Southern Fried Nostalgia & Fandom: Batman The Animated Series Episode Review -- Beware The Gray Ghost (1992)

 

Beware the Gray Ghost (Season 1, Episode 18) is one of this blogger's favorite episodes of the popular 90s American cartoon series Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995) based on the popular DC Comics superhero series.

The episode first aired on the Fox Broadcasting network's Fox Kids television program block on Wednesday, November 4, 1992. The episode was directed by series regular Boyd Kirkland with the story written by Tom Ruegger and Dennis O'Flaherty. Ruegger also helped write the teleplay for the episode alongside writer Garin Wolf.

This fan-favorite episode is probably best known for its featured guest voice-acting star, the late Adam West (1928-2017), who is widely popular among the Batman and DC Comics fandom for his often times stiff and campy portrayal of the famous caped-and-cowled superhero in the classic live-action 1960s Batman television series (1966-1968) produced by the late William Dozier.

The popular radio play The Shadow
heavily inspired the original Batman
comics, and would in turn serve as a
nostalgic nod to Batman's origins as the
basis for the Grey Ghost character.

In the episode West plays an actor known for his role as the Gray Ghost, a character that resembles the popular radio play character The Shadow which heavily inspired Batman creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger.

Interesting fact: Beware the Gray Ghost was actually not Adam West's first time nostalgically relieving his experience as Batman on television.

Two years before in the 1990s Family Channel series Zorro (1990-1993) episode The Wizard (Season 2, Episode 1) West plays an eccentric inventor, Dr. Henry Wayne (a wonderful nod to Bruce Wayne), who was tasked by the villainous Alcalde of Los Angeles to help capture the masked hero. Zorro later captures him and takes him to his own Batcave-type secret lair -- which he remarks on impressed. Zorro convinces Wayne of the good he could do and to put his own inventions to nobler uses.

Like The Shadow, Zorro was also an inspiration for the creators of the DC Comic superhero.

In fact, the parallels between the characters of Batman and Zorro -- both of them men with seemingly mild alter-egos to their more heroic masked personas -- have always found themselves in the Batman franchise in one form or another. An excellent example are the depictions where the Wayne family are leaving the movie theater featuring a Zorro film the night when Bruce Wayne watched his parents get murdered in the alley. In addition, the character Zorro was implied to also be an inspiration for Bruce to become the Dark Knight of Gotham City. 

Beware the Gray Ghost would be Adam West's first serious animated return to the franchise that made him famous, though it certainly would not be his last. 

Mr. West would later go on to nostalgically poke fun of his previously typecasted Batman role in other animated shows. He would find animation and self-parody of his iconic role as a means of revitalizing his career.

This is most notably shown with West voicing a fictionalized version of himself on the animated sitcom Family Guy as the mayor of the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island. West also portrayed a somewhat eccentric version of the elder Bruce Wayne character parodied from Batman Beyond in at least one really brilliant episode of Disney Channel's Kim Possible (The Fearless Ferret, Season 2, Episode 10) -- another personal favorite episode of mine from that series which I plan to review in the future.

Beware the Gray Ghost is ranted among fans (myself included) as one of the top ten best episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. Although the episode has a great deal of action -- as well as lots and LOTS of explosions (an even 20 explosions to be exact, not counting the one from the opening credits!) -- there's no denying that its most important aspect for hardcore Batman fans is seeing and hearing two outstanding and legendary Batman actors voicing characters in the same episode.

The late Kevin Conroy (1955-2022), as always, does outstanding work as the voice of the 90s animated version of the iconic superhero character. To hear his version of Batman talking with Adam West's character, and how the older actor inspired him, is the most beautiful form of nostalgia working its way into the more modern story. As always, the writers for BTAS did not disappoint and brought us classic storytelling.

Now having gone on and on about just how much I've fan-boyed over this episode -- and there will be more as this review goes forward -- its time to get to the story.

The rest of this article contains massive spoilers, so if you want to watch this great episode before you read the rest, I'd advise doing so. You've been warned!

The Story

The episode opens with a flashback of a young Bruce Wayne watching the black-and-white The Gray Ghost television show with his father, Thomas Wayne. The episode then wonderfully cuts between the flashback and present-day events that appear to mirror the episode: a whirring sound being heard, a building exploding, the Gray Ghost and Batman going into action (both even leaping from the nearby building rooftop in the same exact manner!), and the police receiving a ransom letter from someone identifying themselves as "The Mad Bomber".

Young Bruce enjoying his favorite television show.

In the present day, Bruce (Kevin Conroy) wakes up from a dream making the connection between The Mad Bomber's modus operandi and the episode of the television show, but cannot remember the full story since his younger self fell asleep while watching it. Bruce then makes efforts to try and locate a copy of the episode, but learns that seemingly no copies of the series exist with all production copies of the films allegedly being lost in a studio vault fire.

To find out what happened in the episode, Bruce must track down Simon Trent, the actor who portrayed the Gray Ghost in the television series.

Trent (Adam West) resides in Gotham City and is now an unemployed actor who suffers from being typecast as his Gray Ghost character. He is very short on money and is forced to sell his Gray Ghost costume and much of his remaining memorabilia to toy collector Ted Dymer (voiced by BTAS co-creator Bruce Timm) the owner of a vintage toy store called Yestertoys, just to have rent for one more month.

Here I've got to point out that the collectables in Yestertoys include some really awesome real life memorabilia, not the least of which are: a model of Robby The Robot from the classic 1956 science fiction movie Forbidden Planet, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, the Gill-man from the Creature from the Black Lagoon classic monster film trilogy, a big-eyed alien, and that vintage creepy-ass cymbal-banging grinning monkey toy that always looks like it can stare right into your soul (shudders).

Humm....for a toy shop, Yestertoys gives off some serious villain lair vibes with that dark lighting.

