Instant Favorite.

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Marshall loves his polluted New Jersey home; it seems like he can have a new adventure there every day. So when he finds out he'll be moving to the picture-perfect town of Eerie, he is pretty mad. Soon though he makes friends, starting with an ignored ten-year-old (Simon). The pair are extreme with investigating Eerie's bizarre events, and viewers are taken on their adventures, some hilarious, some dramatic and some scary. They make all sorts of friends, like two twin 7th graders who are actually in their thirties and need help stopping their mom's powers, an amnesiac teenage kid named Dash X with no family, a long black trench coat and an extreme case of kleptomania, a tornado explorer who gets stranded, a convenience store owner named Radford, a girl whose wishful imaginary worlds can become real and a girl who has a heart transplant and then becomes possessed. However they make a few enemies as well, like a werewolf, a housewife who can preserve human life in Tupperware-like containers (played by Louan Gideon, also the actress who played the corrupt CEO Danielle Atron on The Secret World of Alex Mack), a desperate ghost with a letter to deliver and a woman with a gun named Unice who makes a deal with Dash X that gets him stuck with her. Marshall has a bizarre family; his sister Syndi is a bimbo, his mom is very enthusiastic and runs a party store and his dad is a product tester at a laboratory. They are a big embarrassment to Marshall. in one episode he invites a girl over and while they are about to kiss, his family invades with a camera and cookies, and he remarks, "guys, this isn't Happy Days!" Some of the characters seem cold and annoying at first but turn out different. Dash X at first just seems like a runaway with an evil mind, but he turns out to be just a sad kid who can't find his family or even remember if he had one, and he occasionally joins Marshall and Simon in investigations, rescuing them from strange events. In the episode 'the Loyal Order of Corn' it mentions that he might not be a human at all, but a mutant or alien abandoned by others of his kind. Radford runs the town general store, the World of Stuff, which sells literally ANYTHING you could ask for. Eerie turns out to be far from a boring little town, and Marshall slowly comes to love it.I first saw this show back in Grade 6, I always wished they'd continued it or at least remade it with the same characters. They created Eerie Indiana the Other Dimension, but it wasn't very good and had none of the original characters. One thing I always wondered was why Dash X's past was never explained, they never seemed to talk much of it throughout the show, nor did any of the adults ever try to figure out who he was. I'm surprised no one called CPS to come get him. Another thing I always wondered was why Simon's parents were never around and why they hated their kid; they're pretty neglectful to him. God, where is CPS in this show!? I love the soundtrack and acting, I wish the soundtrack was available on a CD. This show was highly similar to Disney's So Weird (1990's).

This was a wonderful and quirky TV series that somehow didn't succeed. Part of this was because the show was marketed as a kids' show--limiting its appeal--even though the show was great for the entire family. Part of this was because the network moved the show around--a sure death knell for a TV show. It's a shame, really, as the show was very good. Now this isn't to say that every episode was gold, but this was also the case with "The Twilight Zone" and other anthology shows--there are great ones and not so great ones.The show is about friends Marshall and Teller--two kids living in the ultra-bizarre town of Eerie, Indiana. In this town, every weird thing on the planet comes to life. In the opening credits you see Elvis (among others) walking down the street and the show took advantage of numerous crackpot conspiracy theories and did them in a very funny tongue in cheek manner.My favorite of these bizarre tales was the second episode. This is where the kids discover that after a friend gets braces, he can somehow hear the thoughts of dogs--and the dogs are apparently plotting to take over the world! However, most of the episodes have a similar weirdness about them and it was hard to dislike the show due to clever writing.Considering they only made 19 episodes, it's surprising that the series was actually released to DVD--a testament to its cult appeal.

