Eerie, Indiana is an American television series created by José Rivera and Karl Schaefer, with Joe Dante serving as creative consultant. It originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1991 to April 12, 1992.
The series follows 13-year-old Marshall Teller (Omri Katz), who sees the strange side of Eerie, Indiana which others fail to see. His sidekick and friend, 10-year-old Simon Holmes (Justin Shenkarow), helps him gather evidence of the town's strangeness.
Development[]
Karl Schaefer intended the series for adults, calling Eerie, Indiana "a piece of social satire done through the eyes of a 13-year-old." He said, "It was always about society at large, with a lot of double entendres."[1]
However, the show was put in the 7:30 time slot on Sundays, which meant it had to be appropriate for kids down to two years old. Because of this, Schaefer had a child psychologist review each episode, explaining: "I try to balance the moral center of the episode and the point of the episode, so that you can put up with the scariness along the way."[1]
NBC later wanted to "expand the focus of the show" and make it appeal more to adults. They were interested in adding characters a little weirder than the producers were pursuing. The creators changed the premise of the show a little, adding Dash X as a new and weirder character and John Astin as Mr. Radford as a sort of adult mentor for the kids.[1]
Production[]
Filming[]
Eerie, Indiana was filmed in Studio City in California, with one and a half blocks of backlot used for the sets.[1]
Episodes[]
| # | Title | Director | Writer(s) | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Forever Ware" | Joe Dante | José Rivera & Karl Schaefer | September 15, 1991 | 1001 |
| 2 | "The Retainer" | Joe Dante | José Rivera & Karl Schaefer | September 22, 1991 | 1002 |
| 3 | "The ATM with the Heart of Gold" | Sam Pillsbury | Matt Dearborn | September 29, 1991 | 1003 |
| 4 | "The Losers" | Joe Dante | Story by : Gary Markowitz & Michael R. PerryTeleplay by : Gary Markowitz | October 6, 1991 | 1004 |
| 5 | "America's Scariest Home Video" | Sam Pillsbury | Karl Schaefer | October 20, 1991 | 1006 |
| 6 | "Just Say No Fun" | Bryan Spicer | Michael R. Perry | October 27, 1991 | 1008 |
| 7 | "Heart on a Chain" | Joe Dante | José Rivera | November 3, 1991 | 1007 |
| 8 | "The Dead Letter" | Tim Hunter | James L. Crite | November 10, 1991 | 1009 |
| 9 | "Who's Who" | Tim Hunter | Julia Poll | November 17, 1991 | 1011 |
| 10 | "The Lost Hour" | Bob Balaban | Vance DeGeneres | December 1, 1991 | 1010 |
| 11 | "Marshall's Theory of Believability" | Bob Balaban | Matt Dearborn | February 2, 1992 | 1012 |
| 12 | "Tornado Days" | Ken Kwapis | Michael Cassutt | March 1, 1992 | 1013 |
| 13 | "The Hole in the Head Gang" | Joe Dante | Karl Schaefer | March 1, 1992 | 1014 |
| 14 | "Mr. Chaney" | Mark Goldblatt | José Rivera | March 8, 1992 | 1015 |
| 15 | "No Brain, No Pain" | Greg Beeman | Matt Dearborn | March 15, 1992 | 1016 |
| 16 | "The Loyal Order of Corn" | Bryan Spicer | Michael Cassutt | March 22, 1992 | 1017 |
| 17 | "Zombies in P.J.s" | Bob Balaban | Julia Poll | April 12, 1992 | 1018 |
| 18 | "Reality Takes a Holiday" | Ken Kwapis | Vance DeGeneres | April 12, 1992 | 1019 |
| 19 | "The Broken Record" | Todd Holland | José Rivera | December 9, 1993 | 1005 |
Reception[]
In its initial run on NBS, the series aired opposite "60 Minutes" and got poor ratings.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Washington Post: "'EERIE, INDIANA': STRANGE SHOW, TRICKY TIME" (by Patricia Brennan on March 15, 1992)