The next morning, Trent is surprised to find that someone has broken into his apartment and returned his Gray Ghost costume and memorabilia, along with a letter telling him to meet "a friend" near the Gotham Art School. There he finds Batman, who makes his appearance out of the smoke and says that he needs Trent's help. A terrified Trent runs away and Batman follows him.

Batman catches up to him, and gets Trent to listen. Batman explains that the recent bombings are similar to what happened on one of The Gray Ghost episodes. Even with this information, Trent just demands to be left alone. Just then a strange whirring sound is heard, causing Trent to stop. A few moments later, the Gotham Art School explodes, the Mad Bomber having struck again.

Trent takes the chance to run, and gets back to his apartment -- only to find the Batman waiting for him. Batman noticed how Trent recognized the whirring sound, and reveals that at the Art School destruction scene he found another note from The Mad Bomber claiming the Gotham Library is the next target.

Trent finally relents and goes to his closet, which contain his personal film copies of The Gray Ghost episodes -- the last ones in existence. Pulling out a film canister labeled The Mad Bomber, he hands it to the Batman and angrily tells him to go away not wanting any more part in the whole affair.

Batman does as requested, but before he leaves, he turns back to Trent and says, "I used to admire what The Gray Ghost stood for."

"I’m not The Gray Ghost," Trent responds, with a mixture of annoyance and pain.

"I can see that now," says Batman, before going out a nearby window. In that moment you can feel the hurt in Batman's voice, and Trent responds to it thoughtfully.

Simon Trent despondently stares at his memorabilia.

Returning to Wayne Manor, Alfred runs the film through a projector, and Bruce sits down with a bowl of popcorn to watch it with a nostalgic smile on his face. This in spite of meeting his childhood hero and finding a broken down, bitter old man. When Bruce had originally seen the episode as a boy, he'd fallen asleep before it ended. Now, he gets to see the rest of the story.

As Bruce watches the same whirring sound can be heard. On-screen, he sees that it is coming from a small, remote-controlled toy car that drives toward a building and then explodes in a giant fireball, revealing how The Mad Bomber committed his attacks.

After reporting his findings to Commissioner Gordon, the Gotham Police Department set up positions around the Gotham Library and three toy cars similar to the one in The Gray Ghost episode appear, streaking through the police barricades and surprising the police. One swat team member manages to detonate one of the toy cars and Batman takes out another before it can damage the library.

The third car takes off, but does not get far as it overturns in a nearby alley. Opening it, Batman finds no explosives inside....a decoy. As he discovers this, two more toy cars suddenly appear from the dark alley coming right at him!

A moment later, a rope is lowered down from the building behind him. Batman grabs it and climbs just moments before the toy cars hit the nearby wall and explode. When he gets to the top of the building, Batman discovers, to his surprise, that his rescuer is none other than Simon Trent clad in his Gray Ghost costume and standing in the gothic moonlight in a scene right out of his favorite television series.

Fear not, citizen, the Gray Ghost has arrived.

Batman thanks Trent/The Gray Ghost for his assistance.

"Hey, I owed you," say Trent, "you got me my outfit back."

As Batman looks over the toy car he obtained, he offers Trent the chance to come along with him to check it for fingerprints, which he happily accepts.

Trent is in awe as he gets into the Batmobile when about a dozen more remote-controlled cars give chase. The duo managed to evade the toy car bombs -- but not before collaterally destroying what looks to be an entire Gotham City street and numerous parked cars in the process.

Just how many of these things does the Mad Bomber have to spare?!

Fun fact: the use of toy cars carrying explosives as a means of assassination and terror was originally used in the Clint Eastwood action-thriller film The Dead Pool (1988), with the miniature cars themselves modeled closely after the murderous possessed vehicle in the supernatural-horror film The Car (1977).

The two soon arrive at the Batcave with Trent having been blindfolded before they entered. Looking around, the former TV star is surprised at how much Batman's hideaway looks like almost an exact replica of the Grey Ghost's lair.

Batman then shows Trent one room complete with a small shrine with Grey Ghost memorabilia, which includes the hat and cape that young Bruce wore as a boy when watching the show. 

"Holy Helga Pataki, Batman!"

"As a kid, I used to watch you with my father," he explains to Trent. "The Gray Ghost was my hero."

"So it wasn't all for nothing," Trent mutters, amazed to learn that his show and character -- the one that typecasted his career and that he seemingly resented -- actually inspired one of Gotham City's greatest superheroes.

Trent: Holy cats! The guy even still has the Grey Ghost pillowcases!

Batman runs a diagnostic on the car to learn that the only set of fingerprints on the car match Trent. Shocked by this, Trent pleads with Batman that he isn't behind the bombings. Batman notes how Trent had the only existing copies of the show, and that the Mad Bomber followed the plot of the episode.

Trent claims it couldn't have been him since he sold off all the remaining remote controlled cars from the show that he owned. Its here that a revelation comes to Trent about who the mysterious Mad Bomber is.

In the next scene, in his secret villain lair at Yestertoys -- which is complete with a control room, monitors, and control panels surrounded by those creepy-faced toys in the dark shadows; Dymer is arguing with himself over his failure to kill Batman while smashing a small Batman toy in frustration.

Batman arrives and tells Dymer (aka The Mad Bomber) that he's finished. Dymer of course is prepared for such a confrontation and activates a dozen more of his remaining toy car bombs -- seriously, just how many of them did he have?!

Ted Dymer (aka The Mad Bomber) who was modeled after his
voice actor, Bruce Timm -- one of the co-creators of Batman: The
Animated Series.

The cars surround Batman keeping him at bay while Dymer starts his villain monologue about how much he loves toys, but in order to satisfy his insatiable collecting habit he needs money. Lots of money. So he remembered the Mad Bomber episode of The Gray Ghost (meaning that he's about as old as Bruce) and it gave him the idea.

"And then I remembered what else a toy can do," Dymer exclaims. "It can carry a bomb. It can hold a city for ransom. Oh, the power of the toy. It can earn millions…millions for the little ol’ toy collector: me!"

