I thought it was fitting to begin this series with a Halloween episode, Season 2 Episode 7, Halloweenie. Of course Halloween is upon us so it's just seasonally perfect to watch this anyway. As an introduction to Pete and Pete bullies, it's a good first episode to discuss mega bully, Endless Mike Hellstrom.
Played by Rick Gomez, Mike proves to be a ruthless and manipulative person. He loves inciting fear in those around him. And though Mike laughs and smiles, he merely uses this to create ease with his prey before pouncing with a sharp turn in his mood. In general Endless Mike and his crew partake in low-stakes high jinks, but Mike is a good model for a TV villain that is disturbing and comical.
In Halloweenie, Mike's identity is hidden behind a mask for most of the episode. He is also enticed by the promise of good-guy Pete Wrigley showing his dark side. Mike doesn't just want to terrorize Pete, he wants to convert Pete. Endless Mike doesn't create victims by pushing them away, he likes to lure them in with the promise of acceptance - as long as they play by his rules. Mike would do the classic beat'em up thing, but he could always use new followers...
Halloweenie
S2 E7 - Air Date: October 30, 1994
I watched this episode with and without commentary, and one of the notable comments from the creators Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi is that the episode's director, Peter Lauer was known for wanting to make ambitious, dynamic imagery for the show. It's noted that Pete and Pete had no concrete formula for style, which allowed directors to be as creative as they wanted to be. Because of that you can see Lauer's touches in Halloweenie; slow-motion sequences, cameras placed in odd places and through objects. He got to make his horror movie dreams come true.
On the other hand Big Pete hates Halloween. He doesn't know where his Halloween spirit went, but he is not having any of his little brother's antics. Big Pete disparages Halloween as a "dork holiday." He might just be growing up, but Big Pete is down right spiteful over Halloween.
This year, like many before, Little Pete has the ambition to beat the record for most houses visited in one night on Halloween. Thirty-one years ago the Stilt siblings hit 374 houses that Halloween. They became legends, and aside from the massive amount of candy, Little Pete wants that level of immortality. Big Pete would be the perfect partner, if he didn't hate Halloween with a passion.
With Big Pete clearly not interested, Nona offers her assistance. She even proves her dedication to Little Pete by drawing his tattoo, Petunia, on her cast.
Crossing Guard Frank (played by James Lally) warns Little Pete and Nona that Halloween is on the line this year. The evil gang called the Pumpkin Eaters have been terrorizing the town of Wellsville on Halloween for years. Their identities are hidden with jack-o-lantern heads, and they ride around ruining everything on a fleet of mountain bikes. Frank says, if they strike too hard, Halloween will be banned in the town of Wellsville, potentially making this one the last year.
Big Pete and Ellen are walking around the neighborhood discussing the Pumpkin Eater controversy. Pete admits to Ellen that he fully loathes Halloween, and would maybe even be happy if this turned out to be the last year they celebrated. As they turn down the street they happen upon a veritable pumpkin graveyard in an alleyway. There is one lone, untouched jack-o-lantern on the ground that Big Pete is tempted to crush.
Even though the act of smashing pumpkins is associated with the Pumpkin Eaters and the senseless damage they do, Pete feels a release when he slams it to the ground. He now understands the appeal.
Little does he know, the Pumpkin Eaters were watching from inside the whole time. Endless Mike is revealed to the audience as the ringleader, and he's thrilled that Big Pete had it in him to smash the pumpkin.
This plot is similar to the episode Yellow Fever, which I will be covering in a later blog post. It's a theme in which Big Pete falls toward the dark side of social structure, and Endless Mike takes advantage of the situation.
Unfortunately, just that evening Little Pete and Nona are ambushed by the Pumpkin Eaters. They're chased screaming through the neighborhood, held down, and covered in shaving cream and toilet paper. Little Pete's jack-o-lantern creation is destroyed right on the Wrigley's front porch. The only thing the Wrigley's can do is watch in horror.
Nona's father, famously played by Iggy Pop, has decided to forbid Nona from going out trick or treating.
Big Pete offers to help Little Pete beat the record. He feels guilty for smashing that one pumpkin, as if that was the cause for the mayhem from the previous night. Big Pete can't help but feel like he upset the Halloween gods.
Ellen warns Big Pete not to go trick or treating, lest he suffer the same fate as Ned Richmond.
Ned was a fifteen-year-old who went trick or treating and got "roasted" by the Pumpkin Eaters. They humiliated Ned, tying him upside down to a tree and branding him a "Halloweenie." Ned became untouchable.
Big Pete assures Ellen he can figure out how to avoid this punishment. The brother's are trick or treating as astronauts, so their faces will be hidden the whole time. But Pete admits to himself that he has a deep fear of being unmasked that night.
The brothers Pete take on the neighborhood with expertise. They are the perfect team, using their in-helmet walkie-talkies to communicate. And Little Pete took full advantage of the bathroom features in his space suit.
Side note: in the commentary the show's creators mention that Nickelodeon standards and practices allowed them to add the line about Little Pete peeing in his space suit as long as there was no sound of him doing it.
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| What is this elaborate house of cards costume?? |
Traumatized, some are chased up trees. Frank warns Big and Little Pete to go another way to avoid the riff raff. Little Pete knows all of the neighborhood shortcuts, so they manage to hit 203 houses.
It's not easy to tick these houses off their list, as the Pumpkin Eaters have frightened home owners into darkening their porch lights. This doesn't stop the boys from getting more candy thanks to the creativity of like-minded neighbors.
With only six more blocks to go the brothers approach Ned Richmond's house. Ned is played by Larc Spies who you may remember from Strangers with Candy (another offbeat show I love to death). Ned is dressed as a matador with a thin marker mustache. He answers the door with an enthusiastic "Ole!"
