Halloween is an amazing time of year for spooky content, and not just when it comes to upcoming horror movies and hardcore genre efforts, but also for more family-friendly fare. For example, costume-heavy holiday episodes are a beloved staple of TV sitcom history, particularly when it comes to Roseanne and its follow-up The Conners. While the pandemic years made it harder for shows to deliver on party scenes of that sort, it looks like the ABC hit’s upcoming installment “Book Bans and Guillotine Hands” will give Halloween a firm embrace with the strength of a Ben-sized Frankenstein’s monster.
Check out the new clip below, which gives viewers the episode’s titular guillotine hands, as well as a fiery taste of what Jay R. Ferguson would look like in either James Whale’s 1931 classic Frankenstein, or perhaps in Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 oddball drama Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
I’m all in on any costume contest that strives for specifics over generality, and if we don’t get to see that “Most Creative Frankenstein Costume” contest in its groaning, slow-walking entirety, I’ll have no choice but to respond by marching to the castle doors with torches. Or just one torch. Maybe just a picture of a torch on my phone.
In any case, I gotta say I would 100% watch Jay R. Ferguson in some kind of high-octane horror flick, especially since the actor hasn't leaned into genre content much across his career, with Twin Peaks and even Briarpatch serving as exceptions. Now, playing Frankenstein's monster is an entire thing unto itself outside of mere genre work, but now my vote goes to the Conners star to be the next to evoke the Universal Monsters take on the literary character. Assuming it doesn't take him away from his fictional marriage to Sara Gilbert's Darlene, obviously.
For all my championing the impression, Dan clearly wasn't so enthused by it, as he just had to come in with a makeshift guillotine to show off. And I have to HAND it to him, I want one.
The episode's synopsis doesn't promise any extended bar sequences for this costume contest to play out, but here's what it does tease:
- It’s Halloween at the Conners, and Dan encourages the family to decorate the house. When everyone is feeling too busy and overwhelmed to help, Becky tries to take matters into her own hands. Meanwhile, Harris takes a stand on an issue that ruffles a few feathers in Darlene’s new neighborhood.
Three cheers for Dan and Becky keeping the Halloween spirit alive! And three boo humbugs to everyone trying to say they're too anything to pitch in on the decorating. No treats for you.
It’s too bad The Conners didn’t land upcoming guest star William H. Macy for this episode, since it’d be great to watch the esteemed actor get invested in ghoulish Halloween festivities. But we’ll be waiting a little longer to see the comedy’s second Shameless reunion for Emma Kenney in Season 5.
The Conners airs Wednesday nights on ABC in the lead-off spot at 8:00 p.m. ET, followed by new episodes of The Goldbergs, Abbott Elementary and Home Economics. Episode are available the next day for streaming with a Hulu subscription, and you can find everything else coming soon with our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