In typical bad guy fashion, the Mad Bomber is so caught up in his monologue that he is surprised when none other than the Gray Ghost bursts in through the nearby window, knocking Dymer into some shelves that wreck his control panel, which in turn quickly catches fire. The toy car bombs, now out of control, start to spin all around the toy shop.

In the confusion that follows Batman quickly scoops up Dymer and the trio rush from the building just in time before it explodes, destroying Yestertoys and Dymer's entire expensive collection of toys and memorabilia, thus ending the career of the Mad Bomber.

Following the events, Ted Dymer is locked up and Simon Trent is recognized as a real-life hero for helping Batman to capture the Mad Bomber. That, along with Trent allowing his surviving copies of The Gray Ghost series to be released on home video -- prompts a resurgence in the popularity of his character. This provides Trent with fresh income from its distribution and ultimately revitalizing his career.

The final scene of the episode takes place at an autograph session at a video store, with long lines greeting him eager to meet the Gray Ghost himself in costume, Trent is visited by Bruce Wayne. As Trent signs his copy of the Grey Ghost video boxset. 

"You know, as a kid I used to watch you with my father," says Bruce, repeating what Batman told Trent in the Batcave. "The Gray Ghost was my hero."

"Really?" says Trent, recognizing the words.

"And he still is," Bruce adds smiling before walking away, leaving Trent/Gray Ghost smiling in recognition. The scene then pans upward to show a poster cover of People Magazine with the return of The Gray Ghost featured on the cover.

You totally know that autograph is going in my shrine, right?

Conclusion

I've been a fan of Batman for as long as I can remember.

From watching him in the Super Friends (1973-1985) animated series in the lineup of Saturday Morning cartoons as a boy, as well as the guest appearances of Batman and Robin in a couple episodes of The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972-1973) animated series; then later in my pre-teen and early teenage years watching the famous 1966 Batman television series and the Tim Burton film Batman (1989) when the Dark Knight sudden became more gothic and less campy.

I also have a personal collection of the best Batman graphic novels and comics in my home library, and a model of the original 1966 Batmobile complete with miniature Batman and Robin on my office shelf right next to the model of the Robot from the Lost In Space (1965-1968) science fiction series.

I was 15 when Batman: The Animated Series premiered and absolutely enjoyed it. I was totally hooked on the series and anticipated each new episode when it came out. I would rate BTAS as one of my top five favorite animated shows of the 1990s.

So being a fan of both the original Batman television series and BTAS, when the episode Beware The Gray Ghost premiered and I first heard Adam West voicing the character who inspired Batman....well you better believe I was grinning ear-to-ear just enjoying the whole experience. It was pretty cool then.

Today as a currently 48 year-old pseudo-adult and having done the research for this article, I can much better appreciate the work and the love for the dedication to the genre, and the respect for the fandom at large that the voice actors and the people who worked on BTAS put into making this outstanding episode. It was truly a great tribute to the franchise.

Sadly both Adam West and Kevin Conroy have since passed away; but their legacy lives on in the hearts and memories of the true fans of this amazing superhero franchise.

It was also my honor, as a life-long fan, to begin my list of Southern Fried Nostalgia & Fandom posts featuring favorite episodes of this series with this great episode -- and rest assured there will be further episodes in future blog posts.

 

Two iconic generations of Batman coming together -- Adam West and Kevin Conroy (RIP) preparing
to provide their voices for the Gray Ghost and Batman in 1992.

Southern Fried Nostalgia & Fandom: Hey Arnold! -- Arnold's Valentine (1997) TV Special Review

 

Arnold's Valentine is the 25th episode of the 1st season of Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold! animated television series. The episode was written by series writers Rachel Lipman (who wrote many first season episodes) and late writer and series co-developer Steven Viksten (1960-2014) and directed by Jamie Mitchell. The episode premiered on Nickelodeon on Wednesday, February 12, 1997 and again on Friday, February 14th, 1997 -- St. Valentine's Day at 8:00 p.m. EST. Run time of 24 minutes.

The special episode is the second holiday episode of season one following Arnold's Christmas (Season 1, Episode 20), Arnold's Valentine also serves as the culmination of the season one story arc concerning the title character's season-long unrequited crush on a 6th grade girl named Ruth which began in the episode Operation Ruthless (Season 1, Episode 7a) -- the latter episode also having been written by Viksten and Lipman respectively.

This episode holds some special significance for yours truly that I discussed in a previous blog post.

It aired on the same day I graduated from U.S. Navy boot camp -- Friday, February 14, 1997. At the time I was in a hotel room with another graduate and my Grandmother Carolyn (God rest her soul!), who'd made the bus trip from South Carolina to Great Lakes, Illinois to see me graduate and visit for the weekend.

While I was visiting and eating Pepperoni and mushroom pizza and drinking Dr. Pepper (the first real junk food I'd had in about 9 weeks!) the episode came on television replayed from two days before when it premiered on Nickelodeon and I found myself totally immersed in it while my grandmother and shipmate were talking about his family.

Now, as I mentioned in a previous blog post, I'd begun watching Hey Arnold! casually when the first season began, but didn't really have time to get into the series too deeply before shipping off to Great Lakes in December of 1996 -- three months after the first season began. When I saw it again upon graduation, the first episode I'd seen was Arnold's Valentine, and I was taken with the story elements of the episode. 

It's also probably my second all-time favorite Valentine's Day story in animation behind Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975) from childhood -- which I will probably do a nostalgic review of at some point down the road.

I watch the episode as a yearly tradition on, or close to, Valentine's Day. Yep, just me sitting in my living room chair in my pajamas and a bowl of popcorn in front of the television....also pretty much my normal February 14th tradition, alas. 

Anyhow, without further ado, let's get this nostalgic review started.

