Halloween Discussion Forums, Costumes, Horror!

I'm curious what kind of pop culture fandoms anyone in the forums would be into?
I think it's already obvious we all love horror movies, Halloween specials, and of course Halloween itself.
But I'm talking about things like movie, video game and music franchises.
I myself am a fan of the MCU or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I love Rocket and Groot, they make a great dynamic dual and team in Guardians of the Galaxy. I think it's obvious that I also like Goose the Flurkin. XD
I might have mentioned I'm a long time huge Sonic the hedgehog fan. My boyfriend and I have an extensive collection of Sonic media.
I'm also in the Lion King fandom, I grew up with the Lion King and enjoy all the fun fan theories and attempts to close plotholes from it's Direct to Video sequel that the fans come up with (and Disney refuses to address).
My boyfriend also got me into Mario, and I'm a huge Bowser fan.
I love the Elder Scrolls and Fallout 4. I have cook books for both worlds, so I'm happy to cook with magic AND radiation. I have a strange theory that the two worlds are actually connected. Elder Scrolls is a fantasy based RPG, while Fallout is a post-apocalyptic science fiction. Both worlds do have plenty of horror elements in them, and Fallout takes place during Halloween. I'm not kidding, you walk into abandoned houses with retro Halloween decorations in it. It's kind of neat. As for Elder Scrolls, there's werewolves, vampires, monsters, walking skeletons and zombies, plenty for the Halloween enthusiast to enjoy. While Skyrim is definitely the most popular, I was introduced to the Elder Scrolls Universe with Morrowind, and found I enjoy the story in Morrowind and Oblivion more. But there's plenty I enjoy about Skyrim as well.
As for bands, Disturbed is my favorite probably followed by Linkin Park, I love all the edgy metal, rock and alternative stuff. Metal and rock are my favorite genres of music, but I also like a bit of electronic/techno and dubstep.
I enjoy good animations with good plot points. I also love anime. Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Bleach, Inuyasha, Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, Fairy Tale there's a lot of good anime out there and literally something for everyone. I'd really like to see more Shonen like anime with female protagonists though, as most of the female centered ones are really sappy and romance based. But all the series do have good female characters in them. My favorite My Hero Academia character is actually All Might. And I was happy when they finally brought in some female Super Sayajins, but I have to say I like Vegeta and Trunks the best, probably. But I also like Gohan. Gohan's really come a long way and it was about TIME they gave him the spotlight again in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. Fairy Tail has Erza...and I could go on. XD
My favorite genres are actually fantasy and science fiction, although I do dabble in horror during Halloween season and often the three genres can intermix and blend into each other easily.
I also grew up with Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles.
The list could go on, but what are you all into besides horror/Halloween stuff?

I'm a pop culture junkie.

I've listed below, in no particular order, a small example of some of the franchises that I love, if something is listed here then I usually like anything associated with that franchise as well, such as movies, shows, cartoons, comics, books, and games. Believe me, there is a lot more that I'm interested in but this is just what I could think of right now.

I have a vast knowledge of each franchise, and can discuss each of them in detail with anyone that wants to.

Are you sure that you want to play this game? Think carefully before you reply.


Sci fi movies and shows - Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate, Battlestar Galactica, Sliders, Quantum Leap, Doctor Who, Terminator, RoboCop, Aliens, Predator, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, LOTR, Continuum, Lost In Space, Travelers, Fringe, Manifest, Invasion, Salvation, The Event, Lost, Life on Mars, Threshold, Under the Dome, and Wayward Pines.

Cartoons and kids shows - The Simpsons, G.I. Joe, Voltron, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Smurfs, Snorks, ThunderCats, Inspector Gadget, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Care Bears, Garfield and Friends, He-Man & She-Ra, Jem, Bucky O'Hare, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Eek! The Cat, Bobby's World, Life with Louie, Gargoyles, Ren & Stimpy, Beavis and Butt-Head, South Park, Family Guy, Cybersix, Rugrats, Powerpuff Girls, The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, VR Troopers, Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad, Beetleborgs, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Goosebumps, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, pretty much anything that was on the Disney afternoon like DuckTales, Darkwing Duck, Mighty Ducks, Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers, and TaleSpin, and anything to do with Scooby-Doo and The Muppets.

