When most people think of the highly popular Friday the 13th franchise, they think of the films featuring Jason Voorhees. What many may not know, however, is that there was a television series that aired from 1987-1990 that piggybacked off of the success of the films. When the series was announced, fans were excited to see their favorite hockey-masked baddie on the small screen.
What they got instead, was a show that only shared a title with the films. Despite this initial disappointment, the show, about two cousins that run a mysterious antique shop, is discussed fondly today. The anthology-esque series has gained a cult following, and fans enjoy discussing their favorite episodes on IMDb.
8 Tails I Live, Heads You Die (S2, E4) - 7.5
In this episode, a reporter discovers a sinister cult is using a coin embedded with a ram's head to resurrect three powerful cult leaders. If successful, the three will help Sylvan, the current leader, in bringing Satan himself to Earth to rule over them. The coin is powered by taking the life of an unsuspecting victim and then transferring their life force into a corpse, effectively bringing the latter back to life.
The episode also featured the unexpected death of a main character, although said character is resurrected before the episode ends. This episode is as dark and disturbing as it sounds, and it is no surprise as to why fans take to it so much. It is episodes like this that ensure Friday the 13th: The Series didn't end up forgotten like so many other horror tv shows.
7 13 O'Clock (S2, E9) - 7.5
In "13 O'Clock," Ryan, Micki, and Jack catch wind of a watch that has the ability to freeze time for one hour. There are two catches, however. The user must be at a specific train station at a specific time in order for the watch to freeze time. The second, most important catch is that the user must take a life in order for it all to work. An older man is the original owner of the watch, who takes no issue in ending the lives of others in order to gain his hour.
The man's younger gold-digging wife finds out about the watch and kills him to use the watch herself. In the process, a child sees her commit the awful crime and ends up a target. The episode is suspenseful as any good episode should be, and has violence that stands out from other shows from the time such as the many popular 80s sitcoms.
6 The Butcher (S2, E19) - 7.5
Jack is forced to relive his past when a man he believes to be dead returns in this episode. In World War II, Jack liberated a Nazi prison camp run by a man named Rausch. Jack's platoon mates are being killed off one by one, and the means of death matches Rausch's MO. Jack quickly learns that a Nazi sorcerer has resurrected Rausch using a cursed amulet.
The resurrected fiend is hunting down those who had a hand in ending his life in WWII, and he is saving Jack for last. What makes the cursed item in this episode so unique, is that unlike others it did not come from the antique shop. The episode also does not feature either Ryan or Mickie, who appear in most episodes.
5 Scarecrow (S1, E11) - 7.6
In "Scarecrow," Ryan and Micki end up in a small farming community in search of one of their lost artifacts. The artifact in question, a scarecrow, is being used for sinister means. Every harvest season, the townsfolk sacrifice three people to the scarecrow. This happens by pinning an image of the sacrifice in question to the chest of the scarecrow. The scarecrow then comes to life, and tracks down and kills the target in a gruesome way.
Ryan befriends a young boy whose father has been murdered by the creature, adding some heart to the dark episode. This is an episode that is closer in tone to the films than other episodes, and it is essentially a slasher film on its own. The scarecrow is terrifying and could rank among the most liked slasher villains alongside Jason had it gotten its own film.
4 The Charnel Pit (S3, E20) - 7.6
The final episode of the series involves a painting that serves as a portal through time. A college professor is searching for the lost manuscripts of Marquis de Sade, by using the portal to send Sade fresh victims. The professor is sacrificing innocent lives in an attempt to receive the manuscripts from the source, and become immensely wealthy. Upon investigating, Micki finds herself accidentally transported to the 18th Century, and is a target of Sade.
The show was prematurely canceled, meaning the series finale was never intended to be that. Because of that, the episode does not offer closure, much to the annoyance of the cast and crew. Interestingly, the original idea for the final episode involved the team tracking down a cursed hockey mask that would be revealed to be none other than Jason Vorhees' iconic mask.
3 Vanity's Mirror (S1, E15) - 7.7
A cursed compact mirror allows the female user to make any man fall madly in love with her. As with most of the caused items in the show, the catch is deadly. The man of the user's dreams will fall in love with her, but he will eventually have to be killed by the user. A young high school girl named Helen comes in possession of the mirror and quickly learns to use it for her own revenge.
The episode is similar to Carrie in many ways, as both involved a teenage girl who uses supernatural powers to exact her revenge during prom. As much of the show does, the episode shows how an innocent person can become corrupted when faced with immense power, and shows just how much damage can be done in gruesome ways fitting of the name Friday the 13th.
2 Secret Agenda Of Mesmer's Bauble (S2, E20) - 7.8
An obsessed fan is something every celebrity fears. What if the most obsessed fans have ways to hypnotize their celebrity crushes to do their bidding? This is the plot of the twentieth episode of the second season. Howard, a record store clerk, has an unnatural obsession with a pop star named Angelica. After stumbling across a pawn shop robbery, Howard obtains an artifact once owned by a great hypnotist.
Howard immediately abuses his newfound powers and seeks to make Angelica fall madly in love with him, and he doesn't plan on letting anyone stop him. A horror plot involving an obsessive fan is nothing new, but this episode shines a new light on the subject by giving that fan deadly powers, adding a new level of terror.
1 Crippled Inside (S3, E4) - 8.1
The best word to describe the fourth episode of the third season is tragic. Rachel, a young girl, has her entire life ahead of her. That is until she endures a traumatizing assault. She survives but at the risk of her mobility. A year later, Rachel comes into contact with a wheelchair that can supposedly cure her. While using it, she can project her astral form and live life before the accident.
She can cure herself physically as well, but she must rack up quite the body count first. The audience wants to see Rachel succeed because she did not deserve what happened to her, but the viewers as well as Rachel learns this is not who she is. The episode ends as tragic as it began, making it a fantastic yet upsetting episode of an underrated series.
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