The Story

The episode beings on St. Valentine's Day (February 14th) at P.S. 118 where our two main protagonists, Arnold and Helga are both admiring their mutual crushes from afar: Arnold smiling as 6th grader Ruth McDougal passed in the hallway -- and still completely oblivious to the fact he even exists; and Helga smiling from her desk as Arnold walks past her entering the 4th grade classroom.

The students are assigned by their teacher, Miss Slovak (voiced by the talented Miss Tress MacNeille), to make Valentine cards for someone that's important or special to them. Helga tries to make one for Arnold, but her wording never seems to come out right and becomes more and more hostile due to her insecurities (example: Arnold, be my Valentine, or I'll pound you!) until finally she becomes discouraged by the whole thing.

How about "Be My Valentine, Football-head!"

Arnold meanwhile crafted a beautifully made Valentine card on which he invites Ruth to dinner at Chez Pierre, a really fancy downtown French restaurant. His best friend, Gerald, claims that Arnold has some guts....only for Arnold to sign the card "Anonymous" and second-guess himself. Helga overhears the conversation between the two and grumbles annoyed to herself over how superficial Ruth is -- and mostly the fact she's a sixth grader. 

Arnold seems to have a weakness for older girls and women; a point that continues to crop up a few more times throughout the run of the series.

Miss Slovak then starts handing out postcards from the students' pen-pals, including a sad little postcard from Helga's pen-pal begging for money. When she laments that she never gets fancy gifts from her pen-pal (unlike Rhonda who got gourmet chocolates from her Italian pen-pal), Miss Slovak offers some words of wisdom to Helga, "Sometimes the most beautiful gift can come in the plainest box." Remember this line because this is important later on.

Before she can next give Arnold a letter from his French pen-pal, a girl named Cecile, the bell rings for recess. In the fact she was about to hand it out to Arnold, who was ready to take it, Miss Slovak returns the letter to the bag to finish giving them out after recess -- this detail (despite making no sense at all) will shortly be important in moving the plot forward.

At recess, Arnold practices some slick ninja skills as he slips his card for Ruth in with her other Valentine cards when she's not paying attention. When she picks it up and reads it, she apparently does show some genuine interest.

A simple hello might have been just as good, Arnold.

Meanwhile, Helga gets an idea on how she can express her feelings to Arnold. She sneaks back into the classroom and takes out Cecile's letter for Arnold, adding a P.S. saying that she is flying into town for one night and wants to meet him at another French restaurant, Chez Paris, tonight. She tells him to please come alone and don't make any other plans.

Later that afternoon when school lets out, Arnold is reading the letter and he becomes worried as to how he's supposed to go on two dates at the same time. The two of them walk to the restaurants, which just happen to be right next to each other.

Gerald suggests that he should simply get a table at both places and if Ruth didn't show up (which Gerald was pretty sure wouldn't happen) then Arnold would be okay, but if she somehow did, then Arnold could make up some excuse to go across to the other restaurant. Arnold -- probably out of desperation and seeing no other way out -- agrees to this plan.

In the next scene between Gerald and Arnold as they are walking to the Sunset Arms Boarding House, Gerald asks his best friend what he knows about Ruth when Arnold asks what he should even say to her. When Arnold is forced to admit that he really doesn't know much about her, just that he likes her for a bunch of superficial reasons, Gerald laments that this is going to be harder than he thought.

Throughout the whole of season one of Hey Arnold! our football-headed protagonist has never once actually spoken to, or had any personal interaction with Ruth, other than seeing her seemingly smiling at him as they crossed paths with her wide, brace-faced smile on a few occasions. His crush on Ruth is based solely on what he sees as his idolized version of a lovely girl....or rather as much attraction as a 9-year-old can have with an 11-year-old.

On a personal note, at age nine, I was more obsessed with the original G-1 Transformers cartoon television series, 80s slasher horror films, and professional wrestling personalities. I wouldn't start noticing the opposite sex for at least four more years.

The writers for Hey Arnold! tended to treat their 4th grade characters more like young adults on occasions depending on the circumstances, sometimes contrasting the fact most of the children in the series were more seemingly mature than the adults around them behaved at times. This would also explain how, later in the episode, these 9 to 11-year-old kids can reserve tables at fancy French restaurants and be out late at night with no adult supervision -- in a major American city no less!

Meanwhile, Helga prepares for her own date with Arnold by rushing home and raiding her older sister's room for tapes on learning to speak French -- which she copies rather badly. She also seeks out and finds the most French-looking outfit from her sister's closet to alter. Later she goes to a salon to get her hair done in some French style -- not realizing that the salon was actually meant for dogs and getting her pigtails done up in a French poodle style and making her look totally ridiculous but certainly not like she usually looks so mission accomplished.

Back in Arnold's room Gerald attempts to coach Arnold on his date, to apparent success as Arnold delivers a small speech to give to Ruth to say how much he likes her and wanted her to know it. It even moves Gerald to tears a little. Then Arnold gets dressed up in his tuxedo and Gerald volunteers to sit at a bench between both restaurants to serve as lookout in case Ruth arrives.

Back at the Pataki household, Helga gets ready for her catfish date with Arnold, dressing up and delivering a monologue about finally getting Arnold out of the clutches of "that sixth grade yo-yo" and being able to express her true feelings for Arnold with no risk since she will be in disguise.

Then Helga ends this monologue with the bold remark, "Nothing can go wrong now." -- a dreaded phrase that's pretty much the equivalent of saying, "I'll be right back" in a slasher film, meaning she's inviting some negative karma on her well laid plan.

In the next brief scene we see a plane coming in for a landing with the real Cecile and her parents flying into the city from France, to make a surprise visit to see Arnold that very same day....uh oh.

Thus ending the first half of the episode.

The second half of the episode finds Arnold at Chez Paris sitting at a candlelit table near a large window waiting for his first date. Gerald is sitting on a bench outside between both restaurants pretending to read a paper, and gives Arnold a thumbs-up that Arnold returns.