I'm also into any comic related movies and shows from DC, Marvel, or independents, like Batman The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, X-Men, and Spider-Man just to name a few.

Shows - The Twilight Zone, Gilligan's Island, The Munsters, The Addams Family, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, The Avengers, WKRP in Cincinnati, Mork & Mindy, The Love Boat, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, CHiPs, ALF, Mama's Family, Cheers, The Wonder Years, Knight Rider, Walking Dead, and Z nation.

For anime, I haven't watched any new stuff in years, but I'm still a fan of the older anime like Astro Boy, Akira, Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, Fullmetal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell, and Cowboy Bebop.

For video game franchises I like The Super Mario Bros, Zelda, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, and Double Dragon.

Y'all are clearly of my kids' generation! Some of those shows I have fond feelings for, because my kids loved them.

My first pop culture fixation was an English TV show about Robin Hood starring Richard Green. I must have been watching it when I was as young as 3, because my mother wrote in a diary she kept back then that I'd asked her if Robin Hood were a real man. My husband found a complete DVD set of that TV show at Cracker Barrel a few yrs back and bought it for me. I have since looked it up on line and discovered it was written by exiled Hollywood writers who'd been blacklisted. Of course neither my mother nor I had known anything about that. But Robin Hood's creed of stealing from the rich to give to the poor fit into the socialist mindset, I guess.

My second fixation, when I was maybe 11, was The Avengers, as I've discussed elsewhere. And again, my husband bought me a complete run of the Emma Peel episodes, which were the only ones I ever cared about.

Next, when I was maybe 13, was Barnabas Collins and Dark Shadows. Mike and I have had many, many conversations about that. I still maintain that Barnabas was the very first conflicted vampire, and that he set the template for all that were to follow. There is no way to tell younger people how astonishing it was, in the late 60s, to come home from school and flick on a soap opera about ghosts and demons. Back then, the censors on tv were still strong, and every daytime soap was about hospitals or courtrooms.

Many years later, when I was a mature woman raising a family, my show was Frasier, which I would argue is the best. sitcom. ever. It was the first tv show I ever bought in its entirety on DVD, because even my older boy was too young to watch it when it started. I wanted my kids to know what good comedy is. It was like watching a Broadway play every single week. My daughter knows every episode by heart.

My husband is a big X Files fan, and we have that one in its entirety, too. I never really followed the alien story line, but I was totally into the Mulder/Scully relationship. (I have recently learned that The Avengers had some influence on that, too.)

