Brian Thomas Jones | Through the Shattered Lens

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Wednesdays, I will be reviewing Monsters, which aired in syndication from 1988 to 1991. The entire series is streaming on YouTube.

Let’s celebrate Christmas early with Monsters!

Episode 3.12 “A New Woman”

(Dir by Brian Thomas Jones, originally aired on December 16th, 1990)

It’s the day before Christmas and businessman Tom (Thomas McDermott) is dying. His wife, Jessica (Linda Thorson), want him to sign over the deed for several building that he owns so that she can kick out everyone who isn’t paying their rent. His son (Dan Butler) thinks that is an inhumane thing to do on Christmas. Tom’s doctor (Mason Adams) informs Jessica that she will be visited by three spirits that will help her change her ways….

And indeed, she is! But these aren’t the ghosts that Charles Dickens made famous. Instead, they’re horrifying zombies that are being led by Tom’s vengeful spirit. That’s enough to scare Jessica into changing her ways. She doesn’t want to become a zombie! Who would? It’s a Merry Christmas for all!

Monsters’s take on A Christmas Carol actually isn’t bad. It takes a while to get going but the zombies are effectively frightening and Jessica’s terrifying night is full of ominous atmosphere and effective scares. I guess my main problem with this episode was that the pacing was odd. It seemed to take forever to get around to that doctor telling Jessica she would receive visitors from the other side. And when the visitors did arrive, it was effective but it still felt a bit rushed.

Still, it was nice to see Monsters not only do a Christmas episode but also, in a rarity for this show, one that had a happy ending.

This week, on Monsters, a root leads to temptation!

Episode 2.10 “The Mandrake Root”

(Dir by Brian Thomas Jones, originally aired on December 10th, 1989)

While cleaning out her recently deceased grandmother’s basement, Angela (Melba Moore) discovers a Mandrake root that is not only sprouting though the floor but which also appear to be “wearing” her grandmother’s ring. She grabs the ring but pricks her finger as she does so, allowing her blood to drip down onto the root.

The next day, the root has been replaced by a shirtless, handsome man (Byron Minns), who promises Angela a world of sensual pleasure on the condition that she provide the blood that he needs to live. At first, Angela resists but the Root is persistent and he certainly seems to care more about her than her inattentive (if well-meaning) husband (Frankie Faison).

This episode was full of atmosphere, it had an intriguing premise, and it featured good performances from Melba Moore and Frankie Faison. (It’s always interesting to see Faison playing someone other than a cop or a military officer.) Unfortunately, Byron Minns was fairly bland in the role of Angela’s tempter. He was handsome but he didn’t have the screen presence necessary to believable as a centuries-old tempter. As a result, this episode is good without quite being the classic that it could have been.