Helga arrives as "Cecile" in her "frou-frou" hairdo, red high-heels, and the most French-looking outfit she could find in her sister's wardrobe, that she apparently altered enough to show off her....uh, curves? 

Yeah, I never understood how a nine-year-old somehow has
feminine curves. It didn't make sense the first time I saw it either.

After slipping in her heels and needing help from Arnold, the latter remarks that she didn't look much like her photograph, which he holds out showing the actual Cecile. Helga promptly takes it from him and rips it up muttering something about a mix-up. Arnold also notices that her French accent is more American, to which she acts like its a complement.

It was then that Arnold says, "There's just something about you. I feel like I know you already." Helga begins to panic until Arnold adds the he meant from Cecile's letters.

How Arnold can't tell that this girl is full of it, and more so that she's Helga is the comedy gold of the whole scene. I just assume that its the fact her hairstyle now covers her left eye giving here Clark Kent-level disguise powers....that or our Football-head hero is just really dense. Or both?

Arnold asks her about her life in France curiously, causing Helga to go on about Paris being quite a city. This confuses Arnold who mentioned she lived on a farm in the Loire Valley.

Yeah Helga, you probably should have read the rest of the letter and did a bit more background research before committing identity theft.

Helga deflects from this mistake asking about Arnold and what his school is like. Before he can go into details, a very snooty waiter named Jacques appears to take their order. Arnold just asks for a hamburger, which causes both the waiter and everyone else in the fancy French restaurant to gasp and look his way like he just farted in church.

Mr Snooty Waiter tells Arnold (in what I'm pretty sure is a fake French accent that he probably drops the moment he gets back to his apartment after work) that, "Chez Paris does not serve, le-amburger." He recommends the Steak Tartare, which Arnold accepts. When he attempts to add to that, the waiter just looks at him and says, "You are finished with your order." What a dick!

When Helga orders, she just finds the most French-sounding thing on the menu. Mr. Snooty Waiter complements Helga on her refined taste before departing. When Arnold asks what she ordered, she only deflects saying that she didn't know how to say it in English and that they have it all the time back home in France.

Well, at least she did not order the first one!

As Helga begins to talk to Arnold -- about the shape of his head of all things -- Ruth appears at the window outside next to Chez Pierre next door and Arnold goes all foggy and the Jazz music plays in his mind. He promptly excuses himself awkwardly to go to the restroom and leaves to go greet Ruth.

After an entire season of never actually interacting, Arnold finally, FINALLY, gets to talk to Ruth directly. 

Ruth McDougal is voiced by the talented Lacey Chabert, who is best remembered as the voice of Eliza Thornberry in Nickelodeon's The Wild Thornberrys animated series and the original voice for Meg Griffin in the first season of Family Guy. This is also the only time in the entire series where Ruth actually has a speaking role, rather than serving as a background character.

For her part Ruth seems to barely care about Arnold's presence as she asks about reservations with "Mr. A-non-y-mos." Yes, that's how she pronounces it, even having to look at the Valentine card to remember the name. Yeesh.

She needs to actually look at the Valentine to remember
"Anonymous"? Dude, that should be red flag number one!

Arnold escorts her to an outside table and asks if she wants anything. After saying she'll have a soda. Gerald -- still sitting nearby -- whispers to Arnold reminding him of his other date. He excuses himself to go back to Chez Paris. Once he leaves a busboy comes over and asks Ruth if she wants anything to drink, to which Ruth replies somewhat confused, "I just gave my order to that other busboy."

Oh crap.

Meanwhile, back at their table inside the other restaurant, Helga is practicing trying to tell Arnold that she loves him, but has as much luck saying it to herself as she did earlier trying to write it on her Valentine Day card.

Arnold returns, making an excuse about the line at the bathroom. Helga decides to go right for the throat, asking him if there's any girl he likes at his school. Arnold considers the question and then he kinda mentions Helga, who he says kinda bugs him sometimes. Not really the answer she was looking for and Helga almost blows her cover when Arnold tries to explain what "bugs" means.

I hope neither of them left this jerk a tip!

Fortunately their food arrives, sparing Helga from another failed attempt to confess her feelings for him. She promptly digs in enjoying her pink-looking mushy food, that is until Mr. Snooty Waiter comments that not many of their younger customers appreciates "le-cow brains and eggs" -- which is probably the closest thing Chez Paris has to "le-amburger." Upon hearing that Helga gets up quickly and runs to the bathroom to barf, causing her hair to come undone for some reason.

Arnold uses this unexpected opportunity to rush back to Chez Pierre and Ruth, who said that she already got a soda from the other busboy. Arnold realizes she mistook him for a waiter and then sits down and starts to explain, asking if she wonders who Anonymous was. Ruth replies, somewhat annoyed that everyone knew who Anonymous was, that he was some sort of famous poet that they read about in class.

Yeah, you get the idea right then that this girl is a complete airhead and she's a few pounds light. However, despite this, Arnold suggests they talk a bit and get acquainted. Ruth responds indifferent, saying okay but once Anonymous shows up, he'll have to go. Ouch.

We cut back to Helga briefly, who is walking back to their table. Dress and shirt wrinkled and no longer showing off those impossible curves, and hair now loose -- though her Clark Kent-level bangs are still covering her left eye. Once back she realizes she's alone and stands getting ready to leave disappointed, thinking Arnold had abandoned her.

Then we cut back to Arnold, who looks completely bored and disappointed as Ruth, his crush, the sixth-grader that he admired for afar for a whole season goes on-and-on about herself and superficial things like how some other girl copied her hairstyle. Gerald nearby waves him over pointing to the window where Helga is standing up and getting ready to leave. Arnold quickly excuses himself from Ruth -- who is still babbling -- and rushes back to Helga before she can leave.

What happens next is probably one of the more touching scenes of the whole episode and why I personally love Hey Arnold! as a series.

