Lights, Camera, Spirits! "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"

Strike a match, pour a fall old fashioned, and settle in for a Halloween watch-along that blends 90s chills with grown-up sips. Andy, Chris, Rob, and Siobhan join Matt and cue up two Are You Afraid of the Dark standouts—The Tale of the Shiny Red Bicycle and The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner—and unpack why these kid-friendly scares still hit.

We start at the campfire with SNICK nostalgia, TV ratings lore, and a shout to the show’s practical-effects roots, including the SFX lead who later racked up Emmys for a very different show. 

All of it pairs with our seasonal cocktail: a cider-honey old fashioned tuned toward bourbon for a proper backbone. Think apple, cinnamon, and oak with a warm finish, easy to batch and perfect for a cozy rewatch. Along the way we compare Monster-of-the-Week storytelling to today’s binge era, trace how practical effects give scares real texture, and reflect on how these tales taught us to name fear, protect siblings, and read the signs before trouble hits.

If this rekindles your SNICK heart or inspires your next movie-night pour, tap follow, and share with a friend who knew the Midnight Society by heart!

🍂 Fall Old Fashioned Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 oz bourbon (they used Buffalo Trace)
• 1.5 oz apple cider
• A drizzle of honey (for sweetness)
• A few dashes of bitters
• Simple syrup (optional, if you like a sweeter old fashioned)

Garnish

• Cinnamon stick
• Apple slice
• Cinnamon-sugar rim on the glass

Notes

• The original online recipe called for equal parts bourbon and cider, but Siobhan modified it to cut the cider in half so the bourbon flavor comes through more strongly.
• Served as a fall twist on the classic old fashioned — bourbon-forward, balanced with cider and honey for seasonal warmth.

Transcript

Halloween Setup And 90s Nostalgia

Rob 1:17

Welcome to Matt and Friend Rick the Universe!

Andy 1:27

Lame.

Matt 1:28

Tried to do a double two and it like let me let me say start times a charm.

Andy 1:35

Oh, that was good. Well done.

Matt 1:39

That's why he hosts the podcast folks.

Rob 1:41

That was some ass murder if I've ever heard it.

Matt 1:43

Yep. Beer opener level 99. Thank you. Light, camera. Spirits. Welcome back, everyone, to Matt and Friends Drink the Universe. This is our Halloween episode, and today we're gonna do something a little different. We're gonna watch the 90s classic children's show, Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Andy 2:09

I've been looking forward to this since we first mentioned this in the summer.

Rob 2:13

Yes.

Matt 2:14

Happy Halloween, bitches. So who watched this show when they were younger? Let's start off.

Rob 2:19

Oh, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. I did not. I did not like scary things usually. And I was I was more of a goosebumps fan. So I was watching Goosebumps, and that was plenty of scariness for me. I grew up reading those books, so I was a little bit more into that show.

Andy 2:36

I was always into that, like just kid enough level of spooky stuff. You know what I mean? Like the Are You Afraid of the Dark The uh we just mentioned Areo Monsters because that's also on the screen there. Um, gosh, Goosebumps, read the shit read the books as well. Like that was all my brand.

SNICK Lineup And TV Ratings History

Matt 2:56

So this uh show for the younger children out there who don't remember because you were born after the ball dropped in the year 2000, you youngins. This ran on Nickelodeon from August 15th, 92 to February 1996 and had a short revival in 99. The original Pilot was a special October Halloween episode on the 25th, 1991.

Andy 3:19

Way older than I thought. Yeah, also a longer run than I thought. Yes, yeah, that's I would say that for sure. I I would have guessed 12 episodes and it was done. Yeah, season two, season. Yeah, is what I'm seeing up on the screen. It looks like 10 episodes per season. So 50 produced episodes is crazy.

Rob 3:37

That's about the same amount of produced episodes we have here on this podcast. Oh about that.

Matt 3:41

I think maybe we're beyond 50 now, but uh we are approaching 60, actually. It's like 57, I think. So this was part of Nickelodeon's SNCC, the uh Saturday night programming for kids. The original lineup were all that Kanan and Kale and Kenan and Kale, sorry. Kenan and Kale. And Clarissa's favorite new dial and Clarissa explains it all. That is correct. The show that taught us it's okay to put a ladder next to a girl's window and just climb on in.

Andy 4:09

All that being like the kids' SNL was the best thing ever. Oh, yeah. And it's crazy that Keenan Thompson basically went straight from that to Sire Night Live and it's just sketch comedy since the mid-early 90s. That's crazy. Well, he's also incredible at it. Know who also was in all that? Gabriel Iglesias. I don't remember that. Yes, he was. Really? Yeah.

Matt 4:39

So I I did watch this as a kid on and off. I wasn't really big on the scary stuff either. I do remember this costing me a couple of like good night's sleep. There's a couple of funky, especially when you're a young kid. There's a couple episodes in there. I'm anxious to see what we're gonna get here. Just 90 is fantastic, slightly spooky. I'm I'm curious.

Andy 4:58

Did we see these on reruns? Because like there's no way I was throtting this at four years old. Seven years old? Yeah. Like I don't I don't feel like 91. We were six. Six, yeah. Yeah. No, it says TVY7, by the way. So if we were seven, we could have watched this. We could have. There weren't ratings back then, though. No. Yeah, I think by this point there are. I don't think there were TV ratings.

Rob 5:24

I think it was like uh Clinton era when they started doing more serious ratings.

Andy 5:29

I do I do remember though that my grandparents were like really strict, and because we we would often be watched by my grandparents like on Friday and Saturday nights, and they were very strict about like you can't watch stuff that's you know too old for you. But they may have just been judging it themselves. You're right, you're you're absolutely it's it's plausible that you seem to remember like my memories locking on like when that started. Like I that was within our lifetime. Oh, for sure within our lifetime, yeah. It started with Mortal Kombat the video game. Yes. Yep. That started uh ratings definitely on video games that was less on video games, but I think it stemmed a TV thing as well. Which that's like 95. You're you're right. It's like 95, 95.

Rob 6:14

It was late in the Clinton era presidency, and and I love the tools. Nah, no fun. There used to not be a PG 13. It was PG or R. Yes. And like that that was there was no divide for a while.

Andy 6:29

I don't know off the top of my head what movie it was that got the first PG 13 movie, and it was something surprising. I think it was Jurassic Park. TV age ratings started in the United States on January 1st, 1997. So this definitely predates that. Yeah. But I mean, the fact that it was Are You Afraid?

unknown 6:48

Right.

Andy 6:49

I kind of my grandparents would have been like, no, you're not watching that. I do remember watching this whenever I did, so it must have been like in reruns and not being scared at all. But I also watched like The Exorcist when I was like nine. Oh, yeah, yeah. So Exorcist and Poltergeist. Yeah, those, yeah. Way too young, but I'm not sure.

Matt 7:08

My grandfather showed me Predator, I was four years old. He was like, he'll be fine. I was not fine.

Practical Effects And SFX Trivia

Rob 7:15

Okay, fun fact, I was misremembering the PG 13 thing. Uh that happened in the mid-80s. Okay.

Andy 7:20

What was the first movie?

Rob 7:21

Red Dawn. Oh, parachuting in and shooting everybody's in. The reason they came up with the ratings is because Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom got so disturbing. Yes. Oh, collie.

Andy 7:34

So I think what I'm most looking forward to are the special effects.

unknown 7:40

Okay.

Andy 7:41

There is something great about whether or not special effects age well or not. And I I'm really looking forward to that. I'm assuming this is in the era I remember is the the dust and the fire making the different colors. That's it. I'm sure there is tons of practical effects that we'll see. I would assume. It's still in that era before like Star Wars.

