Hallowe’en episodes in TV shows with David Flynn

 

In the Hallowe’en season of witches, goblins, pumpkins and horror parties, popular US television programmes sometimes included stories set around the spooky October night.

Millennium was a three-season series spin-off of the highly successful X-Files in the late 1990s. During its second season in 1997, Millennium had an interesting Hallowe’en themed episode. The lead character, Frank Black was a former FBI agent who worked for a strange set known as the Millennium Group. Black, played by actor, Lance Henriksen had the ability to see inside the minds of criminals, although he claimed he wasn’t psychic and that he used natural skills. The episode, ‘The Curse of Frank Black’ was screened on Hallowe’en night. In the story, Frank Black finds himself haunted by the ghosts of memories past including that of a soldier he met as a child.

The soldier offers Black a way to pull out of his downward spiral–by making a deal with the Devil. The episode was supposed to be inspired by an early 1960s Japanese horror movie, ‘Kwaidan’. Lance Henriksen was reported to have been very happy with the story, and called the director Ralph Hemecker’s work “beautiful”.

Suddenly Susan was a hit 1990s sitcom, starring the beautiful movie actress, Brooke Shields. In its third season, 1998/99, the series had a Hallowe’en episode entitled, ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Susan’s Party’.

The storyline had the character, Jack played by Judd Nelson, missing Susan’s (played by Brooke Shields) Halloween party, because he was arrested for drunk driving. Dr. Joyce Brothers, American psychologist and television personality guest-starred as herself at the party. A very interesting inside joke was delivered when the character, Todd (played by David Strickland) walked into the party dressed as tennis star, Andre Agassi, as he looked in his early Wimbledon years.

Susan then says, “Oh yeah, before he married ummmm,”. Everybody present stared blankly at Susan. In real life, Brooke Shields was married to Andre during her Suddenly Susan years. The following year, 1999, Suddenly Susan had another Hallowe’en episode. The show was simply called ‘Hallowe’en’, and featured Susan accepting her handsome friend Oliver’s, (played by Rob Estes) invitation to carve pumpkins together, but she ruins the evening rather than leaving herself open to being hurt by him!

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