![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
impyAlright. Midnight Club thoughts now that I've had some time to think it over.
Let's talk the music since that's the first thing Cass mentioned to me when she started the series and found herself about halfway through. The show starts in 1994 and then skips ahead 9 months which I think puts us in early 1995, but the first episode ends on Flagpole Sitta, which my ass knows damn well came out after that because I remember the first time I heard about the song was on IRC from my friend zed and having to ask what the fuck his quit message was from.
So yeah, the music in this show is anachronistic but not like...in a way that feels intentional. It just feels lazy and like they desperately wanted the song recognition that comes more from the later half of the decade but for whatever reason didn't want to set the show then. If this is the kind of thing that bugs you even a little, prepare thyself because it starts early and is frequent.
There are probably a few exceptions but my favorite use of a song is... well, we'll get there.
I knew going in that the show had expanded the cast beyond our main five (Sandra, Ilonka, Kevin, Spence, and Anya), had changed our kindly doctor (hello, Heather Langenkamp), and was weaving in stories from other Pike books, which made sense given how often Mike Flanagan gushed over Pike in the interviews I read well before the show dropped. As soon as the first proper non-teaser trailer came out, it became obvious that they'd also twisted The Midnight Club's storyline and added something spooky.
Annnnnnnnnnnnd this is your last chance to run away from spoilers because yeah
t
h
a
t
s
t
a
r
t
s
n
o
w
.
.
.
TMC as a book stood out because it was one of the few that, despite the cover, didn't actually rely on spooky happenings. For all the dying kids wanted to believe in hauntings and life after death, most of the book is coming to terms with life and death. On re-reading it as an adult, it definitely felt like a short story stringing together other short stories that the kids tell one another, but there's a definite through line for the characters and the stories they tell, or don't tell in Sandra's case.
I think that in choosing which stories to have the characters tell, the powers that be did a good job. The new characters work well for the stories they're assigned and the preexisting characters are mostly given new stories to tell, as only one of the tales from TMC actually makes its way into the show. (The Two Danas, as a quick glimpse of the episode list will tell you.) Honestly, given the stories told in the book, I get it and I don't even mind that much because the two Danas is probably one of the better stories in TMC and I'm not sure the world would be all that horrified by a shooter on the Eiffel Tower these days and we don't need to give people more ideas on how to fucking kill a bunch of people in a high school. So, yeah, I'm fine with them swapping out TMC's stories for other Pike stories.
That being said... there's definitely a sliding scale for how well they did them. I'm pretty sure we get part of a new story courtesy of Natsuki (Janine from the new BSC) and since Ilonka's got the biggest change to her story, she also tells a new story but that ties directly to the house's backstory so I'm not fully counting it.
Gimme A Kiss gets seriously condensed (majorly) and gender-swapped and the tone changes completely as it's done film noir style annnnnnnnnd this one I imagine will be the biggest your mileage may vary based on how much you like the style and how well you think they pulled it off. It wasn't my favorite, honestly, but the reaction in show to the ending and the reaction Cass's husband had are both priceless so there's that. Sandra tells this one and it fits with what they were trying to do with her.
The Wicked Heart is Kevin's contribution and it fits show!Kevin while also paying homage to book!Kevin's habit of having his stories being told over multiple nights. The Wicked Heart was never one of my big favorite Pike books and it's one I haven't read in years. I think parts of it were well done but for where the conclusion lands in the show, they didn't save any of their budget for the FX they chose to use and it's... weird. BUT! This story ends with my favorite song choice:
Richard Marx's Hazard. I cannot tell you the number of Pike books that had this as part of their soundtrack when I was reading (or re-reading them) over the years. Annnnnnnd since this song was winding down when I was in 6th grade, I knew it was totally plausible as a song they could have used. :P
Anya tells the Dana story and gets an episode to herself that I shall not spoil other than to say that yeah, I cried. Also, show. You set this episode in 97 so this is where you could've dumped all those songs you wanted to use. *twitch*
Ilonka tells Witch and it's probably the story most chopped to bits, which is kind of funny since I re-read Witch recently and thought it would weave in perfectly for a story told to The Midnight Club. Um...it doesn't really? Or it doesn't if you're familiar with Witch, but if not maybe it works much better. I'll have to ask Tammy or Porchia if they watch how well they think it works. I genuinely cannot tell if they forgot to tie up the loose end with the girl Imani's mother saved or if they're going to come back to it if they do get that second season they're clearly trying for. Maybe I just liked the sisterly vibe the story went with and the show tries to be "the power of friendship!" but that literally only works because we're reusing the actors (as they should be) and where it lands in the episode list. Cheri helps finish Witch but does not tell a Midnight Club story herself.
