Customer Reviews

Eerie, Indiana - Forever Ware / The Retainer / ATM with a Heart of Gold

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A few of you might remember this series as fondly as I do watching it as a kid when it originally aired on NBC back in 1991. The series, however, was too original and creative for television. It was cancelled and disappeared from the airwaves within a year. But the series would grow to live in the minds of those who remembered it, occasionally popping up for a few months on select channels, with a cult status. And thanks to the success of Goosebumps and similar shows, Eerie Indiana later resurfaced again a few years ago thanks to Fox Kids. It even spawned it's own spin-off almost a decade after it went out of production.

Unfortunately, the spin-off and similar shows could never measure up to the original. It really was too good for television. The main characters on the show were kids. 2 Regular kids, Marshall(Omri Katz) and Simon(Justin Shenkarow), who were the only ones smart enough to realize and uncover what abnormalities took place within Eerie. But unlike most shows, the writers of Eerie Indiana never expressed a need to dumb down the series for the viewer. The episodes were well written, on the basis that the viewer what smart enough to know what was going on. And the artistic direction under the watchful eye of Joe Dante, who served as creative consultant and director of 2 of the 3 episodes on this disk, is clearly evident.

As for the episodes themselves, the series revolves around the Journal Narrations of Marshall Teller, who recently moved to Eerie Indiana to further his father's career. It was to be the perfect American town with the perfect American setting. But Eerie was anything but perfect. To quote Marshall himself...

***My name is Marshall Teller. Not long ago I was living in New Jersey, just across the river from New York City. But my parents wanted a better life for my sister and me, so we moved to a place so wholesome and so squeeky-clean, that you could only find it on TV. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.

Sure my new home town looks normal enough, but look again. What's wrong with this picture? The American dream come true, right?. Wrong. Nobody believes me, but this is the center of weirdness for the Entire Planet. --Eerie Indiana, my Home Sweet Home.***

Marshall would later come to befriend one of Eerie's citizens, Simon, as the only other "normal" person in Eerie. The two begin to find one another tangled in their town's exploits, as they become drawn into the underworld of the odd that is Eerie Indiana. Think of X-Files meets the Twilight Zone set around 2 kids. Only ever episode revolves around the same people, in the same city.

On this DVD set, the first three episodes are collected: Forever Ware, The Retainer, and The ATM with the Heart of Gold. More episodes are set to follow soon, with trailers for the next 2 Disks on here. The sound is good, and the picture is good. If you are expecting $90 million dollar movie clarity, look for a $90 million dollar movie. This is from a 10 year old TV series and it shows. But it's still a very good transfer.

The only problem I have with the disk is the lack of Subtitles. I do not need subtitles, but I enjoy reading along as I watch at times. And I know that others DO need them. So let's hope for some Subs in the next few volumes.

Now, onto the synopsis of each episode...

Episode 1: Forever Ware

The series introductory episode. The Tellers are greeted by the likes of Mrs. Betty Wilson, the ideal door saleswoman of Eerie Indiana. The widow of a genius creator, Mrs. Wilson spends her days with her two sons as a homemaker on the go. Her line of Products, Forever Ware, is every homemaker's answer to vacuum sealed containers. Made with a secret formula simulated plastic, it can keep foods and household products virtually ageless forever. Such as sandwich that remains fresh from the day it was made... in 1974.

An amazing item you might think, for such a simple product. But what appears to be just a simple space-age wonder is anything but. For when a note is passed to Marshall from one of Mrs. Wilson's sons, clues begin to unravel showing that something strange is lying beneath the surface. Startling informations in unearthed about the Wilson family from nearly 30 years ago. As Mrs. Teller is about to be incorporated into a Cult of Forever Ware mothers, Marshall and Simon discover that food and household goods aren't the only things being sealed up in Forever Ware.

Episode 2: The Retainer

Next up... What if there was a secret society living around you? A Society that has been ever present, yet unexpected. A society that we in the real world see ourselves when we go for a walk or go out to play, but would never stop to think about if it hadn't been brought to our attention? That is the plot for "The Retainer".

Steve had the biggest teeth in the 7th grade. So the dentist created a new experimental giant retainer to help his problem. And it helped him alright, and granted him with other things. Such as the power to read minds. But not just any mind was receptible. In fact, only one kind of mind was receivable. That of man's best friend. And after joining with Marshall and Simon, Steve begins using his retainer as an antenna to telepathically read the minds of Eerie's dog society. But as Marshall and Simon begin their test experiments on them, they soon realize their Canine companions have their own Master Plans in the works.

Episode 3: ATM With a Heart of Gold

Simon had always been an outcast in Eerie. Until Marshall came along, he never really had any friends. And now that Marshall was getting the attention of Eerie's In-Crowd, Simon was feeling left out. But that all changed when Marshall's Father invented a new ATM for the city Bank. Mr. Wilson (no relation to Mrs. Wilson above) was a lifelike ATM that was actually your friend. And a friend was just something that Simon needed when he encounters the ATM with a heart of Gold.