Ned is someone who loves Halloween despite what happened to him. He immediately recognizes Big Pete through his mask. Big Pete tries to deny it, claiming to be Neal Armstrong, but Ned knows what's up. He mistakes Pete's evasion for diehard Halloween roll playing, and offers to go trick or treating with him next year.
This is all too much for Big Pete to bear. All Pete wanted to do was help his little brother, and maybe appease the Halloween gods. But his hate for Halloween, and all the reminders of why, were killing his spirit.
Big Pete associates Halloween with shame, embarrassment, and disappointment. We don't get a real back story on why this is true for Big Pete. At his age, it's a time when teens are expected to put aside childish things and stop trick or treating. Big Pete is getting older, so he's sick of being immersed in a holiday that isn't socially acceptable for him to fully participate in any more. Instead of allowing his little brother to enjoy it, he has the instinct to reject Halloween in a very vocal way.
Upset by Ned's suggestion that Big Pete is in the same ranks with him - an untouchable in the social hierarchy - and his use of the endearing twist on Pete's last name "Wriggles" Big Pete tells Little Pete that he needs to find a new partner tonight. A huge theme in the series is Big Pete terminating a tradition he previously shared with Little Pete from fear of embarrassment by his peers. Big Pete is always looking for ways to be more popular and rising in the ranks in any situation. Meanwhile, Little Pete is not so self conscience. He is more concerned with achieving awesomeness, and upholding the bonds of family and friendship - despite his bend for anarchy. Little Pete travels his own path and surrounds himself with like-minded people. Little Pete's conflict is often that he's faced with realizing Big Pete, a family member, a brother, is not necessarily on his side.
Little Pete calls Big Pete a traitor, and Big Pete runs toward home as fast as he can. Big Pete explains in the narration that he knows what he is doing is cowardly and unfair to his brother, but in his mind the ends justify the means.
Just as Big Pete thinks he's escaping doom, the Pumpkin Eaters chase him down. In a crazy chase sequence, Big Pete runs through yards, hopping chain linked fences. Someone's Rottweiler joins the chase. The Pumpkin Eaters are somehow able to jump these fences on their mountain bikes with no ramps. Big Pete tricks one Pumpkin Eater into flying his bike into a pool, buying Pete some time.
Meanwhile, Little Pete is doing well on his own. He speaks into his helmet radio "In forty-five minutes I'm gonna be famous, and you're gonna be a blow hole!"
But Big Pete is too busy running for his life to get the message. He crawls in through the open window of a closed down haunted house. The Pumpkin Eaters make it just in time for Crossing Guard Frank's flashlight to scan over the window like a beacon in a prison escape movie.
Big Pete is sure he's evaded the Pumpkin Eaters. He takes a moment to take in the haunted house, and jeer at the decorations. He's startled by what looks like a Pumkin Eater, but after nudging the figure, he realizes it's a dummy. Big Pete mopes, "I hate this holiday." Little Pete radios back "Well it hates you too!"
Big Pete continues to walk through the house. Seeing another pumpkin-headed dummy, Pete aggressively shoves it. But this time it shoves back. "Tag! You're dead!"
Big Pete runs screaming through the house, as other Pumpkin Eaters emerge from closets laughing maniacally. They corner Pete in the basement. The bulkhead doors are locked from the outside. Endless Mike, with his pumpkin head disguise says "Well, well, well, if it isn't the biggest Halloweenie of all."
Little Pete is approaching his last house. He pauses to radio Big Pete about his imminent victory. But on the other end of the radio Big Pete is pleading for his life. Little Pete hears:
"What do you want from me?"
"Just your soul..."
Little Pete knows that Big Pete has been caught. "Bite my scab! Why? Why now?!"
Endless Mike explains to Big Pete that they all saw him smashing the pumpkin in the alley the other day. Mike thought it was promising to see that Big Pete had a bit of darkness in him. He knows that Pete hates Halloween, and he uses fact this to make Pete think he has support in the war on Halloween. Mike gives Pete an ultimatum. Smash a pumpkin and join their gang, destroying Halloween in Wellsville forever, or end up like Ned Richmond.
With a fresh Jack-o-lantern in hand, Big Pete acknowledges the level of power he wields.
As Mike tells Pete, "No one's looking." Pete retorts, "Sorry to hear that." and crashes the pumpkin against Mike's mask, causing it to shatter.
Big Pete is shocked that the ringleader of the Pumpkin Eaters was Endless Mike - for some reason.
"Who did you expect, Mr. Tastee?" says Mike before he lunges at Big Pete.
Just as the Pumpkin Eaters are about to have their way with Pete, the bulkhead doors swing open. Frank and Little Pete are staring down. The jig is up.
Endless Mike's cronies run away, leaving an exposed Endless Mike. Little Pete wacks Mike with his massive bag of candy and headbutts him for good measure.
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| A bag of candy blasting Endless Mike |
This sequence is the most violent the series gets, and it's very cartoonish. The villains are caught like a Scooby Doo mystery, except instead of unmasking the bad guy, they unmask him and then mask him again.
In the epilogue, Endless Mike and his gang are cleaning up Nona's house as punishment. Nona's dad comes out to say "You missed a spot... stooge." (a reference to Iggy Pop and the Stooges).
Because Little Pete is such a good and loyal brother, he was able to put aside his quest for immortality to save his older brother's [social] life. By stopping the Pumpkin Eaters, Little Pete was also able to save Halloween for the whole town. Big Pete admits that at the end of the day this is a bigger and better win for the season. They can try to beat the record again next year...
The episode is played out by "Waiting for October" by Polaris.
I am really excited to further explore Endless Mike and introduce the other maladjusted youth of Wellsville.
As always please visit my Etsy shop Slushenminer for Pete and Pete enamel pins!
