Curious Goods: Behind the Scenes of Friday the 13th: The Series by Alyse Wax
BearManor Media (October 2015)
490 pages; $36.95 hardcover/$26.95 paperback/$9.95 e-book
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand
Alyse Wax first encountered Friday the 13th: The Series at the age of nine. It was an episode called “Stick it in Your Ear,” a tale about a haunted hearing aid from the show’s third and final season, and Wax was hooked. Her interest blossomed into an obsession that led to an Internet fan club, a fanzine, and, finally, this book.
Curious Goods: Behind the Scenes of Friday the 13th: The Series is Wax’s massive guide to Paramount’s short-lived attempt to cash in on the popularity of the Friday the 13th film series. Muuch more than just an episode guide, this book is a comprehensive account of the difficulties faced when trying to produce good entertainment under difficult circumstances.
Wax divides the book into sections devoted to each of the show’s three seasons. Each section begins with interviews with key members of the show’s cast and crew; together, they paint a clear picture of where things stood with the show as it progressed from conception to production. This is followed by detailed breakdowns of each episode, with a short write-up following each that includes more comments from actors, directors, writers, and other parts of the team. There are also a number of behind-the-scenes photos sprinkled throughout the book, many contributed by one of the show’s lead actors, John LeMay.
Wax’s love for the series doesn’t color her straightforward documentation of the struggles that plagued the show: everything from disagreements over the tone of the series, to the inexperience of two of its three lead actors, to the expectations projected onto the show because of its title. Wax refrains from editorializing, allowing the story to be told solely through the recollections of those who spent hard days and long nights toiling away on the production. The result is both a thoroughly researched love letter and an honest account of a series that, for now, remains an ambitious footnote in the history of genre television.
I’m gonna have to add this book to my list as it will be a nice companion to the complete series set of DVDs, which I highly recommend to any fan of the series. I still remember sneaking to watch the Friday the 13th TV show and how much each episode freaked me out — good times! The very first episode, “The Inheritance,” sparked my now lifelong fear of dolls. My little sister received one of those (creepy) Cricket dolls for Christmas that year, so I was pretty much on edge every night, ready for an attack at any moment. LOL