Few TV shows that have been so shortlived have had the impact of Eerie, Indiana. Despite only 19 episodes, its gone on to become a cult phenomenon, winning over adults and children alike. And its not hard to understand why. Its such a groundbreaking show. With a dizzying intelligence. Truly unique plot lines. And its fun too! I've never met a single person who didn't find something to enjoy from Eerie, Indiana.The whole concept of smalltown weirdness is not a new one. In fact Eerie was beaten to the punch a year earlier by Twin Peaks. But its what it does with the idea that makes it stand out so vividly. The Creative Consultant for the show is the greatly underrated Joe Dante, the man behind similar classics like Gremlins and The Burbs. I think the idea of a not so nice interior lurking beneath the shiny exterior is something that appeals a great deal to Dante, and Eerie, Indiana may be the peak of Dante's conceits.If all television was as good as this we'd be living in much happier times. And Dante put some of his best work into the show. In the films I mentioned, Joe Dante seems to enjoy watching small havens of utter normalcy being overturned by sinister forces. Whether it be vicious monsters or nutty neighbours, the mayhem he unleashes is always entertaining. And Eerie, Indiana is no exception.One of the series' striking elements is the way it takes these bizarre plot lines and makes them oddly plausible. And that is no truer than in the first episode, Foreverware, a story that does a superb job of introducing us to the world of Eerie, Indiana. Try to get your heads around this! The women of Eerie seal themselves into giant tubs of Tupperware so they can stay young (and fresh!) forever. In any other TV series, watching such a plot line unfold would be monumentally stupid. In Eerie, it works!And that's just for starters. You're constantly being knocked out by the way it courts unbelievable lunacy and turns it into great viewing. Eerie seems to be the focal point for just about every unusual happenstance in the entire world. The Losers is a particularly interesting episode where we discover a vast storage depot for lost items hidden beneath the streets of Eerie.Eerie, Indiana was a TV series that was far, far ahead of its time. Some of the issues it chose to address were eerily(!) prescient. In particular the last episode, Reality Takes a Holiday. An episode that predates reality television (before anyone even coined the term) and The Truman Show by staging it in the real world. The town is nothing more than a set on a studio lot. And the actors play themselves. Keep an eye out for Joe Dante! The series was unexpectedly cut short after that but it was a good episode to go out on. A staggering episode that actually forces you to question your own beliefs in what you've been watching all this time.The production staff selected a really fine cast to help the show along. Omri Katz is perfect as Marshall Teller, the new kid from New Jersey, who firmly believes Eerie is the 'centre of weirdness for the entire planet.' A quite wonderful young actor, his self-reliance never lapsed into smugness, and he was always a hero you rooted for. Justin Shenkarow is equally engaging as Simon, Marshall's sidekick. The two of them are a regular Mulder and Scully as they catalogue the oddities that come into their lives.The rest of Marshall's family is great too. Francis Guinan is amusingly nerdy as Edgar Teller, a scientist into product testing. Mary-Margaret Humes is an appealingly sexy Mum, Marilyn Teller, a disorganised party organiser. And Julie Condra is annoying big sis Syndi Teller, a girl with the scariest eyebrows I've ever seen!Along the way, the show picked up some additional characters. John Astin is aptly cast as Mr Radford, the owner of "World O'Stuff", the local youth hangout. Gregory Itzin is suitably slimy as Eerie's double-dealing money grubbing Mayor. And best of all is Jason Marsden as Dash X. Dash X comes into it halfway through. A boy of mystery with a head full of grey hair, he becomes an unwilling ally to Marshall and Simon during their adventures. Years ago, I found Dash X an irritation. I preferred it when it was just S & M. But in recent years, his character has grown on me. He's quite a good actor, and whether it requires him to be sharp, cynical or occasionally sympathetic, he's never less than impressive.One of the things that's made Eerie, Indiana endure for so long is its shrewd intelligence. It never feels patronising. In fact, its a quite sharply cynical show when you stop to think about it. The Mayor even delivers a scathing speech regarding the people's ignorance of what really goes on in Eerie. They prefer not to know so they don't have to deal with it. They're happier that way!Every Eerie fan has they're own favourite episode. Usually they vote for Reality Takes a Holiday, or the deeply creepy episode The Lost Hour, when Marsall ends up in a parallel Eerie just by setting his watch back. Mine is Just Say No Fun, an equally creepy story about a school optician who brainwashes the students into becoming model pupils when they're given an eye-test. It has quite an anarchic message the way it champions slacking and underachievement over good behaviour and schoolwork.Eerie, Indiana has withstood the test of time. Its highly impressive the way the writers pull off feats of greatness, one after another. It never feels too juvenile. Its observations are often astute and witty. And there are plenty of joyous in-jokes and cameos for die-hard horror fans.A superb show that ended long before its time.

When Eerie, Indana first emerged, I was thrilled. It wasn't a cartoon, it had interesting characters, and every episode featured something weird. Urban legends, monsters, UFOs, and more...it was great.Now, as an adult, I've re-watched the series on DVD. And I've discovered I still love it. The acting is just as great as I remember, and to see great acting in a kid's show is somewhat of a rarity.Eerie, Indiana also had some innovative moves for a kid's show. Rather than every episode being a separate plot in its own, with no tie to the series as a whole, Eerie actually tried to work in a myth-arc. Unfortunately, the show was killed early before we could see what would emerge in regards to Dash X. And most shows would like to pretend they're not anything else. But "Reality Takes a Holiday", in which Marshall suddenly finds himself on the set of a show called 'Eerie, Indiana' and that everyone thinks he's an actor, proves the show knows exactly what it is: a TV show meant to entertain and slightly creep out. It took itself seriously, but no so seriously that it forgot that.After Eerie ended, a horde of other kids' shows in the same niche emerged, including, of course, a remake of the original. While the new Eerie show followed the adventures of Simon and Marshall's counterparts in an alternate universe, and had some creative ideas, it missed the mark.This show broke ground for this genre of kids' television, since I don't recall many other kids' shows of the area dealing with the supernatural. Perfect for anyone who likes weird stuff.