Matt 8:01

Episode one ruined, you know. So I wrote down a couple of fun facts that I found out about the show. So you mentioned the practical effects. So Steve Cole is the SFX chief for this. He went on to win numerous Emmys for his work on anybody want to guess? Uh Avatar. Who? No? Lord of the Rings. TV. It is a TV show. Oh, TV show.

Rob 8:23

TV show. Um West Wing. Can you give us a channel that it was on?

Matt 8:29

HBO. Game of Thrones. It is Game of Thrones. I was going to start singing the theme song. But yes. And he credited this with teaching him how to operate with no CGI and no budget. CGI.

Andy 8:43

Alright, so we're getting a lot of practical effects then.

Rob 8:46

Yeah, so what what episode are we going to do here first?

Introducing Shiny Red Bicycle Episode

Matt 8:48

So we're going to start out with uh I I Googled like what's a good episode, what's one of the top episodes? We're going to start off with the tale of the shiny red bicycle. This one was up there. And by the way, I do have other people here. You've heard their voices. Introduce yourselves. Oh, yeah.

Rob 9:02

Hey guys, it's Rob. I'm Chris. And I'm Andy. I I think we should have a dramatic reading of the synopsis. Who would like to do that? And you just nominated yourself.

Matt 9:12

Go for it. Okay.

Rob 9:13

The tale of the shiny red bike.

Matt 9:15

That's not nearly dramatic enough. Try again.

Rob 9:18

The tale of the shiny red bicycle. Mike Buckley is often tormented by a repeated nightmare in which he relives the tragedy of his best friend Ricky, who died five years ago.

Andy 9:39

I love this is season three. Ricky be dead! Ricky be dead! There's this kid with PTSD. Let's uh explore that. Yeah. Here we go. This was also the age of the uh after school specials, too. So for sure. Oh yeah.

Rob 10:01

Guys, there's ads. You would think that this podcast could afford Paramount Plus Without Ads. Nope. This is Paramount Plus Without Ads. Oh. I stand corrected. I'm already creeped out.

Andy 10:16

Which, Chris, what's your first thought re-seeing this? What game are you thinking of right off the bat? Game.

Rob 10:23

Friday Night and Freddy's card game.

Andy 10:28

Oh, uh betrayal? No. Lunch money. Oh, yeah, okay. It's like directly pulled from that style of art right now.

Matt 10:35

So we got the spooky match, the the abandoned boat. Oh, and they always have a blue.

Rob 10:41

The campfire, I forgot. Let's get them a few more minutes. Hey, is that the the guy from Mighty Ducks 2? Yes, it is. Oh my god. Sorry, we're late. Emilio. Hey, I heard about your bike getting stolen. You okay? Dwayne Puckman or something? I thought about your brother. It really ticked me off that someone could take something that was so important to me. Because once you have the right bike.

Matt 11:19

No matter who else. So I kicked him in the nards.

Rob 11:22

But it's not a total loss. David came up with a story about it. It's about this kid. Guy's got a unibrow. A bike that meant. He's like three hairs away from a unibrow.

Andy 11:37

Actually, it looks like he tried to fix it and did a bad job at it.

Rob 11:43

Submitted for the approval.

Andy 11:45

Oh, here it comes. We all thought this was so cool. Oh shit. Just buy that crap online now.

Show Character 11:54

The shiny red device.

Rob 11:55

You know, they could have thrown like some boron in there and made it go like blue. Yeah, blue. I wasn't prepared. Music by Raymond Fabby. Written by Cassandra Shopping.

Andy 12:17

We've got golf parts of this point.

Rob 12:22

That's T Bushemi.

Watching The Bridge Tragedy Scene

Andy 12:24

No. My nose goes for days, by the way. That that is quite the schnapp. This is the PSK pokey call. Not uh playing in in uh oh my god, right into the damn release. Right into it.

Matt 12:51

Oh, are they gonna run into it?

Andy 12:53

Children are on body. Well we're talking about trauma. Is this how the kid dies? Yeah. Oh, you're about to watch a kid die? Oh yeah. Oh my god.

Matt 13:07

Oh no. That board's like a little kid.

Show Character 13:10

I'm stuck. Now my dad's thinking of more for real and cleaning it this weekend. Maybe this year, we try to catch a bat.

Andy 13:17

Is this what inspired Jack? Oh no.

Rob 13:22

There comes the bike.

Matt 13:27

Oh, the clinging he's trying to save him. The slippage.

Andy 13:35

Oh Ricky! Oh, Ricky, you're so fine. You're so fine. You blew up my heart. No, no, no, no, no. It's it's uh Hey Ricky. Oh, Ricky, you're so dead, you're so dead. Well, damn.

Show Character 13:50

You're having another bad dream.

Show Character 13:53

It's okay, Ben. Go back to sleep.

Show Character 13:55

Honestly.

Rob 13:55

You don't have to narrate what we just saw. Wow. That guy's real sweaty. I wonder if he's doing steroids.

Andy 14:02

You had a bad dream, so I went and got a glass of water before I came to check on you. Yeah.

Rob 14:10

Mikey, you had another nocturnal emission.

Show Character 14:12

Are you okay? Jesus Christ.

Rob 14:23

Looks like someone's gonna fall asleep in this corn wackies. What?

Show Character 14:28

Are you alright, honey? Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I'm just a little tired, that's all.

Rob 14:36

Trouble sleeping? No, I'm just Dreaming about my dead friend. Did anybody notice how he poured the milk in his cereal from his drinking glass of milk? That's an odd move.

Show Character 14:48

You can stop blaming yourself for Ricky's death.

Rob 14:56

I think I've seen him in a few of his other works in the early 90s.

Andy 14:59

Yeah, but he's at he's now at every brewery. That exact guy.

Matt 15:07

Anybody's dad sitting eating breakfast in a suit and tie? Just curious. I don't think I ever saw my dad.

Show Character 15:12

Yeah, like last year. Hey, it was out half the season. Yeah, and you'll probably get beat up again. You heard it here first.

Rob 15:22

It's the bike, everybody. Ominous music.

Andy 15:27

I dress just like the bicycle.

Show Character 15:37

Is that meant? Okay. Did you just see what?

Andy 15:50

Early prediction, there's a gas leak in his room. Let's go. Strong, strong.

Trauma, Teachers, And Ghost Sightings

Show Character 15:56

And so, only months to go, NASA met John F. Kennedy's challenge to put men on the moon before the end of the decade. The three chosen for this historic fight were Buzz Alder and Michael Collins.

Andy 16:15

And I literally had to take a course on how not to be this teacher.

Show Character 16:21

Mr. Buckley, are you with us?

Rob 16:23

Mike Buckley!

Show Character 16:28

Paying attention, are we? And maybe you would tell everybody what we were talking about before I had to stop and bring you back to work.

Andy 16:40

So for the teachers in the audience.

Show Character 16:43

Not quite. This is We're not covering I or U.

Andy 16:46

You know what I'm talking about when I say we have to go through professional development for trauma-informed care. No. This is it, right here. The kid who's usually pretty good and is spaced out. Don't just embarrass that kid in front of everybody.

unknown 17:02

Okay.

Andy 17:02

Talk to him in a non-embarrassing way and find out what's wrong.

unknown 17:05

Good.

Matt 17:06

Take him out to the hallway and privately berate him, not in front of everybody else.

Andy 17:12

Especially you got the kid who's normally pretty good, right? Oh Ghost Kitty's back. Ricky. You didn't save me, Mike. That was Ricky the Grey. I am Ricky the Drite.

Rob 17:36

Ride, you fools.

Show Character 17:38

Ricky? What? Who was Ricky? You mentioned the name Ricky in the classroom. As Westwood said, you kept repeating it. Why? He was a friend. Did you two have a fight?

Andy 17:51

I pushed him off a bridge and killed him. Did Timmy fell in a w fall in a well?