Arnold sits at the table and opens up to Helga, telling her about how he thought he liked this one girl, but found out when he got to know her that the two of them had nothing in common. Helga responds sincerely that maybe she wasn't the girl for him, that the one for him might be someone he didn't expect. She then repeats the same line that Miss Slovak told her earlier in the episode: "After all the most beautiful gift can come in the plainest box."

You really feel in this scene that Helga was being open and honest when speaking to Arnold. She no longer tries to put in that fake-sounding French accent and just speaks to him in a soft, sincere way. Even her disguise falling apart with her long blonde hair now loose and hanging over one eye feels more natural somehow -- a nice touch there.

Arnold accepts that maybe she is right and then confesses to Helga that he was really glad she came and that he's having a really good time with her. This surprises Helga who responds that she feels the same, then actually manages to say that she really likes Arnold and then asks if he likes her back.

There's a long moment where Arnold looks down at their hands, which are close to each other on the small table, just inches apart. Arnold starts to reach for it, but then remembers that he has to deal with his other date -- if only to explain things and say goodbye to his now former crush -- and excuses himself one last time to take care of it. He briefly touches her hand before departing, leaving Helga smiling as she leans on the table.

The entire scene is beautifully done with the pair sitting between a candle-lit table and a guy playing a violin in the background. The music for the scene is just absolutely amazing all thanks to series composer Jim Lang's amazing romantic score. Both Arnold and Helga's young voice actors (Lane Toran and Francesca Smith -- who were both 13 and 11 respectively when they played the roles) do an absolutely wonderful job conveying the emotions of both characters in this scene.

"Say, did you do something different with your hair?"

Ruth meanwhile found herself getting closer with the busboy at Chez Pierre who also happens to like the same superficial things she enjoys: chewing gum, bread sticks and Ruth's hair -- truly the greatest foundation for forming a new relationship if there ever was one.

Arnold returns, only for Ruth to inform him that they were about to leave together, and he can go ahead and clear the plates. Dude....really?! Arnold is clearly not old enough to be a busboy.

Also, I'm pretty sure if that busboy is actually old enough to get employment at a restaurant, then he's way too old to be going out with a 6th grader. Again Ruth clearly isn't the sharpest knife in the draw.

She's all yours, buddy.

Its about this time that Helga looks out the window and sees Arnold talking to Ruth, and is understandably upset. She takes off those ankle-spraining high heels and stops out of Chez Paris and demands to know what's going on. She slams her heels on the ground to emphasis that yeah, she's pissed off.

Arnold tries to explain, but Helga cuts him off with a finger to his nose, saying, "If there's one thing I can't stand its someone not being completely honest about who they are!"

Right on cue, a French-accented voice behind Helga asks for Arnold, saying she was Cecile -- leading to shock on Helga's part and confusion on Arnold's. Miss Hypocrite begins to babble and Cecile asks Arnold what is going on....yeah, like he's got a clue.

Surprise Arnold, the real Cecile has arrived. Gerald....help!

Thankfully, Gerald makes his presence known and comes to the rescue, saying that he's Arnold and offers to take Cecile to a local hamburger joint down the street -- which Cecile happily accepts.

You see, Mr. Snooty Waiter, she's French and she likes "le-amburger" you stuck-up prick!

Gerald and Cecile walk away arm-in-arm leaving two very awkward kids standing there on the cobblestones. Helga remarks that its been a crazy night, which Arnold agrees with. She bends to pick up her shoes, only to have Arnold pick up the other one and look at it before asking, "There's one thing I still don't understand, who are you?"

The fake Cecile finally responds that she can't tell him, but doesn't give an excuse why. Arnold accepts this and then asks, "Will I ever see you again?" At this Helga smiles and says, "Oh, probably."

Arnold takes her hand and tells her this has been the best Valentine's Day he's ever had. Helga agrees and then says she has to go. Then, in a line right out of  the 1942 film Casablanca, Arnold says, "Well, we'll always have Chez Paris" before smoothly kissing her hand. Helga lets out a small, loving sigh and says, "Au revoir, Arnold."

"Later football-head....er, I mean, Au revoir, Arnold."

This is an another touching scene between these two characters.

Certainly Arnold is curious about who his mysterious dinner date actually is. It was established in an earlier episode of the series The Little Pink Book (Season 1, Episode 6a) that Arnold has a secret admirer with a major crush on him. Even as dense as Arnold is he has to know this must be the same girl who wrote those mushy poems about him.

Yet, rather than pry any further, Arnold chooses to respect her privacy and allows her to say goodbye with her secret intact. This shows a great deal of class on Arnold's part.

Helga in turn also seems to forgive Arnold for his own deception in seeing Ruth behind her back on their date. She does so, not just because she'd also been deceiving him; but because, in spite of everything, Arnold still holds her heart and she simply cannot stay mad at him for long.

The fact that the two of them actually enjoyed each other's company in spite of everything was also a good thing. Helga's "au revoir" (French for goodbye till next time) is her way of confirming to him that yes, he will see her again....next day in class, duh!

As Helga walks away holding onto one of her red shoes, she wonders if it was her that Arnold liked, or the her she acted like when she was pretending to be Cecile -- which by the way is a good question, but one that won't be answered for some time in the series.

The final scene shows Arnold walking home and standing at the top of the stairs in front of the open doorway holding Helga's other shoe and looking up at the night sky overhead wondering who his secret admirer actually was as the ending credits begin.

I wonder who she was? Also, that waiter was such a dick!

My Thoughts

Arnold's Valentine is a great special holiday episode of the series, and certainly one of my favorites in terms of the story arc regarding the relationship between the two main protagonists, Arnold and Helga.

For many fans who enjoy the relationship arc, this episode is really one of the first indications -- if only subtly -- that Helga's feelings for Arnold run deeper than just some crush, and that Arnold might actually like Helga back romantically.

