The Adventures of Pete & Pete: "Halloweenie"
Posted by Mark Allen on 15 Oct 2007 | Tagged as: Random Posts
Now that fall has dropped, the best American holiday of them all once again this way comes! So — oh, by the way have you seen Wal-Mart’s gigantinormous Halloween decoration/costume section lately? Rubber severed limbs 2-for-1 at $3.99! Strobe lights for $1.99!? Holyshitohmygod our front yard is gonna look kick ass this year — let’s not forget about long-held holiday traditions. HAIL SATAN! One unavoidable Halloween tradition in our household is the watching of the “Halloweenie” episode from television series The Adventures of Pete and Pete. It’s annual viewing has globally replaced the esteemed spot long held by It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (oh…haven’t you heard?). I was slightly obsessed with The Adventures of Pete and Pete back when it was airing on the Nickelodeon channel in the early 90’s (remember multi-channel cable in the dead of winter being inescapably so-great?). Even though the series was aimed at people around half my age, every episode reflected a subtly dark, often cringingly puberty-ish, and male-centroidial, cranium-ificant, underdog-odial vibe that I really plugged into (as did a lot of people). Plus I had an obscenely huge boner for Endless Mike, who gives a huggably evil performance in this episode. Anyway, “Halloweenie” was one of the show’s best episodes, and it’s viewing is an essential holiday tradition, which must be upheld, lest the moral fiber of our country disease and rot! WATCH TV! If you like, you can see a grainy-ish, start/stop-y YouTube version of the episode in three parts here (but thanks to whoever put it up!). I think some BitTorrents are around if you’re into that sort of thing. Seasons 1 and 2 are available on DVD, and rentable (if you’re on Netflix – ‘Halloweenie’ is on disc 1 of the Season 2 set). There are whole websites about the series here and here (here are the show’s Wikipedia and IMDB listings). The entire as-yet un-DVD-ed Season 3 of The Adventures of Pete and Pete, as well as a few other season episodes (but not ‘Halloweenie’), is available for viewing here. CONSUME!
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The Flying Lizards: A Band Arranged According to the Laws of Chance [Sound Collector #6, 2001]
Who Is Harry Stephen Keeler? [A To Izzard, A Harry Stephen Keeler Companion, Ramble House]
Bob [blind]
David [deaf]
Greg Walloch
[cerebral palsy and famous]
Kevin [lost left leg]
Victor [too skinny]
Derek [lost most of right arm]
Trip to the Middle of Nowhere
Paris
Columbine High School
Archives of Harry Stephen Keeler
Central Park at night
Best. Halloween. Episode. Ever!!!!!
PEDOPHILE!!! I think those evil pumpkins are wearing electronic ankle bracelets.
Sincerely,
Mr. Nose
The 90s Nickelodeon channel was primarily for older kids and splosh/gunge enthusiasts. Although I’m sure that the writers and producers of “The Adventures of Pete and Pete” had an older, college-age audience in mind. What other target audience could appreciate so many cameos by Iggy Pop? My favorite TAOP&P episode was the one about the town pay phone in the middle of the field that hadn’t stopped ringing since the 1950s, but everyone was too scared to answer it.
Good show. The best thing about the Halloweenie episode is the guy Ned Richmond who trick or treats too long into his teenage years. We all knew someone like that. The series also had cameos by Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson and Debbie Harry — as small characters on the show to, I recall. A lot of others like that as well. Kate played a blind neighbor. I never understood the whole deal with the small Pete and his tattoo. As I “grew up” into becoming a Strangers With Candy fan, as others — ahem — are here too I believe, it’s interesting to note the how similar in look these two shows are, the entire mood of it. Strangers’ humor is more crass though.
Have you seen what the actor Michael Maronna who played Big Pete looks like today?
http://www.nickcarr.com/lj/pete/petetoday1.jpg
http://www.nickcarr.com/lj/pete/petetoday2.jpg
I was just thinking of how SWC and Pete and Pete are so similar. In fact, I think Larc Spies (Derek from SWC) was one of the bullies in the Halloweenie episode of Pete and Pete.