Show Character 17:58

You said he was your friend. Did you fight he was my friend? He's dead. I'm sorry. You're talking about the Haggerty boy. Leave it on. I still have a hard time with this guy. Sometimes. How so? Once in a while I get these dreams. They're nightmares, really. I'm always trying to save Ricky's life, but just like at the bridge, I can't. I keep hoping that the next time I'll be able to, the next time I can help. You know, they never even found his own.

Rob 18:45

When he turns around, it's gonna be Ricky.

Show Character 18:46

But you know that when the dream does come out the right way, it won't change the fact that your friend is gone. It's just a thing. He's not really gone. I saw him today. What? I mean.

Matt 19:00

Reminder, I have a psych degree. That's when you call somebody.

Andy 19:03

I'm gonna let you know. I will say that at least nurse is on the right path. Nurse is at least like talking it out. Trying to figure out what's going on.

Show Character 19:14

You better have your parents. But now you've gone the wrong route.

Matt 19:21

She did say, have the parents call the family physician.

Andy 19:25

She the whole tone was wrong, right? Contact the parents. Well, oh, I just called it too early. Ghostly hypnoviolation.

Matt 19:35

Ghostly hypo violation. He's holding his chart.

Andy 19:41

I think I had that guy. Is that my Ford Tour station wagon?

unknown 19:46

Mistakes.

Andy 19:48

This dad is so pissed.

Rob 19:49

Why'd you have to take me to see Dr. McBride anyway? Oh, I don't know. Maybe going into shock at the nurse's station and raving about seeing your dead best friend might have had something to do with it. You'll never miss the first day of fishing season? Not once. Not even the Yuriki. Mike.

Andy 20:07

Can you get your shit together though?

Rob 20:09

The doctor said bed rest, and that's exactly what it's gonna happen. Just believe work. I was just banging the secretary.

Andy 20:16

And your principal called me.

Rob 20:17

I also believe the doctor when he says that you should be in bed.

Andy 20:21

Just at a cold play concert.

Show Character 20:23

What? Who would slam on the brakes? I just saw Ricky riding his bike down Hanover Road. Dad, please, this will prove I'm not crazy.

Andy 20:30

But you are, son. You are. That is definitely Timu Paul Giamatti.

Rob 20:34

Paul Giamatti, yeah. What if it actually was Paul Giamatti? You didn't see Ricky Kidd! That was a terrible Paul Giamatti.

Andy 20:42

That's a hard one to impersonate. I tried and then I started laughing. Run him over. Then we know he's dead. Three points. Man, we're tired squirreling that station wagon hard. Sorry, ma'am, my son's crazy.

Rob 21:02

Sorry. That's it.

Show Character 21:05

It's bedtime.

Andy 21:06

Bedtime, middle of the day, by the way.

Rob 21:15

He didn't? Also, just because he fell into uh some running water doesn't mean that he could have died, right?

Andy 21:23

I mean, that those uh floodgates. That that's some fast moving water.

Rob 21:29

I guess so, but uh but I don't know. That's what she said.

Matt 21:37

You're taking his temperature.

Show Character 21:39

I knew it. 99.6. Good.

Rob 21:41

When he hits 190, 99.6. I don't get it. That was a good stock market joke. I'm gonna go get a movie. Can we get you anything while we're up? They're going to blockbuster.

Andy 21:54

West Coast City Yo, bring home the entertainment.

Rob 21:58

He's only gonna be here for a little while.

Matt 22:00

Make it a blockbuster night.

Rob 22:02

Alright. But the minute Mike starts nodding off, you hit the road.

Andy 22:07

Thanks, Dad.

Show Character 22:11

You're very smart, I'm gonna miss you not going fishing tomorrow. I wish you could go. Yeah, me too. I've never been to the river without you. I was going there when I was 10. Besides, uh, if you'll have your friends with you, that'd be cool. Just like you used to go with Ricky.

Matt 22:29

Hopefully, your friends want to drop you in the river.

Show Character 22:33

Mike, did you really see it? I swear I did, Ben. Everyone thinks I'm a few sandwiches short of a picnic. What a great line! This is a great line. If everyone did, I wouldn't be stuck in bed all stinking my head.

Andy 22:50

He just starts rattling them all off.

Show Character 22:52

I'll tell you what.

Andy 22:53

I'm a few croutons short of a salad. A few clowns short of a circus.

Show Character 22:59

You will? Sure.

Show Character 23:02

Cool. So what did Dad's joke before me? Was it dirty?

Show Character 23:09

No, it was just too grown up for you to understand it. Besides, it wasn't that funny. I think yours are much better. Wanna hear one? Okay. Ask me why I'm a great comedian. Why are you a great comedian? Tell me.

Matt 23:39

I love the ethereal lighting on the door.

Andy 23:51

Does Ricky have tiny hands? No, I guess they're kind of normal. Kind of normal. This is the angle.

Matt 24:02

He's much less decomposed than I'd like him to be. What are you gonna do?

Andy 24:13

What in the world? What kind of direction did that kid get?

Rob 24:18

What do we think is coming up the stairs?

Show Character 24:23

Where do you think you're going?

Show Character 24:30

I need my taco.

Show Character 24:36

Is everyone here going wacky? Come on, go get your shot. Mom and I will give you a ride to go with your dad. Don't be ridiculous. It's a long hike. I don't sound so excited about it.

Andy 24:52

This is the best dad in the world. If that dude's not related to Paul Giamatti, I'd I'm on it. It's gotta be. Like it that looks like Tim Giamatti. Like he acts like him. Giamatti. How many rocks into a break cylinder? Right? That wasn't too easy.

Rob 25:43

Mark Camacho is the man's name. Not a Giamatti. Is that a UN representation? What is it?

Andy 25:54

All his flags sit in there? Wonder how many of those flags are still at the Like there's gotta be at least one that's like Czechoslovakia or something, yeah?

Rob 26:07

The country formerly known as.

Andy 26:12

Is that a flag for the Ottoman Empire? Wow. Save me.

Matt 26:17

This room has a very odd decor going for it as well.

Rob 26:20

Whoa. Cowboxers, everybody. Oh no, it's is that heifer? No. I thought it was rock, I thought it was cross-promotional. Oh, there's Ricky again in the front yard.

Show Character 26:35

He wants me.

Andy 26:39

I'm gonna murder that kid again. Alright, yeah, yeah. Going back to finish the job.

Show Character 26:46

You don't understand. Isn't that where your brother's bringing our?

Andy 26:50

We should go there.

Show Character 26:51

Keep moving. I don't want to hear any more about breaking.

Andy 26:57

Oh, now there's a danger sign. How convenient. Yeah.

Matt 27:04

That strikes me as rather.

Andy 27:06

Why is he looking on top the roof? Like I know it's your ghost friend, but of all places for your ghost friend to be, I don't think on the roof.

Matt 27:15

He's behind you. No.

Show Character 27:17

Ricky!

Andy 27:20

There he is. There's the cold breath.

Show Character 27:21

Here I am, Mike. Here I am.

Guest Joins And 90s Cameo Trivia

Andy 27:29

Rock you like a hurricane? Damn it, you gotta be touched.

Show Character 27:32

Here I am. What do you want from me?

Andy 27:34

He can touch him. Can't touch a ghost. Watch your body.

unknown 27:46

Hey!

Andy 27:46

Knocked over my beer. That had nothing in it. Yeah, what was that?

unknown 27:50

Yeah.

Andy 27:55

A bobber.

Show Character 27:57

Sorry, another accident.

Andy 27:59

Kick him in the nerds. Ra rah. Kick him in the knee. Ra rah rash. Kick him in the other knee. Your brother's gonna die.

Show Character 28:14

I tried to save you, alright?

Andy 28:16

Just like.

Show Character 28:16

I tried, I did whatever I could. If that wasn't good enough, do whatever you want to me. I'm not here to hurt you, Mike. You're my best friend. You try to save my life. Why do you keep coming after me? I'm here to warn you. Warn me? That's great. Warn me! You know? What's so important that you have to come up here and what's giving me like he's about to be an idiot.