In point of fact, the creator of the show, Craig Bartlett, has stated in interviews with fans that Arnold and Helga are in fact soulmates.

There would be other moments between these two in scenes throughout the next four seasons of the series that would build on this and expand on the nature of why Helga loves Arnold in the first place. Seasons four and five have some especially great moments between the two characters.

The build up and the story arc itself is done very well for a series that is allegedly developed for kids and written so beautifully that people into their early adulthood can get into the story.

In fact, the emotional investment in this romantic story arc has inspired a large number of fanfiction stories and fan artwork on over a hundred fan sites throughout the decades, and continues to do so today in spite of the series having long since ended. Not just from teenagers, but also from people in their 20s and even 30s who enjoyed this cult classic animated series -- myself included.

It would take an entire series of five seasons and two movies (the second of which made about 20 years after the series actually premiered in fact!) before the Hey Arnold! fandom would finally get a definitive answer to the question: Do Arnold and Helga end up together?

Spoiler alert: Yes they do!

Anyhow I hope y'all enjoyed my Southern Fried Nostalgic & Fandom review of this special Valentine's Day episode. Please let me know in the comments below if you've seen it and what you thought of my review of this great holiday episode.

Southern Fried Nostalgia & Fandom: Hey Arnold! Episode Review -- Ghost Bride (2003)

This blog post is dedicated to the memory of Hey Arnold! writer, Mr. Steve Viksten (1960-2014).
Thanks for the work you did and what it meant to me and many many others over the years. RIP.

Ghost Bride (Season 5, Episode 88a) written by Steve Viksten and directed by Christine Kolosov was the last and probably the absolute creepiest episode of Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold! animated series involving urban legends. The episode first aired in the United States on Tuesday, November 11, 2003 at 8:00 PM EST along with the second episode, Gerald vs Jamie O (Season 5, Episode 88b). Run time of about 12 minutes.

Because the second half of Season 5 of Hey Arnold! was distributed in North America a year after the originally planned made-for-TV Hey Arnold! The Movie (2002) sadly flopped at the box office and a number of other behind the scenes factors in Nickelodeon's corporate management I won't get into; the episode actually ended up being distributed as the 98th of the 100 episodes of the series in the United States.

When the episode finally premiered, your favorite blogger was a then 26 year old pseudo-adult and still every bit the fan of this show as I was when it first premiered in October of 1996, and remain so to this day. The story in the episode is perhaps one of the most graphic and overall shocking tales any 90s cartoon ever told, and I don't think I'm exaggerating. This is coming from someone who grew up watching classic rerun episodes of macabre horror anthology series like the original The Twilight Zone (and its 1980s revival), Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, and Tales From The Darkside.

The legend of the Ghost Bride as it is told in the episode ranks up there with some of the best horror stories episodes of Nickelodeon's Are You Afraid Of The Dark? and perhaps even something the Cryptkeeper from Tales From The Crypt would tell.  

The writing for the episode, done by the talented Mr. Steve Viksten (1960-2014) was brilliantly done and more than kept anyone watching it fully engaged. It certainly ranks in my top five episodes of Season 5 of Hey Arnold! and in the top 12 of my all-time favorite episodes of the series.
 

The Story

The episode begins one late fall afternoon with a group of our favorite PS 118 kids consisting of Arnold, Gerald, Helga, Harold, Eugene, Sid, Stinky, and Curly passing by the local city cemetery.

During the ensuing conversation about how creepy the place was, Sid brings up the infamous Legend of the Ghost Bride, which Eugene is clueless about. Curly eagerly wants to tell the story because it’s his favorite story, but the other kids all agree that Gerald is their resident Keeper of the Tales, and a better storyteller. Curly insists, but the rest of the group shouts him down resulting in Curly stomping his foot down in frustration....yeah, real mature dude.

What follows is probably one of the most disturbing and daring stories about double-murder and suicide I think I've ever seen depicted in animation....and wow I never thought I'd put some of those words in a sentence! Again, I give total props to the late Mr. Steve Viskten for the excellent work he did here. 

Gerald: "This tale of the Midnight Society...."

Gerald begins to tell the story that took place eighty years before (back in the Middle Ages) about a beautiful young woman, Cynthia Snell (who isn't named in the story), who was very much in love with her fiance and was eagerly looking forward to her wedding day. However, when that day finally came, the bride-to-be waited all day at the church and the groom never showed up. It's later revealed that the reason the fiance never arrived was because he'd fallen in love with the bride's sister, and leaving her at the alter. Adding insult to injury, the groom and the sister got married the day after the groom was supposed to marry his original bride!

This left Cynthia very hurt and very pissed off.

The following night, she went into her closet and put on her wedding dress and went down to her basement to grab a large, sharp axe. Then she walked 13 blocks to her sister's house, goes upstairs to the bedroom, and lays into her sister and ex-fiance/brother-in-law with the axe while they were asleep in bed. This is only shown by the shadowed axe strokes and Psycho-type soundtrack music....a nice touch there, thanks to Hey Arnold! series composer Jim Lang!

Lizzy Borden, eat your heart out.

The next morning when the horrified police finally arrived, they found the bride sitting in a rocking chair next to the blood-covered bed, rocking back and forth, throwing rice on the bodies and smiling insanely while quietly humming the Wedding March. The deranged bride-that-never-was then committed suicide by jumping out the second-story window and was later buried in the city cemetery in her wedding dress where her name is shown on her tombstone.

According to the urban legend, every year on the night of the anniversary of the double-murder/suicide, the Ghost Bride rises from the grave, walking among the tombs and headstones, humming the Wedding March and wielding her bloody axe as she searches for more victims.

Thus ends the tale.

Everyone claps for Gerald as he finishes telling the story, but Curly interjects, still disgruntled, saying that he could have told a better version of the story. He also added that Gerald left out the last and most important fact: that tonight was the anniversary of the Ghost Bride's murderous rampage.