I didn't think it was going to be a competition. It sounds like you know a lot about a lot of different popculture tv shows, movies, video games and the like. As a 90's kid, I'm familiar with a lot of the shows you've listed, though I don't think I watched all of them extensively.
I will say though that I'm definitely a Sonic fan, but I guess I zeroed in on more specific franchises myself. I've played the games, read the comics (I still remember the Archie Sonic comics...those were interesting to say the least, though IDW has some interesting concepts and I need to catch up on those), watched the cartoons and seen both of the movies. I saw both movies in the theaters and caught the first one with my boyfriend right before the pandemic started. The second one was so good I had to see it twice.
The majority of the series I've heard of and know about, but I don't think I have extensive knowledge of them.
Star Trek and Star Wars are science fiction adventures I can enjoy watching, but I can't say I ever really collected any toys from them or anything like that. I definitely don't know everything about them. My dad likes the original Star Trek and Next Generation, but he never really got into Deep Space Nine or the later ones. I think he liked the new Picard though.
I did like Star Gate, I thought the concept was really cool.
Lord of the Rings was great. I enjoyed the movies. I attempted to read the books but...the books are just so full of descriptors it's easy for me to get lost. I respect the books for what they are.
I also enjoyed Harry Potter though. I don't see why you can't enjoy both for what they are.
I'd like to see more stories that blend the fantasy and science fiction genres. I feel like Adventure Time does a good job of that, and so do the Final Fantasy games like Final Fantasy VII and VIII. My boyfriend got me into Adventure Time and I love the new Fionna and Cake series.
Dragon ball and Full Metal Alchemist are really good animes. If you like action and superheroes then I definitely recommend My Hero Academia.
With Mario it's interesting because I wasn't always into it, but when Super Mario 3D world and Odessey came out I changed my mind and my boyfriend got me into those too. I loved the Mario movie as well and checked out the old 90's cartoon. It was random and weird, but it had a certain charm to it.
And I do remember the 90's sit coms like Sabrina the Teenage Witch. It was fun to watch. Have you seen the darker twist they took in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina? I have mixed feelings about it and the directions they took, but they also had some good ideas in it.
Which Thundercats? The original 1980's or the newer version? I'm going to probably sound like a blasphemer to some people, but I enjoyed the 2011 series more, maybe it's because I appreciated the darker tone and serious story. I won't even touch Thundercats roar, I feel like it's probably the Teen Titans Go of the Thundercats world. Oh, I liked Teen Titans too. XD NOT Teen Titans go, the original cartoon. It was really good and I wish they'd bring it back.

Yeah I definitely grew up in the same generation as your kids, Murf. Dark Shadows is a show my mom has mentioned and I don't know much about it. I've heard you and Headless mention The Avengers, is this about the super heroes or something different?
I don't think I've ever watched that Robin Hood series either.
I kind of like the Munsters and I could watch Sanford and Son. But for the most part I don't really get older TV shows. My mom also liked Lost in Space, something else Headless has mentioned.

Edit: Wait I think The Avengers is something else entirely. lol

The Avengers series I am talking about was a British spy show, sort of a spoof or maybe a surreal Dr Who-ish take on that genre. The lead character, John Steed, had several different partners throughout its run, but Emma Peel was the most popular.

If y'all like anime, maybe you are familiar with Rironi Kenshin (probably spelled that wrong). There is a live action trilogy of this show, released around 2014-15, which is absolutely superb.

My daughter likes K-dramas and introduced us all to one called Healer a few years back. Man, is that show addictive! We said it was like crack. We couldn't stop watching it.

Of course I got into Harry Potter through my kids and loved loved loved it. I was slower to take up with the Lord of the Rings novels, but I now believe they are among the best fiction of the 20th century.

Re music, I was really into Broadway as a kid, which was kind of weird for someone my age in Mississippi. But I collected Broadway OC albums and used to look up reviews of shows that had premiered long before I was born. My favorite show in my girlhood was Man of La Mancha, which I knew from the OC album. It was based on Don Quixote and got me interested in that story. Its star was Richard Kiley, whose career I followed avidly until his death in the late 90s. When I eventually got to see him in a revival of La Mancha out in California, I wrote him a letter to tell him how much it had meant to me. He very sweetly sent me a letter in return, which I still have.

Movies: there have been a great many movies I have loved in my lifetime, but three that seemed to take possession of me for a while were Ben-Hur, Cabaret, and Chariots of Fire. I was very, very young when I saw Ben-Hur for the first time in a theater (maybe 4?). I was enthralled by it. But the funny thing is, I have remained enthralled by it at every age and stage of my life. Even in my mid-30s, I was still discovering new things in it. I know some people want to be dismissive of its acting, eg, but I think it is a much, much better movie than some detractors want to admit.

Star Trek vs Star Wars: not an uber-fan of either, but I much prefer Star Trek.

The headlesshorseman;

Our entire relationship going forward hinges on your answer to this simple question; who played the best Who?

Murfreesboro, Emma Peel was simply the best foil for Steed.