Rob 28:45

Yeah, a little bit. So little bit. Fun fact the dad character primarily does video game voiceover work.

Show Character 28:52

He's in danger, Mike.

Rob 28:54

All the Far Cry games, some of the Assassin's Creed games, all in his IMDB. Oh shit. Wow. Get him on the pod. I wonder if Justin was in. And he played. He played President Nixon in X-Men Days of Future Past.

Matt 29:08

Oh He somehow got his boot stuck under a rock. Trying to get his bobber back that his friend threw.

Andy 29:16

Is he gonna ride the ghost bike? Kick him in the head. Ride the ghost bike. Does this make him the ghost trader? Yes. Where it all starts.

Show Character 29:26

I miss you, Ricky.

Andy 29:28

I'd miss you more if you'd leave me alone.

Show Character 29:31

Get going. It's a long ride, and we don't want to bend on this side just yet.

Rob 29:37

Ghost bike ride.

Andy 29:42

Couldn't afford the rights. I don't miss ghost bike out of the boot.

Matt 29:51

That's the ghost bike. I was really hoping he peddled twice and the bike would just disappear anyway.

Andy 29:58

That's not a real bike, you idiot. Now I've got a gold bike. I've got a ghost friend in the skin knee. That was still in Florida. Please tell me that's exactly what's gonna happen right now. Now why 100%?

Rob 30:19

Why wouldn't he tell the man? He doesn't know how it works. Oh, it's a different man. No, it's the same.

Andy 30:26

Look at that for the guy with big old shots.

Rob 30:36

I'm in his gears turning. The same time every day that release the damn, that makes nothing to the damn 2080s.

Introducing Ghastly Grinner Episode

Andy 30:44

They don't fucking know. That's a weak scream.

Matt 30:51

Take your boot off, you idiot!

Andy 30:55

You'll uh do a sick trick. He's just gonna dump the bike.

Rob 31:01

Betcha it's not gonna be there when he comes back to Better Fencing for the win.

Andy 31:13

I mean, I guess it's better than the Rickety Woods. Huh? Rickety Woods.

Matt 31:20

We got some serious PTSD going on here.

Andy 31:23

Guarantee a bike's not there when you beat me.

Matt 31:37

The rock is moving!

Andy 31:42

Oh shit. Decent size boulder is without the buttons.

Matt 31:46

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's quite plastic, it's quite good.

Andy 32:25

It's been there the whole time. Chris, we were wrong. Ah, the bike looks like it's been run over. But the tires look shockingly new, right? That's true, yeah. For how beat up and rusted up the bike is. The tires look really fresh.

Rob 32:41

Why had it taken so many years to find him? Mike Buckley will tell you that it's because he wasn't even down there. Not at least until he had paid back a favor.

Andy 32:54

Or eyebrow.

Matt 32:59

So the favor he had to pay back for letting him die was to save his younger brother.

Andy 33:03

That's a little convoluted. Yep. You couldn't save me, but you could save your brother, but only with my help.

Matt 33:12

And they pour out. Somehow the fire went out. Instantly. Yes. Almost like someone turned off a gas burner somewhere.

Andy 33:24

It was also like he was strategically pouring the bucket so no water went in the gas burner. Right, right, right, right. So you missed it, Chris. The bike was there, but it was old. It was rusty and old. It was there. What a twist. But the tires pressy. How do you age tires? We don't know how to do we don't have the technology for this. Don't put the tires on, right?

Matt 33:52

Like so I I mean, as an adult, no impact whatsoever. As a kid, though, I can see that being a little PSA, right?

Andy 34:02

Is that Ryan Gosling? We had a lot of good PSAs in there. Indeed it is. The importance of trauma-informed care. If the kids freaking out in class, try and figure out why they're freaking out. You got the importance of I don't think that was apparent at all. The teacher told me the teacher just bullied him. Well, I'm making that PSA. Okay, there you go. We've got the importance of uh not playing near a floodgate. Like Yeah, when there's a danger sign, maybe pay attention to the danger sign. But I don't think there was a danger sign. No, not not when Ricky. There's no danger sign for Ricky.

Matt 34:38

Ricky became the danger sign. Yes, yes.

Andy 34:40

Most importantly, if you put your foot in something and it gets stuck, your first try should be just to pull it right back the way it came from.

Rob 34:50

Yeah.

Andy 34:51

Most likely. Insanity. Most likely. I mean, maybe if there was a bear trap down there, it'd be more believable. Also importantly. Who left a bear trap in the river?

Rob 35:01

It's about the bikes we rode along the way.

Matt 35:06

You never know. So we're in between episodes here. We're gonna move on to the tale of the ghastly grinner. And we gained a friend. We did. Hi, Shabai. Hello!

Siobhan 35:34

Great to not see you all. But but I've been here for you to listen to.

Matt 35:39

So Chris unilaterally nominated you to introduce the old fashion.

Siobhan 35:43

Oh, great. I just sat down, but I will do that. Um, it you used honey in it, just double checking before intro. Great. He's probably really sad about that because he texted me about it. But um, this is a fall old fashion that I found on the great old Google, and it has bourbon. I I don't know what kind.

Matt 36:02

Buffalo Trace.

Siobhan 36:03

Perfect.

Matt 36:04

Um this is this is our we're apologetic. Thank you, Buffalo Trace, for what we did to it in the roll for cocktail episode. Oh yeah, for real. So I legit dry heaved.

Andy 36:14

You did. I was just listening.

Microwave Mayhem And Blue Goo

Siobhan 36:16

You weren't even there. You didn't have to look at all. So this is classic old fashioned for those of you that don't know, even though at this point, if you've heard enough episodes here, you probably should know. It's bourbon, bitters, simple syrup, and usually orange or some kind of other type of thing that kind of mixes with it. But this has some cider included and a little bit of honey for some sweetness for the fall. Um, yeah, and it's a good, pretty much good ratio. So that's all that really is.

Andy 36:44

Three ounces of bourbon to one and a half apple cider. Perfect. So it's gonna have a kick. Yeah. And I garnished it with a cine stick and an apple slice. Cinnamon sugar rim. And a cinnamon sugar rim. Okay, cheers for us.

Matt 36:59

Pretty tasty.

Rob 37:01

That's quite lovely.

Matt 37:02

Delightful.

Siobhan 37:03

That's good. The recipe that I found online is actually equal parts bourbon to cider. And I thought that was kind of lame. So I I suggested that we cut the cider in half. Because you want to taste the bourbon in an old fashioned, right? I definitely got bourbon.

Andy 37:18

That's one of my like late autumn go-to drinks, is just take like three-quarters of a pint of cider and then a quarter pint of bourbon to lift that up. Especially like not a like top shelf bourbon, like a like a maker's marker. Evan um Evan Williams, Evan Williams, yeah. Which has got a little bit more of a of a bite. We were disappointed by that in the uh bourbon tasting. No, it's not good on its own. Yeah.

Siobhan 37:47

Yikes.

Andy 37:48

You just don't feel bad coming soon.

Matt 37:50

Yes, absolutely.

Siobhan 37:51

Delightful.

Matt 37:52

So while we're enjoying an old fashioned, I have Susan, the old fashioned. I know how much Siobhan loves some fun trivia facts. Yes, I think. There we go. Famous people that before they were famous were in episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark? Love it. Ryan Gosling. Yep. We saw his picture. Jewel State.

Siobhan 38:12

Oh, cool.

Matt 38:13

So she's from uh Firefly.

Siobhan 38:16

Played Haley and Firefly.

Matt 38:17

Yeah, yeah. Yep. He was famous already, but uh Gilbert Gottfried. Wow. I seem to remember that. Yep. Tia and Tamara Maori.