Spence tells The Eternal Enemy and this highlights how different book Spence and show Spence are. Book!Spence tells incredibly gruesome horror stories with an exceptional body count and a big twist in the book deals in part with Spence and him being gay and having AIDS. I get why they changed it- it's something that worked at the time but even in a story set in the early 90's, wouldn't go over well with the audience they're targeting for this show. I get it. Book Spence has lived a bit more than show!Spence, so their journeys are also different, but it feels like at his core Spence is still... Spence. He heckles the others and frequently stops them mid-story to point out flaws in order to make their stories better. He still stands up to Anya and is one of my favorites, annnnnnnd yet I didn't love The Eternal Enemy. It wasn't one of my favorite books either, and it's one where I don't remember much beyond "VCR tapes the future" and reading it at my grandmother's house and wondering if I too was supposed to be obsessing over which movies showed nudity, however brief. (Never did figure out the answer to that question.) It gets gender-swapped and I'd bet some other stuff changed as well. For what's done with it, it's done well, but not my favorite either.
Amesh, another of the newbies, is a gamer and deeply upset that he won't live long enough to play the Playstation when it comes out. It's only fitting that he tells See You Later, which is one of the Pikes I either love or like a lot. Annnnnnnd while it's cut short in the telling, it gives me my dose of Rahul Kohli, and the rest of the episode is one of the better ones. The story works for Amesh and even with it being told in a very short time frame, it's still recognizable and I did remember how it ends. I get my giggles in general because SYL is one of those books where Pike name drops his other work.
Just gonna say it now: I love Amesh. ♥
Natsuki begins the show with the original story (I think) and her other contribution is Road to Nowhere and holyfuck, it's my favorite episode/story tie in. It doesn't matter that it's one where despite not reading it any time recently, I still remember a lot when push comes to shove, it just works for Natsuki and I really liked Poppy's actress in the role.
Okay. So the stories work to varying degrees (none were bad) and I still think the idea to weave in stories that might or might not work that well as stand alone entries was inspired.
What I didn't love, however, was the decision to give Brightcliff (the hospice) a creepy backstory and how it was done. I get why they did. They wanted horror and TMC is lacking in your normal horror movie horror. So give it a creepy cultist backstory and a secret basement with a bodycount and voila! But they don't really manage to do anything with it other than make Ilonka kind of annoying. Ilonka chooses to go to Brightcliff after reading about Julia Jayne, a patient who disappeared for a week back in '68 and returned to the facility cured. Since she and Julia have the same disease, Ilonka figures there's a chance she'll find the same cure. While out walking around the grounds, she runs across a neighbor who is clearly more than she seems and encourages Ilonka's search for a cure and information about the house.
The show is also very, very low on the scares which would be fine if not for them genuinely (I think?) trying to do tamer scares. One of the best things about Pike is that he didn't pull his punches for his younger audience. Reading his adult books and his YA stuff and there are differences but it's not like he's saying the YA audience needs things dumbed down. It's one of the reasons why his fans over the years have been very faithful, even if a lot of us do draw a line on where we consider the good stuff to be found. By contrast, Stine definitely pulled punches for his Fear Street and books of that nature.
It's disappointing that there's nary a scare to be found in The Midnight Club. :/
Also disappointing is the fact that we end on a cliffhanger. It's not until the very, very end we're given the info as to who the old couple haunting Ilonka and Kevin are, but nothing is done with them and why they're the only two being haunted and dude, this show desperately wants a season 2 and is willing to gamble on that.
I was impressed in how they handled the book's plotline where Ilonka finds out that one of the club members is going home because they were misdiagnosed as it wasn't as simple as assuming they'd just keep it as Sandra given that they'd changed things about her and by the time it's revealed who they went with, you're actively rooting for it to be, well, any of them. Except Ilonka. :P
Other thoughts as they flit by my brain: I legitimately liked Cheri and while she's not given a ton to work with, I will always have a soft spot for spoiled rich girl who lies to get attention but has a heart of fucking gold. All three of the newbies are fantastic, btw.
The ritual to save Anya made me cry so hard and then the following episode managed to crush me even more and I knew it was going to do so.
I'd like to point out to those complaining about others complaining that MF shows aren't just about horror but deal very heavily in grief: the book he adapted was about grief and they chose to ADD horror, so yeah, I feel justified in complaining that this one didn't have enough in the way of horror.
Overall, I think it's definitely worth a watch and I'll happily devour a second season if they choose to do so, but I do hope they'll remember to actually try and scare me, dammit.