You know, I never got into Dr. Who. I'm one of those people who like starting a series from the very beginning, but there's literally so many Dr. Who episodes and series, I wouldn't even know where to begin.
I remember Rurouni Kenshin and I loved that anime! It's got a really good story about redemption, with some really good animation and fight scenes as well as characters. I loved everything about that show.
A lot of those shows I admit I've never heard of.
I guess I feel the same way about Star Wars AND Star Trek, but like I said I could probably sit and enjoy them, I just can't see myself going full on nerd with them.
I definitely am with Murf on Harry Potter though and share the same sentiments about LOTR.
Also does anyone remember The Chronicles of Narnia? How about Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh? They did an animation called "The Secret of Nimh" that was loosely based on the book.
I quite enjoyed the newer Narnia movies.
Oh, I did like the first James Cameron's Avatar, and while I did like the second I wasn't as crazy about it for some reason. I still like the lore and the original take on human interactions with aliens, blue cat people and giant robots...but ya know.
Oh, and I did like Avatar The Last Air Bender too...Toph was awesome.
But don't get me started on how they ruined Legend of Korra.

My kids got me into Dr Who, and they started me with Tennant. It actually took me a few episodes, but then somehow it clicked with me, and I loved it! Tennant is wonderful in that role.

My daughter is a massive C S Lewis fan, and she and I have both read all of Narnia. She has gone farther and is currently reading his space trilogy. He also has a novel she loves, Til We Have Faces? I think. It is a re-working of the Cupid and Psyche myth. And of course the Screwtape Letters.

Andy, as far as I am concerned, there is no Avengers without Emma Peel.

If y'all like Ruruni Kenshin (still not sure of the spelling), you REALLY need to check out that live action trilogy. My husband bought it for grins and giggles one Christmas, and the kids settled in to make fun of it while I was cooking in the kitchen. And I heard them saying stuff like, "Wait a minute, this could actually be good!" And, "Wow, this is really good!" And finally, when it was over, "That was so much better than it had any right to be!" My husband, who used to fence a little, said that the sword fighting was the best he'd ever seen on film.

I didn't get to see it for a few days, and I didn't know the story at all. But when I did sit down to watch it, I saw that it was beautifully filmed, obviously a labor of love, and I found it very intriguing and moving. Some of the images are lyrically beautiful, but mainly it is the story that grabs you. I tell everyone I know to watch it, but most people ignore me.

Well, maybe the best thing to do is just pick a good Doctor and go with it. I've seen one episode of Dr. Who and it was strange, but I know a lot of people are into it. From what I understood the Doctor travels through time and space in his phone booth, and he's reincarnated with each series. I know there's alien cats in one episode though, so I might give it a shot. I just don't know where to watch it or where to even start.

I only ever remember reading The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe but I've seen some of the other movies in the series. I still liked the premise of it though, stepping into this magical world with talking animals and an evil witch who's oppressing them.

I heard it was good, I guess I was a bit put off by the fact that Kenshin didn't have his trademark red hair, but it might be worth checking out. Another friend of mine I think did like the series. Do you know where I might stream this series?

Sword Fighting and fencing? That's really cool. Something I'd like to learn, that and martial arts. I doubt I'll ever get the time though. Although Youtube provides plenty of tutorials these days so... 

My husband actually took fencing at Mary Baldwin, when he was getting his teaching license. He needed PE credit.
Our older son also did some fencing in middle school.


The actor in the RK movie did have reddish hair, but it wasn't the bright red of the anime. We are not streamers. We got it on DVD. But I know a prequel movie was streaming a year or so back on some service my son has, maybe Netflix? Not sure. Sorry. You'll just have to hunt around.

With re to Dr Who, each Dr has a regeneration scene where he emerges, so you could start with that. And I am probably biased, because I've never seen classic Who. But most people love David Tennant's version, so I'd recommend starting with him. Like I said, it took me a few episodes for it to take with me, but when it did, it really did. I think you just have to give yourself over to it.