Andy 38:26

What the hell? That checks out because they were Nickelodeon standards, yeah. Yep. Melissa Joan Hart. Yep.

Rob 38:33

I mean, I think she's about to be in this episode. I think I see her face right there.

Siobhan 38:36

Oh.

Rob 38:37

In the thumbnail to the left.

Matt 38:38

Carol Lipinski.

Siobhan 38:40

What?

Matt 38:41

The figure skater. That's correct. Nev Campbell. These are cool.

Rob 38:46

Is it a Neve?

Matt 38:48

Sure.

Rob 38:48

Well I'm joking. He did not have anywhere.

Matt 38:54

He wanted to be and Anakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen. Oh, that tracks. Yep. So did he kill kids in this as well?

Siobhan 39:03

Oh no.

Andy 39:05

I mean too soon in this. True. True.

Siobhan 39:08

He was technically a kid when he killed kids as well.

Matt 39:12

So if anybody was wondering every season they would film the campfire scenes up front on a soundstage in Quebec, so they're all done in one week, back to back for the whole season. Canadia. Is this a Canadian show?

Siobhan 39:25

Yeah. I think so.

Rob 39:27

And I think a lot of these TV studios uh would get tax credits to film in Canada.

Siobhan 39:32

Well, that's a lot of people.

Rob 39:33

Like a lot of the CW stuff films in Vancouver. Oh yeah. Well it did be when they existed before you know DC merged with uh Warner Brothers and HBO and all that other discovery.

Matt 39:46

And the original title for this is the worst dad joke ever. It was supposed to be Scary Tales.

Siobhan 39:52

Okay.

Andy 39:55

Sorry after the dark. Big improvement. Yeah. Okay. Well that also reminds me, another one of the 90s spooky favorites was those scary stories. Scary stories to tell the dogs. Those were a mess, yeah. Those were amazing. That's what I was gonna say earlier. Uh so inspired by this with a bunch of kids around a campfire telling ghost stories, a bunch of friends of mine. We used to go up into the woods and do the same thing, and those were the ones that we would typically read.

Siobhan 40:21

Those were those will mess you up.

Andy 40:23

The stories weren't as terrifying as pictures in them. Good God, the spider crawling out of a face. Oh yeah. Oh, absolutely.

Matt 40:33

Do you remember the look it up? There was one in there. An ice, like some guy like hearing tapping on the ice over and over again, and then he wakes up and it's like a clock in the room. That that one messed with me. That was the thing.

Siobhan 40:46

We gotta read those. We should do that. Another one.

Rob 40:50

Who would like to be the dramatic reader of this particular synopsis?

Siobhan 40:58

Sure. Okay. Uh we are about to watch The Tale of the Ghastly Grinner. And it says Ethan's dream is to become a great comic book artist, but his dream turns into a nightmare when he accidentally brings a hideous cartoon character to life.

Comic Lore, Science, And Showdown

Rob 41:14

Bump, bump.

Siobhan 41:16

Right?

Andy 41:17

See, I told you it is. We talked about it maybe off pod, so we'll bring it now up. Is that we're not sure if this is the episode where they've got the clown and then the kids like laugh with the blue goo coming out of their face. So that may be from King's.

Siobhan 41:32

We weren't sure if it was goose bumps or this, and I feel like we're gonna see that the special. Hang on. That was different goo.

Andy 41:40

Different goo. Different goo. But is it the same origin?

Rob 41:44

I miss that cocktail, by the way. That was a surprisingly good cocktail. That was a good one.

Andy 41:49

We don't think so. That was another one. I was not on that episode of the Black Cherry Jelly. I'm like, that doesn't sound good at all.

Matt 41:54

It was surprisingly good.

Siobhan 41:55

To be fair, it was still better than any of the ones that we really, most of the ones that we had during the roll for cocktail.

Matt 42:00

Yeah. Do you have still better than the Mescal?

Siobhan 42:03

And here we go. Hey.

Rob 42:06

We're gonna get commercial again, aren't we? We might. T V Y 7. There's the bone B bone. We're swinging creepy swings. Creepy shutters.

Matt 42:22

Oh, creepy clown. Key ho!

Siobhan 42:30

I think I had this CD-rom game.

Matt 42:33

This was a CD-rom game?

Siobhan 42:35

I think so.

Matt 42:36

Really? Doesn't surprise me.

Siobhan 42:37

But like yeah.

Rob 42:44

Come on! What's the holder? Keep the flashlight still.

Matt 42:50

Yeah, I can take it. A little aggressive there on the flashlight snatch.

Show Character 42:54

The logs are wet.

Rob 43:00

That's not good.

Show Character 43:01

Oh, right. No way! It's a comic book. It's not a comic.

Siobhan 43:14

Or anyone that knows who that is.

Rob 43:15

I thought it was uh one of the Bash brothers from D2 Mighty Ducks.

Andy 43:22

I guarantee that comic book's worth a hundred bucks today.

Show Character 43:27

Anchor pizzas before bed?

Siobhan 43:29

I know that.

Show Character 43:29

Chicken the checker. What if it's not made out? How would you describe that sweater? Something more.

Siobhan 43:37

90s.

Show Character 43:38

Ghastly. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. A guidebook to another dimension.

Matt 43:44

That's believable. She managed to start a roaring campfire and light bow sticks on fire. You're a wizard, Harry. Incendio.

Show Character 43:57

Comic books take you into a world of fantasy and adventure.

Andy 44:01

Legit, somebody made that sweater.

Show Character 44:03

It was like somebody's imagination or somebody's experience. Submit it for the approval of the Midnight Society. I call this story the tale of the ghastly grinner.

Matt 44:23

That sweater is Native American versus meets old Navy.

Siobhan 44:26

Yeah, and Crayola.

Andy 44:29

Anne Frank. Needs a little more glitter, but Lisa Frank. Shit. Shit. I'm sitting here. I'm like, that's not right. It's the wrong one. Damn it. Lisa Frank. Definitely not Anne Frank. I was so confused. It's bad enough that you couldn't hear it.

Matt 44:56

Oh, we know this kid.

Andy 44:59

Is that the sticker from corn? No.

Siobhan 45:06

Yes, it is. No.

Matt 45:08

Oh, he's ripping up that room.

Andy 45:12

Ripped up like a freak on a leash.

Unfiltered Studios Announcer 45:14

That's a pretty good event for the letter.

Matt 45:18

Where'd it come from?

Andy 45:20

We just got a letter.

Matt 45:22

You have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcrafters.

unknown 45:27

Whoa.

Matt 45:27

Welcome to the grand opening of Books Inc. Fun prizes. Come early.

Siobhan 45:34

Somebody took a scrapbooking class. Oh, Superman's been working out. Yeah, Jesus.

Andy 45:43

Ah, there's lights on.

Matt 45:45

Avoid the crowd.

Andy 45:48

I forget what else this kid is in, but he's definitely in other stuff. I'll tell you in a moment.

Rob 45:53

Yeah.

Siobhan 45:54

Oh my god. These signs are scary. Yes, X-Men. Oh. Clarissa.

Show Character 46:03

What are you looking for? Cakes? Cakes. Got a big sale on Dusk Boy. Dollar a piece, four for five. Fish man. Reported by day. Radioactive trout by night.

Andy 46:14

I know it was the joke to call it four for five, which made it more expensive.

Matt 46:20

I got this.

Siobhan 46:21

That isn't Melissa Doner.

Rob 46:23

No, it's not.

Siobhan 46:24

Okay. I thought it was her for a second. She has like Roy Liechtenstein map like lifting on.

Show Character 46:31

Did you bring some of your drawings? How did you know I draw?

Siobhan 46:37

This is some stranger danger.

Show Character 46:39

Come on, I'm a professional. He was also in goosebumps. A lot of those Zoomers wouldn't know that. Well, that's unfair. Uncas. Pardon? You're a little rough around the edges, cakes. But you draw like one of the greats.