Let's talk the music since that's the first thing Cass mentioned to me when she started the series and found herself about halfway through. The show starts in 1994 and then skips ahead 9 months which I think puts us in early 1995, but the first episode ends on Flagpole Sitta, which my ass knows damn well came out after that because I remember the first time I heard about the song was on IRC from my friend zed and having to ask what the fuck his quit message was from.
So yeah, the music in this show is anachronistic but not like...in a way that feels intentional. It just feels lazy and like they desperately wanted the song recognition that comes more from the later half of the decade but for whatever reason didn't want to set the show then. If this is the kind of thing that bugs you even a little, prepare thyself because it starts early and is frequent.
There are probably a few exceptions but my favorite use of a song is... well, we'll get there.
I knew going in that the show had expanded the cast beyond our main five (Sandra, Ilonka, Kevin, Spence, and Anya), had changed our kindly doctor (hello, Heather Langenkamp), and was weaving in stories from other Pike books, which made sense given how often Mike Flanagan gushed over Pike in the interviews I read well before the show dropped. As soon as the first proper non-teaser trailer came out, it became obvious that they'd also twisted The Midnight Club's storyline and added something spooky.
Annnnnnnnnnnnd this is your last chance to run away from spoilers because yeah
t
h
a
t
s
t
a
r
t
s
n
o
w
.
.
.
TMC as a book stood out because it was one of the few that, despite the cover, didn't actually rely on spooky happenings. For all the dying kids wanted to believe in hauntings and life after death, most of the book is coming to terms with life and death. On re-reading it as an adult, it definitely felt like a short story stringing together other short stories that the kids tell one another, but there's a definite through line for the characters and the stories they tell, or don't tell in Sandra's case.
I think that in choosing which stories to have the characters tell, the powers that be did a good job. The new characters work well for the stories they're assigned and the preexisting characters are mostly given new stories to tell, as only one of the tales from TMC actually makes its way into the show. (The Two Danas, as a quick glimpse of the episode list will tell you.) Honestly, given the stories told in the book, I get it and I don't even mind that much because the two Danas is probably one of the better stories in TMC and I'm not sure the world would be all that horrified by a shooter on the Eiffel Tower these days and we don't need to give people more ideas on how to fucking kill a bunch of people in a high school. So, yeah, I'm fine with them swapping out TMC's stories for other Pike stories.
That being said... there's definitely a sliding scale for how well they did them. I'm pretty sure we get part of a new story courtesy of Natsuki (Janine from the new BSC) and since Ilonka's got the biggest change to her story, she also tells a new story but that ties directly to the house's backstory so I'm not fully counting it.
Gimme A Kiss gets seriously condensed (majorly) and gender-swapped and the tone changes completely as it's done film noir style annnnnnnnnd this one I imagine will be the biggest your mileage may vary based on how much you like the style and how well you think they pulled it off. It wasn't my favorite, honestly, but the reaction in show to the ending and the reaction Cass's husband had are both priceless so there's that. Sandra tells this one and it fits with what they were trying to do with her.
The Wicked Heart is Kevin's contribution and it fits show!Kevin while also paying homage to book!Kevin's habit of having his stories being told over multiple nights. The Wicked Heart was never one of my big favorite Pike books and it's one I haven't read in years. I think parts of it were well done but for where the conclusion lands in the show, they didn't save any of their budget for the FX they chose to use and it's... weird. BUT! This story ends with my favorite song choice:
Richard Marx's Hazard. I cannot tell you the number of Pike books that had this as part of their soundtrack when I was reading (or re-reading them) over the years. Annnnnnnd since this song was winding down when I was in 6th grade, I knew it was totally plausible as a song they could have used. :P
Anya tells the Dana story and gets an episode to herself that I shall not spoil other than to say that yeah, I cried. Also, show. You set this episode in 97 so this is where you could've dumped all those songs you wanted to use. *twitch*
Ilonka tells Witch and it's probably the story most chopped to bits, which is kind of funny since I re-read Witch recently and thought it would weave in perfectly for a story told to The Midnight Club. Um...it doesn't really? Or it doesn't if you're familiar with Witch, but if not maybe it works much better. I'll have to ask Tammy or Porchia if they watch how well they think it works. I genuinely cannot tell if they forgot to tie up the loose end with the girl Imani's mother saved or if they're going to come back to it if they do get that second season they're clearly trying for. Maybe I just liked the sisterly vibe the story went with and the show tries to be "the power of friendship!" but that literally only works because we're reusing the actors (as they should be) and where it lands in the episode list. Cheri helps finish Witch but does not tell a Midnight Club story herself.