My friends tell me that I'm a walking encyclopedia of useless information.

For some reason, I've been able to retain most of the information that I was exposed to when I was young, this includes almost everything that I learned in school, as well as everything related to pop culture. I'm thankful that my wife shares the same passion for pop culture franchises that I do, as it's something that we can enjoy together, and our kids think it's awesome that we love the same things that they do, like Star Wars and Marvel, and their friends even call me fun dad because I actually know about the characters and stories and their parents don't.

Murf - it is a absolute pleasure to meet someone else that appreciates the show Dark Shadows. My mother also watched the show when she was younger, and she showed it to me when I was 4 and I loved it immediately. I think that Jonathan Frid was perfect as Barnabas Collins, and I loved the supernatural elements of the show and the way episodes would end with cliffhangers, just like the 60s Batman show. The theme song was also very awesome. I don't know how many episodes I've watched, but I've always wanted to watch the whole series, and I know there are over 1000 episodes, so I don't know if I'll ever get around to it. Man, I wish that I had been here when you and Mike were having those conversations, I'm sure it was a lot of fun.

Did you watch the early 90s remake of the series? I liked it, but it wasn't as good as the original show, and it only had 1 season. They also made a movie directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, I thought it was good and definitely recommend you watch it if you haven't seen it yet.

I did like both Frasier and the X-Files, but I didn't think that Mulder and Scully should have ended up together, as I thought that it ruined the chemistry between them that they had in earlier seasons. I also didn't like the alien storyline, and preferred the different monsters they would chase each week.

As for the movies that you mentioned, I have watched Chariots of Fire and Ben-Hur, and I enjoyed both of them. The way you feel about Ben-Hur is the way that I feel about the movie The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, and Yvonne De Carlo, long before she starred in The Munsters. I was probably 5 the first time that I watched it, and for some reason it always stuck with me, it was such a strong movie and it certainly made a impression on me, and even now I try to watch it every few years.

I think it's awesome that Richard Kiley wrote back to you, and his decision to send you a letter speaks volumes about his character and the type of person he was. It's great to hear about a celebrity that takes the time to acknowledge and appreciate their fans. I'm sure that you cherish that letter, and it holds a special place in your heart. It's a beautiful reminder of the impact that one person can have on another, even if they never meet in person.

As for music, I like every type of music, and yes, I'm serious, from the classical composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin, to the modern music you hear on the radio today, and everything in between, I will listen to any style of music. But believe it or not, my absolute favorite type of music is actually oldies, as that is what my mother was always listening to when we were kids so it just stuck with me.

My grandfather used to run a dance hall in the 50's-70's so music has always been a big part of that side of the family. I only have a few hundred records in my collection, but my mother still has a few thousand records at her place, I don't know the exact number but it's a whole wall from floor to ceiling, she has a whole wall of books as well, some of the records were from her father but most of them she bought for herself. I'm probably going to get her records when she passes, since my siblings don't really have a interest in them.


MauEvig - I was there on day 1 for Mario on the original NES in the 80s, and for Sonic on Genesis in the early 90s, so both characters are special to me. I also watched the cartoons that they both had in the 90s and I did read some of the comics as well. I have enjoyed the many games that have come out over the years for both of them, and still play them with my kids.

I also liked the movies for both characters, yes, I even like the Mario movie from the 90s, I know that people really hate that movie, but I don't. I did enjoy the recent animated movie as well, and I thought that it was great for younger fans. I did like both Sonic movies, and I know that they were trying to get a Sonic movie made for years, and as a fan from the beginning, I can say that they got it right.

I have various collectibles for both characters, from books to toys. I had collected toys when I was a kid, but I stopped right before I became a teen, and I didn't start actively collecting again until I had kids. The good thing is that my mother still had my toys from when I was a kid because she doesn't throw anything out, so I was able to get them from her, and I was shocked to find out that some of them can sell for thousands of bucks, mainly some of the Star Wars toys. Now I collect horror movie toys for myself, but I collect different types of toys with my kids, including Halloween related toys that they really like. I created a thread about Halloween toys a few years ago, but I know that they have got more since then.