Andy 46:59

Billy Madison. Oh, oh yeah, it's the friend in high school. One of the two kids that he befriends.

Show Character 47:10

Uh no.

Rob 47:14

It would have been only one year after he shot this. So it would have been about the same age.

Andy 47:20

Getting a lot of work.

Show Character 47:22

Could reduce his victims.

Andy 47:24

Oh, that's the old school Dungeons and Dragons book in the background there. Hell yeah.

Siobhan 47:28

This is this is definitely.

Andy 47:31

Yep. Oh, yeah.

Show Character 47:36

Drawn by Sylvester.

Andy 47:37

Very dramatic.

Show Character 47:39

He was a genius, but didn't have the guts for the grinner. It was so frightening. Ugh. He only drew one issue, and then he disappeared. This is the only copy left. It's all yours. I can't afford this. Grand opening special. That's on the house. Thanks. Don't thank me, cakes. Thank Sylvester.

Siobhan 48:15

I can't. She's like from Little Shop of Horrors. And they put her into a comic book shop.

Andy 48:22

What in the hell?

Siobhan 48:24

What the fuck does that mean? Science class is this. How did we get the science class?

Show Character 48:31

Microwaves. Who can tell me how they work?

Matt 48:33

We hate you.

Show Character 48:34

Of course you know Miss Pecolaro. Let's give someone else a try, shall we?

Matt 48:39

He also hates you. She looks like um, oh my god, what was the cartoon? The thorn berries?

Siobhan 48:45

Come now, show me those. Yes. Oh my god. Oh my god, I'm so gross. The drawing is bad.

Show Character 49:02

Try to comic book, Mr. Wood. We have only so much room in our minds. We mustn't seek to fill it with tribe. You can't. It's one of a kind. Correction! It's non-white.

Modern Parallels And Monster-Of-The-Week

Siobhan 49:19

What a good joke, teacher. Comic book and the fish. No wonder no one respects teachers now who kids from the 90s.

Andy 49:26

Also, exciting the movie. There was never a science teacher who lived that would not have been all in on the comic books. That's very true. Winning parents number two.

Rob 49:42

Is that Benicio del Toro in a fatsuit?

Show Character 49:47

Yes. He just doesn't want to see you wasting your time on comic books.

Rob 49:52

This is Deanne's son. We'll get one more call like that, and there'll be no comic books for you until you finish.

Matt 49:58

And no math either.

Show Character 49:59

What? It's funny that they think he's going to college.

Siobhan 50:08

Oh, look at that microwave. It's hard to make popcorn in the microwave, right? Just ask me. I suck at it. He retreats.

Andy 50:30

To be fair, we haven't seen any out of it yet. So we're just going to be popcorn.

Matt 50:35

Oh, brilliant idea. He's gonna microwave for comic. I this kid ain't going to college.

Siobhan 50:42

Dead science teacher is so mad. This kid ain't going to college.

Rob 50:46

If there's any heavy metals in the ink, it's gonna let on fire.

Siobhan 50:51

Take a message. Staples mom. Also, do you put in for nine minutes? Okay. And walked away. Are you trying to say for nine minutes?

Andy 51:02

Are you trying to say your microwave does not have a warm up the comic book settings? No one's gonna mention the rotary phone.

Show Character 51:10

Nobody's gonna call that out. I guess I'm a nerd. Oh, right. I mean, you're not a nerd. That's okay. I think a person should know what they are.

Siobhan 51:20

She's a self-aware nerd. We love that for her. This is that's this is Chris's nightmare, you guys. Oh my god. Except that it's also his living office.

Matt 51:34

If anybody remembers Christmas vacation with Clark Griswold's thousand plugs, that was 30 times worse. With kitchen appliances. Yeah. Oh my god.

Andy 51:45

What is that? Oh, look, there's still a couple open outlets.

Matt 51:49

House fire. My grandparents legit had those connectors.

Siobhan 51:55

Look at that crock pot. This camera work is straight out. That's all that happened? I guess we're glad.

unknown 52:06

Did your house just explode?

Matt 52:08

Yep. Bye. Dad? Mom?

Siobhan 52:15

I can't see.

unknown 52:17

Dad, I'm right.

Siobhan 52:18

I really hope that there's not real smoke in this and he's just acting.

Andy 52:23

Well, they were saying it was all practical effects. We talked about that a little bit earlier. See, it works.

Matt 52:30

Wow. That's not how physics works at all.

Andy 52:33

I mean Oh, look at that cutout. It's almost like the clown ran through the Maybe you should open the door to get rid of this.

Show Character 52:48

Oops. Too late.

Andy 52:53

There's the one.

Siobhan 52:55

There it is. This is messed up, you guys.

Nick At Nite Memories And Sign-Off

Rob 52:59

There's a commercial break. Where's the blue goo?

Siobhan 53:03

There it is.

Rob 53:05

You're coming blind. That's blue goo.

Show Character 53:08

Dad, something's happened to mom. Made any good jokes lately?

Siobhan 53:15

Listen, you're better off, kid. Let them laugh and live their lives.

Andy 53:22

Again, middle of the day. We're filming at nice cost more. You gotta have light.

Siobhan 53:28

After school, even pay for all that lighting. I really need him to brush his hair.

Show Character 53:34

Any good jokes lately, Ethan? What? It's only me, Hoover B. Get down! What are you doing here? I heard the explosion over the phone. What's going on? I don't know how, but I think I just brought this guy to life. Gassy grinder? Grinner. Oh my god.

Rob 54:00

This is what inspired the name of the act.

Siobhan 54:02

That's it, you guys. Let's look at her.

Rob 54:04

Nobody wants a gassy grinder.

Siobhan 54:07

I'm not outing this girl, but let's be real about our lives. If she has Doc Martins on, we might know why. Okay?

Rob 54:13

She's driving us Uber.

Siobhan 54:16

She's got that U-Haul ready. Here we are.

Show Character 54:29

Well, I don't have an Uncle Bob.

Siobhan 54:35

What? Because that's who they were welcoming into the house. Uncle Bob. And it's like, so we don't know who this is as somebody.

Matt 54:44

We're getting on a bus to get the hell out of town.

Siobhan 54:46

This is the the bus in town. Like, where what is happening?

Andy 54:49

Whoa, the back of the head grab. Yeah, that was quite a time. Yeah, she just discovered.

Siobhan 54:56

I think she might have known. I'm looking at just parents.

Matt 55:03

Grab me grinning, daddy.

Siobhan 55:07

Volume two.

Andy 55:12

Oh. There's no other way he can look at the road while his head's turned around. You kids like Mexico!

Siobhan 55:22

Where's Sandra Bullock? Woo! I can't let this bus go under 55.

Rob 55:28

Where's Tiamu?

Siobhan 55:30

Indeed. Oh no, she's falling. Oh. He's like, I've always wanted to pull this emergency break.

Andy 55:40

Oh my god, this bus in yellow is so good. It's totally not moving. Like, look out the window. That's great. That's great. Oh no. Oh. See, he should have wanted to see. Couldn't afford a smashed windshield. It's a rental bus.

Siobhan 55:59

Them Canadian buses are expensive. Oh no. Okay, that's messed up. That's mildly creepy.

Show Character 56:06

Why is this happening? It's not real. It's just a comic book. Not if you believe in the Uncansian theory.

Andy 56:13

We've got another book of the dragon.

Siobhan 56:15

Right, yep, in the bow. With a bow? Like why is it wrapped up with a bow? That feels too cool.

Show Character 56:23

Real worlds. Like a nutcase. That's what everyone thought. Until he drew the gas in the greener.

Siobhan 56:31

Let me just tell you, I'm pretty sure this woman's in QAnon now.

Show Character 56:35

There's no way she isn't. And he wanted to put a stop to it before it was too late. This was to be the final issue.

