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HALLOWEEN SITCOM TIME! I'm watching a ton of Halloween episodes / specials. You can too! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Halloween_television_specials#Teen_and_adult_sitcoms
This list is not a ranking. It's just the order I'm watching them in. Each episode is rated on a scale of 1-5 spooky emojis. Let's go!
This list is not a ranking. It's just the order I'm watching them in. Each episode is rated on a scale of 1-5 spooky emojis. Let's go!
1. #FamilyMatters, "Stevil" (1996)
How could I kick this list off any other way? "Stevil" is the most f'ed up Halloween sitcom episode ever—and I love it! Let this image of Urkel getting strangled by a dummy doppelgänger haunt your timeline!
How could I kick this list off any other way? "Stevil" is the most f'ed up Halloween sitcom episode ever—and I love it! Let this image of Urkel getting strangled by a dummy doppelgänger haunt your timeline!
2. #TheAdventuresOfOzzieAndHarriet, "Halloween Party" (1952)
This is probably the *first* Halloween-themed TV episode, and even in 1952 the adults are all like, "Ugh, can't we give Halloween back to the kids?" This episode is all party planning and barely any party!
This is probably the *first* Halloween-themed TV episode, and even in 1952 the adults are all like, "Ugh, can't we give Halloween back to the kids?" This episode is all party planning and barely any party!
3. #TheHoneymooners, "Halloween Party" (1953)
I tell ya, '50s sitcoms are buhzarre. This was originally a sketch in a variety show—anyway! We've got some DRAG in this one! And Audrey Meadows is the funniest person in the cast. This is the only episode I've seen, though.
I tell ya, '50s sitcoms are buhzarre. This was originally a sketch in a variety show—anyway! We've got some DRAG in this one! And Audrey Meadows is the funniest person in the cast. This is the only episode I've seen, though.
4. #Lassie, "The Witch" (1955)
Okay, well, this episode aired near Halloween AND features Jeff (this is pre-Timmy!) running afoul of a "witch" (she's just a cat lady), but it's not SET on Halloween. So...
Okay, well, this episode aired near Halloween AND features Jeff (this is pre-Timmy!) running afoul of a "witch" (she's just a cat lady), but it's not SET on Halloween. So...
5. #TheBigBangTheory, "The Middle Earth Paradigm" (2007)
I don't like this show but, I'm... a completist. It's exhausting, but like, there is a Halloween party?
I don't like this show but, I'm... a completist. It's exhausting, but like, there is a Halloween party?
6. #TheFlintstones, "A Haunted House Is Not a Home" (1964)
Fred has to stay in a haunted house in order to get rich, and a trio of butlers try to murder him. It's fun! I want to love it, but it's only mid-level spooky. Love the design of the Bedrock haunted house, tho.
Fred has to stay in a haunted house in order to get rich, and a trio of butlers try to murder him. It's fun! I want to love it, but it's only mid-level spooky. Love the design of the Bedrock haunted house, tho.
7. #TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir, "Hex and the Single Guy" (1993)
A near perfect "Twilight Zone" parody that spins out of actual events in the show's recent history (that deadly bungee jumping accident!). Carlton as Macaulay Culkin is so funny and so 1993.
A near perfect "Twilight Zone" parody that spins out of actual events in the show's recent history (that deadly bungee jumping accident!). Carlton as Macaulay Culkin is so funny and so 1993.
8. #TheJetsons, "Haunted Halloween" (1985)
If the still below had been the entire episode, we'd have a winner! Instead, it was a quick dream sequence in the middle of too many plots about too much nonsense. This episode was like stuffing yourself full of cheap candy.
If the still below had been the entire episode, we'd have a winner! Instead, it was a quick dream sequence in the middle of too many plots about too much nonsense. This episode was like stuffing yourself full of cheap candy.
9. #TheRealMcCoys, "The Ghostbreakers" (1959)
I have no idea where this show is set or even when it's supposed to take place. What a trip. This grandpa is one of the unintentionally (?) weirdest characters I've seen in classic TV. A fine "haunted" house story.
I have no idea where this show is set or even when it's supposed to take place. What a trip. This grandpa is one of the unintentionally (?) weirdest characters I've seen in classic TV. A fine "haunted" house story.
10. #DennisTheMenace, "Haunted House" (1961)
No, it's not set on Halloween. But! It's a solid haunted house ep that aired near Halloween. It made me chuckle! Young Harold Gould and Harvey Korman, too!
No, it's not set on Halloween. But! It's a solid haunted house ep that aired near Halloween. It made me chuckle! Young Harold Gould and Harvey Korman, too!
11. #Jessie, "The Whining" (2012)
I'm decades too old for any Disney sitcom. They really lean into everything that's bad about the genre. They're grating, mugging, hyper, and lazy. But. This is a riff on "The Shining" which is wild to see on Dinsey+. Also, Meshach Taylor!
I'm decades too old for any Disney sitcom. They really lean into everything that's bad about the genre. They're grating, mugging, hyper, and lazy. But. This is a riff on "The Shining" which is wild to see on Dinsey+. Also, Meshach Taylor!
12. #WizardsOfWaverlyPlace, "Halloween" (2009)
Listen: I'm watching these for work. My quest to be thorough with Halloween coverage overlaps with the sick pleasure I get out of hate-watching things that are so clearly not for me. But sometimes you get to see Daniel Roebuck!
Listen: I'm watching these for work. My quest to be thorough with Halloween coverage overlaps with the sick pleasure I get out of hate-watching things that are so clearly not for me. But sometimes you get to see Daniel Roebuck!
13. #ANTFarm, "MutANT Farm" (2011)
This is a redo of the pilot episode with a spooky, monstery twist. So... that makes it a fully bizarre first episode to watch! I wish this was the whole series, though? And Finesse Mitchell is great.
This is a redo of the pilot episode with a spooky, monstery twist. So... that makes it a fully bizarre first episode to watch! I wish this was the whole series, though? And Finesse Mitchell is great.
14. #TheAndyGriffithShow, "The Haunted House" (1963)
I've already watched a *lot* of episodes about an old house that may be haunted, and of all of them, this one actually delivers the spooky goods. Solid haunted house gags, like a "Scooby Doo" episode.
I've already watched a *lot* of episodes about an old house that may be haunted, and of all of them, this one actually delivers the spooky goods. Solid haunted house gags, like a "Scooby Doo" episode.
15. #TheAddamsFamily, "Halloween with the Addams Family" (1964)
Spooky season doesn't start until you've seen Gomez read the Halloween poem and Don Rickles bob for crabs. A classic!
Spooky season doesn't start until you've seen Gomez read the Halloween poem and Don Rickles bob for crabs. A classic!
16. #Bewitched, "The Witches Are Out" (1964)
Such a smart Halloween episode, all about prejudice. Ahead of its time! It filters the holiday through the show's concept and comes up with something totally unique.
Such a smart Halloween episode, all about prejudice. Ahead of its time! It filters the holiday through the show's concept and comes up with something totally unique.
17. #Bewitched, "Trick or Treat" (1965)
This one builds on the progress Darrin made in Season 1, and it's such a showcase for Dick York's great physical comedy skills as he wolfs out during one of the Halloween dinner parties they're always having.
This one builds on the progress Darrin made in Season 1, and it's such a showcase for Dick York's great physical comedy skills as he wolfs out during one of the Halloween dinner parties they're always having.
