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Extra Credit 050 - Friday the 13th: The Series (Patreon)

Published:
2026-08-27 23:24:23
Imported:
2026-08
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We're discussing "Tails I Live, Heads You Die," an episode of Friday the 13th: The Series! Satanists, zombies, a forbidden love... it has everything!

We also do a little talking about "Syzygy," an episode of The X-Files.

Next up: THE BODY SNATCHERS!

Comments

Grackles

When Chris says, "Well, Satan is really upset by this" I collapsed into giggles. I just pictured the Fiend King flinging his cell phone at the wall where it explodes into bits, and then some minor demon having call up Satans phone company to get him another one while Satan stomps off into the halls of hell swearing and grumbling.

Ben A

I have to give a big thank you to you guys for covering this wonderfully ridiculous show. Everything you noted is spot on. I'm glad the DVDs have brought some escapist joy. You have my empathy, Chad; my wife is like Heather, so F13 is a solo watch for me when I occasionally feel like having a nostalgic laugh. And you chose one of the most entertaining, if not baffling, episodes of the series at its prime (if anyone could argue the show ever had one). The grotesque makeup, the insta-coven in the basement, the pseudo history, the voice of the devil...so many fun parts. Spoilers for a nearly 40-year-old (!!) show: It's the only episode where one of the main three characters is killed off, even if only for a moment. That Micki isn't a zombie at the end (and she looks great for being dead over a day) is just part of the loose, magical logic that was this show. After all, this was a series where, in multiple episodes, close friends and old lovers of the three main cast would be introduced as guest stars only to be cursed object fodder, devastating one of the characters with their sudden but predictable demise. Though, none of these guest star deaths ever resulted in an over-the-top response like John LeMay's breakdown was in this episode. You're right--the director treated his emotional potential like the amp in Spinal Tap. You'd think such losses of loved ones, or all the people other people love (what a line), would carry through to some character development or repercussions in later episodes. But this was a syndicated series in the 80s. Continuity amnesia was built into the show bible. A couple quick facts about this episode for anyone who is curious. The writers on the episode were comedy writers. This was their first horror script gig. Evidently they were told that the whole premise of the show may sound like a set-up -- and it is -- but they had to avoid being tongue-in-cheek or writing jokes into the script. They had to approach the show with total serious sincerity, even when jokes are leaping out everywhere you look. And rumor has it that the writers and producers kicked around the idea of killing off Robey from the show, if only for a little while, but abandoned the plan before finishing the screenplay. Something tells me they would have lost that 18-49 male demo a lot sooner had they kicked her off the show early in season 2. (Anyone wanting more production trivia about the show should grab a copy of Alyse Wax's _Curious Goods: Behind the Scenes of Friday the 13th: The Series_. Boy, this became a long comment. For anyone who read this far: I do encourage everyone who loves campy but decently made B-grade horror to give this show a watch. You'd think that having cursed objects that mostly take lives would get repetitive, but that was part of the joy of the series. Like you guys said, there are a lot of best of lists out there -- I have my personal favorites -- but really there are few stinkers in the first two seasons. Production values may be low, plots may have holes the size of the cursed object vault, and acting may be wooden, but you'll almost always be entertained.

Ben A

One random connection to add between F13 and the X-Files: The cursed tattoo appears in both shows. The episode “Tattoo” is a classic in F13 and well worth a watch. But there’s the often overlooked “Never Again” episode of the X-Files that shows a pretty dark, rebellious side of Scully and features an arguably cursed tattoo—also worth a watch.

ESTY

The gas torches with 2 foot high flames in unventilated basements are the scariest part of this episode! You can actually hear the propane in a couple of scenes, lol. The generously hairsprayed actors are all clearly in danger. I laughed each time Jack recognized the sound of Satan’s voice, as if it was an ex. It turns out, that the actor did the voice of Beelzebub in the TV special “The Devil and Daniel Mouse”. He was a very prolific actor (you may recognize him from Mazes and Monsters) and did a ton of voice acting in the 80s. David Cronenburg (2 years after the Fly) directed episode 12.