Rob 56:47

There's a numerology there.

Show Character 56:49

It's not done!

Siobhan 56:51

You must finish it. Before you can finish. I can't imagine that they're actual Star Wars.

Matt 56:58

Does anybody remember the like late 80s, 90s, Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Hell yes. He doesn't exactly where her costuming was done.

Andy 57:06

Do you mean the movie or the movie?

Show Character 57:09

How do you know all this? Sylvester Uncas was my father.

Siobhan 57:16

Oh. Oh my god, the dramatic look. Yeah, how long have you been waiting to do that? That's why I'm not sure. 30 seconds. Okay, good. I love that.

Andy 57:26

He was my father, and he never hugged me. Clearly. Uncas backwards. Is it is the name something backwards?

Show Character 57:33

Bring my father back.

Andy 57:35

How son? I'm not microwave. Sunko.

Show Character 57:41

That's who ronzo in the first place, right?

Andy 57:44

Okay, definitely nothing.

Matt 57:45

And that's where we lost listeners for this episode.

Show Character 57:48

What if I can find a microwave oven that big? Not an oven. Mr. Ritzman. No. The only way to stop the Not the Goo.

Matt 57:57

Oh god. Look up. Look up.

Credits, Quote, And Call To Action

Siobhan 57:59

It's the screenshot. Thumbnail. There he is!

Rob 58:07

What is the matter?

Siobhan 58:11

Okay.

Rob 58:12

Oh, geez.

Siobhan 58:16

Okay, girl.

Andy 58:17

The strength to pull someone up.

Siobhan 58:21

He's ghastly.

Matt 58:22

Six feet in the air.

Siobhan 58:24

I don't know about six feet.

Matt 58:27

Are we gonna bat a microwave or jester? Is that what's gonna happen here?

Siobhan 58:31

Yes.

Matt 58:32

If only I paid attention in science class.

Siobhan 58:34

Yeah.

Andy 58:35

They need to make sure he can't.

Siobhan 58:36

Guess what?

Show Character 58:37

This nervous can't reproduce. Yeah, I know. You sit across from me in Mr. Reigns in science class. I think this will work. As long as a paraboloid can sustain the initial microwave intensity and the focal region is sufficiently agitated.

Matt 59:01

Yeah. Listen, Hooper. It might get dangerous.

Andy 59:09

You do your science shit. What about you? I'll pretend I'm a man. I started this right.

Siobhan 59:14

I got nerd girls saving the world once again.

Andy 59:17

Children about to get eaten. That's just gonna I am just an explanation for this. Well, clearly. Is that uncus?

Matt 59:24

Um not one that you'd buy. This is no hey, this guy.

Andy 1:00:05

Micro Labor know how I got these cards. I'm gonna go.

Siobhan 1:00:15

Yeah, get him. Wait, what? How did they get out and brought?

Matt 1:00:21

Somehow magically escaped.

Siobhan 1:00:23

Okay, that was a big old change. What are we doing, Benny?

Rob 1:00:29

We're wondering as well.

Siobhan 1:00:32

This girl has to check her hearing if them took away.

Rob 1:00:37

This is the kid today.

Siobhan 1:00:39

Oh, I thought that was a ghastly grinner for a second.

Andy 1:00:42

That looks like a glad he got a haircut.

Rob 1:00:44

Wow.

Show Character 1:00:45

Microwaves are the answer. We just weren't using them right. There's only one.

Rob 1:00:50

This girl looks like Timu MyMBalic.

Show Character 1:00:52

Yes. Sure. Glasses.

Siobhan 1:00:56

It was height of blossom, was it not? I think so. It's probably lining up pretty close.

Show Character 1:01:03

She believed in you.

Siobhan 1:01:05

But if you don't believe in yourself, she's an Aneogram, too. Everybody. Nobody cares, but I'm telling you that's true.

Matt 1:01:16

If you say so.

Siobhan 1:01:18

Yep, I do. Montage! Time for a montage.

Matt 1:01:22

She got her pencil case out now.

unknown 1:01:24

Oh.

Matt 1:01:25

Drawing people with big fists. Yeah. Andy's waiting for her to get out her uh Anne Frank folder. It's hidden really well.

Siobhan 1:01:36

Oh it is. Yes.

Matt 1:01:40

How much longer? I'm almost finished.

Andy 1:01:46

Quick, it's gooein' us.

Matt 1:01:48

Ew.

Andy 1:01:49

Oh god.

Show Character 1:01:52

It sure sure is gooey. I wonder where he is.

Siobhan 1:01:57

Okay, you got some shit to learn.

Andy 1:02:02

Obviously, it's a big gun.

Matt 1:02:08

Let's just say noise. Oh, by the pigtails. Cake number two unlocked.

Show Character 1:02:21

This is the best part. I don't have much of a sense of human.

Andy 1:02:24

Oh, she's German.

Show Character 1:02:26

Hey Smiley.

Matt 1:02:30

Who's laughing now?

Show Character 1:02:37

Whoa.

Andy 1:02:41

And we never saw him again.

Siobhan 1:02:43

He said now. Bye.

Andy 1:02:55

Some Jumanji shit.

Siobhan 1:02:56

Yeah. For real. Oh.

Show Character 1:03:02

Stay with me. We're getting out. I'm with you, Kid. Let's go.

Show Character 1:03:09

You can't.

Show Character 1:03:14

Microwaves didn't work in my world, but they're yours.

Matt 1:03:27

Microwave bad guys after all. I mean, where did you go? Into the other world.

Siobhan 1:03:35

Sad and cakes.

Andy 1:03:37

I don't get it.

Siobhan 1:03:37

I don't know.

Rob 1:03:39

Weird.

Andy 1:03:39

Yep. I think it might be. Clearly.

Rob 1:03:48

Her name is Hooper?

Siobhan 1:03:50

Yeah. I'm sorry. She's only said it like eight times.

Rob 1:03:53

Hooper.

Siobhan 1:03:55

Oh. We can only hope. Oh, nope, we're good. Whoa. Oh, it's on fire.

Matt 1:04:11

Wow. Ethan!

Andy 1:04:16

I how did they not get an enemy for this? I know all right.

Siobhan 1:04:21

Right? Oh my god.

Show Character 1:04:24

I guess I'm glad you're not dead.

Siobhan 1:04:26

I guess.

Show Character 1:04:27

So am I.

Siobhan 1:04:28

We don't care. You're crazy. Horrifying.

Show Character 1:04:34

Is that Ricky? I wanted to be my father. Sylvester Uncas.

Siobhan 1:04:41

Wow, you're allowed to do Ethan. That'd be great if there was like continuity between episodes, right?

Matt 1:04:52

Apparently there are a lot of other episode Easter eggs throughout this show.

Siobhan 1:04:57

That's kind of cool. We always encourage towns, didn't we, dear? Okay, the sunglasses too much. Yeah, Anagastar, for sure.

Rob 1:05:16

It was giving me Anagastar. Yeah, absolutely.

Show Character 1:05:18

Sylvester Uncast never drew a comic again. He had enough excitement for one lifetime.

Siobhan 1:05:26

He also looks like a member of the city.

Matt 1:05:28

And now she's gone full goth like what happened. She's so cool now.

Siobhan 1:05:31

She's Charlie XCXing all over us.

Matt 1:05:34

She went from the nerdiest outfit ever. She was the matrix. What happened?

Siobhan 1:05:38

Yep. That's a glow-up right there.

Rob 1:05:40

That's baby Trinity.

Show Character 1:05:44

Continued next issue. That was really uh ghastly.

Rob 1:05:50

Okay.

Show Character 1:05:55

Thanks for running with world. That was awesome.

Siobhan 1:05:59

I feel like someone should say to check that the fire went out. And they don't really do that.

Rob 1:06:03

They turned off the gas, it's fine.

