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Friday the 13th the Series Season 2

Friday the 13th the Series Season 2

Hello dungeon crawlers, Slick Dungeon here! Well, it’s Friday the 13th once again and you know what that means! Yep, it means I will complain yet again that there are only 12 Friday the 13th movies. Give us one more! Not a reboot or a remake. How about a battle royale between Jason and all the final girls and boys? Alas, that’s probably not going to happen. But if you’re itching for even more Friday the 13th content there is the television series. It has… almost nothing to do with the movies. I reviewed the first season here. Friday the 13th the Series Season 2 continues the story of the first season while still allowing an anthology format. There are worse things you could watch. And better.

This not a show I highly recommend. It’s fun if you experienced it when it was out and if you are old enough to remember that, it’s a nice blast of nostalgia. But if you’ve never seen it, I recommend watching other, better horror shows first. One I can recommend is Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiousities. That one is a true anthology and there are some brilliant episodes in that one.

However, there are still some great practical effects here, a decent dose of gore (for a television show from the 1980s), and enough of a plot to keep the viewer interested. It can feel a bit repetitive as each episode is our team of Jack, Ryan and Micki hunting down a cursed artifact from the cursed store they inherited. It does allow us to meet new characters each episode and the premise changes. Some are more creative than others.

In this season there is a Phantom of the Opera knockoff episode, a pocket watch that can stop time, and a cursed key chain that will allow a racer to win races but at a cost. There’s even a strange radio that grants wishes… as long as you are willing to allow someone to die. And of course, in the background Uncle Lewis is still trying to come back to life and spread his evil throughout the world. The on again off again flirtation of Ryan and Micki also continues. Ryan seems to date a new girl every other episode but he gets super mad any time Micki has an interest in someone else. Plus they are cousins, by marriage they will have you know, so it gets complicated. And the heart of the show remains Jack who is sort of a Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer figure. He gets into the action a bit more than Giles tended to though.

If you have run out of other Friday the 13th material to watch on this Friday the 13th, well my first recommendation is to re-watch any of the movies. But if that has you bored, watch the fantastic documentary Crystal Lake Memories. If you have seen that and are still bored, then yeah go ahead and watch Friday the 13th the Series. It’s mildly enjoyable and it’s got some fun moments. Just don’t expect anything too amazing.

Watch out for black cats crossing your path today!

Superstitiously yours,

Slick Dungeon

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Friday the 13th: The Series Season One

Friday the 13th: The Series
Friday the 13th: The Series John D. LeMay, Louise Robey and Chris Wiggins (from left)

Hello internet folks and happy Friday the 13th! Slick Dungeon here and if you’ve read my blog before you probably know I enjoy a good Friday the 13th movie. The trouble? I’ve reviewed them all. Don’t believe me? Just check them out here. But there’s more out there. Did you know there was a Friday the 13th TV series? It’s true. I’ve watched the first season and I’m here to tell you all about it. I’d tell you about all three seasons but I gotta have something to write about next time! There will be some spoilers for the show so be forewarned. This one can be tough to find though so I’m linking a YouTube playlist below where you can find it. Not sure how long it will be there so watch when you can.

the series playlist

This playlist has all 3 seasons and as far as I can tell, all of the episodes.

What is Friday the 13th the Series?

The TV series is totally separate from the films other than the name. There is no Camp Crystal Lake, hockey masks, or any of the other iconic stuff you’re used to. The show is its own endeavor. Its about three characters who track down cursed objects and lock them away in the vault of an antique store.

Micki, played by Louise Robey is the cousin of Ryan Delaney, played by John D. Lemay. For reasons that are not fully clear, their uncle gifted the two of them an antiques shop called Curious Goods. The third in the party is Jack Marshak played by Chris Wiggins. Jack knows about this estranged uncle who made a deal with the devil for immortality in exchange for letting loose horrible evil on the world through cursed objects.

That didn’t work out because ol’ uncle Lewis died and was sent to hell. Jack clues in the cousins on the situation and they all realize cursed objects shouldn’t be hanging out in the world. But, Jack didn’t show up until after the cursed items were sold. The mission is to get them back. Each episode features one cursed object.

It’s almost an anthology show but it does have consistent plot lines going.

Is it Any Good?

If you are old enough to have watched this series when it was on, it’s not as good as you remember. But, if you’ve never seen it, the show holds up better than you’d expect. It does share some DNA with shows like The Twilight Zone or Amazing Stories. In fact, the first episode is a complete rip off of the Talky Tina episode titled The Living Doll from The Twilight Zone.

Other episodes deal with items like Dracula’s cape, a cradle from the Titanic, a surgical scalpel used by Jack the Ripper etc.

Most of the episodes are self contained so you can watch them in any order. But, if you do you’ll miss a bit of the overall plot. There’s a love story between Ryan and Micki. It is made clear over and over the two are cousins. However, at one point, far too late in the series they declare the two of them are only cousins by marriage. So I guess dating is okay? Anyway, it seems like the writers couldn’t decide which way to go on that.

Considering this is a show from the 80’s, don’t expect to see amazing effects. Most of them hold up and the practical ones involving blood and violence tend to work. Just don’t expect much when it comes to things like lightning effects.

The acting is competent but not groundbreaking. The directing is the same. As far as the soundtrack goes, well, if you’ve ever wanted to hear an 80’s synth pop version of I’m a Little Teapot with tons of keyboard and saxophone, this is the only show for you. Overall, the soundtrack is decent and will drop you right into the 80’s.

Notable Episodes

Some of the better episodes deal with items which are a bit morally gray. One of the best is the one dealing with the cradle in the Titanic. The way it works is you have to kill a certain number of people to keep a newborn baby alive. By the time Jack, Ryan and Micki have figured it out, they have to decide if they take away the item, knowing the baby will die or allow the mother to kill enough people to keep the kid alive. It ends with a less than perfect solution but it’s an interesting problem.

The first episode establishes the world but as I said it’s a Twilight Zone rip off. Not bad but stick through to future episodes so you can see some of the better ones.

The worst episode in the first season is the last one. It’s a clip show with the barest of plots. The episodes are hit and miss but if you like horror, there is something here for you.

In some ways it feels like a very early version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Supernatural. Young people guided by an older person who knows all about this hidden world. The overall plot is a little messy but it’s enjoyable.

Should You Watch Friday the 13th the series?

This Friday the 13th, if you haven’t watched all of the movies in the series, put those on first. Not because they have anything to do with the show but because they are better.

If you’re just looking for a great anthology show, I recommend The Twilight Zone, Amaxing Stories and even Freddy’s Nightmares before watching this one. But, if you have seen all of that other media and you still just need one more hit of that good ol’ Friday the 13th franchise, this show will do.

Unluckily yours,

Slick Dungeon