My 14 year old niece is really into anime, and she has mentioned My Hero Academia to me before, she told me it is one of the most popular anime franchises in recent years, so I'll check it out eventually.

I had seen The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina listed while scrolling through shows, but I had no idea that it was about Sabrina the Teenage Witch until you just mentioned it. Does it continue from the original series, or is it a remake?

As for ThunderCats, I like both series, of course I like the 80s show better as I grew up with it, but I did like the story and character designs of the new show, and I thought the show could have got another season.

Teen Titans - I grew up reading the original comics, and I've watched the different versions of animated movies and shows that they have made, but I really liked the live action show called Titans. It was a dark and violent show that was right out of the comics, the first 3 seasons were just awesome, but the 4th season sucked and the show was cancelled. DC wants to reboot the company, so most of their shows are starting to suck, though I guess you could say the same thing about Marvel, as Secret Invasion really sucked, well, at least compared to the original comic story.

I guess people are getting tired of the superhero thing, there are a few reasons for that, mainly the writing is just getting bad. I think that both DC and Marvel have made some really bad movies this year, but hopefully they can come up with better stories and get fans interested again.

Andy - Tom Baker.

Jonathan Frid was unforgettable as Barnabas. He was actually brought on for a brief story arc, so he started out as the traditional, terrifying vampire. Then, when his popularity became obvious, they retained him and started to build the show around him. That's when they gave him his backstory, about his quest for Josette, his lost love from another century, and his nemesis, the witch Angelique. That story line has been pilfered so many times that most people don't even know it came from Dark Shadows. Ultimately Barnabas became a sympathetic, deeply flawed character, who was tormented by his vampirism. His evolution on that show was much richer than what anyone would have expected from a cheaply made tv series with laughable production values. The production values on that early 90s prime time series were much better, but something about it failed to grip me the way the original did.

Mike and I were discussing the Dark Shadows movie when we were talking so much about the TV show. It is in my rotation of Halloween films. It is fun as long as a person accepts it for what it is, an essentially comic take on the old story, with much affection for its source material. The tone is, of course, completely different. Barnabas could be really scary on that old TV show. Johnny Depp (whom I love in almost everything) made no effort to play him that way.

Of course I am familiar with Ten Commandments and watch it most Easter seasons. I think, since it's been shown on tv so often, it is the religious epic most people think of when they think of Charlton Heston. But Ben Hur was his Oscar winning performance, and I prefer it, without meaning to disparage Ten Commandments at all. Yul Brynner is also a big favorite of mine (remember, I cut my teeth on Broadway shows). I never saw him play The King and I on stage, though my mother did before I was born and never stopped talking about how fabulous he was in it. I, of course, have the screen version, which is probably the best film version of a Rodgers & Hammerstein show.

Re Kiley, I think he was rather well known for trying to be gracious, not only to his fans, but also to aspiring actors. When he got his first Broadway role, in Kismet, the well established star (Alfred Drake) felt threatened by him and insisted all Kiley's music be transposed to tenor range (they were both baritones). I have the OC album of that show, and Kiley sounds great on it, but he goes into falsetto sometimes, because the songs were really out of his range. He had to drop out after two months because of the strain on his voice. I think he decided then that, if he were ever to be in that more privileged position, he would never attempt to undermine a younger performer that way. Those who performed with him in later years unfailingly praised him for how helpful and supportive he was toward them.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: my daughter and I watched the first season together, but she eventually stopped watching. She said the story line got so very dark that it was making her uncomfortable. As far as I can tell, it has nothing in common with the 90s sitcom, except for taking the character as its point of origin.

TheHeadlessHorseman wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2023 11:50 pm Andy - Tom Baker.

...crisis averted.