The group of boys agree to show up later that evening before sunset to see if the story is true, despite Harold being scared and saying he had to come so they wouldn't say he was chicken. Curly on the other hand dismisses this and leaves in group in a huff.

Helga asks what time the group should meet, but is told that it's a boys-only thing, with Harold in particular mocking Helga saying that "girls get scared too easy" despite Helga's usual tomboy-like front and Harold's own admission of being scared. An annoyed Helga insists that she wouldn't, but the boys just walk off dismissing her....including her beloved crush, Arnold. Ouch.

Infuriated by the boy's dismissal, Helga angrily rushes home where she finds a white dress in her older sister's closet and a mallet and chains in the basement, planning to pretend to be the Ghost Bride in order to scare the boys.

That evening, all of the boys -- with the exception of Curly -- show up at the cemetery. Harold is the last, and is practically peeing himself in fright before even going through the gate. As soon as they enter, Helga chains and locks the gate behind them laughing in anticipation.

The boys check out Cynthia's grave site, where Arnold reads her crooked and aged tombstone.

By then the sun is begging to set and nervously they decide to go home, after declaring that the legend isn't true. When they return to the front gate, they find the locked door and begin to panic, thinking that the Ghost Bride really has risen from the grave and picked them to be her next victims. Arnold calms everyone down and leads them to the north gate to see if it's open. By then the sun is down and its now dark.

As the boys are walking through the now darkened cemetery, Harold begins to hear the Wedding March tune being hummed in the shadows. Arnold once again tries to calm the group down -- in a somewhat lame way -- but then Helga (now wearing dark eye shadow and posing as the Ghost Bride) stands on top of a tombstone brandishing the mallet, which appears to look like a bloody axe. The freaked out group of boys flees toward the north gate, but Helga already closed and locked it, causing more panic. She then uses a rope that makes the gate shake to scare the boys even more, causing them to retreat further into the cemetery.

Heeeeres Helga!

While the boys are struck with fear trying to think of a way to get out of the cemetery (or in Sid and Harold's cases terrified they are about to be chopped up), Helga appears yet again to chase the screaming boys away. The girl snickers in her triumph and mocks the fact that anyone would believe in the urban legend. After she says this, the sound of another voice that is definitely not hers humming the Wedding March can be heard and what appears to be the real Ghost Bride makes her presence known by standing on a tombstone behind Helga. She let out an ear-piercing scream of terror and runs away.

Helga eventually catches up to the boys and admits that she disguised herself as the Ghost Bride to get back at the boys for not letting her come along with them because she was a girl, and then tells them that the real Ghost Bride appeared and is chasing her. The boys are furious and don't believe her, until the Ghost Bride appears right behind them.

The whole group runs away screaming in terror and takes shelter in a crypt. The Ghost Bride continuously circles the tomb, humming the Wedding March and waiting for a chance to attack. Time pass and Arnold decides that they should at least try to leave and get help. Gerald decides to go with him while the others hold up in their improvised shelter.

Arnold and Gerald leave the tomb and, when the Ghost Bride comes into view; they hide the bushes. As the Ghost Bride passes, Arnold takes notice of something and follows her at a distance followed by a nervous Gerald. The Ghost Bride picks up another wooden mallet that looks like an axe and begins busting the tomb door open. Just as she gets the tomb door open and scaring the group of kids hiding inside, Arnold walks up behind her and pulls off her veil, revealing the Ghost Bride to be none other than Curly.

The group gets understandably angry with Curly, except for Eugene who says he can't believe Curly looks good in that wedding dress. Curly explains that his reason why he pulled that stunt was because he was mad at the others for saying that he wasn't as good at telling stories as Gerald and how it wasn't fair.

He would have gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for that meddling, Football-head!

You know, Curly does pull the look off better.

Sid angrily suggests that they should lock him in the tomb and leave him; everyone agrees and gang up on Curly. As punishment they leave him tied up in the crypt. Strangely, even though Helga also did the same thing (abet not going as far as breaking into a locked tomb with a fake axe), she doesn't meet the same punishment -- or any punishment at all.

As the group is leaving the cemetery -- presumably after Helga unlocks the gate, Arnold reveals that he knew it was Curly. He explained that while he and Gerald were hiding in the bushes, as the "Ghost Bride" walked by, Arnold took notice of his red-and-white striped socks and remembered that Curly was wearing them earlier that day when he stomped in frustration.

As the kids leave the cemetery they also leave Curly tied up and trapped in the crypt. When Sid now asks if they should let him out, Arnold smiled and tells the others that he didn't think it will take long for Curly to figure that the door of the mausoleum only locks from the inside.

The episode ends with Curly, still tied up in the crypt, hearing the real Ghost Bride humming the Wedding March and asking if it's Helga pranking him. His blood-curdling scream of fright can be heard as this dark and spooky episode comes to an end.


My Thoughts

Obviously Curly didn't end up hacked into pieces by the vengeful Cynthia Snell since he's in the rest of the series and in Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie (2017). Like other twist endings in other spooky episodes of the series, the final twist never seems to be canon with the rest of the show.

In my own head canon, I personally like to think that once he gets over his initial fright, Curly tells the Ghost Bride he's a huge fan of hers, or that maybe she realizes this and unties him letting him go because they share the same form of crazy?

Overall, this episode and urban legend is perhaps one of the darkest stories in the series, other than maybe the Haunted Train (Season 1, Episode 8b) that I mentioned in a previous blog post was also one of my favorites. Like that episode, Ghost Bride is also one of those episodes that I enjoy watching traditionally this time of the year around my favorite holiday of the year.

Aside from being a fun and spooky watch, what's the lesson of the episode? Well, I can only think of two in particular: Don't be misogynistic assholes to Helga, because she will get even; and next time the sociopath of the group wants to tell the story....just let him.

Well, that's it for this post, please let me know what you think of this article in the comments below, and as always have a wonderful Dixie Day and Happy Halloween, Y'all!