The ATM wanted to help people, and seeing Simon unhappy made it unhappy as well. So the ATM begins granting Simon with money, so people would begin to take interest in him. But as interest grew with Simon, the city's money reserve began disappearing. And Simon's conscience begins taking it toll, as he questions what is more important: Being popular or doing the right thing?

I happened to be back in the States when Eerie, IN first aired and taped these episodes. I have watched them once a year or so since then. I don't believe they have been widely distributed commercially on videotape and highly recommend them on DVD. I'd like to give this disc a 4.5 rating, actually. The only reason I don't quite think they deserve a 5 is that the second story, about the retainer which picks up very unexpected signals, doesn't appeal to me as much as the others, which hone in on human psychology through the medium of fantasy. The retainer story is fun, is amusing, but just fluff. In addition, I really kind of wish Marshall lived in a dysfunctional family like Simon's, so we wouldn't have to see his parents and sister. I find the whole bunch of them annoying. Fortunately, the focus is on the two boys, both of whom are excellent actors. Think of all the bad cute kiddie actors you have seen on TV. Justin Shenkarow is the opposite of that as the younger of the boys. The writing is so clever and creative, with plot angles that are both eerie and funny. As others have said, this series was way ahead of its time and stands the test of time ten years later. According to the extras on the DVD, two more sets of Eerie, IN will be appearing on DVD. Soon, I hope. I never saw the other episodes.

I am one of the handful of folks that watched this show when it first aired. It was great to re-watch these three episodes and see some high quality children's programming. I love how this show does not talk down to kids and instead respects their intelligence with mature wit and creativity. A brillant show.

My only disappointments were the lack of extras. (Wouldn't it be cool to hear a commentary track or see interviews with the creators?) And that it wasn't released as a boxed set, afterall there are ONLY 19 episodes altogether!

PS If you liked Eerie, Indiana you should really check out Twin Peaks which premiered the year before and obviously influenced this show.

Creativity does not guarantee success in American TV, but at least this show got on the air, although the life-span of this NBC series was brief. The creative team included Karl Schaefer, who later produced the equally wonderful TV show "Strange Luck," and Joe Dante, a director who has shown his Spielberg touch with young actors in movies like "Matinee."

With its telepathic poodles, sleep-shopping, a sinister lightning-rod salesman and a farewell episode that turns the whole series inside-out, I would highly recommend this disc and any future episodes of this neat little feast of humorous, colorful, and occasionally touching TV. Those of you who have never seen the show or are only familiar with the US/Canadian revival that was shown on Saturday mornings a few years back should definitely see the original.

This really was one of my favorite shows of the era. When TV was reaching new depths of stupidity, Eerie was a rare breath of fresh air. Although the acting produced a few groans from time to time, the writing was sharp and clever and that's far more than you can say about most of the programming that season. This is an absolute bargain DVD. Watch it over and over to catch the nuanced writing!

This is great. It is one of the best things that ever appeared on network TV. Creative, spooky sometimes, and good entertainment that's even appropriate for kids. Now, why isn't the rest of the series available on DVD, too???

It's a brilliant series, which I can barely believe is considered a kiddies show. Why isn't the rest of the series available ?

I loved this DVD. It's a shame that good space was wasted on this DVD. There should of been 5 episodes not 3. I hope the whole series well be published someday, including the spinoff called Eerie Indiana The Other Dimension.All the young actors have endeared themselves to me and I would be proud to own the complete set of episodes. Even without autographs. I hope similar shows get made in the future.

When I was a kid I watched this series. Unfortunately it was pretty short lived, running only about 10 episodes. Two episodes in particular stuck with me ever after I grew up, Forever Ware, and one about a girl who would draw and whatever she signed would come to life and actually be. The second episode isn't on this disk, but the first one is.

Forever Ware is a creepy concept, as is most of these episodes. In it, a woman who sells forever ware guarantees that whatever you seal up in it will last, forever. So, after her husband dies she seals herself and her twin boys into it, keeping them the same age for many years. She encourages Simon's mother to sign up and purchase forever ware. Simon's afraid he'll end up like the twins, so he and Marshall find a way to keep his mom from buying forever ware.

The other two on this disk aren't as good as forever ware, but they're not bad. In The Retainer, one of the kids in Eerie has a retainer that allows him to hear what dogs are thinking. This leads him, Simon and Marshall to the local pound, where the dogs have revolted against the dogcatcher and taken care of him, and then run the kid with the retainer off into the woods.

In the ATM with a Heart of Gold, Simon's dad programs an ATM with a personality. When the only person who's nice to him is Marshall, the ATM begins to give Marshall money. The more money he gives Marshall, the poorer the citizens of Eerie get. Simon and Marshall figure out that money can't buy happiness and instead is causing people grief, so they return the money to the ATM, which causes it to have a nervous breakdown.

When I was a kid I loved this series, I thought it was both creepy and interesting. Now that I'm an adult I still enjoyed seeing the episodes, but I don't find them as interesting as I did as a kid. I guess this was really was aimed more at kids.

One of my all time favorite shows. The stories give great twists on the bizzare and unexplained, and are just fun to watch. The writing is excellent. Well worth much more than the listed price.