Trash King (ie. just got rubbish from his car)
Schmidt as a Public Serpent
Winston as David Letterman
Jess as Joey Ramone-a Quimby
Picture Credits:
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