Friday the 13th: The Series had an interesting premise. There are hundreds of cursed items out in the world, due to Lewis Vendredi making a deal with the devil. When Lewis realized his mistake, his soul was claimed and the antique shop passed to his niece and nephew, Micki and Ryan, who are now trying to retrieve as many of the items as possible, with the help of Lewis‘s former business partner, Jack. Many episodes were cheesy, but a few were fairly decent.
Take, for instance, What a Mother Wouldn’t Do. Martin and Leslie Kent find out that their baby probably won’t survive and poses a significant risk to Leslie, should she decide to carry the baby to term. The doctor’s advice is to abort the pregnancy, but she won’t hear any of that kind of talk.
While wandering around town, she pops into an antique store. She’s greeted by none other than Mr. Vendredi, who notices her looking at a cradle. She can’t afford it, but Lewis assures her that things have a way of working out. Sure enough, some of Leslie’s friends buy the cradle and give it to her as a present. At some point, Leslie finds out that the cradle has a very specific curse.
It was brought over on the Titanic. While the ship was sinking, a mother tried to bring her child and the cradle onto a life boat. When the other seven occupants refused, they all died, leaving the baby unharmed. Thus, if the mother or a sick child were to kill seven people, a baby left in the cradle would be given perfect health. The catch is that all seven victims have to die in a manner that involves water, such as drowning.
This puts a sick twist on the trolley problem. Instead of killing one stranger to save three strangers, Leslie and Martin have to kill seven strangers to save a loved one. Martin is distraught about it, but Leslie seems rather eager. Given the opportunity to save a sick child, how could any mother just ignore it?
Many episodes end with the people using the cursed objects dying by the cursed objects, and this episode is no different. Leslie kills Martin by knocking him into a fish tank before throwing herself into a fountain down below. The baby is saved, but Micki, Ryan and Jack notice that the baby is now missing. They can only hope that the baby is safe. After all, how would you report something like that? Both of the parents are dead and a sick child is missing, although there’s no rush, as the baby is no well if she’s even alive at all. (The child is shown to be safe and well, by the way.)
Overall, it’s a relatively good entry into the series. It is a little bit fast and loose with the rules sometimes. (It would seem that the death has to involve water, even if peripherally.) We also have a few people who would seem to have died, only to come back. I mean, if someone’s on to you, make sure they’re dead. Don’t just dump them in a lake and assume they’re not coming back. It’s your baby’s life at stake, after all.
I’m almost through the first season. Given the varying quality of the episodes, I’m not sure about season two. I may have to take a break before continuing.
Take, for instance, What a Mother Wouldn’t Do. Martin and Leslie Kent find out that their baby probably won’t survive and poses a significant risk to Leslie, should she decide to carry the baby to term. The doctor’s advice is to abort the pregnancy, but she won’t hear any of that kind of talk.
While wandering around town, she pops into an antique store. She’s greeted by none other than Mr. Vendredi, who notices her looking at a cradle. She can’t afford it, but Lewis assures her that things have a way of working out. Sure enough, some of Leslie’s friends buy the cradle and give it to her as a present. At some point, Leslie finds out that the cradle has a very specific curse.
It was brought over on the Titanic. While the ship was sinking, a mother tried to bring her child and the cradle onto a life boat. When the other seven occupants refused, they all died, leaving the baby unharmed. Thus, if the mother or a sick child were to kill seven people, a baby left in the cradle would be given perfect health. The catch is that all seven victims have to die in a manner that involves water, such as drowning.
This puts a sick twist on the trolley problem. Instead of killing one stranger to save three strangers, Leslie and Martin have to kill seven strangers to save a loved one. Martin is distraught about it, but Leslie seems rather eager. Given the opportunity to save a sick child, how could any mother just ignore it?
Many episodes end with the people using the cursed objects dying by the cursed objects, and this episode is no different. Leslie kills Martin by knocking him into a fish tank before throwing herself into a fountain down below. The baby is saved, but Micki, Ryan and Jack notice that the baby is now missing. They can only hope that the baby is safe. After all, how would you report something like that? Both of the parents are dead and a sick child is missing, although there’s no rush, as the baby is no well if she’s even alive at all. (The child is shown to be safe and well, by the way.)
Overall, it’s a relatively good entry into the series. It is a little bit fast and loose with the rules sometimes. (It would seem that the death has to involve water, even if peripherally.) We also have a few people who would seem to have died, only to come back. I mean, if someone’s on to you, make sure they’re dead. Don’t just dump them in a lake and assume they’re not coming back. It’s your baby’s life at stake, after all.
I’m almost through the first season. Given the varying quality of the episodes, I’m not sure about season two. I may have to take a break before continuing.