Spence tells The Eternal Enemy and this highlights how different book Spence and show Spence are. Book!Spence tells incredibly gruesome horror stories with an exceptional body count and a big twist in the book deals in part with Spence and him being gay and having AIDS. I get why they changed it- it's something that worked at the time but even in a story set in the early 90's, wouldn't go over well with the audience they're targeting for this show. I get it. Book Spence has lived a bit more than show!Spence, so their journeys are also different, but it feels like at his core Spence is still... Spence. He heckles the others and frequently stops them mid-story to point out flaws in order to make their stories better. He still stands up to Anya and is one of my favorites, annnnnnnd yet I didn't love The Eternal Enemy. It wasn't one of my favorite books either, and it's one where I don't remember much beyond "VCR tapes the future" and reading it at my grandmother's house and wondering if I too was supposed to be obsessing over which movies showed nudity, however brief. (Never did figure out the answer to that question.) It gets gender-swapped and I'd bet some other stuff changed as well. For what's done with it, it's done well, but not my favorite either.
Amesh, another of the newbies, is a gamer and deeply upset that he won't live long enough to play the Playstation when it comes out. It's only fitting that he tells See You Later, which is one of the Pikes I either love or like a lot. Annnnnnnd while it's cut short in the telling, it gives me my dose of Rahul Kohli, and the rest of the episode is one of the better ones. The story works for Amesh and even with it being told in a very short time frame, it's still recognizable and I did remember how it ends. I get my giggles in general because SYL is one of those books where Pike name drops his other work.
Just gonna say it now: I love Amesh. ♥
Natsuki begins the show with the original story (I think) and her other contribution is Road to Nowhere and holyfuck, it's my favorite episode/story tie in. It doesn't matter that it's one where despite not reading it any time recently, I still remember a lot when push comes to shove, it just works for Natsuki and I really liked Poppy's actress in the role.
Okay. So the stories work to varying degrees (none were bad) and I still think the idea to weave in stories that might or might not work that well as stand alone entries was inspired.
What I didn't love, however, was the decision to give Brightcliff (the hospice) a creepy backstory and how it was done. I get why they did. They wanted horror and TMC is lacking in your normal horror movie horror. So give it a creepy cultist backstory and a secret basement with a bodycount and voila! But they don't really manage to do anything with it other than make Ilonka kind of annoying. Ilonka chooses to go to Brightcliff after reading about Julia Jayne, a patient who disappeared for a week back in '68 and returned to the facility cured. Since she and Julia have the same disease, Ilonka figures there's a chance she'll find the same cure. While out walking around the grounds, she runs across a neighbor who is clearly more than she seems and encourages Ilonka's search for a cure and information about the house.
The show is also very, very low on the scares which would be fine if not for them genuinely (I think?) trying to do tamer scares. One of the best things about Pike is that he didn't pull his punches for his younger audience. Reading his adult books and his YA stuff and there are differences but it's not like he's saying the YA audience needs things dumbed down. It's one of the reasons why his fans over the years have been very faithful, even if a lot of us do draw a line on where we consider the good stuff to be found. By contrast, Stine definitely pulled punches for his Fear Street and books of that nature.
It's disappointing that there's nary a scare to be found in The Midnight Club. :/
Also disappointing is the fact that we end on a cliffhanger. It's not until the very, very end we're given the info as to who the old couple haunting Ilonka and Kevin are, but nothing is done with them and why they're the only two being haunted and dude, this show desperately wants a season 2 and is willing to gamble on that.
I was impressed in how they handled the book's plotline where Ilonka finds out that one of the club members is going home because they were misdiagnosed as it wasn't as simple as assuming they'd just keep it as Sandra given that they'd changed things about her and by the time it's revealed who they went with, you're actively rooting for it to be, well, any of them. Except Ilonka. :P
Other thoughts as they flit by my brain: I legitimately liked Cheri and while she's not given a ton to work with, I will always have a soft spot for spoiled rich girl who lies to get attention but has a heart of fucking gold. All three of the newbies are fantastic, btw.
The ritual to save Anya made me cry so hard and then the following episode managed to crush me even more and I knew it was going to do so.
I'd like to point out to those complaining about others complaining that MF shows aren't just about horror but deal very heavily in grief: the book he adapted was about grief and they chose to ADD horror, so yeah, I feel justified in complaining that this one didn't have enough in the way of horror.
Overall, I think it's definitely worth a watch and I'll happily devour a second season if they choose to do so, but I do hope they'll remember to actually try and scare me, dammit.