Our old pal Brendan Gardiner

That Peter Boyle X-Files episode is so good. It might be the one I remember best. Selling life insurance as someone who can foresee how people will die. Creeping out his prospective clients in spite of himself. Gah! Great conversation here about some quality TV programming. Listening to it brought back such good memories of Sunday nights with friends post-college, eating dinner together and watching The Simpsons, X-Files, and some Space Ghost to cap it all off. Might be leaving a show out of that lineup, but it was some good times.

Jennifer DeFord

So glad you finally got around to these! We rewatched them at my house about ten years ago when the series was on Prime and could tell we were getting old because of how much we sympathized with long-suffering warlock(?) Jack Marshak instead of the two young people.

Steve

Louise Robey's son is James Malcolm Aubrey Edward de Vere Beauclerk, Earl of Burford and future 16th Duke of St Albans. Her former husband is the head of the De Vere society which denies that Shakespeare wrote the plays attributed to him.

Steve

Terms of Endearment, a series 7 episode of the X-Files, starring Bruce Campbell has a satanic bent too. I saw it on TV last night.

Aragonewrong

I mean, Metallica is a pretty face-up band name I think. Also the Steven Seagal Blues Band sounds EXACTLY like what you'd expect

Richard Wolfe

Incredible! I have only ever watched 1 episode of this show and this was that episode! Thank you for magically picking this, I am rewatching it tonight!

Jim Cannon

I remember seeing commercials for this show but I never watched it. I was just incapable of making the intellectual leap required to accept the show concerned itself with haunted tchotchkes and not a machete wielding hockey mask enthusiast. This episode was a very entertaining dive into Friday the 13th: The Series, though, and certainly encouraging to we the uninitiated.

Patrick W

“Long enough to do irreparable harm”. Keep watching, they do some brain damage dumb stuff in that show.

It's a Ghost.

"Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" is so good.

It's a Ghost.

As someone who is roughly 7-8 years younger than you guys, I was not partying it up in LA in 1996. Instead, I was 15 and avidly watching The X-Files 🙂 I'm not sure if the later episodes stand the test of time, but I'm very confident the earlier episodes do, especially the episode staring Peter Boyle! I watched it again a few years ago and found it absolutely fantastic.

Doc Singles

I enjoyed this show back in the day, but it never quite stuck the landing for me. I always thought it would make a great RPG premise! Especially for adults nowadays when folks can't commit to a campaign, a cursed-object-of-the-week would be perfect. Segue: Another phenomenal series I always thought would make a great RPG setting is Thundarr the Barbarian. Post-apocalyptic earth with warlocks and future tech, mutants and cyborgs? Fighting against warlords to free slaves? Top notch! Side note: I think it was fairly progressive (in 1980) to have one of the main characters be a brown woman who was powerful and the smartest person in any room, and she was treated as a respected party member. Yes, she was also hot, but that was never not going to be a thing.

Wulf Mungus

I have to imagine this are random scripts that get passed around from show to show. The series Supernatural also featured and episode with a Scarecrow that required sacrifices for a better harvest

Eric - Speaker in Digressions

If I were to list my Top Ten X-Files episodes, those by Darin Morgan would fill up all but a couple of slots.

Eric - Speaker in Digressions

Chad's comment about wondering who maintains the torches makes me think of the Gerard Butler "Phantom of the Opera" movie. The Phantom's lair is so full of candles that keeping them lit and renewed must take so much time it's amazing he has a moment to voice-coach ingénues or drop a chandelier. In other news, sneaking into the ritual with no plan is our regular M.O. in my partner's "Masks of Nyarlathotep" campaign.

Floofenhoffer

I know that you said that you won't be covering the X-Files, but a show that you *should* cover is The Real Ghostbusters cartoon which is now on Tubi. At the very least you should watch the episode "Collect Call of Cathulhu" which manages to fit more references and homages to weird fiction authors than you would think possible in it's 21 min runtime.