The first episode of Eerie Indiana introduces us to Marshall, his best friend Simon, and the strange town of Eerie that he lives in. Having recently seen the episode for the first time in over twenty years, I was instantly hit with nostalgia, and it certainly helped me recapture that spooky and mysterious vibe which is what made me like the show so much back in the day.
Eerie Indiana is like The Twilight Zone for kids, and whilst I’m not sure adults watching it for the first time will get into it the same way as someone who watched it back in the day, I felt that enough about this help up by even today’s standards. Though aimed at young people, this isn’t a million miles off from being the Stranger Things of the 1990s.
This first episode introduces us to Marshall and his family, and sets up the idea that Marshall is already noticing strange things going on in the town he now lives in. A Bigfoot eating his trash, Elvis lives down the road and everyone is weirdly in sync with daily activities in an almost Stepford like manner. Being new in town, the family get a visit from the local sales woman who you’d see in old American shows where they come and sell Tupperware or makeup and have get togethers. This character, Betty Wilson is there to sell Forever Ware, and turns up with her identical twin sons. The trio seem unusual and one of the twins gives Marshall a note for him to investigate an old year book.
Soon enough Marshall, with the help of Simon, discover that the twins have been the same age since the 1960s, and that their mother is keeping herself and the boys fresh by locking them in giant Tupperware tubs. Now, I’ll be honest, the boys ask Marshall for help to stop the mother and want to grow up, but realistically, the mother is giving people eternal youth. It may suck if you’re forever going through puberty, but otherwise I don’t look at Mrs Wilson so much as a villain as the greatest doctor on Earth.
Still, as a kid, the way this was presented with her almost catching Marshall as he snuck into her house was very creepy. The show is generally shot well, and whilst the acting is a bit hockey and first take like, I still felt this was something that would be awesome if remade.
It’s a shame that we don’t learn anything about how these tubs were made or by who, and whilst Marshall is able to help the twins grow up by the end, the fate of Mrs Wilson’s circle of friends is left unknown. Amusingly, the adult version of the twins is played by the twins who played the cop who meets a T1000 version of himself in Terminator 2 Judgement Day, and who also play the weird science twins in Gremlins 2.
For my adventures to revisit Eerie Indiana, this first episode got me hooked and looking forward to episode 2!
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