Siobhan 1:06:04

Oh, great. Okay, well, good.

Rob 1:06:07

Well, dude, do you think that's the first one? This one was definitely edgier and more scary than the first. I will say that 100%.

Siobhan 1:06:14

I'm glad that I picked this one.

Rob 1:06:17

This is a solid selection here. This is some pretty cool outro music, if I may say so.

Matt 1:06:31

Gelodian. There we go. Apparently.

Siobhan 1:06:33

Yay!

Matt 1:06:34

You know what? What do we think?

Rob 1:06:37

The person, first off here. The person who I thought was Melissa Joan Art is the boy.

unknown 1:06:43

Oh!

Siobhan 1:06:46

That's fun for you to admit. That's good. Well done.

Matt 1:06:49

Well done. Okay.

Siobhan 1:06:51

All right.

Matt 1:06:52

Anyway, go on. Well, I was gonna say, I one of the things I want to start doing with this show going forward is picking one drink from the episode to name the Stellar Zip. Oh, yeah. That said, we've had such a plethora from this episode today. We did start out with Sam Adams' Oktoberfest, which is one of my favorite beers, if not oddly my favorite beer overall. But this fall old-fashioned. Absolutely wonderful. Yep. Does anybody disagree that I pushed that I, you know.

Siobhan 1:07:21

Alright, and you can shut up if you do.

Matt 1:07:25

100%. Nice. For sure. Yeah. Delightful. Oh, I found the cinnamon stick. It was a very easy down there at the bottom.

Siobhan 1:07:34

Mine's gone.

Matt 1:07:35

Alright. You ate the cinnamon stick?

Siobhan 1:07:37

I did not eat the cinnamon stick.

Andy 1:07:39

No, no, her cocktail is gone.

Siobhan 1:07:40

The drink is gone.

Matt 1:07:41

I don't think I'm gonna eat the apple either, but I'm definitely gonna eat the apple. Yeah, it's gonna happen. I gotta say, there's obviously a lot more comedic value at age 39 than it was at age nine. There's a bit of a difference there.

Andy 1:07:54

Fair enough. I'd actually be really curious for you to watch these with your daughter and see what she's doing. See if they're still spooky for the right age group.

Matt 1:08:03

That would be rather interesting. She doesn't typically do things that are very scary at all, so it might be a good like. Okay, I don't I don't know many kids.

Andy 1:08:11

I'm not saying do it for a podcast, but but I posterity. At the age we started watching like legitimately scary stuff. Not just this. Right. But like, you know, like I said earlier, I watched Poltergeist and Exorcist. Exorcist way too young. Um I kids don't do that now. Like I feel like, because like Five Nights at Freddy's is a big thing right now. Is it still? I don't think that's a thing for kids who are like. And they're also like a lot of surprisingly young kids have watched Wednesday.

Siobhan 1:08:43

Is that that scary? I don't think so. I mean, it's scarier probably than what was on TV. I'd put it in this.

Andy 1:08:49

Minimum on par with this. It's like the dark funny though. Not really the dark scary. It's also got some really bad acting. I didn't love it.

Rob 1:08:56

Well, like we just watched a bunch of a better word, gore. Yeah. Like a little bit more gore.

Show Character 1:09:04

It's got some gore to it, yeah.

Rob 1:09:05

Um I mean, it's like kind of like a a tween murder mystery type situation going on. Which is not bad. I don't know, but it's not bad. Yeah. I like the first season better than the second. I thought they were both kind of.

Andy 1:09:21

We just finished it like yesterday or the day before.

Rob 1:09:25

Yeah, I just finished it over the weekend myself.

Andy 1:09:28

I definitely think this kind of style doesn't exist much. So, Drill. One thing I will say is Stranger Things. Yeah. Because I feel like Stranger Things had like a little bit of a kid angle to it.

Siobhan 1:09:40

Yeah, and because it called back to the 80s, 90s too.

Andy 1:09:43

This is that like Monster of the Week style show, which I don't think really happens much anymore. Yeah. Like Matt referenced the Buffy, right? Like that style of show that was like they battled a different monster in the episode of the show. Even back to like Scooby-Doo and stuff like that, where there was a weekly episode and there was a bad guy, and there was some scariness to it, and then oops, okay, was something funny in the end.

Siobhan 1:10:07

A weekly episode isn't really even a thing anymore, right? Like there it there is in a lot of ways, but like you gotta gate yourself in so many ways. Like you really are like given whole seasons sometimes or groups of episodes.

Matt 1:10:21

So well, to that to that point, like they're doing like old people now. They're doing a scrubs reboot reboot. I'm fine with that. And apparently Scrubs is gonna be like on network television, like not released, like here's not 10 episode drop. So I'm interested in seeing like you don't see that much anymore. That's like there are shows like that, but this is still fun though.

Siobhan 1:10:41

I feel like there's a level of nostalgia, obviously, to this for all of us.

Matt 1:10:45

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. This was like, and then you know I love it. Legends of the Hidden Temple was on after this.

Siobhan 1:10:51

Oh, hell yeah.

Matt 1:10:53

Because this eventually became like Saturday morning. Like it went from it was a night show and it was in the middle of the day. I don't remember watching this random night.

Andy 1:11:01

And I would stay up after this because then it got to There was something else, yeah. It got to the monsters.

Matt 1:11:06

Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Siobhan 1:11:08

It wasn't. I guess monsters wasn't the Nick and I was like, and then Nick and Knight.

Andy 1:11:11

And Nick at Knight would show the monsters and the Addams family. Dick Van Dyke is on Nick and Knight and TV land. The monsters.

Matt 1:11:18

That's good. Now I'm gonna tangent again. You remember the lesbian?

Siobhan 1:11:23

What's up?

Matt 1:11:24

Thank you for that. Thank you for that transition, right?

Siobhan 1:11:27

Oh the I love that you said Van. Like we couldn't come up with a different Vaughn of Vaughn and V-O-N.

Rob 1:11:35

Yeah, I'm sorry. It's my bad.

Matt 1:11:36

The original Nick and Knight was like Green Acres and Mr. Ed. Oh, yeah, yeah. It was all those both shows.

Andy 1:11:43

Which were so good.

Matt 1:11:45

Oh yeah.

unknown 1:11:45

Green Acres.

Matt 1:11:46

They're also like 12 minutes a piece.

Andy 1:11:49

Yeah. Oh, yeah. If you go back and watch you know, even Dick uh Dick and Knight.

Rob 1:11:53

Dick and Knight.

Matt 1:12:00

Start editing now.

Siobhan 1:12:02

Mr. Dick! Mr. Dick. That one was the fuzzy channel.

Andy 1:12:07

Yes.

Siobhan 1:12:09

Skin American.

Andy 1:12:10

You had to get the dial just right. Oh, the 90s were a ton. Oh boy.

Siobhan 1:12:23

Everybody get ready.

Andy 1:12:24

In the immortal words of Yako. Good night, everybody. Thank you for listening. Thank you for listening.

Unfiltered Studios Announcer 1:12:34

This podcast is a production of Unfiltered Studios. If you would like to know more about joining Unfiltered Studios, please visit our website at unfpod.com for more information.

Matt 1:12:45

This episode's boozy quote comes from actor and comedian W. C. Fields, who said, I never drink water because I'm afraid it will become habit for me. Maybe Ricky should have listened to that advice. Would you like to suggest something for us to drink? Give us some feedback, or have your brand featured on Matt and Friends Drink the Universe? We would love to hear from all of our listeners. Please check our episode descriptions down below for links to send us a text, support the podcast, and visit our merch store. To keep up with our latest news or share your stellar sifts with us, please like and follow Matt and Friends DTU on Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Threads, Blue Sky, and Reddit. For more information about the podcast and links to all of our episodes, please visit www.matfriendsdtu.com. That's MattfriendsDTU.com. Cheers, friends!